Soundarya lahari et al.

[Guest guest]

Dear Members:

 

The recent discussion vis a vis soundarya lahari brings to fore the

need to recognize an important point in the context of Sri

Vaishnavam. Our Acharyas leave no place for doubt or compromise when

it comes to paratvam of SrimannArAyaNA. After all, in the tatva

traya sampradayam that is Sri VaishNavam, there is place for only one

Iswara thathvam and that is SrimannArAyaNA. Everything else

(including all the other devathas) are subservient to Him. To borrow

a phrase from a recent discourse of Sri VELukkuDi krishNan, from

brahma, the creator all the way to a measly ant (titheelika), we are

all approximately equal when compared with the Isvara thattvam. As

Sri KrishNan aptly puts it, "avar (brahma) koncham uyarndha samsaari,

aDiyEn koncham thaazhndha samsaari, avvuLavudhaan" in the context of

parathvam and unique state (advitheeyan) of the lord.

 

Any philosophical work or poetry that does not unambiguously

represent this point (and soundarya lahari clearly does not) has no

place in our scheme of things. There is no scope for barter or

compromise here. As Thondaradippodi Aazhvaar puts it, rather mildly

in Thirumaalai (this particular verse has been previously discussed

on the Bhakti list)

 

veruppoDu samaNar munDar.....

aRuppadhE karumam kaNDAy...

 

In fact, Sri Peirya Vaacchaan piLLai's vyaakhyaanam

identifies advaitins as one of the primary offenders (along with

Buddhists) of Azhwaar's fine sensibilities. This is not a virulent

person advocating violence. This is an exalted soul with such

intense love for the lord that he cannot tolerate any one stooping

so low as to equate other samsaaris (laden with karma and doshas)

with SrimannArAyaNA, piTA, bhOkTha, Seshi and Swamy (vide BG: bhOktha

cha prabhurEva cha).

 

anya dEvatha araadhana, in any shape or form, (under any guise,

including the often touted need for tolerance etc.) is simply

unacceptable per our acharyas. This does not mean that you have to

display disrespect for anya dEvathas, neither does it imply that we

treat them as equivalent to ParamAtma. Our attitude towards anya

dEvathas (as enunciated by an incidence in thirumahishi Azhwaar's

life) is one of respect for a fellow bhAgavatha.

 

I have witnessed in many Sri Vaishnava households where the KOvil

Azhvaar and perumAL vigrahams are housed along with pictures/idols of

piLLaiyAr, dEvi etc (Some might argue that this statement is clearly

oxymoronish..). Such instances often stem from an inadequate

understanding of what SrimannarayaNa represents to us per our

sampradayam. After all, how many of us would tolerate the notion of

many fathers being accepted as the cause of our birth? anya devatha

aaradhana is no different. In thirmangai Aazhwaar's scheme of

things, this is no different than prostitution (something clearly

very offensive to our sensibilities)

 

This is why I can relate to Sri mahavishNu's indignation/sense of

suffering. To take any other attitude towards (including silence) to

such gross and unacceptable statements (as those made by Sri Sankara

in large parts of soundarya lahari) would be tantamount to accepting

the position of krimi kantha Sozhan on Shiva paratvam and a direct

contradiction of Ramanuja sampradayam. This is not to imply that we

do not appreciate the beauty of NArAyaNA sthuthi. Just that the

context of soundarya lahari places SrimannArAyaNA on par with anya

dEvathas, and sometimes at the level of a demi-god; all very well and

consistent with advaitham, but something quite anathematic in the

context of Sri VaishNavam.

 

The seemingly more moderate elements (I hope Mr.

Sudarshan would not take offense to his inclusion under this subset)

often are the ones erring egregiously in these instances. There is

no umbrella under which one can justify the need to enjoy soundarya

lahari, not at least under the Sri Vaishnavite scheme of things.

Where is the need for ferreting out isolated stanzas on NArAyaNA

from advaitic compositions when we have an ocean of love, bhakthi and

prapathi available from our Acharyas? What about the magnificence of

Swami Desikan's compositions or that of our dear emberumaanaar or

parashara bhattar ( If one specifically looks for shlokams in

sanskrit)? Is there anything that can hold a candle to Sri GuNa

rathna kOsham or Sri ranga rAja sthavam or daYa shathakam or

sharaNagathi gadyam or sthotra ratnam? I think not.

 

Clearly there exists no need for scouring buddhist or advaitic

literature to look for sthotrams to extol the anantha kalyANa guNAs

of the lord. And claims of support/wisdom of all the elders in this

forum or elsewhere cannot justify perpetration of

description/discussion of soundarya lahari or its beauty on this

list given the crux of the philosophical underpinnings that is

shankara matham.

 

Aazhvaar Emberumaanaar Jeeyar thiruvaDigaLE sharaNam

 

sridhar