[t'venkatam] The Lost Treasure - maybe not yet !

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Om Shri Gurubhyo Namah !

 

The suffix is not meant as a wanton and casual counter to what our friend

Shri Sadogopan has elaborated. It is only thru the divine intervention of

the Divya dampathis of Parakalamutt that this writer came across a few

scattered gems and persons associated with that Great Acharya Shri

Nathamuni.

For those who are in and around Chennai you may get in touch with Shri

Deskichar the son of Illusterious Yogi, Shri Krishnamacharya, who lived

close to 101 years solely by his yogic powers and practices. This writer

is fortunate to have such an extraordinary Acharya as his Guru.

 

Shri Krishnamacharya was one of those highly orthodox ShriVaishnaivaite

associated with the the ancient Parakalamutt. In his youth Shri

Krishnamacharya underwent some mystical experiences, prominent among them

being his swooning at Thirualwarnagari when he apparently met a stranger

who is believed to be none other than the Sage Nathamuni. The gist of the

Yoga Rahasya was revealed to Shri Krishnamarchaya who later mastered the

Sastras, the precribed studies, underwent spiritual practices in the

Himalayas and subsequently became a full fledged Yoga-cum-Vedic teacher.

Some of Sage Nathamuni's works this writer believes may perhaps be in

possession of Shri Krishnamacharya's family. You may also contact his other

son Shri Bhashyam settled in France. One is not sure about his contact

details.

 

One of Shri Krishnamacharya's favourite study was the perfection of the

Sandhyavandanam. Shri Krishnamacharya also happens to be the Guru of the

world famous Yogi Shri BKS Iyengar. More details and background

information may be gleaned by contacting his son Shri Desikchar.

 

This writer would be more than willing to gather a like-minded support

group and touch base with Shri Desikachar and his family.

 

Shri Krishnavagesa yetendra abhyam !samprapta chakrangan bhashyacharam !

Shrinutnarange samarpitaswam

Shri Krishnamaryam Guruvaryam medhe Virodhe Kartike Mase,

Ksatatara kritodayam yogacharyam Krishnamaryam

Guruvaryam bhaja Shri Gurubhyo namaha

Harihi OM !

 

Om tat sat

Tat tvam asi

__/\__

Ram (022) 24910492 ext. 3019

Message of the month :"Over 75% of our body is H2O,i.e. Oxygen and

Hydrogen. Therefore, we are just a mass of gas"

 

 

 

 

sadagopaniyengar

<sadagopaniyengar

, ,

@vsnl.net> Oppiliappan,

tiruvenkatam, ramanuja

Sent by: cc:

saranagathi

tiruvenkatam@yaho [t'venkatam] The Lost

Treasure

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10/11/05 09:14 AM

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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

The Lost Treasures

 

 

A wealthy philanthropist built a palatial Dharmasaala (rest house) at

Srirangam, with the lofty purpose of accommodating all wayfarers who came

to worship Sri Rangaraja. The choultry provided all facilities for

pilgrims, with comfortable rooms to stay in, facilities for performing

daily ablutions and sumptuous food at appropriate intervals. All those who

stayed at the Dharmasaala were extremely grateful to the generous donor,

who, in turn, was pleased beyond measure at the opportunity for service to

the Lord’s devotees. Word of this munificence and convenience spread and

the Dharmasaala became the favourite destination of all pilgrims to

Srirangam. Countless were those who benefited from its conveniences.

 

 

The philanthropist grew old and entrusted the management of the choultry

to his progeny, who too carried on their father’s work sincerely. In time

and in tune with the general decline in standards of ethics and Dharma,

the management of the rest house became progressively indifferent, with

the successors of the philanthropist showing less and less inclination for

altruistic activities, resulting in the vast Dharmasala falling gradually

into disrepair and becoming dysfunctional. And one sad day, the last

pillar supporting the once-magnificent columns fell, marking the closure

of an institution that had served thousands in its hay day.  As if waiting

for the event, a building promoter moved in and constructed an

impressively ugly block of match-box-like tenements, where there once

stood the magnificent Dharmasala. Thus was lost to posterity a veritable

treasure house.

