SrI UttamUr SwAmi as "ulagam pOtRum uttamar" by SrI V.N.SrIrAmadESikAchArya

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SrI:

SrI PadmAvati SamEta SrInivAsa Para BrahmaNE namaha

 

SrImad abhinava dESika UttamUr VAtsya VeerarAghavArya -

mahAdESIkAya namaha

 

SrI Lakshminrusimha divya pAdukA sEvaka SrIvaN SatakOpa

SrI nArAyaNa yateendra mahAdESIkAya namaha

 

Dear devotees,

namO nArAyaNa.

 

The following is the translation of an article in tamil by

the late (SrI VaikuNThavAsi) great "SrI U.Ve. VangIpuram

Navaneetam SrIrAmadESIkAcArya of Oppiliappan sannidhi" which

appeared in the souvenir released during the SatAbhishEkam

(80th birth anniversary) of SrI UttamUr swAmi on 10th Feb,

1977. adiyEn has translated the article alongwith some notes

to enjoy certain words and phrases used by the author. Hope

that, by the grace of SrIman nArAyaNa, the translation

preserves the charm of the original article, to a reasonable

extent.

 

A Brief Note about the author :

SrI SrIrAmadESikAchArya (1901-1981) was a great AchArya, well

known for his utter dedication of his life for the SrI VaishNava

Sat sampradAyam. He was a disciple and son of the illustrious

SrI U.Ve. Navaneetam KrishnamAchArya of great fame, popularly

known as Navaneetam swAmi.

 

SrI SrIrAmadESikAchArya followed the footsteps of his father

and wrote good commentries for all the Sanskrit stotras and

tamil prabandhams of SwAmi DESikan. With great efforts,

referring to old manuscripts, he published all the chillarai

rahasyAs of SwAmi DESikan, alongwith his excellent footnotes

and explanations nicely bringing out the import of difficult

words etc. At those times, there were many mis-readings of

these texts in an earlier publication and thus, the great

task was taken by SrI SrIrAmadESikAchArya to come up with

proper readings and he consulted many great vidvAns for the

various questions he had. Now, we are greatly benifited

by the immense pains taken by that mahAn for publishing the

correct readings and that too in an error free manner. Before

publishing his commentry on DESika Prabandham alongwith the

correct readings, he told the mahAns that he would be liable

to be beaten twelve times by a whip (ie.jAttai in tamil, used

for beating horses) for each of the mistake he commits in not

recognizing the correct readings. So great was his sincere

dedication. The other great contribution by this swAmi is the

publication of SwAmi DESikan's SrImad Rahasya Traya SAram with

excellent notes, explaining the import of difficult words, the

import of the verses quoted etc. He obtained the President Award

for contribution/scholarship in Sanskrit (*) during 1975. This

swAmi also followed the footsteps of his illustrious AchArya and

father SrI Navaneetam swAmi in especially serving Lord Oppiliappan.

 

(*) : The first person to obtain this award was SrI UttamUr

SwAmi, wayback in 1960.

------------------------------

 

SrI U.Ve. Navaneetam SrIrAmadESikAchArya on SrI UttamUr SwAmi :

 

Ulagam pOtRum Uttamar (THE "NOBLE/GREAT" HAILED BY THE WORLD)

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

 

There is none in the world of aastikas (Believer in

God ; Believer in a sacred tradition) who doesn't know

SrImad UttamUr swAmi. This mahAn has all the qualities

for being cited as an example of how a SrI VaishNava should

be. Our swAmi (ie. UttamUr SwAmi) appeared in the lineage of

great vaidikas (follower of vEdas) known for their jn~yAna

(knowledge) and excellence in aachAra (*) for several generations.

This swAmi is an example of the proverb "Small Physique, Greater

Fame". Those who know the glories of this swAmi can infer the

worthness of fortune of the parents who have obtained this

mahA-purusha as their son. Only those fortunate ones who

obtained glories by utilizing swAmi's unparalleled knowledge

in sAmAnya SAstras (**) and Ubhaya-vEdAnta (***) can know

the greatness of this swAmi as it is.

