PradhAna sathakam : part 10 for SaraNAgathi Journal

[Guest guest]

Dear BhakthAs : Sri Srinivasan of Denver asked

an important question and number of fellow BhakthAs

have responded by now. In this context ,I am attaching a posting

that is waiting for release in a future issue of the SaraNAgathi

Journal inview of the importance of the meanings of

the different sections of the Charama SlOkam and their

relative importances. I do not mind this pre-release

of my article for shedding additional light on this

ongoing discussions . This subject is so important

that it needs to be shared widely beyond the SaraNAgathi

Journal alone .That is my reasoning to make an

exception of pre-release .BTW, I invite you all,

who are not subscribing to the saraNAgathi Journal

to become members in my role as the Editor of that Journal.

 

The Charama slOkam blessed to us by the Lord using

Arjuna as a vyAjam and passed onto us as upadEsam by

our AchAryAs for our upliftment can indeed be recited

without qualms about the First Person based sensitivity .

The Charama slOkam received as upadEsam from

the AchAryA is equivalent to receiving that upadesam

directly (as Arjuna did)from the Lord , since AchAryA

is considerd equivalent to the Lord ( AchAryasthu Hari:

SaakshAth in AchArya Nishtai adopted by Madhura Kavi

thru his declaration ,"dhEvu MaRRaRiyEn" ).

 

In VirOdha parikhAram , Swami Desikan compares

the relative status of the three "Rahasyams ".

That comparison & conflict resolution (Virodha

ParihAram )is very pertinent to this discussion .

He points out that Thiru Manthiram and Dhvayam

are given as UpadEsam directly into one's ear

by the AchAryA so that the sishyan alone receives

the initation .This is an injunction of the SaasthrAs

befitting the status of the two ( AshtAksharam and Dhvayam )

as Rahasya manthrams .Swami Desikan proceeds next

to evaluate the status of Charama SlOkam as

the third rahasyam . Here is the line of reasoning

developed by him :

 

Srimath RaamAyaNam and MahA Bhaaratham are two IthihAsAs

and they can be recited to one and all as long as one

recites them , while keeping a Brahmin in front . The Charama

slOkam is at the end of MahA Bhaaratham and thus can be

recited aloud in front of all as per the above line of reasoning .

Swami Desikan then asks the question as to why the Charama

slOkam is joined with AshtAksharam and Dhvayam

and is recognized as the third rahasyam .

 

Swami Desikan's answer is as follows :

There is a difference between the first

pair of rahasyam and the Charama slOkam .

The sabdhams and the meanings of the AshtAksharam

and Dhvyam are not to be spoken loud or given

away to one and all except thru upadEsam from an

AchAryan befitting their status as Rahasyams .

The TEXT of the Charama slOkam can however be

recited in public ;but , the MEANINGS of the charama slOkam

are to be treated as Rahasyam .Thus the charama slOkam

attains the status of a Rahasyam , because of

the sacredness of its meanings .Together , these

three Rahasyams are indispensable for a Mumukshu

( one desirous of gainig Moksham )and therefore

are revered highly by us as the Three Rahasyams.

 

The text of a future publication by mself intended

for SaraNAgathi journal is included below .

Here , it is not the meanings that are covered ,

but the relative importance of the different

sections of the Charama slOkam by Swami Desikan .

For the fuller meanings of the Charama slOkam as a

Rahasyam , one has to be blessed to receive it in

the form of a KaalakshEpam with a SadhAchAryA on

Srimadh Rahasya Thraya Saaram (29th Chapter of RTS :

Charama slOkAdhikhAram ).

 

 

The PraadhAnyams among the sections of Charama SlOkam (45-47)

************************************************************

 

45/100 : The charama slOkam is made up of three

constituent parts : (1) sarva dharmAn parithyajya

maamEkam saraNam vraja (20 aham thvaa sarva paapEpyO

mokshayishyAmi (3) maa sucha :

 

The first portion instructs one to perform SaraNAgathi .

