When is one ready for Prapatti?

[Guest guest]

Sri:

Sri Lakshmi nrisimha parabrahmaNE nama:

Sri Lakshmi nrisimha divya paduka sevaka

srivan satakopa sri narayana yatindra mahadesikaya nama:

 

This note is about Prapatti. Please review Sri Anand Karalapakkam's article

at http://www.ahobilamutt.org/prapatti.html if needed.

 

In the last year or so adiyEn came across a few devout Sri Vaishnavas

showing some hesitation about performing Saranagati for mOksham. The

reasons include self-perceived lack of knowledge, feeling unworthy to

perform Saranagati, fear of failure to live up to the high standards of

post-prapatti life style, etc. These legitimate fears are perhaps due to

past karma, the main impediment for mOksham.

 

We often see people who seem wholly unworthy and unknowledgeable, easily

perform prapatti due to the compassionate glances of sadAcAryas. But, we

also see people who seem to exhibit exemplary knowledge and intellectual

prowess fail to put to practice the critical knowledge about Prapatti. So,

is knowledge a prerequisite for performing Saranagati? Who is worthy of

undertaking Prapatti? How do we allay the fear of failure to live a life of

a Prapanna? It is adiyEn's wish to present some views on these questions

consistent with the teachings of our Acaryas. If there is any error please

attribute it to my lack of understanding and please do feel free to correct

them.

 

About knowledge

---------------

As baddhas our knowledge has remained contracted over uncountable lives over

eons and eons. However much we try in this life time, our knowledge will

remain to a large extent shrouded as long as we remain in Samsara. But, if

we do Prapatti in this life time this contracted knowledge is bound to

expand to its full glory in just a matter of few years, at the most hundred

years. Thus, it does not make sense to put off the performance of Prapatti

on account of perceived deficit in knowledge and prolong this deficit for

many more life spans.

 

From another angle, despite our sincere effort our level of knowledge is

bound to increase only marginally during our stay in Samsara. To a large

extent it will remain shrouded in the cloak of Samsara. Then, what is the

guarantee that the marginally expanded knowledge will lead one into

Prapatti? We see so many scholars fully knowledgeable in Sastras not

performing Prapatti. What is the justification to think that with slightly

more knowledge we will be ready for Prapatti?

 

Here, let us remind ourselves of the episode in Sri Bhattar's kalakshepa

goshti. The erudite scholar fully conversant with all sasthras was unable

to give a definitive answer to the question " who is the Paratatvam? "

However, the one who seemed to be a simpleton with no education had the

critical knowledge that counts and was able to demonstrate the answer for

this question by his refusal to accept alms from those who did not know that

Sriman Narayana is the only Paratatvam. Thus, what good is all the

knowledge in the world if one is confused about the most important

knowledge? Taking this a step further, what good is even the critical

knowledge if it is not brought into anushtaanam of Prapatti?

 

Please do not get me wrong, knowledge acquired in the proper way is

extremely important. But we must also realize that for a vast majority of

Sri Vaishnavas the important and relevant knowledge required for Prapatti is

the knowledge about our complete dependence upon Perumal and our nature to

be his possession. Even this is not a must as we are told by poorvaacharyas

and present day acaryas alike that by simply being subservient to great

Acharyas and Bhagavathas even animals bereft of any knowledge attain

mOksham.

 

Then why do some of us think we need to be scholars before taking up

Prapatti? The only answer is karma. Putting off Prapatti until gaining

more knowledge is very much like waiting for the waves to subside before

taking a dip in the ocean.

 

There is nothing to prevent us to continue to learn after Prapatti. In fact

we must all continue our study to the extent our abilities and circumstances

permit. But do not let self perceived lack of knowledge delay the

observance of Prapatti.

 

Worthy or not worthy?