 

 

This narration is neither fable nor fairy-tale, but a true-life story

which has happened with deplorable regularity, not only at Srirangam, but

at many other holy places. Buildings in ruins, with washed-out sign boards

hanging askew and bearing the barely-visible name of some charity or the

other, are a common sight at almost all Divyadesams.

 

 

While this is one aspect of our losing bequeathed treasures due to

indifference and inattention, there is another and more precious genre of

heirlooms which we may well have lost forever. And what is more, most of

us haven’t even realised the magnitude of the loss and continue to wallow

in blissful ignorance about its enormity.

 

 

The immaculate Vedas and their explanatory manuals like the Itihaasas,

Puranas, Dharma Shastras, etc. are glorious guidebooks designed to pilot

us safely through the mine-field of Samsara and to reach us safely at the

portals of Paradise. These works of worship, propagated by the Lord

Himself or His chosen messengers—Maharshis, Sages and Acharyas-- have been

handed down from generation to generation, serving as a bright beacon to

all those floundering in the interminable gloom of Samsara. They function

too as guideposts amidst the thorny and confusing mundane maze, steering

us in the right direction whenever we are confronted by bewildering

crossroads of choice. It is these which form the most precious treasure

bequeathed to us by our elders, the most valuable of heirlooms which

generations of our forebears have protected, preserved, propagated and

passed on, for the benefit of posterity.

 

 

Due to inadvertence and indifference, already we have suffered quite a

heavy and irreparable loss, by way of disappearance of portions of

Shastras, particularly Vedas, from currency. For instance, the Atharva

Veda was all but lost a few decades ago and it is only due to the

enthusiastic and energetic efforts of a few Mahatmas that there is now a

healthy rejuvenation in its study. Even now, students and exponents of

this fourth among Vedas are to be found in a small number in Gujarat,

though it is slowly spreading to other places.

 

 

Though Vedas are reputed to be beyond numbers (“Anantaa vai Vedaa:â€),we

understand from Scriptures that there were no less than 1180 Shaakhas of

the Shruti extant in the not too distant past, each with its own Samhita,

Aaranyaka and Upanishad components. And all these Shakhas had their own

votaries, engaged in study, propagation and preservation of the Vedas.

However, what we have now is pitifully small in comparison.

 

 

 

We know of the Taittireeya Shakha, with the Taittireeya Samhita,

Taittireeya Braahmanam and the Taittireeya Upanisad, all of which have

been remarkably well preserved. However, granting that the Upanishad

generally forms the concluding part of a particular Veda Shakha, many of

the Upanishads we have now, must have been part of independent Shakhas,

though not a trace remains of the rest. The Kousheetaki Upanishad, for

instance, is the sole remnant of the Saankaayana Shakha, which must have

been a wide-ranging and voluminous body of Vedic wisdom. Though the

Katopanishad is still extant, its Aaranyakam is nowhere to be found. The

loss we have thus suffered is incalculable and irreparable. What we have

lost are not mere books, but treasure houses of wisdom.

 

 

 

Coming to more recent times, within the last thousand years, we have

managed to lose many more precious heirlooms. Sri Nathamuni was the first

protagonist of our Visishtaadvaita Sampradaya (“Naathopagyam pravrittamâ€)

in this Kali Yuga. By all accounts, he is reputed to have been a

repository of pure devotion, selflessness, vairaagyam and other sterling

virtues, endowed with divine vision. Though he is remembered for all these

accomplishments, the moment we hear his holy name, what springs to our

mind is his wonderful and painstaking compilation of the Naalayira Divya

Prabandam, which had, by his time, almost vanished from currency. He also

set them to music and arranged for their recital at various temples. Had

it not been for this great Acharya and his Herculean efforts, we would

have lost the priceless treasure of Aruliccheyal, the ecstatical

outpourings of enlightened Azhwars.

