Bhagavata Seshatvam and its manifestations

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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedantadesika Yatindra

Mahadesikaya Nama:

 

BhAgavata SEshatvam and its Manifestation

 

The essence of our Sri VisishtAdvaita SampradAyA lies

in

Its emphasis on the relationship of SEshA and SEshi ,

subsisting between the individual soul and the

ParamAtmA respectively..

Defining SEshatvam, Sri BhAshyakarA says" paragata

atisaya AdhAna icchhayA upAdEyatvamEva yasya swaroopam

sa sEsha:para:sEshi". Thus, broadly, one who exists

solely for the purposes of being of some use to

another, is a SEshA , and the counterpart, for whose

sole benefit he exists, is the SEshi. The very reason

for our existence is to be of service or kainkaryA to

the Lord and to Him only. However, full- blown

Bhagavat SEshatvam manifests itself in service not

only to the ParamAtmA, but also to His devotees who

are near and dear to Him, viz., BhAgavatAs. Sri

Tirumangai Mannan, (who had the distinction of Sri

ashtAkshara upadEsam directly from Sriman NArAyANA),

dwelling on the quintessence of the Moola mantra, says

"Uttradum un adiyArkku adimai", emphasizing the

importance of BhAgavata SEshatvam. Sri KulasEkhara

PerumAl too likes to be thought of as the most menial

servant of His servants- "tvat bhritya bhritya

parichAraka bhritya bhritya bhrityasya bhritya iti mAm

smara". And in an almost literal translation, Sri

NammAzhwAr says, "endai pirAn tanakku adiyAr adiyAr

tam adiyAr adiyAr tamakku adiyAr adiyAr tam adiyAr

adiyOngalE". "adiyArkku ennai Atpaduttha Vimalan"

of Sri TiruppANAzhwar, and "PEsuvAr adiyArgaL emtammai

virkavum peruvArgaLe" of Sri Bhattar PirAn, are

variations of the same theme of BhAgavata SEshatvam.

 

Conversely, any apachArA done to BhAgavatAs ,in word,

thought or deed, makes EmperumAn angry beyond measure-

Ambarisha Charitram, Gajendra Moksham, ChAndili

vrittAntam etc. stand testimony to this.

 

However, the test of true BhAgavata Seshatvam lies in

a person's response to unfair accusations or abuse by

another bhAgavatA- how should one respond when a

BhAgavatA harms one by word or deed? Quoting the

Lainga PurANa slOkA, "RookshAksharANi sriNvan vai

tatha BhAgavatEritAn

PraNAma poorvakam kshAntyA yO vadEt

VaishnaO hi sa:"

Swami Desikan lays down that a blemishless

SriVaishnavA, who is the target of undeserved abuse

from another bhAgavatA, should profusely apologise to

the abuser, with prostrations. Thus, even in the face

of patently false accusations, a true Sri VaishnavA

does not protest his innocence , much less indulge in

counter abuse ( for, that would lead to the

unpardonable sin of bhAgavatApachArA), but meekly

accepts the other bhAgavatA's harsh words, and what is

more, apologises abjectly to the accusing bhAgavatA

for having caused offence to the latter.

To quote an instance from Swami Desikan's divya

charitram, a few bhagavatas, jealous of the AchAryA's

spreading glory and undisputed mastery over the two

schools of Vedanta, hung their footwear across Sri

Desikan's doorstep, so that they would touch Swami's

tirumudi when he came out. When he saw this, Sri

Tooppul Pillai , unperturbed by this insult, and true

to his own teachings, remarked " some swear by karma

yOgA and others by GnAna yOgA-but I seek refuge only

in the PadukAs of Vishnu BhaktAs". ( "Karma

avalambakA:kEchit, kEchit gnAna avalambakA:-vayam tu

Hari dAsAnAm pAda rakshA avalambakAJ Put to shame by

this naichyAnusandanam, the jealous bhAgavatAs

apologized to Swami Desikan.

