SrI Vaikuntha Gadhyam of AchArya RaamAnuja : Part I

[Guest guest]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SrI:

 

Acharya Vandhanams

 

Lakshminaatha samaarambhaam

naathayaamuna madhyamaam

Asmadaachaarya paryanthaam

vandhE guruparamparaam

 

(meaning) : To the Aacharya lineage starting with Sriman Naaraayana , with Naathamuni in the middle and down to Sri Raamaanuja , adiyEn prostrates .

 

yO nithyamacchuta padaambhuja yugmarukhma

Vyaamohitha sthadithaaraani thrinaayamEnE

Asmadgurorbhagavatasya dayaikasindhO

Raamaanujasya charaNou SaraNam PrapadhyE

 

(Meaning) : That one who considered every thing as a mere straw opposite the invaluable trasure viz., the lotus feet of Achyutha , I surrender to that holy guru , Sri Raamaanujaachaarya , the veritable ocean of compassion .

 

Raaja Gopuram construction at Satyagalam & Bangalore Sriman K.R.KrishNaswamy

 

At the outset , let me introduce Sriman Krishnaswamy , a Vedantic scholar who is deeply steeped in Swamy Desikan's and AchArya RaamAnuja's SrI Sooktis . He is currently assisting HH the Jeeyar of ParakAla Matam and HH Sri Rangapriya Swamy of AshtAnga Mandir to complete the construction of the Raaja Gopuram of Satyagalam Sri PerundEvi ThAyAr SamEta Sri VaradarAjar .

 

Satyagalam on the bank of the sacred river in Karnataka is where Swamy Desikan spent a few years with His family and sishyAs , while the invasion of Srirangam by the marauding mobs of Delhi Siltanate plundered Srirangam.Swamy Desikan escaped the calamities at Srirangam with the Sruta PrakAsika SrI Sookti of Sudarsana Battar entrusted to him for safe carriage and brought along the two young sons of Battar with Him to the safety of Satyagalam .Abheethi Stavam was completed here by Swamy Desikan .The Satyagalam temple has thus paid a key role as a tranquil abode for Swamy Desikan and the thriving of Sri VaishNava SampradhAyam.

 

The svathai work and samprOkshaNam have to be completed . Sriman KrishNaswamy has been instrumental in raising most of the funds needed for the Raaja Gopuram construction at the behest of the two AchAryAs and needs some additional funds to

complete the rest of the work and have the samprOkshaNam . May adiyEn request all BhakthAs of Swamy Desika to support this Kaimkaryam ? adiyEn will be happy to assist you in the transmission of your support funds to Sriman KrishNaswamy .

Thank you for joining in this Kaimkaryam !

 

Sriman KrishNaswamy and adiyEn will coauthor an ebook on SrI VaikunTha Gadhyam now that Sri VaikunTha EkAdasi is fast approaching ( Jan 07,2009) .

 

May Lord Ranganatha bless this Kaimakryam !

AdiyEn , Oppiliappan Koil Varadachari Sadagopan

 

Introduction to the three Gadhyams

 

Sri Raamaanuja has blessed us with nine Sri Sookthis and Gadhya Trayaa , the Triple Prose, belongs the category of his latter day compositions. It is believed that his earlier works , Viz., SrI Bhaashya , Gitaa BhAshya , Vedantha Saara and Vedantha Sangraha and others served as preparation for the blossoming of his concept of SaraNAgathy resulting in the triple prose-poem , viz., SaraNAgathy Gadhya , Sriranga Gadhyaa and Sri VaikunTha Gadhyaa. SaraNAgathy Gadhyaa is an extremely rare kind of work as it embodies the dialog between JaeevAthman and ParamAthman , or the soul and the Oversoul; as some one put it: " the fervour of the human soul throbbing with deep love and surrender to its Master has rarely found such an expression " and " there is a sense of certainity and an atmosphere of serenity ". SaraNAgathy gadhyam is therefore considered Sri RaamAnujaa's swan song. This gadhyam , scholars believe, lends itself to three divisions , each representing a rahsyaa , viz., dhvaya mantra , Moola mantra and Charama slOkam form Gitaa. SaraNAgathy gahdyam also highlights the SrivaishNava faith , viz., the principle of mediation or intercession by SrI Mahaa Lakshmi , who pleads with Her Lord for forgivance of aparAdhams of the contrite soul ( JeevAthma).