---------------------

In fact not being worthy is what makes one eligible for Prapatti. Among

those who are desirous of mOksham, the ones who are overwhelmed by a feeling

of inadequacy are the ones who are most qualified for Prapatti. The

prerequisites for Prapatti are (i) Akinchinyam (feeling of utter inadequacy

to attain moksham through one's own efforts) and (ii) ananyagatitvam (lack

of any means for mOksham other than Perumal). So, ask the following

questions,

 

[1] do you want release from Samsaram at the end of this life time?

[2] are you incapable of attaining mOksham on your own effort?

[3] do you put all your trust in only Perumal to grant you mOksham?

 

If one answers " yes " to the above simple questions, then he/she is eminently

qualified for Prapatti. No other qualification is necessary.

 

Life of a Prapanna

------------------

Fear of not being able to live up to the standards of a Prapanna is probably

the most decisive reason for a sincere Sri Vaishnava to put off Prapatti.

This is unjustifiable if we truly believe that we are helpless. If we put

our trust in the Lord and AcArya, they will show us a way to modify our life

style. To strive on our own to perfect ourselves prior to Prapatti is, it

seems to me, to negate " akinchinyatvam " , a prerequisite for Prapatti. If

one must first be confident of a perfect post-Prapatti life style before

feeling qualified for Prapatti, no one will be eligible. Our Sampradayam is

full of expressions of extreme unworthiness. But our Sampradayam is also

full of adoration for the Lord's grace that can lift even the worst among us

to glory. If we trust Perumal and AcArya, they will show us a way out of

our proclivities.

 

It seems to me that after Prapatti one will be naturally motivated to serve

one's AcArya more and more. This will lead to increased contacts with

practicing sincere Sri Vaishnavas. This will in turn intensify our desire

to serve AcAryas even more. This happy cycle will lead to the fulfilment of

the five angas of Prapatti. In other words, do not put off Prapatti until

the five angas of Prapatti are perfected. For the sincere, Perumal will

fulfill these angas in due course of time. It will happen, do not doubt the

power of Perumal's grace and AcArya's compassion.

 

Here it is pertinent to remind ourselves of Swami Sri Desikan who assures us

that sins committed after Prapatti unknowingly will be ignored by Perumal.

We will receive punishments for sins committed consciously, but the Lord

will mot deny mOksham. The only acts that will negate Prpatti are (i) anya

devatA worship which invalidates " ananyagatitvam " , one of the prerequisites

for Prapatti, and (ii) bhAgavata/AcArya apacAram which is a capital offense

that will brook the Lord's intense anger and displeasure.

 

It is clear from Swami Sri Desikan and our Sadsampradayam that unless one

undergoes Prapatti in accordance with Sasthras, in one form or another, i.e.

Uktinishtai, or Acarya nishtai (for all practical purposes Svanishtai is not

available as even great Mahans for a long time have refrained from the

practice of Svanishtai), Perumal will not grant mOksham. Therefore, for

those who are desirous of breaking the cycle of Samsara it is a matter of

utmost urgency that they undertake Prapatti through a SadAcArya without any

delay as no one can guarantee how long our present life will last.

 

srimad azhagiya singar thiruvadigaLE saraNam

 

-- adiyEn ramanuja dasan

 

p.s.

There are many other reasons people put off Prapatti, such as, why now

itself, let us enjoy life now, we can do Prapatti when we are old, if we do

Prapatti we cannot eat onions, etc. etc. But these are too silly to be

occupying the minds of our net.

[Guest guest]

Sri:

Sri Lakshmi nrisimha parabrahmaNE nama:

Sri Lakshmi nrisimha divya paduka sevaka

srivan satakopa sri narayana yatindra mahadesikaya nama:

 

[Krishna Kalale]

Sri Ananda karalapakkam has written a very good article on prapatti and

when one is ready for it. What I am writing here is not against what is

written in the article. but I would like to write certain points to make it

clear so that people get the right picture.

