Guest guest Posted June 4, 1999 Report Share Posted June 4, 1999 Dear BhAgavatas, One of the slOka's I was taught to recite towards the end of the SandhyAvandanam is: AkAshAtpatitam tOyam yathA gacchati sAgaram sarwa dEva namaskArah kEsavam prati gacchati I would like to know where this slOka comes from. Is it of scriptural origin ? Or, is it a relatively recent one that in some way "permits" or "condones" worship of anya dEvata's, EVEN by VaishNava's ? One of the most beautiful parts of the nArAyaNa sUktam is- Yaccha kinchit jagatsarvam drishyatE shrUyatEpi vA antarbahischa tatsarvam vyApya nArAyaNah stitah As this "ether" of nArAyaNa pervades all Universe, it appears to me that there can, in effect, be no anya dEvata archana, as all of it really flows towards nArAyaNA. I have therefore often wondered why there needs to be strong (or even fierce) disavowal of other deities. Many of these deities such as Agni, vAyu, VaruNa, SUrya etc. are representations of awesome natural forces which were seen as manifestations of God (nArAyaNa). I am no scholar of the sAstra's or of the doctrines of advaita and VishishtAdvaita. I do believe deeply in the notion and path of bhakti and prapatti. It has, somehow, never mattered to me whether that bhakti is directed towards this deity or that. When, on occasion, I am fortunate enough, I experience the same intense feeling of tearful joy and surrender whether I am praying to (or listening to the musical and hymnal worship of) Shiva, Vishnu, Saraswati, Krishna, or ShaNmuga, or Jesus. I most definitely do not intend to offend the sensibilities of SrivaishNava's by saying what I have said above. I would appreciate comments from the scholars on the list. Respectfully...............///shivashankar ___________________________ S.A. Shivashankar Tel: (91)-(80)-309-2782 (Office) Materials Research Centre 331-3921 (Residence) Indian Institute of Science Fax: 334-1683 Bangalore 560 012, INDIA Email: shivu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 6, 1999 Report Share Posted June 6, 1999 S.A.Shivashankar wrote: > > > As this "ether" of nArAyaNa pervades all Universe, it appears to me that > there can, in effect, be no anya dEvata archana, as all of it really flows > towards nArAyaNA. I have therefore often wondered why there needs to be > strong (or even fierce) disavowal of other deities. Many of these deities > such as Agni, vAyu, VaruNa, SUrya etc. are representations of awesome > natural forces which were seen as manifestations of God (nArAyaNa). > > I am no scholar of the sAstra's or of the doctrines of advaita and > VishishtAdvaita. I do believe deeply in the notion and path of bhakti > and prapatti. It has, somehow, never mattered to me whether that bhakti is > directed towards this deity or that. When, on occasion, I am fortunate > enough, I experience the same intense feeling of tearful joy and surrender > whether I am praying to (or listening to the musical and hymnal worship > of) Shiva, Vishnu, Saraswati, Krishna, or ShaNmuga, or Jesus. > > I most definitely do not intend to offend the sensibilities of > SrivaishNava's by saying what I have said above. I would appreciate > comments from the scholars on the list. > > Dear Sri Shivashankar, Just to allow you the opportunity to compare the works of the scholars in this forum with myself, a novice who is aspiring to be a SriVaishnava one day: >From my understanding, what you have said and felt is true. Sriman Narayana being the antaryAmi of every soul in this Universe is really the only One being worshipped, and it is He who out His Compassion empowers the other Deities to bestow Blessings upon their devotees. And, one who truly knows this can certainly feel His Presence in Jesus, Durga, and Murugan - as well as the trees, the rocks, the birds, the ocean, and even one's fellow human beings. However, how can we say that any one of us really have the ability to have this vision, what to speak of holding it at all times? Arjuna knew Sri Krishna as his nearest and dearest Friend, and yet he too, needed the Lord's own Grace to see His Universal form. And, ironically, even when Arjuna realized this vision, he could not bear it for very long, and he pleaded with the Lord to remove the special sight that he had been granted and to show Himself again as Sri Krishna. And, really, even if we were able to know and bear the vision of this "ethereal" form, it would be only one tiny aspect of His Wondrous Nature. And, how would we be able to interact with this "ether," to feel the experiences that the AzhwArs sang about in their pAsurams? It is for this reason that our AchAryans have recommended that we focus our attention on the most kindest and most accessible form of the Lord, His archAvatharan. The Lord in this form is tangible, He has a specific kind of look, smile, and demeanor that draws every one to Him. He stands quietly, like a doll, so that we can touch Him, dress Him, treat Him the way we would treat our King, and love Him the way we would our own Child. And, from what I have learned, it is this Form, and not any other, that can touch our heart and inspire us to surrender to Him. You can see examples from the other postings of how this archAvathAran has touched the lives of the erudite bhAgavathas in this forum. Just look at how Sri Rengarajan writes of ArA amudhan of his home town of Thirukudanthai. Sri Rengarajan's eloquent words make the Lord in the Temple is so real, so alive, that we feel that we are reading about a relation, a good friend, or a town hero. It is this mood of direct connection to the Lord that I feel is the heart of SriVaishnavam. And once this joyous feeling is known, even if it is only for a few hours, one really does not find the need for anything else. So, although we know on subtle levels that the antaryAmi of the anya dEvathas is the Lord only, after being able to serve Him so directly, nothing else moves us in the same way. adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan Mohan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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