Sriman nAThamuni Thirunakshathram- Aani Anusham- who is equal to us on this earth with such a great Acharya! (None)

June 28, 2007

SrI:

SrImathE Gopaladesika Mahadesikaya namah:

Dearest srivaishnavas,

Today is Sriman nAthamuni Thirunakshantham (Aani

anusham).

The Acharya paramparai of Srivaihsnavm is:

Sriya: Pathi Sriman Narayanan

Sri Mahalakshmi

Sri Vishvaksenar (Senai mudali)

Sri SaTakOpar (Sri NammAzhwAr)

Sri Nathamuni

Sri Pundarikakshar (Sri UyyakkoNdaar)

Sri Ramamisrar (maNakkaal nambhi)

Sri Yamuncharyar (Alavandhar)

Sri MahapoorNar (Periya Nambhi)

Sri Ramanujar

LakshmI nAtha samArambhaam nAtha yAmuna madhyamAm..

Swamy Vedantha Desikan pays his obeisance to Sriman

Nathamuni thus:

nAthEna muninA thEna bhavEyam nathavan aham |

yasya naigamikam tatvam hastAmalakatam gatam ||

Sriman Nathamuni is the most benign master (Acharya )

for me. Sriman Nathamuni indeed availed the good

opportunity to perceive the true and purport of Vedas,

like a tiny amla fruit on one’s palm (uLLankai

nellikani). Let me pay my humble obeisance to Sri

Nathamuni by the folding of my palms.

Srivaishnavam is shining and flourishing even today

(across the globe) due to the most merciful, " vaLLal'

Sri Nathamuni.. It is Emperumaan's upakaram that He

has bestowed His grace on us by giving Sri Nathamuni

to uplift us.

kaaLam valampuriyanna naRkaathaladiyavarkkuth

thaaLam vazhankith thamizhmaRai innisai thantha vaLLal

mooLunthavan^eRi mootiya naathamunikazhalE

naaLunthozhuthozhuvOm namakkaarn^ikarn^aanilaththE.

What a grand and truthful statement from Swamy

Desikan! (the benevolent one who gave the Tamil Vedas

set to taaLam (music). Let us sEvicchufy (offer our

saashtanga praNAmams at) his feet again and again

everyday.. Who can be equal to us on this earth?

(None- as we only are blessed with such " vaLLal "

Nathamuni..)

Let us enjoy Swami Alavandhaar slokams on this

acharya.

The first three slokas of Sthothra Rathnam on Sriman

Nathamuni also may refer to his

three Acharyas in the lineage order-namely, Sriman

Nathamuni, Sri PundareekAkshar [sri Uyyakkondaar] and

Sri Ramamisrar[ Sri Manakkaal nambhI]. Since birth,

Sriman Nathamuni had been the cause hence the first

sloka; Being a praachaarya is the second sloka; and

his merciful benevolent act for the lOkOpakAram (for

the sake of the world) is the third sloka.

First verse- Sriman Nathamuni is the repository of

jnAna, VairAgya and Bhakti- says Alavandhar.

namO(S)cinthya adhbhutha akliShta j~nAna vairAgya

rAshayE |

nAThAya munayE agADha bhagavadh bhakthi sinDhavE ||

acinthya - beyond understanding;

adhbhutha – Ascharya [mysterious, marvellous,

wonderful;

akliShta – effortlessly acquired by God's grace;

j~nAna, vairagya, rAsayE- personification of

knowledge, detachment together

agADha bhagavadh bhakthi sindhavE– deep ocean of

greatest devotion on Sriman Narayanan;

nAthAya munayE- to Sage, Saint nAThamuni

nama: - my offering prostrations, paying obeisance.