 

1. One should inform others regarding prapatti. but more often than not,

if one is very close like a parent or spouse or brother or sister or even a

close friend, people with knowledge of prapatti tend to force prapatti on

them even though others are not really ready for it. This has happened in

many cases in practice. In many cases it works out fine. but in some cases

it has backfired. The person after having prapatti since he / she was sort

of pressurized into it has expressed openly that he/she should not have

done it! This is the worst possibility. However, I have to admit that

adiyen is guilty of such a persuasion. I am sure it is up to

srimannarayana and acharyas to deal with such prapattis. But, I feel very

guilty of such an sorry incident. When I consulted shastras, I found that

one should not pressurise anyone other than one's children not even spouse;

however spouse sort of comes under a gray area. Even children who are old

should not be pressurised. They have to taught slowly and induced into

this.

 

there is a rule in the shastras - na apristah kasyachit bruyat - if one has

not asked a particular thing dont tell him what he has not asked. it will

be wrong to give information which one has not asked for; like how one

should not feed a person forcibly who has just eaten a big meal and is

completely satisfied and full. It is better to feed a hungry person

instead.

 

I am sure that the very medium of internet, books etc. violate this rule.

But atleast writing on internet opens up information but does not

pressurise anyone to follow it. Believe me, without the internet and books

most srivaishnavas would completely be left in the lurch with no

information whatsoever. With the change in times which forces individuals

to live in far away lands, internet is more a blessing than a problem.

 

2. One should really feel that one needs prapatti or else such a person

should not undergo prapatti for just a social acceptance reason of some

such thing. I know one case where a parent forced an adult (daughter) to

undergo prapatti and that person never took it seriously. Again adiyen

knows about another such a case where in the aspirant was not at all an

aspirant and got prapatti in " gumbal ode gumbal " (in a group situation)

and even joked about it.

 

Note. One should know that whatever form an acharya chooses to perform

prapatti it will certainly work without any doubts. One should not have any

doubts. If someone has doubts that person should wait or seek the help of

an acharya before getting prapatti. For example, one needs a good amount

of mahavishvasa for prapatti even if that person has less of the other 4

angas (requirements). The worst thing is for one to feel bad after getting

prapatti.

 

Please note that these are some exceptions but I have no intention to

contradict what was written by Sri ananda karalapakkam with so much

shraddha and sincerity.

 

AGAIN THESE ARE MY OWN THOUGHTS. I HAVE NOT ASKED AN ACHARYA REGARDING THE

CORRECTNESS OF THESE ISSUES. ADIYEN SINCERELY FEELS THAT THESE ISSUES

RAISED ARE CORRECT. I REQUEST SRI ANAND KARALAPAKKAM TO ASK ELDERS AND

ACHARYAS REGARDING THIS AND CONFIRM.

 

adiyen Krishna Kalale

 

 

 

------

Srimate Sri Laksminrisimha Divya Paduka Sevaka

Srivan Satakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama:

[Guest guest]

 

Krishna Kalale [sMTP:kkalale1]

Saturday, November 27, 1999 1:01 PM

Malolan Net

Re: When is one ready for Prapatti?

 

[Krishna Kalale] I guess the previous article was written by Sri Dileepan. I

misunderstood that it was written by Sri Anand Karalapakkam

 

adiyen

Krishna Kalale

[Guest guest]

Dear Bhagavatas

The brilliant write up of Sri Dileepan would have cleared many doubts.

 

Sri Kalale has added inputs in which he has very ably argued against forcing

anyone to undertake Prapatti. I believe that none in the net is interested in

proselytizing an unwilling person into accepting Prapatti. One will resort to

Prapatti only IF and when the Lord wills so; No amount of persuasion can

help.

 

Since it is said that " PrapannAth anyEshAm na disathi mukundhO nijapadam " -

there is no other way than Prapatti for one to attain Moksham than Prapatti,

what is sought to be done is to create an awareness about the Prapatti marga

so that people (otherwise knowledgeable or not) may develop an interest and

resort to Prapatti in due course " when the Lord feels that they are ready. "

 

In this connection, I would like to deal with a dew genuine doubts expressed

on the subject and attempt to answer them.

Dasoham

Anbil Ramaswamy

============================================================

Doubt 1 : What guarantee is there that a person performing Prapatti is sure

to reach MOksha at the end of this life?