 

Once, Sri KandAdai LakshmanAchArya, an AchArya

purusha, passed by in his palanquin, in the street

where Swami Desikan had his tirumAligai , at

Srirangam. .Immersed in the Sri Bhashya, Swami did not

notice the Acharya's procession, till some of Sri

LakshmnAchArya's sishyAs came into Swami Desikan's

house and berated him for not having paid his respects

to the passing AchArya. Immediately,Swami Desikan

rushed to the AcharyA's tirumAligai, apologized to him

for the omission and returned with regret for having

occasioned such a response on the part of Sri

Lakshmanacharya's disciples. However, as a result of

this dastardly bhAgavatApachArA, Sri Lakshmanacharya's

health began to deteriorate day by day. Suspecting

this to be the outcome of some major sin, he enquired

of his sishyAs whether any of them had indulged in

unbecoming conduct. One of them confessed to having

abused Swami Desikan verbally and physically, for

reasons indicated above. Immediately, overcome by

guilt, Sri Lakshmanacharya rushed to Swami Desikan (

who, in the meantime, sorrowed by repeated abuses, had

moved to Tirunarayanapuram),prostrated before him and

sought his pardon. By imbibing Sri Vedantacharya's

SripAda tirttham, Sri Lakshmanacharya regained his

health, and to remind him eternally of this episode,

christened his newborn son, "teerttha piLLai".

 

Another great AchAryA, Sri Nampillai, (the eminent

sishyA of the venerable Sri Nanjeeyar, and the

prasishya of Sri Parasara Bhattar) was also the victim

of such jealousy, and his conduct on the occasion

shines as a model .Sri Nampillai's fame as an acharya

had spread far and wide. KandAdai Tozhappar, the

great-grandson of Sri MudaliAndAn, was extremely

jealous of Sri Nampillai's vaibhavam, and one day,

unable to contain himself, abused Sri Nampillai with

the harshest of words, right in front of Sri

Ranganatha, where the ghOshti had assembled for

mangalasasanam. Sri Nampillai,taken aback by Sri

Tozhappar's outburst, silently returned home with

tears in his eyes. When Sri Tozhappar returned home,

his erudite wife, who had heard of her husband's

unbecoming conduct, told him in no uncertain terms

that he had been guilty of the grossest form of

bhAgavatApachArA, and exhorted him to seek Sri

Nampillai's pardon. Sri Tozhappar, who was a great

vidwAn in his own right, realized his grievous folly

and set out to Sri Nampillai's tirumAligai to make

amends.. Imagine his surprise when he found the

AchAryA lying across his (Sri Tozhappar's) doorstep.

Upon inquiry, it transpired that Sri Nampillai was

grieved at having caused occasion to Sri Tozhappar to

be annoyed, and had lain at Sri Tozhappar's doorstep

all night, lacking the courage to go inside, for

apologizing to Sri Tozhappar. Sri Tozhappar was moved

beyond measure by the sEshatva kAshttA displayed by

Sri Nampillai, and, lifting him up, embraced him and

said "I had thought so far that you are the Acharya

for a few disciples; now I know that you are fit to be

the Acharya for the entire world", and apologized to

him profusely for his uncalled for tirade. Thenceforth

Sri Nampillai came to be called "LokAchAryA".

 

The conduct of AchArya purushAs like Sri Nampillai and

Swami Desikan, who had much to be proud of, and yet

considered themselves to be the humblest servants of

Sri Vaishnavas, holds many a lesson for people like

adiyen , who are ready to take umbrage at the

slightest provocation. Adiyen would like to conclude

with a sloka from Srimad Rahasyatrayasaram, which in

turn quotes from Sriranga MAhAtmyam:

"TadAshrayasya AshrayaNyAt tasya tasya cha tasya cha

samsEvanAt narA lOkE pooyantE sarva pAtakai:"

 

Srimate SriLakshmiNrsimha divya padukasevaka Srimate

SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya

Nama:

-dasan, sadagopan.

 

 

 

 

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