Qualities of Devotees - III

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Srimathe Ramaujayanamah.

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Dear Bhagavathas,

 

Jeeyar ThiruvadigalE Sharanam,

Jai Srimannarayana!

 

Please accept my humble obeisances.

All glories to devotees' association.

 

In this mail H.H. describes the reasons

for Mother Andal's appearance. And then,

H.H. gives a detailed account on

"Keertanam" (chanting the names of

Narayana) and how subtly it acts in

purifying our heart.

 

Mother Andal appears on this planet to

exemplify 3 things.

 

1. Keerthanam (Always chant the Names

of Narayana - "Keertaneeyah Sada Harih")

2. Prapadanam (Reduce completely the

false-ego or Ahankara, pride)

3. SwasmiPrasunaarpanam (Surrender

everything to Lord, including your heart)

 

In this mail, we discuss the first - Keerthanam.

As discussed in the last mail, in

spirituality we are kids and our knowledgde

about Lord is tiny. And when we have

material inebrieties in our heart,

they make holes to the sack of our

Bhagavadh jnana, through which our

knowledge about Lord leaks out. When

we chant Ashtakshari (Or BhagavN-nama),

slowly we will get rid of those 6

diseases. Souls are Lord's property.

So whenever we think of 'I', we become

thieves. In fact, the greatest thieves,

as the most precious of all the things

is the soul and we are stealing it from

Lord. When you chant the Names of Lord,

you shall understand this fact slowly

and thus, you get relieved from these

diseases.

 

The most sublime of all the Vrathas is

Tiruppavai. Tiruppavai is unparalleled

in all the literary history. When one

understands that Tiruppavai is the "seed

of all vedic literatures" and NOT merely

the "essence of all vedic literatures",

one shall not let the Dhanurmasa pass

in ignorance, passion and indolence.

That means, if you know Tiruppavai,

you will know everything. So just follow

the Tiruppavai Vratha under the

guidance of our Acharya. Wherever you

recite Tiruppavai, Lord resides there,

His mercy fills that place. Everything

auspicious can be accomplished by

observing Tiruppavai nicely.

 

In Dhanurmasa, everything will be naturally

situated in Sattva guna ( mode of goodness)

and therefore one should give secondary

importance to mundane happiness. One

should get up early, observe the SEvA-kAlam,

chant the Pashurams and then the Ashtakshari,

as many times as possible. The causeless

and unfathomable mercy of Mother Andal is

descending through our Acharya, and it is

overflowing everywhere. It is up to us to

become eligible to receive it.

 

Nobody is debarred from chanting the names

of Govinda or observing the Tiruppavai

Vrahta. Everybody, irrespective of caste,

creed, cult, in any circumstance, is eligible

to chant the names of Lord. In fact, the

term "Vaishnava" has to do with the

consciousness of the being. Any being, let

it be an animal or insect, if it sees Lord

Vishnu as all pervading, identifies Him

only in everything and everything in Him,

is said to be a Vaishnava. A Vaishnava

always sees the Bahagavadh-sambandha, not

the caste, body, education, opulance or

anything material.

 

Anything, any song, if it glorifies Lord

SrimanNarayana, you should certainly sing

it. Language never matters. Sing it even

if you don't understand it. It unknowingly

starts purifying your heart. Somebody may

sardonically comment, the same Name, how

many times should I repeat etc. But, are

you not chewing the same food daily to

sustain your life? Similarly, you should

also repeat the Names of Lord incessantly.

H.H. instructs, glorify Lord again and

again. Repeat the wonderful sayings of

great devotees always. The more you

glorify, the more you enjoy them and

derive nectar from them. So repeat the

sayings of great devotees. Try to apply

yourself to the instructions.

 

Don't just be idle after listening.

Implement them on the most pragmatic

grounds. Practise whatever you have

learned in the association of Bhagavathas.

Unless you transform whatever you have

learned in to action your knowledge is

useless. Knowledge is like eyes. Practical

implementation is like legs. Without

either of these two, we cannot reach

the destination. The taste will develop

automatically as we start practising.

 

A "Vaishnava" is one who recites the

names of the Lord and glorifies Him

without the even the slightest feelings

of shy, hesitation etc. He has no

personal consideration.

 

Lord's names possess amazing powers.

Chanting the names of Narayana removes

two kinds of sins. Sins which can be

removed and sins, which cannot be removed

by ordinary means. The karma we accumulate

is of 3 types.

 

1. Prarabdha (Karma we do with the present

body)

2. Sanchitha (Karma we did in the past, in

last lives etc)

3. AgAmi (Current Karma which will affect

you in future and enables you to do more

Karma)

 

Only human beings can get rid of them.

By sincere, submissive chanting of Ashtakshari

(Lord's Names), you can get rid of the last 2

kinds of Karma. However, Prarabdham shall

remain still. By sincerity, we mean internal

purity. There should be no doubt whatsoever

in the process of Bhakthi and having firm

conviction in the lotus feet of our Acharya.

Make your heart, a wonderful, nectarine

lotus. Keep it open always and offer it to

Lord with love.

 

"Uththama" is one who is without any

expectation whatsoever. Devotees sing the

Names of Hari and don't expect anything.

They are called devotees, for they do

everything for the pleasure of Lord

SrimannArayana. So let us put sincere

efforts to get rid of all other sankalpas

from our hearts, except the one of pleasing

SrimanNarayana and His devotees, by our

sincere service and fine behaviour.

 

In fact, how much sweetness is there, in

direct glorification of the Supreme Lord,

in the form of His Names. The Names of

Vishnu burn at once the sins of the person

who takes it on his tongue.

 

H.H. instructs all the people whoever have

taken birth on this Earth, who ever has a

desire to get auspicious things in life,

should learn all the 30 wonderful, nectarine

pashurams of Tiruppavai by heart, which

was so mercifully graced by Mother Andal,

and recite them every day, always.

 

Personally, Adiyen has found that reciting

Truppavai is, in itself, a great joy.

 

In next mail:

- How to get rid of the Prarabdha-Karma also?

- H.H. describes the intricacies of Tiruppavai

pashurams and how they capture the essence of

all vedas.

 

I beseech the forgiveness all Vaishnavas for

any offenses or mistakes made inadvertently.

 

Adiyen,

Aspiring to become your humble servant,

Sheshagiri.

 

 

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You are speaking one word even, means it

is the Karuna-Kataksham of your Acharya.

Think, could you have spoken it before?

Tears should roll down your eyes in

gratitude towards your Acharya.

--H.H. Pravachanam on 22nd Pashuram, 6th Jan, 2001, Hyderabad.

 

"Acharyasthu Hari Sakshaath". Acharya is

Lord Himself, just like "Archa-Murthi".

--H.H. Pravachanam on 5th Pashuram, 20th Dec, 2000, Hyderabad.

{Please note that it is not mentioned

"Acharya is LIKE Lord". No, Acharya is Lord

Himself. The level of purity of Acharya

is equal to that of Lord.}

 

Bhagavthas' instructions are to be followed

strictly. There is no compromise with it.

Lord also follows it.

--H.H. Pravachanam on 4th Pashuram, 19th Dec, 2000, Hyderabad.