How did he ever get this jnAnam? How much jnAnam does

he have? – however many times or ways one analyses, no

answer. Not understood. Thus such extent of jnAnam,

the manner in which the jNAnam was acquired, is beyind

understanding, it is athi Ascharyam- most wonderful,

marvellous, and excellent never heard or seen in the

world. It is rarest and hence apoorvam; athi

Ascharyam. Hence is addressed as aklishtam. Also it is

not acequired with hard work or penance; it is

effortless due to the grace of the Lord, like Sanaka,

Sanathkumaras. It is the acquisition of jnAnam with

complete accordance with saasthrAs, running no where

haywire towards other religions, looking for the

correct philosophy. Not a single word is understood by

Sriman nAtha muni is wrong manner; everything in

tandem with saasthrAs and thus effortless, so

naturally acquired. Thus, there is no decaying or

change in his jnAnam and always consistent and

coherent- not contradicting any other word in

saaathrAs, when one word or statement is understood.

And such a characteristic is also due to his greatest

vairAgyam [detachment and renunciation] as well; Due

to such rarest Para, avara tattva jnAnam, he is able

to take his mind away from worldly pleasures,

materialistic pursuits and hence jnAna, vairAgyam are

both essential and are found in Sriman nATHamuni as

the embodiment of both of them in one lot.

Thus on lower tattvams, he has vairAgyam, and on Para

tattvam, love and focus with paripoorna jnAnam and

hence bhakti is flooded in his heart for Sriman

Narayanan. Thus he becomes the repository of deep

ocean of great bhakti towards Sriman Narayanan and to

such greatest sage, Saint Sriman nAThamuni- I pay my

namaskarams says Sri Alavandhar wonderfully. He is

called RanganAthan; shortly called as nAThan; nAThan-

as he is nAThan [master] for all of us. How blessed am

I to be born in his family! Enjoys Sri Alavandhar on

his birth as Sri NAthamuni’s grand son.

Earlier, jnAnam (knowledge) on all matters, devotion

(bhakti) on the Lord alone were described on Sriman

NAthamuni. Bhakti is contemplation or meditation mixed

with love. Here, AzhwAr touches upon a bit about the

life of Sriman nAThamuni through which he describes

the limitless jnAnam and bhakti of Acharya and thus

explains he is part of the Guru parampara for him

(Alavandhar) and others in Srivaishnava sampradaya in

this second sloka.

thasmai namO maDhujidh anghri sarOja thathva

j~nAna anurAga mahima athishayantha sImnE |

nAThAya nATha munayE athra parathra cApi

nithyam yadhIya caraNau sharaNam madhIyam || - SR 2

thasmai- Such [as described earlier the one who is the

embodiment of jnAna, vairAgya, bhakti]

madhujith- of Bhagawaan who conquered Madhu asurA

angrisarOja- the lotus feet

tattva- true nature’s

jnAna anurAga- knowledge and intense love

mahimAdhisaya- glorious [peerless] greatness

antha seemnE- the zenith [of above- namely, jnAna,

anurAga, mahimAdhisaya]

nAThAya nAtha munayE- to The Master [nAThan] of

Srivaishnavas- Sriman nAthamuni

nama: my obeisance;

yadhIya charaNou- whose [sriman nAThamuni] Feet;

athra pathra api cha- in this world [leelA vibhUthi]

and in this SrI vaikuNta [paramapadham where there is

no need for the upAyam- means]

madhIyam charaNam- my refuge- upAyam [the way] and

upEyam [the Goal]. [thasmai- such…]

For Sriman NAthamuni, the jnAna vairAgya, bhakti were

inherently in him in wonderful, marveloous manner

[athyAscharyam]- such greatest Acharya is now

described as the ultimate pinnacle of its height of

jnAna, vairAgya, bhakti in him in this verse. How? It

implies: Sriman Narayanan alone is Supreme entity

[iswara] and thereby the Parathatthvam; the other

philosophies like Advaita are incorrect and do not

explain the overall scheme of things per Vedas and

saasthrAs – Thus Sriman nAThamuni blessed us with such

unparalleled crystal clear concepts with his

nyAyatattva grantha [work]- says Swamy Desikan. Thus

compatible with such great qualities, he had complete

detachment [vairAgya] towards the worldly pleasure and

materialistic pursuits and thus he was resplendent

with greatest amount of bhakti [intense love and

devotion] for the Lord Sriman Narayanan. Being blessed

with the power of meditation, yoga, he focused on the

Lord with the intense love and devotion i.e. bhakti.