 

---------------------------

(*) aachAra : Conduct ie. Observance of SAstras, esp. the

performannce of rites of nitya and naimittika karmas

in accordance with VarNAshrama dharma, and following

related dharmaSastras pertaining to one's varNa and aashrama.

 

(**) sAmAnya SAstrAs : NyAya (Logic), <pUrva> mImAmsa (Enquiry

into karma khAnda) and VyAkaraNa (Sanskrit

Grammar).

 

(***) Ubhaya VEdAnta : Twin VEdAnta comprising the knowledge

of Upanishads and the Prabandhams

(literary works) of AzhwArs.

-----------------------------

 

Our UttamUr swAmi shines as the best amongst the

gems of mahA-vidvAns (great, well accomplished scholars)

glorifying the Sanskrit college at TirivaiyAr, in an unique

manner, due to their deep knowledge in the SAstras like tarka

(ie. nyAya), vyAkaraNa and mImAmsa. While only being a student

at that college, swAmi was helping his colleagues by clarifying

their doubts and explaining difficult issues and thus we can

say that his discourses have started as being a student

itself. We have heard that even the teachers of sAmAnya

SAstrAs to swAmi were amazed by his shining brilliance

as a student. The excellent training in nyAya, mImAmsa etc

was very helpful for swAmi to immerse and cross the ocean

of vEdAnta later. The authorities of the TiruvaiyAr

college did not want to suddenly loose the presence of

swAmi, who was shining as a great intellectual after

having topped their batch, and thus they appointed him as

a research scholar in SAstras. They became happy by getting

swAmi's (intellectual) contributions during his stay for

some years with them.

 

 

SwAmi took refuge at the feet of SrImad KOzhiyAlam

swAmi, who was shining as (i) an example of the conduct

required for sannyAsAshramam, (ii) a treasurehouse of

jn~Ana, vairAgya and anushThAna, (iii) one with

unparalleled glories in delivering discourses and

writing books. SwAmi received the divine glances of

SrI KOzhiyAlam swAmi as "aamudalvan ivan" (*) and attained

the excessive research oriented knowledge in vEdAnta

SAstra also and became foremost amongst the propagators

of the darSana (System of Philosophy; here referring to the

darSana of Bhagavad RAmAnuja). Our UttamUr swAmi was in the

frontline of vidvAns who were the "jn~yAna putrAs"(**)

of SrI KOzhiyAlam swAmi and followed suit his aachArya, in

being a good aachArya and activities related to it.

 

------------------------

(*) : aam mudalvan ivan : See the note at the end of the article.

 

(**) : jn~yAna putras : Very dear disciples; Disciples are

also sons of an AchArya ; AchArya is also a father

for a disciple.

-----------------------

 

Pushkaram, a mahApuNya tIrta (sacred water tank) kshEtram

of North India also wanted to witness the greatness of UttamUr

swAmi and derive happiness. Thus, it invited swAmi and

due to his discourses, produced many vidvAns with

exceptional knowledge in vEdAnta SAstra. Hence, it stands

with great pride. SwAmi dESikan's son (SrI KumAra VaradAchArya)

himself has said that SwAmi dESIkan, whose avatAram was due to

the divine will of Lord ThiruvEngadamudayAn, was having tirumala

as the sporting place of his youth. When that Lord (SrInivAsa)

Himself later came to be known as "abhinAva dESika", our swAmi

was made to live under the shadows of His holy feet for many

years and by seeing the power of deliverence of discourses

obtained by His grace, He got pleased and blessed swAmi

as being the "Best AchArya".

 

 

The city of Chennai got a rare oppurtunity. The city

earned a great name because of swAmi's decision to settle

there permanently. The stroke of fortune came the way of

many aastikas at chennai. Many aastikAs were fascinated

by swAmi's jn~Ana, anushThAna and the ability to teach.

They learnt the sampradAya granthams through the

traditional kAlakshEbam and has limitless bhakti towards

swAmi.