 

 

 

It is therefore extremely ironical that Sri Nathamuni’s own great works,

 

Yoga Rahasyamand Nyaaya Tattvam, are no longer available to us. The former

was a treatise on Yoga, while the latter was a voluminous work involving

interpretation of the Nyaaya Shastra according to Visishtaadvaitic tenets,

criticising the Gautama Nyaaya Sutras in the process. We learn of these

great works, only from copious references thereto by Swami Desikan in his

various works like Nyaaya Siddhaanjanam and Nyaaya Parisuddhi. According

to Sri Sudarsana Bhattar, Sri Ramanuja too, in his Sri Bhashya, has quoted

briefly from Nyaaya Tattvam.

 

 

 

Another great loss Srivaishnavas have suffered is the disappearance of Sri

Alavandar’s path-breaking works Maha Purusha Nirnayam (establishing the

supremacy of Sriman Narayana) and Kashmira Agama Praamaanyam, which is

said to validate the Pancharatra Agama and its Vedic source, the Ekaayana

Shakha. That these works definitely existed, is again to be derived only

from Swami Desikan’s references and quotes. Our sense of loss is further

compounded when we learn that Sri Yamunacharya’s Siddhi Trayam (consisting

of the Atma Siddhi, Isvara Siddhi and Samvit Siddhi) too is available only

in portions. To quote Dr.M.Narasimhachary, “It is a matter of regret that

all these three Siddhis suffer from gaps and the extant text is only a

fragment of an originally larger workâ€.

 

 

 

We come next to the works of Swami Desikan, the most prolific author among

Srivaishnava Acharyas. While it is indeed our good fortune that the major

portion of Sri Venkatanatha’s works is remarkably well preserved, it is

simultaneously a matter of deep regret that several of his works too have

been lost. Sri Vedanta Desikan is reputed to have composed a magnificent

and voluminous commentary on Tiruvaimozhi, named “Nigama Parimalamâ€, and

another Tamizh work by name “Tirumudi Adaivuâ€, which are no longer extant.

A similar commentary on Kanninunsirutthaambu, aptly named “Madhurakavi

Hridayamâ€, is also no longer available, which fate is shared by a host of

Tamizh Prabandams of Swami, titled “Pandu, Kazhal, Ammaanai, Oosal and

Esalâ€, apparently addressed to Sri Deivanayakan of Tiruvaheendrapuram. “

Steyaa Avirodhamâ€, a work justifying Sri Tirumangai Mannan’s unorthodox

ways of fund-raising for good causes, is also lost, as also “Adhikarana

Darpanamâ€. Only portions of Tattva Teeka (an elaborate commentary on Sri

Bhashyam) are available, as also of the “Sata Dooshaniâ€.

 

 

 

We hear too that Vyaakhyaana Chakkravartthi Sri Periyavaacchaan Pillai’s

commentary on Periyaazhwar Tirumozhi is partially lost.

 

 

 

This, then, is a brief Status Paper on the priceless treasures of ancient

and unmatched wisdom that we have lost over the centuries.

 

 

 

In this context, we have to remember with gratitude Mahtamas who toiled

hard and spent whole lifetimes in searching for, restoring, editing and

publishing rare works of Acharyas. They were not endowed with unlimited

supply of funds nor had an army of supporters. Yet, with a missionary zeal

for the protection and preservation of Poorvacharya Sreesooktis, they

sacrificed their all to ensure that whatever works were available did not

meet the same fate as the ones lost. Two haloed names that spring to our

mind in this regard are Tarkaarnava Abhinavadesika Uttamur Sri

Veeraraghavacharya Swamy and Prativaadi Bhayankaram Sri Annangaracharya

Swamy of Kanchi. Though both were prolific writers, they displayed greater

enthusiasm in publishing works of Poorvacharyas than their own. The

constant and continuing efforts of Sri Puttur Krishnamacharya Swamy too

merit special mention in this regard. The good work of institutions like

the Sanskrit Academy of Melkote (who have brought out critical editions of

Sri Bhashyam with various commentaries) also deserves great appreciation

and encouragement.

