Surrender as means to liberation

[Guest guest]

Dear bhAgavathAs:

 

AdiyEn came across this article appeared in the The Hindu dated. July 18, 2000.

In his discourse on the Raamaayanaa, Sengalipuram Sri B.Damodara Dikshitar said

that every canto of the epic, except the last one, highlighted the concept of

surrender. AdiyEn thought that this might be of interest to all in the list

since a

discussion is currently going on about SaranAgati.

 

adiyEn

 

govindarajan

 

 

CHENNAI, JULY 18. The main purpose of the Supreme Being's incarnations

was to re-establish righteousness in the world and every manifestation has a

unique message also to mankind. The significant import of Rama's incarnation is

His promise that He would protect anyone who surrenders (Prapatti, Saranagati)

to Him. In the Srivaishnava tradition the Ramayana is hailed as the

``Saranagati

Sastra'' - a scriptural text outlining the concept of surrender to God as the

means

to liberation.

 

The rationale behind depicting Rama's auspicious traits right at the outset by

Valmiki is to instil hope in the heart of the penitent that the Lord would

condone

his lapses if he submits to Him. This is crucial to the operation of the Lord's

grace. His compassionate nature comes to the fore and makes Him overlook the

devotee's sins. The Kamba Ramayanam focusses on surrender to God in the

opening verse.

 

In his discourse on the Ramayana, Sengalipuram Sri B.Damodara Dikshitar said

that every canto of the epic, except the last one, highlighted the concept of

surrender. The first canto describes how the celestials surrendered to God for

protection of the innocents who were being terrorised by the Rakshasas

especially Ravana and He promised them that He would incarnate on the Earth

for this purpose. The second canto highlights Bharata's surrender to Rama when

he beseeched Him to return to Ayodhya.

 

The Aranya Kanda describes the surrender of the sages in the forest to protect

them from the demons as they knew about Rama's divine nature and hence

regarded Him as their Lord and refuge. The next canto describes Sugriva's

submission to Rama to protect him from his brother Vali who had inflicted

untold

suffering on him. The Sundara Kanda of the epic which focusses on the exploits

of Hanuman also brings out his total surrender to Rama and his exemplary

devotion to Him.

 

The next canto delineates one of the paradigmatic instances of Self-surrender

cited by the preceptors - Vibhishana's surrender to Rama after Ravana failed to

be convinced by his advice and persuasion to return Sita to Rama. It was in

this

context that the Lord assured His protection to anyone who surrendered to Him.

 

While surrendering to God accepting Him as the means to liberation one must

resolve to do only such actions that will please Him and also desist from those

which displease Him. He must repose total faith in God's grace and must feel

humble realising his helplessness. After surrendering to God he should not

worry

about his eventual liberation and must accept everything in life as divine

will.

[Guest guest]

dear bhagavathAs,

Sri Govindarajan's posting of the article that

appeared in The Hindu which mentions about kamba

rAmAyaNam and kamban's emphasis on the aspects of

surrender prompted me to post this response. adiyEn

would like to quote kamban's one single verse, so

beautiful, so profound. no wonder he was called

'kambanAttAzhwar'. most of you will be knowing this

verse, but it sure bears repetition, any number of

times.

"nanmaiyum selvamum nALum nalgumE,

thinmaiyum pAvamum sidaindu thEyumE,

senmamum maraNamum inRi theerumE,

immaiyE rAma enRiraNdezhuthinAl"

meaning: "it will ever bestow all good things and

wealth,all sins and mistakes will get blasted and

diminished, it will put an end to this life - death

cycle, in this birth itself, by just uttering two

syllables 'rAmA' "

imagine, all that you have to do is just utter 2

syllables and liberation is yours! this single verse

perhaps sums up the greatness of the greatest epic of

all, our 'saraNAgathi sAstrA' called rAmAyaNam

adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan narasimhan

 

--- "T. R. Govindarajan" <tgovindarajan

wrote:

> Dear bhAgavathAs:

>

> AdiyEn came across this article appeared in the The

> Hindu dated. July 18, 2000.

> In his discourse on the Raamaayanaa, Sengalipuram

> Sri B.Damodara Dikshitar said

> that every canto of the epic, except the last one,

> highlighted the concept of

> surrender. AdiyEn thought that this might be of

> interest to all in the list

> since a

> discussion is currently going on about SaranAgati.

>

> adiyEn

>

> govindarajan

>

>

> CHENNAI, JULY 18. The main purpose of the Supreme

> Being's incarnations

> was to re-establish righteousness in the world and

> every manifestation has a

> unique message also to mankind. The significant

> import of Rama's incarnation is

> His promise that He would protect anyone who

> surrenders (Prapatti, Saranagati)

> to Him. In the Srivaishnava tradition the Ramayana

> is hailed as the

> ``Saranagati

> Sastra'' - a scriptural text outlining the concept

> of surrender to God as the

> means

> to liberation.

>

> The rationale behind depicting Rama's auspicious

> traits right at the outset by

> Valmiki is to instil hope in the heart of the

> penitent that the Lord would

> condone

> his lapses if he submits to Him. This is crucial to

> the operation of the Lord's

> grace. His compassionate nature comes to the fore

> and makes Him overlook the

> devotee's sins. The Kamba Ramayanam focusses on

> surrender to God in the

> opening verse.

>

> In his discourse on the Ramayana, Sengalipuram Sri

> B.Damodara Dikshitar said

> that every canto of the epic, except the last one,

> highlighted the concept of

> surrender. The first canto describes how the

> celestials surrendered to God for

> protection of the innocents who were being

> terrorised by the Rakshasas

> especially Ravana and He promised them that He

> would incarnate on the Earth

> for this purpose. The second canto highlights

> Bharata's surrender to Rama when

> he beseeched Him to return to Ayodhya.

>

> The Aranya Kanda describes the surrender of the

> sages in the forest to protect

> them from the demons as they knew about Rama's

> divine nature and hence

> regarded Him as their Lord and refuge. The next

> canto describes Sugriva's

> submission to Rama to protect him from his brother

> Vali who had inflicted

> untold

> suffering on him. The Sundara Kanda of the epic

> which focusses on the exploits

> of Hanuman also brings out his total surrender to

> Rama and his exemplary

> devotion to Him.

>

> The next canto delineates one of the paradigmatic

> instances of Self-surrender

> cited by the preceptors - Vibhishana's surrender to

> Rama after Ravana failed to

> be convinced by his advice and persuasion to return

> Sita to Rama. It was in

> this

> context that the Lord assured His protection to

> anyone who surrendered to Him.

>

> While surrendering to God accepting Him as the

> means to liberation one must

> resolve to do only such actions that will please

> Him and also desist from those

> which displease Him. He must repose total faith in

> God's grace and must feel

> humble realising his helplessness. After

> surrendering to God he should not

> worry

> about his eventual liberation and must accept

> everything in life as divine

> will.

>

 

 

 

 

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