[sri ramanuja] on Sandhyavandhanam

[Guest guest]

SrI:

Dearest all

 

Sri Mani Varadarajan few years ago touched upon the same subject

quite nicely:

 

Here it is: [an extract]

The meaning of Poigai AzhwAr Mudhal ThiruvanthAthi

 

NagaramaruL purinthu nAnmugarkkup poomEl

pagara maRai payandha paNbhan peyarinayE

pundhiyAl sindhiyAthu Odhi uruveNNum

andhiyAlAm payanangen?"

 

is interpreted in a very different and more straightforward manner

by Periyavaaccaan Pillai and others.Their interpretation is that

performing sandhyAvandandam and other karmas without thinking of

PerumaaL is pointless.

 

PVP: allaadhavaRRai OdhiccenRu avvuruvai eNNum

sandhyAvandhanaadhigaLaal enna prayojanam uNdu?

kEvala sandhyai vyartham.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

The underlined phrase means "ordinary sandhyAvandana is

pointless."

 

Swami Appillai has also written a brief 'urai' or explanation

of this thiruvandhaadhi. His comments here are very clear:

 

The Alvar says that all religious acts including

sandhyAvandanam are pointless if they are not done with

PerumaaL in mind.

 

emberumaanai uLLeedaaka koLLaadhE paNNum sandhyaavandhanaadhi

karmaanushtaanam nishprayOjanam engiRaar.

 

[ Please pardon me if I have not translated this exactly. As

most of you know, my Tamil is very rough. ]

 

Explaining further, Sri Appillai writes:

 

Without internally reflecting on his holy names, which

speak of the His having qualities such as gracious

condescension, etc., what is the point of merely

verbally reciting (mantras) when engaged in sandhyAvandana

and other religious duties?

 

sowseelyaadhi guNangaLai udaiyavan aanavan udaiya andha

guNangaLai vaacakamaana thirunaamangaLai manassaal anusandhiyaadhE

vaangmaathraththaalE japiththu, idakkai paRRikkondu

anushtikkiRa sandhyaavandhanaadhi karmaanushtaanangaLaal

avvidaththiluNdaana prayojanam Edhu?

 

[ I ask those knowledgable to translate better. I don't know

what 'idakkai paRRikkondu' means here. ]

 

Anyway, you get the message. It seems clear that Alvar is not

telling people to chose between kainkaryam and sandhyAvandanam, but

only to perform sandhyAvandanam, etc., thinking only of PerumaaL,

for otherwise these rituals are pointless.

 

Regards

dAsan

Mani

*******

That's quite nice- isn't it?

So... how do we achieve that?

1. Perform trikala sandhyavandhanam

2. While doing Gayatri... think of the evel blissful Sriman

Narayanan - the akilaheya prathyaneekan, Anantha kalyANa

guNArNavan... The Most beautiful Lord... at the centre of Surya

maNdalam... and do the japam... at least ten times....

3. Lord Krishna advises Arjuna as to how control the mind if it

wavers... He says... abhyAsam and vairAgyam... [Practice and

detachment alone will help]. When Sage Viswamthra could not control

and it slipped, [especially when he was just living on air... and

fruits etc... where are we?] so... leave it to Him and try... But

never ever abstain...

 

It is like doing Overtime only and take leave for Straight time.. No

Boss would agree.. AgnyA is AgnyA...

 

BhagavAn Sriman Narayanan himself has stated that

 

"Sruthi: smruthi: mamaiva AagnyA ya: thAm ullangya varthathE |

AagnyAchhEthi mama drohI madbhakthO(a)pi na vaishNava: ||".

 

If we reject that- where is the Sutra aphorism

saasthrayonithvaath applying to..

 

adiyen just sent this as a well wisher..Pl forgive me for my

indulgence.

Regards

Namo narayana

dasanu dAsan