Fwd: Sharanagathi Gadyam article

[Guest guest]

ShrImathi Usha Narasimhan's informative

posting on SaraNAgathy Gadhyam of

Bhagavad RaamAnujA on this sacred day of

Panguni Uttharam . SrImathi Usha Narasimhan

is the daughter in law of Dr.NSA Swamy of

Bangalore.

 

V.Sadagopan

 

Shri:

Shrimathe raamaanujaaya namaha

 

 

Sukhamaasva - You shall attain peace !

 

 

Lord's assurance in Sharanaagathi gadyam

 

As if in answer to the quest for that elusive peace of mind, The Lord poured

out the Sharanaagathi gadyam from Bhagwan Raamaanuja's longing heart. The

last setence in the

gadyam, a complete assurance from the Lord to Bhagwan Raamaanuja, granting

him eternal

peace and complete freedom from all fears and anxieties, runs as follows :-

 

Athastvam tava tatvatho math gnaana darshana praaptishu nissamshayaha

sukhamaasva

 

May you rest, free of doubt and fear in the matter of obtaining knowledge

about Me, True realization and Attainment of Me.

 

This was in answer to Bhagwan Raamaanuja who, overcome by the fears of

samsaara, pleaded for refuge at the feet of the Lord. This is also an

indirect assurance from the All-Merciful Lord that whosoever treads this

path of surrender, shall beget eternal peace and a mind free of all fears

and anxieties. The Lord grants the three steps to supreme bliss, that

Bhagwan Raamaanuja pleads of Him. The first step is the removal of all

traces of sorrows of this world, leading to eternal peace; this is achieved

by obtaining from an aachaaraya, true knowledge about the supreme Lord , the

totally subservient self and the ostentatious prakruti that we see around us

- in short, knowledge of Man, matter and God. The second step is that of

constant reminiscence of the teachings of the aachaaryas, which results in

moments of Darshana Samaanaakara or Direct vision of the Lord; these are

moments of supreme bliss. As the third and final step, the Lord grants

Himself and His abode of eternal and ever lasting supreme bliss viz.

Vaikuntam. These three steps are termed as Parabhakti , paragnaana and

paramabhakthi respectively, by Bhagwan Raamaanuja. The Lord's injunction is,

'Treading this path of eternal peace studded with moments of bliss, Bhagwan

Raamaanuja and all other prapannas shall reside in Divya deshams - places

where the Lord is adored and His indescribable qualities are constantly

discussed and admired'.

 

The Lord's injunctions on how to lead a peaceful post-prapatti life.

 

Aadhyaathmika Aadhibhouthika Aadhidaivika dukhkha vigna gandha rahithaha

Dwayam arthaanusandhaanena saha sadaiva vakta , yavath sharira patham

Athtraiva shri rangae sukhamaasva

 

Chanting the Dwaya Mantra constantly, reminising its connotations, you

shall be relieved of and not troubled by those obstacles in least degree,

which are the causes of both wordly and divine griefs and sorrows; you shall

reside in Shrirangam - a divya desham- with total peace of mind, until the

mortal coil falls.

 

This is the Universal doctor's prescription for curing the illnesses of this

world and remaining hale and hearty till demise. The first advice of the

Lord is to Chant the Dwaya mantra incessantly. Mere utterance of the dwaya

is tantamount to prapatti and grants moksha if it is said once. Repetition

of the dwaya mantra is prescribed for avoiding building up of attachments

with this material world. Incessant recitation of the Dwaya is advocated by

the Lord, for even a minute's break would give room for the three kinds of

afflictions to take their toll. The three afflictions are :- aaddhyaathmika

physical and mental diseases of the body, aadhibhouthika - hazards from

animals, birds, other men etc.and aadhidaivika - natural calamities like

floods, famine etc. Thus constant

utterance of the Dwaya mantra wards away the inevitable sorrows of this

material world and destroys all obstacles that dimune the capacities of

consciousness of the right desires viz. to attain godhead.

 

In return for the incessant recitation of the Dwaya, the Lord not only

provides cover from the all grievances but also grants access to true

knowledge by fostering a student-teacher relationship with a Sadhaacharya -

a befitting aacharya.

 

The second advice of the Lord is to Constantly reminise the connotations of

the Dwaya mantra. This is not compulsory for moksha but is a sure pill for

bliss. Thinking over and over again the teachings of the aacharya, the soul

enters the journey towards Ishwara by the light shown by His natural

personality, resplendent form, His attributes and His vibhavas; the Lord

then grants the aspirant moments of supreme bliss caused by full

undiminished impressions on the memory produced by the teachings of the

Acharya - glimpses or Direct vision of the Lord termed as Darshana

samaanaakara. These moments of Ultimate Happiness are for the prapanna to

obtain here and now itself, by performing constant continuous concentrated

reminiscence of the teachings of the aacharya !

This life of eternal peace interspersed with moments of bliss culminating in he

casting off of the mortal coil and attainment of the Lord, has to be enjoyed

in a Divya Desham, in the company of other bhaagavathaas; this can be

understood from the fact that the Lord commands the pleading Bhagwan

Raamaanuja to reside there itself, at Shrirangam, till the time of shedding

his body.