Through Karma, jnAna yoga, he could visualise and

realise the jeevathma’s glories and swaroopam and

knowing and realising that only through the divine

thirumEni- dhivya mangaLa vigrham of Sriman Narayanan

alone, he was able to attempt to have saakshAthkAram

[could enjoy the Lord literally within] and thereby

the bhakti grew exponentially day and by day.

That’s the time our blessed Acharya was blessed by the

Lord through few Srivaishnavas in KattumannarkOil

where they recited ArA amudhE – eleven pAsurams from

NammAzhwAr Thirumaynozhi [5.8]…

ArA amudhE.. He immersed in the Lord’s insatiable

beauty when he heard these verses; Aaraa anudhE!

AdiyEn udalam ninpaal anbaayE " - Aaaraa amudhE! Oh

insatiable nectar! EmperumaanE! What a Divinely

Beautiful form is Your body! However many times I

enjoy that naver satisfies me, Lord! You are giving me

immense satisfaction that is limitless and unbounded.

Due to my love for You, my physical body also has been

melting along with my heart longing to see You. Oh

ThirumaalE! You have been literally killing me with

Your azhagu; I have been blessed to enjoy here at

Thirukkudanthai by seeing Your Most Beautiful form;

en naan seygEn? yaarE kaLaigaN? Ennai en seyginRaay?

Unnal allAl yaavaraalum onRum kuRai vENdEn.. To hold

Your Lotus Feet, there is

nothing that I can do; what is the link between the

action and me? Who is the support for me except You?

dhariyEn iniun chaaraNam thandhu en sanmam

kaLaiyaayE..

when he had heard all these sweetest great pAsurams,

his heart was melting with devotion and anubhavam and

he longed for the rest of the pAsurams as he heard

them saying at the end that these ten out of 1000…

[AyiratthuL ivai patthum], he realised that he will be

immensely benefited if he gets them all.

Thus he could reach the Ultimate zenith of devotion…

kaNNinunchiRutthambu was made available to him. He

uttered the 11 pAsurams of KanninuchiRutthambu of Sri

MadhurakaviAzhwAr [who had sung in praise of his

acharya NammAzhwAr] 12000 times without interruption;

Sriman nAryanan decided to save the world through this

Acharya and instructed NammAzhwAr to be the Acharya

for Sriman nAThamuni and thus Sriman nAThamuni was

blessed to receive, enjoy the grace of Sri SaTakOpar-

NammAzhwAr- and receive not just his 1000; but all

4000 of all AzhwArs in addition to initiating him with

manthra, tattvArthams. Though he [sriman nAThamuni]

had the capacity to perform bhakti yoga, SrI

nammAzhwAr instructed him to perform prapatti

[saranagati] with five angas uttering the greatest

esoteric Dwaya mantra as such a perfroamnce in

accordance with saasthrAs would yield mOkshaanubhavam

at the end of the same life unlike bhakti yoga [where

one may have to take few more births].

Thus his anurAgam [intense love] has reached the

ultimate point. The Lord has greatest love for his

devotees - priyO hi jnAninOthyarttham aham sa cha mama

priya: and blessed them with the best arrangement to

make their devotion increase exponentially. Who else

would have been blessed by the Lord like Sriman

nAThamuni? Probably none at all. Thus he was blessed

with Parathatthva jnAnam, Parama hitham (Prapatti);

and Parama purushaartham. Thus he became the pinnacle

of jnAnam too. It was indeed to help us, the suffering

jeevans, that Nathamuni performed this thapas and had

the darsanam of NammAzzhwAr , who blessed Natha Muni

with the nAlAyira Divya Prabhandham and the sakala

SaasthrAs as well as the knowledge along with the

performance of Prapatti and also about the life

history of the other AzhwArs (AzhwAr paramparai).

That jnAnam is complete and reaches its crescendo only

when one realises that the best way is Prapatti at the

Lotus feet through utterace of Dwaya mantra and that

is mentioned with the word angri sarOja tattva- [The

Lotus Feet]- writes SrI UttamUr Swamy very clearly and

beautifully. prApyam and prApakam are both Lotus Feet

thus.