 

 

The AchArya parampara of SrI aaNDikkADu swAmi (AchArya

of SrI kEtANDipaTTi swAmi), though got an end to the

sannyAshramam after SrImad Garudapuram swAmi and SrImad

KOzhiyAlam swAmi, our swAmi is the important among those

gruhastas (*) who have taken up the responsibility to

continue the parampara through their qualities of being

an AchArya. We see very well the aastikas with vivEkam

(discriminatory knowledge) who didn't want to depart from

the aachArya parampara coming from time immemorial, taking

refuge under our swAmi and getting done the things

related to aatma (ie.SamASrayanam and Bhara-nyAsam

alias Prapatti).

 

-----------------------

(*) : SrI SrIrAmadESikAchArya is one among the gruhasta

AchAryas of this parampara. adiyEn will give a small

chart on this parampara in the next posting.

-----------------------

 

Elders have decisively stated that eventhough one may

possess complete jn~yAnam, anushThAnam and the like, if

aatma guNas are absent, those jn~yAnam etc are not actually

complete. Our swAmi is a mahAn filled with the aatma guNas

like mercy, patience, calmness etc in large excess and we

can perceive him as a small-mountain of aatma guNas. SwAmi

is so much an embodiment of simplicity that nothing more

great can be told than swAmi's sowlabhyam. SwAmi completely

forgets his greatness while speaking even with small children,

with a very smiling face and sweet words, thereby making

others also feel happy.

 

In these days, when the doctrines of sampradAyam are

being told in a public gathering through upanyAsam, we

see that one is able to get the appreciation and praises

from the public, only when colloqial dialogues, commedies,

explanation on the srungAra rasa ( dealing with the love

between man and women), current politics etc are a part

of the upanyAsam. But, our swAmi's thiru-uLLam (holy mind/

heart) is never for performing such an upanyAsam. SwAmi

has inclination only in performing the "upadEsam", rather

than such upanyAsam. This gives a great gain for the

listeners also.

 

What is the wonder in UttamUr swAmi being glorified by one

and all, as an unique personality in the world of scholars,

when swAmi exists as a mahA-vidvAn, possesing limitless

brilliance and the ability to manoeuvre through any SAstra

in any manner, according to his own desire (ie. at the

pleasure of his mind), all obtained due to the special

glance of the mercy of Lord HayagrIva (God of Knowledge) ?

 

 

Can one measure and tell the service rendered by

UttamUr swAmi to the world of vaidikas / VaishNavas ?

The ability to perform upadEsam directly in one's

presence (ie.ability to give discourses in traditional

manner) and the ability to write books are different.

Only a few possess both of these abilities. The possesion

of these two abilities in our swAmi is a result of the

combined blessings of both the SaraNyan (SrIman nArAyaNa,

the refuge of all) and AchArya. Only UttamUr swAmi is

comparable to himself, in making those undergoing kAlakshEbam,

well understand the doctrines of the sampradAya and make it

sink into their hearts through his lucid style, however

difficult the concept may be. The ability of the swAmi to

write books is also a boon from emperumAn . We can clearly

understand swAmi's ability to create books in a commentry-style

for samAnya SAstras also, through his commentries for older

texts of nyAya like vaisEshika darSanam (**), kusumAnjali etc.

SwAmi's blessings through the special publication of

SrIbhAshya alongwith SrutaprakASika, with the addition of

innumerous neccessary and extraordinary details by him, will

equal that of river Ganga being brought to earth by

BhagIratha (***). In this way, many texts of SiddhAnta, esp.

the detailed commentries, notes, special notes, tippaNi etc

for the works of SwAmi dESIkan are taking avatAra from the

sacred hands of UttamUr SwAmi. This is the most blossomed

state of special fortune for the followers of SrI VaishNava

sampradAya.

 

-----------------------------

(*) : emperumAn : Literally, "My Lord", referring to SrIman

nArAyaNa ; Used a lot by AzhwArs and SrI VaishNava

AchAryas since this indicates the intimate bond between

oneself and the Lord.