 

What were the prayers of Bhagwan Ramaanuja, in return for which the Lord

grants eternal peace?

 

The All-Merciful Bhagawan Raamaanuja as a role model for his followers,

makes three fervent prayers to the Lord to secure the above mentioned

eternal peace and bliss, thus demonstrating a clear and easy path for all

prapannas to take in order to secure the grace of the Lord.

 

First and foremost prayer Bhagawan Raamaanuja makes after having surrendered

at the feet of the Lord is for purification of the self; he prays to the

Lord for destruction of all evil in the form sins committed towards the

Lord, His devotees and His most loved devotees i.e. Aacharyas; he prays to

the Lord to forgive all his actions that were self-centered and those that

exhibited vipareetha gnanam - false knowledge- of the independence of the

soul. Pleading with the lord for protection from the illusions of prakruti,

Bhagwan Raamaanuja prays that all his sins of the past, present and the

inevitable forthcoming

ones, committed due to the invincible maayaa of the prakruthi, be absolved.

As a second prayer, Bhagwaan Raamaanuja prays to be saved from the currents

of karma which carry him towards the Moolaprakruthi which, with its three

gunaas - rajas, tamas and satwa- casts spells on him, giving him perverted

knowledge about himself. At this point the urgency of Bhagwaan Raamaanuja is

so high that he surrenders at the feet of the Lord once more, begging for

protection from maayaa - the illusions of prakruthi. As a final prayer,

Bhagwan Raamaanuja requests the Lord to crown him with His service, service

of all forms suited to the conditions and circumstances of the moment,

services which are performed

out of unlimited love and devotion to the Lord, arising out of the three

step experience of the Lord viz. Parabhakthi, Paragnaana and Paramabhakthi.

Bhagwaan Raamaanuja prays to the Lord that He grant him knowledge which

would endear him to the Lord so much that He treats him as His innerself;

knowledge that would make him a mahaatma in the words of the Lord - one who

is rare to find and one who takes to Vaasudeva and Him only at the end of

his birth. Bhagwaan Raamaanuja prays for Parabhakthi that would bind the

Lord to him and paragnaana that would grant him a vision of the Lord and

Parama bhakthi which is for attainment of the Lord.

 

These were the three prayers made by Bhagwaan Raamaanuja as he surrendered

at the feet of the Lord; in return the Lord grants him a life devoid of all

fears and anxieties, filled with peace interspersed with moments of supreme

bliss, culminating in eternal supreme bliss by the attainment of the Lord.

 

In what manner did Bhagwaan Raamaanuja put forth his prayers to the Lord?

 

As a prerequisite to surrendering at the Lord's feet and expressing his

prayers, Bhagwaan raamaanuja expresses his utter helplessness in protecting

himself and supreme confidence in the Lord's overwhelming strengths and

boundless compassion. Discarding his attachments that have arisen due to

karma viz. Relationships such as father, mother, kith and kin, spouse,

friends, material possesions, poperty and even teachers, Bhagwaan Raamaanuja

hails the Lord to be his real father, mother, brother, sister, friend,

spouse, teacher and all; further he hails the Lord to be the Universal

father, sole protector of all.

Thus having abandoned faith in all his worldly relationsips including

himself, Raamanuja places hmself at the feet of the Lord, begging for mercy.

This again is a demonstration of the manner of putting forth ones prayers

to the Lord, done by the compassionate Acharya for his ignorant followers to

emulate.

 

How does Bhagwaan Raamaanuja assure himself of success right at the

commencement of his pratyers ?

 

In the very beginning of his prayers, Bhagwaan Raamaanuja wins the heart of

the Lord and assures himself of success, by surrendering at the feet of the

Mother MahaLakshmi, who is compassion personified and who overlooks all

blemishes in Her children and secures them their prayers by overpowering the

Lord Her spouse, with love. Being filled with the quality of vaatsalya, She

overlooks all the misdeeds of Her devotee children and thus forgives them

even without their asking for forgiveness. She then recommends to the Lord

to pardon the misdoings of their children and shower His grace on them. The

aspirant thus has the courage to go upto Her and voice his prayers rather

than approach directly the

Lord who is a Dandadhara - doles out punishments. Hence, Bhagwaan Raamaanuja

surrenders first at Her feet and prays that the All-Mighty Lord accept Him

and grant him supreme bliss in the form of eternal service to the divine

couple. The Mother grants The aacharya his prayers and make over Her

recommendation to the Lord, thus securing success for Bhagwaan Raamaanuja.

 

Adiyen also surrenders at the feet of Mahalakshmi and Lord Hayagriva that

this outpouring of His thru adiyen's hands may serve to provide unending joy

to all of us prapannas who have surrendered at the feet of the Lord.

 

References :

 

1. Sarangathi gadyam - english Translation by K.Bhashyam under the guidance

of Uttamur

Swami

 

2. Telelecture on Sharanaagathi gadyam with three commentaries by

Dr.N.S.AnanthaRangachar

 

Shrimaan anantharangaaryaha lekhopnyaasa kesari

Vedanthaacharya varyo me sankalpaasthu sadhaa hrudhi