The second portion focuses on the phalan arising from

such a performance .The third portion describes the status

of being care-free and blissful as a result of the performance

of SaraNAgathi.The second and third portions of the Charama

slOkam arose as a response to the question , "why should we

perform SaraNAgathi " as commanded by the First portion

of the charama slOkam .Hence ,THE FIRST PORTION OF

THE CHARAMA SLOKAM IS PRADHAANAM .The first portion

is recognized as pUrva Vaakyam since the second and

the third portions are responses to the first portion

and hence are known as utthara vaakhyams.Swami Desikan

points out that the Purva Vaakhyam is pradhAnam

over the utthara Vaakhyams.

 

46/100 : The second portion of the charama slOkam

focuses on the phalan resulting from performing

SaraNAgathi .It houses our Lord's promise to

free us from all karmAs that stand in the way of

Moksham as obstacles (prathibhandhaka nivrutthi ).

When these obstacles are chased away , it is but

natural to gain Moksham (svatha: prAptham ),

which is nothing but gaining Sri VaikuntanAthan

( Swami laabham ). Hence ,the fruit (phalan ) of

the realization of the Lord of Srivaikuntam

as a result of the removal of obstacles is pradhAnam

(svatha : prAptha Swami laabham ).

 

47/100 :In GithOpanishad , Our Lord has spoken

thrice to remove the sorrow of ArjunA .His sOkha-

nivrthaka vaakhyams aimed at comforting

His friend and Sishyan , ArjunA , are found

in the second , sixteenth and the eighteenth

chapters of GithA .

 

47.1: Second Chapter : Arjuna is ovewhelmed with

the sorrow over the thought of killing his AchAryAs

and relatives in the battle field to gain the kingdom .

This type of sorrow does not belong to a Kshathriyan

and his dharmam .Our Lord explained to ArjunA that

his sorrow was totally inappropriate and instructed

ArjunA about the nature of the body and the self. Our

Lord pointed out that the Self is eternal and is not

dependent on the body for its existence ,nor is it

subjected to destruction on the death of the insentient

body . The Lord said " You grieve for those , who should

not be grieved for. yet , you speak words of wisdom .

The wise grieve neither for the dead or for the living

( Naanu sOchanthi panDithA : )".Swami Desikan comments

that Lord removed the asthAna snEhAdhi nibhandhana sOkham

of ArjunA in the second chapter .

 

47.2: Sixteenth Chapter(anadhikArathva sankhA nibhandhana

sOkha Nivarthanam ): In the fifth slOkam of the 16th chapter,

our Lord comforted ArjunA by explaining the differences

between the divine and the demonical destinies( sura and asura

sampath )and points out that Arjuna is born to divine

destiny and as such he has nothing to grieve :

 

dhaivU sampadh vimOkshAya nibhandhayAsuri mathA

maa sucha: sampadham dhaivIm abhijAthOsi PaaNdava

 

When Arjuna was sorrow stricken over the fear that

he possessed aasuri sampath , our Lord removed his

sorrow by pointing out that he (Arjunaa) had a divine

destiny and is fit to gain Moksham and thus removed

his anaadhikArathva sankhA .

 

47.3: Eighteenth Chapter(viLamBhitha -phala-kruchra-

saadhya-upAya-upadEsa janitha sOkha Nivarthanam ):

Our Lord instructed ArjunA on the Bhakthi Yogam

that yields its phalan after a long and ardous

practise . ArjunA was sorrow-stricken over the thought

of his unfitness to undertake this difficult

Bhakthi Yogam . When the Lord recognized

the dejection of ArjunA , out of His limitless

compassion blessed ArjunA with the easy-to-perform

Prapatthi yogam and wiped away ArjunA's sOkham

once and for all .

 

Swami Desikan takes into account the three instances ,

where Our Lord came to the rescue of the sorrowing

Arjuna to remove his dukkham .Swami Desikan concludes

that , AMOMG THE THREE UPADESAMS FOR SORROW REMOVAL ,

THE ONE HOUSED IN THE 18th CHAPTER IS PRADHAANAM .

He explains that the first two upadesams housed in

the 2nd and the 16th chapters are not of much use to

the suffering samsAris and the third upadEsam is

the most useful for ALL chEthanAs and hence attainds

the status of PrAdhAnyam .

 

Oppiliappan Koil Varadachari Sadagopan