Who is a Srivaishnava? - By PBA Swami

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Sri: | Srimathe Ramanujaya Nama:

 

Dear bhAgavatas,

 

We have started listening in the last couple of weeks to

HH Sri Vanamamalai Jeeyar Swami's delightful upanyasams

on Swami Pillai Lokacharyar's Sri Vacana Bhushanam (for

details on this tele-upanyasam series, please check

http://www.vedics.net). In explaining the glories of

this divine work, HH spoke of the seven pasurams (the

most) that Sri Manavala Mamunigal had dedicated to this

work in his Upadesa Ratthinamalai. One of these pasurams

goes thus:

 

Ar vacanabUdaNaththin AzhporuLellAm aRivAr?

Ar athusol nEril anuttippAr? - Ororuvar

uNdAgil aththanai kANuLLamE ellArkum

aNdAthathanRO athu

 

Here Sri Manavala Mamunigal says that it is next to

impossible to find even one person who truly understands

the deep meanings of Sri Vacana Bhushanam or directly

follow what it says.

 

Therefore, the question would arise what are these

things that are said in this work that are so difficult

to follow. In highlighting Jeeyar Swami's upanyasam,

Sri VPS Varadan Swami mentioned a couple of sutras

from Sri Vacana Bhushanam and explained why these are

difficult to follow.

 

One of them is "kuRRam seythavaragaL pakkal poRaiyum,

krupaiyum, sirippum, ugappum, upakAraSmruthiyum nadakka

vENum". Sri P.B. Annangaracharya Swami had written an

article about this sutra, which explains the

characteristic of a true Srivaishnava, under the

title "Yar Srivaishnavan"?

 

AdiyEn thought it would be appropriate to translate it

this article (as far as my ability would allow) and

share it with all bhAgavatas.

 

Jai Sriman Narayana | adiyEn madhurakavi dAsan

 

--

 

Who is a Srivaishnava?

 

By Sri P.B. Annangaracharyar Swami

 

 

In the divine work Sri Vacana Bhushanam by Swami Pillai

Lokacharyar, there are many wonderful sutras. Amongst

which is a beautiful one that goes "kuRRam seythavaragaL

pakkal poRaiyum, krupaiyum, sirippum, ugappum, upakAra-

Smruthiyum nadakka vENum".

 

As Manavala Mamunigal says in his work Upadesa

Ratthinamalai "Ar vacanabUdaNaththin AzhporuL ellAm

aRivAr? Ar athusol nEril anuttipAr?", there is not one

in this world that can match their acts to this good

word. However, even if we are not able to follow it,

it would be good to at least understand it. Its meaning

is as follows: If someone were to commit a sin or a

crime against us, we should be patient with them; we

should give them our grace; we should smile at them; we

should appreciate them; and, we should be thankful to

them.

 

1. We should neither pay them back with a wrong act

nor detest them in our mind for their act. This is

being patient with them.

 

2. When a person commits a crime against a devotee

(bhAgavata apachAram), it is guaranteed that the Lord

will punish them. Therefore, we should remain very

concerned about them that even if we are patient the

Lord is bound to punish them. This is giving them

grace.

 

3. What does it mean when someone commits a wrong

against us? It is abusing us by stating that we have

many poor qualities or that we have committed wrongful

thingss. We should think about what bad things are

likely to hapen to us due to this abuse. There are

two kinds of bad things: one that happens in this

world and one that happens in the other world. It is

very clear that they cannot create a bad thing for

us in the other world. But they can make a bad thing

happen to us in this world. For example, they can

prevent someone from giving us some wealth. Were

that to happen, we should take delight that we lost

something that was not worth keeping and not feel

bad. Being that the case, we should feel that these

people are silly thinking that we will be worried

by the bad things created by their abuse, and smile

at them.

 

4. When someone does a bad thing to us, they can

insult our body but not our soul. This body is

actually an enemy to us. Therefore we should be

pleased with them for insulting our enemy. Also,

as these worldy things are not needed for us, we

should appreciate them for preventing us from

obtaining these things.

 

5. We should always be aware of our wrongdoings,

but we are not. Beign that the situation, we should

thank them greatly for their help in reminding us

of them.

 

If even one of these five qualities were to happen

within us, it is equivalent to winning the three

worlds.

 

Were that to happen, there is no higher qualification

to being a Srivaishnava.