 

Sri Raamaanuja Himself after decades of service to Lord Sriranganaatha performs SraNaagathy at the sacred feet of the Lord at Srirangam in Sriranga Gadhyam . Once having done SaraNAgathy what does one achieve, or how he approaches the Lord or the scene where he ends up for eternity are all answered by Sri RaamAnujaa

in his Sri Vaikuntha gadhyam .

 

In short, the theme of the Gadhya traya is SaraNAgathy in all its aspects. Unlike the Bhakti yOga , it is a simple , viable route accessible to every one , weak or strong , learned or unlettered , noble or fallen. The process is complete end in itself culminating in Kaimkaryam to the Lord at the Paramapadha and enjoyment of the opulence of divine service .

 

Key Common concepts in Gadhya Trayams

 

1. The Lord's Mercy: With a view to show the right path to the multitude of erring chEtanaas , the Lord , Sriman NaaraayaNa , overpowered by His quality of mercy has planned " coming to this world "( avataaram), at various times through the medium of Achaaryaas such as Naathamuni , Yaamnuamuni and Sri RaamAnuja. Through them He engineers "ujjevana" ( Upliftment ) of erring devotees.

 

2. Poorvaachaarya's concern: Gadhya Traya is an excellent example of the concern felt by the Poorvaachaaryas of the calibre of Sri RaamAnuja for the

common lot , who are caught in the quagmire of SamsAric life and are not able to extricate themselves being incapable of following rigorous practises of various yogAs like Bhakti yOga . Gadhya traya shows the way for attaining the lotus feet of the Lord at VaikunTham and the route is available to all without distinction of caste or sex. This triple prose ( which indeed are prose-poems) are often compared to StOtraratnam of Swamy AlavanthAr ( who also had similar concerns for the common lot) , which is also an expression of "the nature and value" of Prapatti .

 

3.Beatific Vision : We owe it to that important day of the Hindu calendar, viz., the Thirunakshatram festival of Sri Mahaa Lakshmi ( Panguni uttiram) . Every year on that day , the divya dampathies, (i.e)., Sri Ranganaathar's Sri Mahaa Lakshmi's divya mangaLa idols are placed together for all devotees to pray and recieve their blessings. On one such occasion , Sri RaamAnuja , was found to have been lost in trance in front of the divya dampathis. When he opened his eyes , what came out of his holy mouth were the details of his beatific vision of the Lord and His consort , Lord's response to Sri Raamaanuja's concern , a vision of the scene at VaikunTha , a comforting assurance and a confirnmation of the path , accessible to everyone , which enables crossing the cycle of birth and death -in short , the Gadhya Traya, a rare product of divine interaction with our Aachaarya !

 

4. The routes and the resort:Sriman NaarayaNa is the resort for the resortless with innumerable auspicious qualities and is totally free from evil, hatred etc. He is of the nature of knowledge and bliss and is a treasure chest of effulgence , beauty , fragrance , softness, grace and everlasting youth .

 

He lives in VaikunTha , our final destination. The holy land , described in VaikunTha gadhya , is a vast paradise , which even Brahma or others have not been able to fathom .The Master of that land is Sriman narayaNan , who is "inscrutable" even to the highest of Yogins.

 

In order to achieve liberation from the endless cycle and to get over the sins from beginingless time, the routes as described in Bhagavad Gitaa are Karma Yoga, Bhakti yoga an Jn~Ana Yoga ; infact a combination of more than one yoga. The Lord Himself has talked about the difficulties to practise these yogaas ,and the much simpler Prapatti yoga is the only practical route to attain the lotus feet of the Lord.

 

5. Scriptures advocate SaraNAgathy : Rig Veda talks about Prapatti , which means that the doctrine of SaraNAgathy is as old as the oldest Veda. Taitthireeya Upanishad calls it as "Nyaasa" and " prescribes the manner in which it should be performed" --and declares it to be the best route for Moksham . Other Upanishads like Svetaasvatara,ChandhOgya also talk about Praptti .

 

RaamAyaNaa is considered a SaraNAgathy Veda --Sri Raama'a "abhaya pradhAna" to VibheeshaNa is a very significant episode in RaamAyaNa , which is extolled as a shrine of Self-surrender. Gita ( 7-14 , 16-61/62) , SrI VishNu PurANa ( 1.9.73),

PaancharAtra Agama , Lakshmitantra and AzhwArs'Sri sookthis advocate SaraNAgati as the most efficacious means to gain the Parama PurushArtham of Moksham .

