rangapriyam mamagurum SaraNam prapadye-V

[Guest guest]

en uyir thandhaLiththavarai saraNam pukku

yaan adaiyavEn yavar gurukkaL nirai vaNangi

pinnaruLaal perumpudhoor vandha vaLLal

periya nambi aaLavandhaar maNakkaal nambi

nanneRiyai avarkku uRaiththa uyyakkondaar

naathamuni satakOpan sEnai naathan

innamudhath thirumagaL enRu ivarai munnittu

emberumaan thiruvadigaL adaiginREnE

 

SrI SrInivAsa varadArya krupAtta cinham

SrI SrInivAsa yativarya niviShta bhAram |

SrI rangayogi varalabdha parAtma yogam

rangapriyam mamagurum SaraNam prapadye ||

 

Dear bhaktas:

 

adiyEn is grateful to all readers who have patiently

read these postings, and for the positive responses

that I have received. Above all adiyEn is extremely

grateful to asmadAchAryan Sri Rangapriya mahAdeSikan

for blessing us with samASrayaNam and bharaNyAsam in

this lifetime. Who knows how many births have passed

and what kind of lives those were, prior to this one.

And who knows, where one would be henceforth, without

PerumAL and AchAryan to turn towards? As samASrayaNam

enjoins a certain lifestyle for physical existence -

so does prapatti, as a state of mind.

 

As I conclude with this post, adiyEn cannot help but

mention the statements of Srimad AzhagiyaSingar in the

recent tele-upanyAsam on thirunedundhAndagam, about

"the conduct of a prapannan". The manner in which

Srimad AzhagiyaSingar expounded this concept, succintly

contained in one single example - was spellbinding.

 

A prapannan, Srimad AzhagiyaSingar said - is akin to a

child bride given in marriage to a young groom. In days

gone by, the bride after marriage did not immediately

join her husband (being just a child) - but only a few

years later, after coming of age. It is the same way

with prapannas; despite having surrendered themselves

to PerumAL as the paramapurusha, their bharta, they must

spend the remainder of their pre-ordained life in this

bhoolokam, and it is only when they shed these mortal

coils - that they will come of age and join their eternal

master. So what about the conduct of such a prapannan??

 

Well, just as the child bride (due to her immense joy in

having married a suitable groom) - cannot contain herself

and spends all her time in piRandha agaththu extolling

the virtues of the person she has married, fondly dreaming

of her future with him, preparing for the day when she

will join his household, etc. - SO must prapannas indulge

in similar "prema-bhakti" towards perumAL. This conduct

automatically precludes any possibility of offending our

master, just as the child bride wouldn't dream of doing

or saying anything that would offend her husband.

 

So why is this relationship of a prapannan with perumAL

this important, that it naturally produces an overwhelming

amount of prema bhakti, and causes the prapannan to follow

a certain lifestyle voluntarily, without coercion?? The

answer lies again, in our mental state. Once we accept

perumAL as our maataa, pitaa, guru, bandhu, vidyaa and our

wealth, we will of our own accord, cease to go in the

direction that displeases such a supreme master. Out of

sheer love for this relationship, that is - not by force.

 

Even the relationship of a mother with her child - thought

by many to be the *purest* form of love/altruism, is MERELY

a bond of the flesh. Once we give up this mortal existence,

all such Sareera-sambandham ceases. The only *true* bond

is that of the aathmaa with its supreme master, through the

aprthak-siddhi. Once we realize this, we need to look no

further for answers about what is required after prapatti.

Thus spoke prakrtham Srimad AzhagiyaSingar, in one of the

*most* beautiful analogies that I have ever heard. It is

a tribute to the vaatsalyam of such mahAchAryas, that they

employ such easily understandable analogies to drive home

great truths into unintelligent minds such as mine!!

 

adiyEn shall conclude this post with another striking

example of the vatsalyam of our AchAryas. SriRangapriya

swAmi had commanded adiyEn to not just return to ASTanga

yoga vignyAna mandira once before leaving India, but as

often as possible during the remainder of my days in

Bangalore. Accordingly, adiyoNgaL alongwith my parents,

went to listen to an upanyAsam by swAmi on the evening of

15th. July; the subject - "ethical/philosophical teachings

contained in mahAbhAratam". When swAmi arrived and took

aasanam in the huge lecture hall, it was mentioned that

this very lecture (identical to the one broadcast earlier

that morning on tele-bridge to USA and elsewhere) would be

given in Kannada for the benefit of the large gathering.

