abhinava dESika- SrI UttamUr Swamy Divya Charitham- 17

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SrI:

Sri Padmavathi Sametha Srinivasa Parabrahmane Namaha.

Sri Perundhevi Sametha Devadhiraja Parabrahmane Namaha.

SrimathE Bhagavad Ramanujaya Namaha:

SrimathE Nigamantha Mahadesikaya namaha:

Srimate Rangaramanuja Maha Desikaya Namaha.

Srimate Abhinava Desika Vatsya Satchakravarti Uttamur SRI

VIRARAGHAVARYA MAHA DESIKAYA NAMAHA

 

SrImAn venkatanAthAryaH kavitArkika kesarI |

vedAntAcArya-varyome sannidhattAm sadA hRdi ||

 

Thanian (Invocatory verse on Sri UttamUr swamy written by

Swamy's AchAryan Sri Kozhiyalam Swamy himself)

 

adbhutam yasya vikrAntam vEda vIthI ViSOdhanE |

aparam nigamAntAryam prapadyE vIrarAghavam ||

 

[Article in Tamil by SrI PayyampADi VEnkatavaradAchArya SwAmi; English write

up (based on Tamil) by SrI R.VenkatAchAri (SohattUr- Vankipuram -Oppiliappan

Sannidhi), a disciple of SrI UtthamUr SwAmi. Appeared in the souvenir

released during the SatAbhishEkam (80th birth anniversary) of SrI UtthamUr

swAmi on 10th Feb, 1977]

 

In the last post, there was a left out portion:-(. Apologize for the

mistake.

> The Lady doctor refused to treat the patient as the injuries were all

>very serious and the rule requires only a male (*) patients, except in an

>emergency.

 

(*) left out : ......the rule requires only a male <<doctor should attend

to male >> patients ....

 

Let us continue with the divya charitham of Sri UttamUr Swamy.

 

TIRUPPAVAI UPANYASAM:

 

The previous year, before coming to Madras, Our Swami was invited to

Tiruvallore for Tiruppavai Upanyasam. It served a double purpose. He could

earn some money and more than, he could worship Lord Viraraghava Perumal for

one by whose grace only, his parents got him as son. It was a good omen

that he started his Upanyasam series with the blessings of Lord Viraraghava

Perumal. The Tiruppavai commentary written by Our Swami is considered the

best of all the commentaries written by others so far.

 

Sri.U.Ve.Tirukallam Swami used to say that by reading one page of the

commentary of Our Swami, he can do Tiruppavai Upanyasam for more than a

month. You must hear him praise Our Swami’s genius, for example the

interpretation, Our Swami had given, for the word `UYYUMAARU’, in the

Pasuram “Vaiyatu Vazhveeral”.

 

After reaching Tiruvellore for a month’s stay and on hearing that Sri

Injimedu Alagiasingar Swami was camping there, he proceeded to the

Mutt to pay his regards and worship Lord Lakshmi Nrisimha, and get

their blessing before starting the Upanyasam. Sri Alagiasingar Swami

was very much pleased and arranged to send all the provisions etc.

from the Mutt, for one month, for the use of Our Swami. He even asked all

the pundits connected with the Mutt, to attend the Upanyasam and instructed

them not to miss the great opportunity given to them to hear a great genius.

The local Astikas and the Vidvans of the Mutt came in good number, which

included the present Alagiasingar, the 44th Jeer of the Ahobila Mutt, in his

Poorvasramam, as he was staying in the Mutt itself. On the second day of

the Upanyasam, the Present Jeer stood up and requested Our Swami to include

Swaapadesam also in his daily lectures. The next day Our Swami did not

attempt Swapadesam; but the 44th Jeer stood up again and remarked that, no

doubt, the Upanyasam contained lots of novel interpretations, of course,

acceptable to all in our Sampradaya, but definitely needs the Swapadesam

also as it is customary by all Upanyasakas to do that.

