Akinchanyam

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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta desika Yatindra

Maha Desikaya Nama:

 

Akinchanyam

 

Our PoorvAcharyAs, in their infinite mercy, have shown

us an easy and simple path to salvation- that of

Prapatti or absolute surrender to God. Compared to

Bhakti and other upAyAs prescribed in the shAstrAs for

mOkshA, prapatti is easy of performance, has to be

done only once, and is expeditious in its results.

However, there are certain prerequisites for a person

intending to adopt SaranAgati as the device for

liberation, and the first of these is Akinchanyam.

Certain aspects of this virtue are discussed below.

Perhaps no other Sreesookti brings out the essence

of Akinchanyam better than Sri AlavandAr's StOtra

Ratna slOkA-

"na dharma nishttOsmi nacha Atma vedi

na bhaktimAn tvat charaNAravindE

akinchanO ananya gati:sharaNya

tvat pAda moolam sharaNam prapadyE"

In a moving declaration of his inadequacy, Sri Yamuna

Muni confesses himself to be incapable of the

performance of Karma YogA and GnAna YogA, and

therefore of Bhakti YogA too.Thus, having no other

means of attaining the Lord, he surrenders himself at

His Lotus Feet,in an act of SaraNAgati. This

beautiful slOkA thus throws up a definition of

Akinchancyam as "ananya sAdhanatvam" or "sadhanAntara

rahitatvam" –that is, the lack of any means of

attaining the desired goal. It is thus clear that the

prerequisite for an intending PrapannA is the lack of

capability to adopt any other upAyA (like Bhakti) for

mOkshA. In other words, people who have the knowledge

and capacity to perform Bhakti YogA or anyother means

to salvation are, ipso facto, ineligible to perform

SaraNAgati, which is indeed the refuge of the

helpless.

The StOtra Ratnam is but the quintessence of the

Divya PrabandAs; we hence find a fitting parallel to

the aforesaid slOkA, in the following ThirumAlai

pAsuram of Sri Tondaradippodi AzhwAr-

"KuLitthu moondru analai Ombum kurikoL

andaNamai tannai

oLitthittEn: enkaNum illai ninkaNum bhaktan

allEn

KaLippadu en kondu nambi kadal vaNNA

kadarukindrEn

ALitthu enakku aruL sei kaNdAi aranga

mAnagaruLAnE"

Here, Azhwar laments that despite being born a

Brahmin, he hasforesaken worship of the three Holy

Fires (GArhapatyAgni, DAkshinAgni, and AhavaneeyAgni)

–by implication, he confesses inability to adopt

Karma,GnAna and Bhakti YogAs, as a means to salvation.

Akinchanyam finds mention in TiruvAimozhi

too,(and naturally so, considering Sri NammAzhwAr's

status as the Head of the Prapanna family –"Prapanna

Jana Kootasttha:") when he says, "nOtra nOnbilEn

nuNNarivilEn" etc.

Sri Ramanuja too echoes his PrAchAryA in the Sri

Vaikunta Gadyam-"anAgata ananta kAlOpi adrishta

santArOpaya:"(Even for aeons to come, I am unable to

identify a means of salvation).

In an allied sense, the term Akinchanyam is also

used to denote Poverty, especially of the soul, and

has been admirably employed by Sri Bhattar in Sri

Rangaraja Stavam, to denote his impoverished state, as

regards means of liberation-"GnAna KriyA Bhajana

sampat akinchanOham". To quote ThirumAlai

again,Akinchanyam is brought out vividly in the

pAsurams

"oorilEn kANi illai uravu matru oruvar illai

pAril nin pAda moolam pattrilEn Paramamoorti

kAroLi vaNNanE KaNNanE kadarugindrEn

AruLar kaLaikaN ammA arangamAnagaruLAnE"

 

"ManatthilOr tooymai illai, vAyil Or insol illai

sinatthinAl chetram nOkki teeviLi viLivan vAlA

punatthuzhAi mAlayAnE ponnisoozh TiruvarangA

enakkini gati en sollAi ennai Aludaya KovE".

 

Swami Desikan defines Akinchanyam as "Bhakti

nishpAdanE sAmartya soonyatvam"and again as "Karma

YogAdi hEtubhoota guna kriyAdi sampAdana

doushkarmyam", and in Srimad RahasyatrayasAram, as

"upAyAntarangaLil ivvadhikAriyinudaya agnAna,

asaktigaL".

This Akinchanyam acts as the chief catalyst in

producing one of the most important of the five

components of

SaraNAgai, viz., "KarpaNyam". The realisation, that

one does not possess any qualification or ability to

adopt any of the prescribed means to salvation,

eliminates pride, creates humility and makes the

PrapannA realise his helplessness, thus making him an

ideal receptacle for Emperuman's boundless mercy.

Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra

Mahadesikaya Nama:

-dasan, sadagopan.

 

 

 

 

 

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