However, soon as adiyOngaL were noticed seated among the

crowd, AchAryan suddenly stated that the discourse would

be in English. Perhaps, swAmi felt that our insufficient

knowledge of Kannada would impede our understanding of the

lecture... adiyEn thinks it was highly optimistic of swAmi

to feel I would comprehend the lecture even in English!!

 

It was a memorable discourse. Most captivating were the

statements by SriRangapriya swAmi, about how mahAbharatam

was the "ultimate" poetic work, one which was capable of

being a deiva samhita, mitra samhita, AND kOmala samhita

at the same time. No other composition among the smriti,

be it itihaasa, puraaNa or SAstra - came close to this

masterpiece of bhagavaan veda vyaasar. AdiyEn noticed all

the audio/video equipment in the huge lecture hall, which

were used to also broadcast swAmi's lectures overseas via

telephone. It was a blessing to be one of the few people

to have listened to swAmi's lectures live, from both parts

of the planet. Following the discourse, adiyOngaL went

downstairs for sEvippu to AchAryan - at which time I was

told to learn anushTAnam, nityAnusandhAnam, and perform

perumAL ArAdhanam from then onwards. As adiyEn nodded in

response, my father mentioned to AchAryan that I did not

have a Saalagraamam. Astonishingly, SriRangapriya swAmi

walked into the uLsannidhi and actually GAVE adiyEn one

lakshmi-nArAyaNa Saalagraamam!!

 

Such is the vaatsalyam of asmadAchAryan. Feeling immense

dayai for adiyEn's sordid existence far away from bharata

varsha, devoid of anushTanam, SriRangapriya swAmi gave a

swayamvyakta perumAL to me - thereby leaving no further

excuse for my not adhering to Sri sampradAyam. In a mix

of extreme elation and confusion, adiyEn blurted out one

question about whether it was alright to take perumAL

across the ocean. Certainly, said SriRangapriya swAmi -

"may you always have this shaashvata perumAL with you,

one for whom you will do daily thiruvAradhanai to the

best of your ability". In this endeavor, adiyEn was

advised to seek information from other shishyas of swAmi

living in the USA such as Sri M.G. Prasad and Sri Mani

Varadarajan. So was it said, and so adiyEn hopes to do.

In reality it is likely that my parents will only send

over AchAryan's pAdukai and padam with my wife when she

returns September 15; for now the laksminArAyaNa perumAL

will continue to dwell in a samputam at my parents' home.

 

It is unlikely that adiyEn will spend the rest of my life

in this part of the world; it has already been 13 long

years and from a sampradayam point of view, never quite

feels right. During these years in an alien land, adiyEn

has committed numerous misdeeds, ones that only perumAL

can reckon with. Prior to leaving from Bangalore on 21st

July 2001, adiyEn prostrated before SriRangapriya swAmi

and confessed all his past sins. It was something, adiyEn

tearfully said to swAmi - that ought to have been told to

AchAryan before samASrayanam and bharaNyAsam; rather, here

I was coming out with these afterwards. swAmi's response

then, had only to do with post-prapatti CONDUCT. You are

a SriVaishnava who has sought SaraNaagathi in perumAL and

thaayar, swAmi explained. Past deeds would be rendered

insignificant by this refuge and by conduct befitting the

same. Therefore have no fear, swAmi said, and focus on

perumAL and live such a focused life. In doing so alone

lies one's liberation from the entrapments of samsaara.

 

[-- CONCLUDED --]

 

adiyEn is grateful to all the SriVaishnavas and Asthikas

who have influenced my recent life and thereby inspired

me to seek SaraNAgathi.

 

rAmAnujArya divyAgnyaa, vardhataam abhivardhataam

thooppul thiruvenkatam udayAn thiruvadigaLE SaraNam

 

SrIvAsa samyami vareNya niviShta bhAram

SrI rangayogi varadivya krupAtta yogam |

SrI laXmaNAkhya yativarya krupAtta cinham

rangapriyam mamagurum SaraNam prapadye ||

 

adiyEn SrIrangapriya mahAdeSikan thiruvadi,

-Srinath C.