 

(**): VaiSEshika darSana : The sUtras of KaNAda delineates this

philosophy. Later, it got fused into the nyAya system

(NyAya sUtras were framed by Gautama). This system of

philosophy is thus referred to as "NyAya-VaiSEshika".

Today, many use the terminology "NyAya" to refer to this

"NyAya-VaiSEshika".

 

(***) : In SrImad RAmAyanam, Sage ViSwAmitra says the story to

Lord RAma and Lord Lakshmana about the arrival of river

ganga to the earth. The sons of King Sagara (IshwAku

race) were burnt into ashes by Sage Kapila, due to

their disrespect and pride shown unto the great Sage

Kapila. King Sagara's grandson amsumAn got informed

that only the arrival of river ganga (which was in the

upper worlds of dEvas) can purify all the ashes of his

grandfather and make them attain swarga. Himself and

his son Dileepan couldn't perform such austerities

towards Lord Brahma and obtain the boon. It was

BhagIrath, the son of Dileepan who finally did severe

penance for thousands of years and obtained the boon

from Lord Brahma to make ganga flow on earth. Thus,

any extraordinary perseverence, patience and austerities

undergone by an individual is stated as "BhagIrata's

tapas". Also, the outcome of the tapas is the arrival

of the very holy Ganga. Thus, the author says that

SrI UttamUr SwAmi did great penance of going through

the manuscripts for obtaining the right readings etc

and writing his own excellent notes and introductions

for obtaining the very holy SrutaprakASika, with clean

and right readings, and publishing without errors. The

SrutaprakASika which was almost in the extinct state due

to its non-availibility was made to appear again by SrI

UttamUr SwAmi, for the benifit of everyone. All vidvAns

say that, without the monumental SrutaprakASika, its

impossible to understand the intricasies of SrI BhAshyam.

---------------------

 

 

..........SrI UttamUr swAmi's wonderful commentry to the

aruLicchayal, using the knowledge given by emperumAn (Lord)

in SiddhAntam and SampradAyam, and giving it to the whole

world is a great help rendered by swAmi (to SrI Vaishnavas

/ whole world). This great kainkaryam of making everyone

enjoy the aruLicchayal, filled with "anubhavam" (mysticism)

got fully completed in a short span.

 

 

Several title of honours / awards are always

coming to swAmi, glorifying his multitude special

characteristics. If adiyEn enters to describe them,

pages will increase. After attaining SwAmi, the value

of the awards only increase. AdiyEn does not think that

swAmi remembers all the awards that has come to him

(ie. conferred upon him). It is necessary to mention one

(award). Many years back, there was a resolution in

India (as an independent country) to get rid of all the

awards that were being conferred during its

Pre-Independence era under the British rule and introduce

new awards. It was that time (1959) that the Indian

government came forward to give an award with yearly

honours for lifetime, for scholarship in Sanskrit.

Government, by its search, chose our UttamUr swAmi as

the appropriate person in TamilnAdu (South India) to

receive the award for the very first time. The pride,

in inviting swAmi to the capital of India (Delhi) and

honouring him the award (along with a certificate) from

the hands of the President of India for the very first

time (in history), belongs only to (UttamUr) swAmi.

 

 

If it has to be written about the service rendered

by our UttamUr swAmi to (Bhagavad rAmAnuja) darSanam,

it will be a bhAratam (ie. as lengthy as the epic

MahAbhArata). But, it has to be told importantly about

one wonderful rare work. It is swAmi's wonderful

creation called ParamArtha BhUshanam. One mahAn has

praised that SarvArtha Siddhi and SatadUshaNi of SwAmi

DESikan are the shield and weapon for one entering into

the war of debate. Such SatadUshaNi is a treasure,

which can't be refuted by anyone. But, many years back

(1956), a scholar wrote a refuttal to even SatadUshaNi

and named it as SatabhUshaNi. EmperumAn (Lord) made

the sankalpam that only abhinava dESika is apt for

writting a refuttal and shut the mouth of the critizer,

and also to establish the greatness of SwAmi's

DESikan's work. The command of many AchAryas and

requests from many aastikas made our swAmi to get

involved in the great kainkaryam of writting a refuttal

work. A divine work named ParamArtha BhUshanam, running

more than thousand pages, took avatAra from abhinava

dESika. The greatness of SatadUshaNi was restored.