 

Answer : The Vedas, Sastras and the entire gamut of our scriptures proclaim

this truth; The venerable Maharishis, Sages and Seers of ancient times have

seconded this fact; The lineage of our AchAryas have confirmed in unambiguous

terms the veracity of the claim. Nothing more will be needed to accept the

proposition.

 

One is reminded of Bhattar's exposition of an imaginary conversation as

between Lord RanganAtha and a Jiva taking place at the time of the Lord

emerging out of his ceremonial bath (Thirumanjana)

 

Wearing a single wet yellow raiment and a solitary garland of Tulasi (the

holy basil) standing serenely before the shining lamp with wick soaked in

pure ghee.-

Lord : You are mine.

Jeeva : No. I am mine.

Lord : How do you say that?

Jeeva : Where is the record in support of your claim?

Lord : My claim is based on Vedas.

Jeeva : Vedas are your making.

Lord : Then, on what basis do you say that you are yours.

Jeeva : I have been believing this from the beginningless time and on the

strength of life experiences (Anubhava Vibhava) and this is verily the law.

Lord : But your claim has been objected.

Jeeva : By whom and when?

Lord : By Gita and other scriptures.

Jeeva: Gita is your word; Scriptures are your making. Tell me, have you any

other witnesses to support the objections?

Lord : Yes, the great VyAsa, ParAsara and other great sires.

Jeeva : Lo! They are all prejudiced in your favor (Pakshapadi).

 

Bhattar imagines that since no judge or jury could be spotted to settle the

dispute, the only course open to the Lord was to appear in the attire he

wore, stand serenely before the lamp and swear.

 

May be, even such swearing will not be believed these days but in Bhattar's

period people had absolute faith when someone swore to the truth in the

manner described.

 

Even so, Sri Swami Desika is prepared to discuss both the alternatives of the

proposition being true or false.

 

He says that if it were true and if you are desirous of salvation, you get

what you want; If not true, you do not lose anything by performing Prapatti.

So, it is a case of 'All win and no loss' and invites us to have a try.

 

Doubt 2: It is said that after doing Prapatti no sins should be committed. If

committed they would accrue to the Acharya. As frail humans subject to Karma,

we cannot avoid committing sins knowingly or unknowingly. And, to make the

Acharya suffer on account of our faults would be unfair to him. Therefore, it

is better to postpone Prapatti as far as possible and perform it at the end

of this life when very little time will be left in our hands to commit any

sins -- thus 'Sparing the Acharya' from our misdemeanor.

 

Answer : The argument is indeed very clever, seeks to help in evading

performance of Prapatti and impart a justification for escapism. It is true

that Manu Dharma Sastra very clearly stipulates that 'The sins committed by

his subjects accrue to the king; the king's sins accrue to his Purohit; the

wife's sins accrue to the husband and the disciple's sins accrue to his

preceptor.'

The objection is obviously based on this.

 

This is a general rule applicable to ordinary circumstances. The position of

a Prapanna stands on a different footing. The Prapatti SAstra admits that as

human beings exposed to the vagaries of life even a Prapanna might commit

sins. But, in the first place a Prapanna will scrupulously avoid committing

any sins whatsoever. Sins committed unknowingly will not have any effect.

Sins committed knowingly can be expiated by repentance (Nirveda) or by

atonement (PrAyaschitta) or by undergoing minor sufferings by way of

punishment (if not atoned.)

 

Thus, such sins will not cling to the Prapanna himself and there is no

question of their accruing to the Acharya as assumed. Therefore the Prapatti

SAstras advise you to 'Save your own soul' and also 'Spare the Acharya' from

being dragged into the net of your sins by a 'transfer entry' as imagined by

you.