Thus granting such jnAnam reminds [one of the First

and Prime Acharya] Sri Hayagrivan- Madhusudhanan- the

One who conquered and killed Madhu asurA and hence

refer Him as madhujith.. Now I have realised that it

is SwEthASwatharOpanishad which states: mumukshurvai

SaraNamaham prapadyE.. and thiNkalzhal sErE.. and

thuyaraRu sudar adi.. all mention His Lotus Feet. Thus

Sriman nAThamuni was blessed to be shining with the

jnAna anurAgam [knowledge and intense love].

With the relevant jnAnam and the way to reach Him

through Prapatti with no further births made him great

sadAcharya for others who became his sishya and thus

he became nAThan for all.

when upAyam was not clear, only athra (here in this

world); and after getting upadesam from Manakkaal

nambhI through the instruction (niyamanam) of Sriman

nAThamuni – Sri Uyyakkondaar- now, it is paratha cha

api.. in Paramapadham as well.

Also yadheeya charaNou- may be interpreted as :

yadheeya- may infer UyyakkoNdaar and charaNou- his

sishya- namely maNakkaal nambhi.. thus mentioning his

acharya [implied] in this verse- enjoys SrI UttamUr

Swamy.

Alavandhar now enjoys his grandfather; acharyan for

others- Sriman Nathamuni blessing us with his

wonderful granthas and also getting to us with

AzhwAr’s verses and declares that he was yogisrEshtar,

offering his praNAmams again and again.

bhUyO namO(s)parimithAchyutha bhakti tattva

jnAnAmrtAbdhi parivaaha sibhair vachObi:

lOkEvatheerNa paramaarttha samagra bhakthi yOgAya

NAthamunayE yaminaam varaaya

Unbounded, limitless Lord’s subject matter namely,

Bhakti and jnAnam; such bhakti jnAnam have over

flooded and poured out in the form of most auspicious

Sri sookthis [of Sriman nAThamuni]; and through

blessing us in this world with the wondefrful divine

granthas (prabandhams) of AzhwArs filled with bhakti;

and through these works, AzhwAr pasurams, came down

and established the unparalled supremacy of Sriman

Narayanan and the truthful, correct nature of His

roopa, swaroopa, vibhUthis and about Him, [our

Nathamuni] had limitless, uninterrupted bhakti yoga.

To that king among Yogis, let me pay my obeisance

again and again.

My humble Obeisance to Sriman Nathamuni again and

again– the best among those who have subdued the

senses; by whose works, granthas; which are the

overflow of unlimited love and jnAnam of the Lord

Achutha; due to which – the true bhakti yoga appears

to have landed onto the earth.

Achyutha bhakti, tattva jnAna- cane be interpreted to

be the jnAnam based on his own works as well as on the

works of AzhwArs, Sage vyAsa, Parasara et al; He

blessed us with nyAya tattva and Yoga rahasya

granthas. Also he propagated the AzhwAr’s verses; He

performed bhakti yoga as mere pleasing to the Lord

even after he performed Prapatti and thus it is swayam

prayOjanam. That is also kind of dhyAnam and hence it

is also termed yoga as well. The dhyAna yogam came

down to his sishya Thirukurugaikkavalappan and could

not be reached to Sri Yamunacharya. The Yoga rahasya

though was not passed on later, it could probably be

there during Alavandhar's time and hence lOkEvatheerNa

word is indeed apt. Thus having even performed

Prapatti and been blessed with the same, Sriman

nAThamuni did not leave his dhyAnam and enjoying of

the Lord in uninterrupted meditation i.e. yogam and

hence he was king among Yogins.