 

Our Swami told the assembled audience that the Sampradaya Swaapadesam, given

by all the Pandits, did not appeal to his mind as it did not contain a

continuity of thought for the entire Tiruppavai, but only in disjointed

bits, differing in thought, from Pasuram to Pasuram. But the 44th Jeer ,

insisted that Our Swami could give a thought about that so far and after

reaching home, prayed to his Acharyas and Sri Andal to bless him with some

new ideas. After some thought, suddenly, one idea struck him which was

quite appealing. He developed the same and formed in his mind a good

Swaapadesam, which can be a continuous one for the entire Tiruppavai. The

same was included in his Upanyasam from the Fifth day onwards. The

Swaapadesam was that the 30 pasurams, describe the Pancha Kala Prakriya (in

the correct order) of a Sri Vaishnava.

 

(More details can be had from the book on Tiruppavai written by Our Swami).

The entire audience including the 44th Jeer accepted the Swaapadesam as a

superb one and praised Our Swami. Every day, the Vidwans from the Mutt,

used to come to Our Swami and tell him that though they were, in the

beginning more or less forced to attend the Upanyasam, they later felt that

they were benefited immensely and

would have lost a good opportunity to learn many few things if they

had not attended the lectures. At the end of the 30 day series, the

present 44th Jeer spoke for half an hour about the wonderful experience they

were having for the past 30 days, by hearing Our

Swami’s Upanyasam.

 

On hearing this happy conclusion of the Upanyasam, Sri Injimettu

Alagiasingar also praised Our Swami. During the stay at Tiruvallore Our

Swami one day heard some people remark, that, in spite of the presence of

Sri Alagiasingar, the town did not get the usual monsoon and the crops had

failed. It so happened that that day happened to be the day for the Pasuram

“Ongi Ulagalanda” Our Swami in the middle of his Upanyasam referred to the

remarks about the failure of monsoon, he heard earlier in the day, and said

that it was not

sufficient if a great man was present in the village but only when the

villagers worshipped him and look after him well, God would be pleased and

bring monsoon, rain and prosperity to the village and told them to throng in

good number and worship the Alagiasingar and Lord Lakshmi Nrisimha. (Our

Swamy, heard, that, after he left, there was good rain and the Alagiasingar

also praised Our Swami for his AARJAVAM and the CHAMATKARAM.

 

TIRUPPAVAI AT MADRAS:

 

The next year (1953), after retirement Our Swami accepted the

invitation from Madras throughout Pulavanur Sri U.Ve.Parthasarathy

Iyengar Swami and proceeded to Madras for a stay of one month only.

On the opening day of the Upanyasam series at George Town, he was

received, on arrival at the pandal, by Sri.U.Ve.(Sir) S.Varadacharya

Swami (Judge), Sri Desika Darsana Ratna Deepam, Sri.U.Ve.V.V.Srinivasa

Iyengar Swami, Sri.U.Ve.V.T.Rangaswami Iyengar

Swami and many other leading Vaishnavites of Madras. Inaugurating the

Tiruppavai Upanyasam Series, Sir S.Varadacharya Swami said that

Even though they had been inviting Our Swami to settle in Madras

permanently he did not so far agree; but that year he had come for a

short stay of one month for the Tiruppavai Upanyasam. He also said

that they had not abandoned the hope of persuading Our Swami to change his

mind for a permanent stay in Madras.

 

Then Sri V.V.S.Swami remarked that it was known to everybody that they had

formed a committee to collect finance for Our Swami’s publications. He

requested Our Swami to make up his mind, this time, to stay in Madras

permanently. By doing so, Sri.V.V.Swami argued, Our Swami would be doing a

great service to Sri vaishnava Sampradaya, as there were many, who were

eager to do Kalakshepam under Our Swami and to enrich their knowledge in

Vedanta Shastra and increase their Gnana Bhakti and Sraddha in our

Sampradaya. Madras, he said, was not so bad as Our Swami thought and

certainly not a city to be avoided. It is also a Divya Kshetra and there

were no qualified Acharyas in Madras.

 

He asked Our Swami to take pity on the Astikas in Madras city and change his

earlier decision. Then he requested Sri.V.T.R.Swami to make all the

arrangements for a comfortable stay in Madras in case Our Swami decided to

come to Madras. He also said, in a joking manner, that they were trying to

bring a high class Gajendra for Tirupathi and as himself and Sir S.V.Swami

were very old, it was the duty of Sri V.T.R.Swami, being a local elephant,

to look after him well. Sri V.T.R.Swami also agreed to do so, as per the

directions of the elders present.