 

Doubt 3: Some advance another specious excuse that in the background of

modern day hectic activity and struggle for survival, one cannot be too

meticulous about observing the age old stipulations of Dharmic duties like

SaligrAma ArAdhana etc.; one cannot be too fastidious about avoiding

prohibited foods like onions, garlic etc, or too fussy about partaking in

'socializing' involving as it does (in some cases) imbibing intoxicants. Some

wanting to appear more puritanic than the puritans extend it to such

innocuous pastimes like viewing movies or TV shows or using baser materials

like stainless steel in the place of Silver pooja articles etc.

 

Answer : Again, this is an escapist argument betraying an unwillingness to

face facts and a flagrant turning away from the goal of MOksha.

 

Let it be understood that there is

* no compulsion from any quarters that one should seek salvation;

* no condition that one should stay away from sins;

* no restriction on consuming undesirable foods;

* no embargo on one's socializing --

if these please one and suits one's predilections.

All that is sought to be impressed is that if -- and there is a big if there

-- if one desires salvation (the whole treatise of Srimad Rahasya Traya SAram

is only for such a person and such a person only) there are ways to go about

it.

 

As already explained, if in any unavoidable circumstances, the Prapanna is

unable to fulfill his Dharmic duties in the prescribed manner or is compelled

to resort to non- dharmic practices such as eating unholy or remnant foods or

drink, such situations will fall under the category of sins committed

knowingly. As explained earlier, one should feel really repentant (Nirveda)

or perform atonement (PrAyaschitta) and beseech the Lord to excuse the

indiscretion due to circumstances beyond one's control (individually and

socially.) Viewing movies or TV is neither Dharmic nor Adharmic so long as it

does not interfere with the observance of other Swadharmic duties prescribed

in the SAstras. No doubt the Prapanna should earnestly endeavor to avoid

getting into such situations in future.

 

Doubt 4. There are many passages even in our Sandyavandana, Tarpana etc.,

worshipping Pitrus and other deities like Vayu, Agni, Gayatri, Savitri,

Saraswati, Brahma Deivatyam, Rudra Deivatyam etc., If only NArAyaNa is to be

worshipped, why do we worship these minor divinities?

 

Answer : Firstly, these expressions have been drawn from the Vedas

prescribing the daily recitations in which these deities are invoked as the

embodiment of Sri NArAyaNa, who is their soul. When we mention their names,

we are not worshipping them but their indwelling soul, the Paramatma, Sri

NArAyaNa.

 

Secondly, since these names are only common names they are applicable to them

as well as to Sri NArAyaNa indwelling in them. We are not actually

worshipping them but only Sri NArAyaNa (e.g) the word 'Agni' means 'One who

leads'- 'Agre Nayati iti Agni.'Though it names Agni, it denotes NArAyaNa who

is the real one who actually leads even the deity of Agni. Thus, the ultimate

meaning of any attributes or divinities actually refer to Lord NArAyaNa .

 

When we garland someone, we do not garland the shirt on which it is worn, nor

the body of the person wearing it but the person within. So also, when the

names of these divinities are uttered , they are meant actually to refer

ultimately to Lord NArAyaNa only.

 

What is essential for a Prapanna are just the following and it says it all.

1. Should have firm and exclusive faith in Sri NArAyaNa as the sole savior

and bestower of Moksha and in Prapatti as the sole means to secure Moksha.

2. Should scrupulously avoid under any circumstances any disrespect in mind,

word or deed towards Bhagavan, Bhagavatas and Acharyas.

 

If the attitude is healthy, motivation ethical, intention honest and if the

will is there to remain virtuous in the face of temptations, there always is

a way to remain so. The constant effort towards evolution will come in

naturally and one can palpably feel in one's own heart the progress of

regeneration and a march to self improvement.

 

Nobody need be worried about not being able to achieve perfection to the

level of their role-models because only 'practice makes for perfection.' Any

attempts towards perfection will be a stepping stone to the success. If one

develops this faith and this attitude, all else will fall in place

automatically.

(Note: These are excerpts from " Chapter 18 Prapatti " of " Hinduism

Rediscovered "

archived at www.srivaishnava.org/sgati by Sri Venkatesh Elayavalli)

============================================================