Alavandhaar adds in his 65th verse:

Being immersed in samsaaric ocean performing thousands

and thousands of sins for millions of births, now,

being blessed with tattva (entities), hitha (way) and

purushaarttham (goal), the vivEkam (discrimination),

vairAgya (detachment) and been blessed to perform

Prapatti [saranagathi] at the Lord’s Lotus feet- the

reason for all this blessing is due to being born as

the grandson of Sriman nAThamuni shrEshtar and also he

being the praachArya of Alavandhaar. Alavandhaar thus

pays his gratitude and prays to the Lord referring to

his association with such Acharya saarvabhouman.

akruthrimatvaccharaNAravindha prEmaprakarshAvathim

Athmavandham

pithAmaham nAthamunim vilOkya praseetha math vruttham

achinthayithvaa [65]

Sriman nAThamuni- my Grandfather, my Acharya’s

Acharya- the one who has the AtmA, with the

personification and ultimate of Unalloyed natural

flawless devotion and without expecting any other

fruits other than enjoyment of Your Lotus Feet; Such

great yOga purushar;- Thinking of amy association with

him [as his grandson as well as his sishya’s sishya],

please do not look down upon me for my paapams and

bless me with Your grace.

Alavandhaar’s final Statement on the glories of the

anugraham & sambhandham of the Acharya for successful

Prapatthi and inclusion of his fearlessness(nirbhayam

) as a result of performing prapatthi , even if he

does not have the qualifications of his own

(naicchiyaanusandhaanam).

For Sriman Nathamuni, the Lord’s love and dayA started

flowing right from his birth. With no explicit fruits;

but was flowing naturally for the mere enjoyment of

Bhagawaan. With that overflowing love of Yours on my

grand father, and that love flowed from him on me… and

hence I am blessed now with tattva jnAnam, hitham that

You are the means and the Purushaarttham that You

alone are the Goal – I could perform Saranagathi at

Your Lotus Feet as vyAjam for obtaining your grace. I

have been blessed with sampradAya jnAnam due to

adiyEn’s association and blood relation with the muni

shrEshtar Sriman Nathamuni.

Though I had all limitless unbounded sins and

disqualifcatiosn as per my verse amaryaadha kshUdhra:

etc.., still, due to my association with grand father

ad Acharya, You need to bless me . There is no mandate

for You to punish me severely due to the bodily

relation with the devotee of Yours – who is Your

favourite.

When Your could assure even VibheeshaNaas- who were

even from raakshasa vamsam, can You oh nAThA, leave me

(who has the greatest sambandham with Sriman

nAThamuni)? I have been blessed with Your jnAnam as

Acharya prasAdham..

Acharyan ThiruvaDigaLE SaraNam

Regards

Namo narayana

dAsan

______________________________\

____

Take the Internet to Go: Go puts the Internet in your pocket: mail, news,

photos & more.

http://mobile./go?refer=1GNXIC

June 29, 2007

SrI:SrImathE Gopaladesika Mahadesikaya namah:

Dear Sriman Madhavakkannan Swamin:

adiyen(I) was elated to see your write up on Sriman Naathamuni.

I found one article in The Hindu in which Sriman Naathamuni is said to be 'Mudhal Achaaryar'. I agree with this. Sri Krishna(NaraayaNaa Himself)

is 'Mudhal Achaaryar' but He is an avataram. Sriman Naathamuni was born.

Another article in The Hindu stated it is wrong to portray Sriman Naathamuni as 'Mudhal Achaaryar'. The author has stated this strongly while reviewing a book.

What is our view?

adiyen has not heard an 'aksharam' from any one reciting Sriman Naathamuni' tanian in any of the functions I have participated in Sri Renganatha temple, NY or any of the organisations who say they are spreading Sri Ramanuja sidhdhantam in USA all these years. The same goes for Sri Alavandaar's Chatusloki. Though this is said to be forerunner of Sri Vedantha Desika's Sri Sthuthi etc, no one recites this here in any function. I hope you are reciting these over there in the East.

adiyen

vaachika doshaha kshantavyaha

-

Madhavakkannan V

; ; acharya ; nama-singapore ; oppiliappan ; parakalamatham ; ; desikasampradaya ; bakthi-indonesia ; ramanuja

Thursday, June 28, 2007 1:51 AM

Sriman nAThamuni Thirunakshathram- Aani Anusham- who is equal to us on this earth with such a great Acharya! (None)