Fwd: "gnyAna-vairAgya-bhushaNam": Part-3

[Guest guest]

tiruvengadam, "Sudarshan M.K." <sampathkumar_2000>

wrote:

Dear friends,

 

The second value in life that Swami Venkatanathan held dearly and

constantly was "gnyAnam". We will discuss it briefly below.

 

Venkatanathan's extraordinary "vairAgyam" had its roots in his

'gnyAnam' (Knowledge). Renouncing the material ('sthUla-sarira') is

never easy until there arises clear KNOWLEDGE of the spiritual

("sUkshma-atmA"). One can easily renounce this world if only one knew

what to embrace in its place; it is impossible to give up this world

and embrace a vacuum instead. So, it was because Venkatanathan was a

'gnyAni' in full and rare measure that he was also an unshakeable

"vairAgi".

 

Swami himself acknowledged it in the 'padukA-sahasram' where towards

the end of the work in 'shloka' 973 he wrote:

 

kimaham maNipAdukE! tvayA may

sulaBhE ranga-niDhau sriyA sanAThE I

karaNAni puna: kadarTha-yEyam

krupaNa-dvAra-durAsikhAdi-duKhai: II (paduka-sahasram #973)

 

In the above verse Venkatanathan addresses the sacred 'paduka-s' of

SriRanganatha and exclaims:

 

"Ye have shown me, at last, the place where the treasure

("ranga-niDhau sriyA sanAThE") is secreted here in SriRangam! Never

again will I desire to sit outside the homes of the wretched rich of

this world ("krupaNa-dvAra") holding my palms out ("karaNAni puna:

kadarTha-yEyam") for their measly doles ("durAsikhAdi-duKhai:)!".

 

The grace of 'gnyAna' is described here by the excellent metaphor

"ranga-niDhau sriyA sanAThE". And the natural and immediate offshoot

of such Knowledge is the utter revulsion, or 'vairAgyam', which

Venkatanathan harbours for all the lures of this world (alias

"krupaNa-dvAra-durAsikhAdi-duKhai:").

 

The main message of the above shlOka is thus that as long as one

remains an 'a-gnyAni', or without true knowledge of Atman, 'vairAgyam'

continues to be an exceptionally difficult quality of human character

to cultivate... And an impossible value in life to affirm.

 

More in the next post.

Thanks and regards,

dAsan,

Sudarshan

--- End forwarded message ---