 

6. Post-Liberation ( Moksha): The liberation consists in JeevAtma acquiring the flavor and fragrance of Brahman ( the VedAntic term for the Lord) ; it gains Brahma roopa , Brahma rasa and Brahma gandha . It is freed from the fetters of Prakrithi , limitations of space and time . It lives in nitya vibhUti, the abode of Brahman , which has no history , no seasons but can all at once " bear leaves , blossoms and fruits" ( ref: ShAnti parva of MahA Bhaaratam) . Thus the jeevan attains " its infinite consciousness and regains eternal values.."It is indeed a state of Self-transcendence.

 

PaancharAtra calls Sri VaikunTham as " Jn~Ananda lOka" - that is , the world of Paramapadham is a shining example of the spiritual world; bliss personified , apraakrutha , aanandalOka ; it is the realm of Suddha Sattva, a kind of matter which is immutable and is made up of unalloyed sattva dhravyam .The five elements ( Pancha bhUtams) , which comprise us in the prAkruthic world will not touch us there .

 

7. Rahasya Traya : Gadhya Traya embodies the concepts of the three sacred mantrAs , known as rahasya traya , which reflect the VisishtAdhvaita concepts of Tatva, Hita and PurushArtha . They are moola mantra , dhvaya mantra and Geetha Charama slOka . It is generally stated that SaraNAgathy gadhya is a commentary on the dhvaya Mantra.

 

8. Commentaries on the Three Gadhyams:All the Sri Sookthis of AchArya RaamAnuja have attracted great scholars to write commentaries known as Bhaashyams. SaraNAgathy Gadhya has commentaries by such stalwarts as Sudarsana Soori , Periya AacchAn PiLLai nad VedAntha Desika. The Rahasya Raksha of Swamy Sri Desikan includes Gadhya Traya BhAshya besides stOtra Ratna and chatusslOki BhAshyam .

 

NadAthUr AmmALs' "Prapanna PaarijAtam" talks about the greatness of SaraNAgathy Gadhya ; latter has given inspiration to the creation of other SrI Sooktis: Swamy SrI Desikan's SaraNAgathy Dheepika , NyAsa dasakam , NyAsa Vimsathy and NyAsa Tilakam , Saantha ParAnkusa Yathi's " Prapatti yOga", Taatha Desikan's "NyAsa VidhyA PrakAsa " and VedAntha RaamAnuja Muni's " NyAsa Vidhya DarpaNa and many more.

 

9. Coverage of SaraNAgathy doctrine in the Three ebook series: Among

the three ebook series ( Sundarasimham , Ahobilavalli and Sri Hayagrivan series) , we have covered a number of Sri KoSams dealing with the important aspects of SaranAgathy and the three rahsyAs behind this vital doctrine . The readers are welcomed to refer to them for additional details on the SaraNAgathy Tattvam . Here are the references :

 

Sundarasimham Series: http://www.sundarasimham.org

 

SarNAgathy Dheepika # 57

SaraNAgathy Doctrines ( Tamil) # 71

Srimad Rahasya Traya Saaram # 91

StoOtra Ratnam of Swamy AlavanthAr# 49

Adaikkala Patthu # 31

Thirumantira Churukku # 24

Dhvaya Churukku #13

Charama SlOka Churukku# 20

PradhAna Satakam #27

Arutta Panchakam #12

Rahasya Navaneetam #68

Rahasya Padhavee #69

 

Ahobilavalli Series: http://www.ahobilavalli.org

 

NyAsa Dasakam # 12

NyAsa Tilakam #13

NyAsa Dasakam #14

JitantE StOtram # 58-61

Abahya PradhAna Saaram # 69

Prapanna PaarijAtham # 74

NikshEpa Rakshai # 75

Srimad Rahasya Thraya Saara Saaram # 91-93

 

Sri Hayagrivan Series : http://www.srihayagrivan.org

Rahasya SandEsam # 2

Rahasya SandEsa VivaraNam #3

Rahasya Maatrukai # 10

Rahasya RatnaavaLi # 18

Rahasya Traya ChuLakam # 24

Tattva RatnAvaLi # 4

Tatva RatnAvaLi PradhipAdhya Sangraham # 5

Tattva SandEsam # 9

Tattva Maatrukai # 11

Sriranga Gadhyam # 28

 

We will now commence the study of Sri VaikunTha Gadhyam .

( To Be continued)

 

Na Dhaivam DesikAth Param ,

Please support the Satyagalam Raaja Gopura Kaimkaryam ,

 

DhAsan , Oppiliappan Koil Varadachari Sadagopan