Mouth will talk anything. Mind will think anything.

Hand will write anything. It is a scholar's good

characteristic to use these three instruments in the

right path. Poets convey thanks to manthAra and KaikEyi,

for they were only helpful in making Lord RAma live in

forest and protect those performing SaraNagati unto Him

by also eradicating those who are enimical to SaraNAgatas.

In this way, we glorify SatabhUshaNi with thanks, since

it was the reason for the outcome of a divine work

"ParamArtha BhUshaNam" from the holy hands of abhinava

dESika, to establish the greatness of SwAmi dESikan's

SatadhUshaNi. (Long) Live SatadUshaNi ; (Long) Live

ParamArtha BhUshaNam. SwAmi's introduction prior to the

work itself shows with quite a good amount of clarity

on the defects of the PUrvapaksha grantha (SatabhUshani)

and the clear import of the siddhAnta grantha (SatadhUshaNi).

 

 

One can go on writting much more about the greatness

of our UttamUr swAmi. Even small minded adiyEn can

proceed writing more and more. The emotions regarding

SrI (UttamUr) swAmi are arising in excess and are ever

overflowing. But, the Souvenir Committee has stipulated

restrictions on the length of an article. adiyEn fears

that even this small article has exceeded the limits. As an

outlet for the pratibhakti and joy in adiyEn's heart, this

small service is done by adiyEn and thereby attaining mental

satisfaction.

------------

 

Then, SrIrAmadESIkAchArya swAmi writes about the SatAbhishEkam

celebration and praises the committee for having arranged

various things for a grand celebration, that would befit the

greatness of UttamUr swAmi. The he prays towards the

Divyadampati viz. Bhoomi nAcchiar and SrI Oppiliappan, for

showering auspicious things unto UttamUr swAmi and the

continuation of UttamUr SwAmi's service through writing

books, giving discourses etc and more grandly celebrate the

centenary celebrations even twenty years hence.

----------------

 

(*) : aam mudalvan ivan : In TiruvAimozhi(7.9.3), nammAzhwAr

uses this phrase. SrI PeriavAcchAn PiLLai interprets

that "PerumAL is thinking that nammAzhwAr (ivan) is the

foremost (mudalvan) of those who can obtain His Grace

to sing pAsurams .....<ivan mudalvan aam>". This phrase

is used to signify the special glance of mercy by an

AchArya to his most chosen disciple who would then take

over his position for the next generation. In yeedu,

NampiLLai says that ALavandAr (YAmunAchArya) issued the

most merciful glances towards udayavar (Bhagavad RAmAnuja)

as "aam mudalvan ivan" <when ALavandAr first saw udayavar

alongwith yAdavaprakASa and others, at kAnchi varadarAjan

sannidhi>. This implies that Bhagavad RAmAnuja is going

to be the establisher of (ViSishtAdvaita) darSanam. SrI

UttamUr swAmi adds that, this can also mean as though

ALavandAr feels "Yes <aam>! He <ivan> is the original

cause of everything <mudalvan>" ie. udayavar Himself as

being considered as SrIman nArAyaNa (in His avatAram).

There is also another interpretation accepted by

pUrvAchAryAs to this phrase in accordance with the context

of the pAsuram viz. mudalvan is the one who is jagatkAraNa

ie. SrIman nArAyaNa.

------

 

This article has again brought out the unparalleled glories

of SrI UttamUr SwAmi. If even a great AchArya of the past

has so much of appreciation and reverence for SrI UttamUr

swAmi, it goes without saying about the way we have to

perceive the greatness of "abhinava dESika".

 

Please go through this quite lengthy posting again to get hold

of important points. It will also be very helpful to enrich

the understanding and anubhavam of the future postings. Thanks

once again for your patient reading.

 

adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan,

anantapadmanAbhan.

krishNArpaNam.