 

The Upanyasam series was then inaugurated and at the end of the first day’s

Upanyasam, people from Mambalam and Tiruvallikeni, who came there to hear

the Upanyasam, praised Our Swami. Then they requested Our Swami to

undertake Upanyasams in Mambalam and Tiruvallikeni also, as otherwise, the

residents of those localities would be denied of the great fortune to hear

Swami’s Upanyasam which the George Town people were having. Though this

would involve a hectic programme of rushing from one place to the other

after the Upanyasam, Our Swami could not disappoint the eager Astikas.

Finally it was arranged that George Town would have Upanyasam in the

mornings; while Mambalam would have it between 6-00 and 9-00 p.m. and

Triplicane would

have it after 9.00 p.m. The response from all those places were very

overwhelming. Some of the more ardent Astikas, who used to attend all the

three Upanyasams, remarked with great admiration about Our Swami’s capacity

to give different meanings at all the three centers for the same Pasuram.

Among the regular visitors, was the Present Srimad Thirukkudanthai Andavan

Of Srirangam Periasramam, in his Poorvasramam (a very popular Upanyasaka

himself and a good Rasika of Prabandas) known as Sri Kannan Swami.

 

At the end of the Series, he stood up spoke in his own style, and explained

to the audience some of the special interpretations which Our Swami had

given to them and praised Our Swami’s Vidwat. He

also said that Upanyasakas, like him, did Upanyasam for the sake of

earning a livelihood while the Upanyasam of Our Swami was for the

emancipation of the Jeevatma to help him attain the Eternal Bliss, the

Moksha. Hereafter, Upanyasaka like him who attended the Upanyasams would

have enough matter (heard from Our Swami) which would be sufficient for

Upanyasams for months together.

 

Immediately after Tiruppavai Satumurai, some Astikas stood up and

made repeated requests to Our Swami to stay permanently in Madras.

They said that for one month they had been hearing wonderful Upanyasa

with new interpretations to Tiruppavai hitherto not known to any

pandit and such of those who would have the good fortune to do Vedanta

Kalakshepa under him would be the luckiest. Sri Poondi Achyuta Gopalachar

Swami, a sishya of Sri Koliyalam Swami to live with his family without

detriment to his Achara. He estimated that there would be at least 25

sishyas who would come forward for the Kalakshepa. Sri K.Bhashyam Iyengar

Swami (Ex-Minister) who was attending the Tiruppavai Upanyasas very

regularly, came to Our Swami and expressed his desire to talk to Our Swami

leisurely and that he would come to Our Swami’s residence at Madras. Our

Swami’s Revered Acharya had been getting regular reports of the Tiruppavai

Upanyasa and also about the request of the Astikas for Our Swami’s stay in

Madras for the sake of conducting a Kalakshepa Goshti.

 

He also heard that Our Swami had been hesitating to make a decision and the

reasons for the same. The Revered Acharya sent word to Our Swami, not to

hesitate accepting the offer and asked him to shift his residence to Madras

at once. He argued, that though a Prapanna is prohibited from asking for

any worldly pleasures from Sriman Narayana, he is permitted to request HIM

to grant Bhakti, Gnana and Sraddha. When such a request is made to an

Acharya, he should not refuse to grant the same without valid reasons.

There could not be a better way of serving God than to help an Astika to

increase his Bhakti and Gnana. He said that it was the accepted habit among

the Acharyas, with Sishyas waiting for Grantha Kalakshepa, to reduce that

time allotted normally for even Nityakarmanushtana, to the barest minimum.

He opined that if a suitable place could be secured for him it would be

quite possible for a grihasta to stay in Madras without much sacrificing his

Anushtana.

 

The command of his Revered Acharya could not be disobeyed and so Our

Swami decided to settle in Madras for the time being. He moved into

the portion allotted by Sri Achyuta Gopalachar Swami in the Makara

masa itself and started the Kalakshepa of Srimad Rahasyatrayasara. On the

first day a good number of Sishyas were present.

 

How did the kalakshepam go? Let us wait for the next post:-(

AchAryan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

Regards

Namo Narayana

aDiyEn dAsan

 

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