 

 

 

Though these Mahatmas’ contribution is matchless, we can still endeavour

to emulate them to the extent possible, in identifying works of both

Poorvacharyas and later ones, for preservation. Many of these works are

still unpublished, especially numerous ones of various Srimad

Azhagiasingars who adorned the ascetic throne of Sri Ahobila Mutt and are

currently available in the form of manuscripts, many on palm leaves and

similar perishable material. I am sure similar works by distinguished

Acharyas of Srimad Andavan Ashramam and Sri Parakala Matam also exist, in

similar need of preservation and publication. Since use of paper for

composition in our religious institutions is less than a century old,

earlier works must be on Taala Patram or Panai Olai, likely to

disintegrate anytime due to their age and disappear forever from our

midst.

 

 

 

Even in respect of published works, though we come across quotes from

several old and hoary works like the commentary of Sri Govindaraja on

Srimad Ramayanam, that of Sri Veeraraghavacharya on Srimad Bhagavatam, the

commentaries on Srimad Rahasyatrayasaram like Sri Saaraasvaadini of Sri

Tirukkudandai Desikan and Sri Saarabodhini (of Injimedu Srimad

Azhagiasingar) and that of Sri Mahamahopaadhyaaya Chetlur Swami, we rarely

get to set eyes on them. These works need to be reprinted.

 

 

 

Against this rather bleak background of partial and total loss of the

accumulated fonts of wisdom, the recent efforts by inspired individuals to

identify, catalogue, preserve and publish hitherto unpublished manuscripts

of Acharyas, deserve all appreciation, encouragement and support. With the

advanced digital technology now available, scanning or even typing out

these works from their originals on palm leaf or ancient paper should be

possible, which would be the first step in preservation. Once the works

are available in electronic form, the possibilities are endless.

 

 

 

Most of these works may be in Sanskrit, many of them may be on esoteric or

subtle points of Shastra not of immediate interest to the common

man—despite all this, what we have to remember is that they emanated from

erudite and enlightened Acharyas who composed these works not as personal

memorabilia, but out of a fervent desire to inform and educate us. They

are works of devotion which would guide us on the right path by their mere

presence in our home. (My late, revered father, apart from his other

sterling qualities and deep attachment to Srimad Ramayanam, was an

acknowledged authority both on shorthand and Shakespeare. Though I have

regrettably not inherited his enthusiasm for either, I still preserve his

books as their very sight reminds me of him and his devotion. Similarly,

works of our Acharyas too inspire us by their very presence and sight,

even if we are unable to profit from their wisdom immediately.) Once these

original works are preserved, translations to benefit the scholar and

layman alike, could be attempted.

 

 

 

As Srivaishnavas, it is hence our sacred duty to ensure that these

bequests are properly appreciated, treated with the veneration they

deserve, protected against the ravages of distortion and loss and

preserved in all their pristine purity, so that the generations that

follow would also benefit from the ageless wisdom.

 

 

 

What are the ways in which we can help?

 

 

 

We can search sincerely for such old and published/unpublished works of

the aforesaid kind, existing in our own library/those of institutions and

individuals likely to have such books or palm leaf manuscripts and make

them available to those who have undertaken the onerous task of converting

them into e-format.

 

 

 

Those among us who have the technical expertise can help in the above

process by offering consultancy/active participation.

 

 

 

Once the stage for publication comes, we can financially support the

printing of one or more works of Acharyas.

 

 

 

We can spread the word among our relatives/acquaintances about the need

for the entire endeavour and make them aware of the crying need for

preserving our heirlooms.

 

 

 

There can be no better tribute to Sri Hayagriva, who holds a book in His

hand, than to help in protecting works on religion and spirituality. And

the venerated authors of the unpublished manuscripts would definitely be

gladdened at their works getting published at long last, benefiting the

entire Vaishnavite community.

 

 

 

Come, let us help in this holy mission!

 

 

 

Sriamte Sri LakshmiNrisimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri

Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

dasan, sadagopan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Namo VenkateshAya namah:

 

 

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