Torture of Body during SamASrayanam

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SrI:

SrI Lakshminrusimha ParabrahmaNE namaha

SrI Lakshminrusimha divya pAdukA sEvaka SrIvaN SatakOpa-

SrI nArAyaNa yateendra mahAdESIkAya namaha

 

Dear devotees,

namO nArAyaNa.

 

The following question was raised by a devotee to know

more about the significance of tApa samskAram and

SamASrayanam in general.

 

> hello sir,

> I am an iyengar without samasrayanam. Your article was a great

read.

> thank you for that. My only problem with samasrayanam is that by

simply

> branding god's(my) body how does my soul get purified? I can still

be a

> servent of Srimad Narayana without torturing god's body. Doesn't

Sri

> Krishna say in Gita " Donot torture your body to reach me because it

is

> fruitless " . Also aren't we ' trusteees' of the body and therefore

have

> no right to torture it ?

> Two dumb questions. Please enlighten me!

 

The answer is as follows :

 

1. It is only SAstras which form the authority for deciding

as to what is right and what is wrong. If SAstras (vEdas,

Smrutis, pAncarAtra etc) says that, we have to perform

certain act (for a specified reason), we have to do it.

Its _always_ going to be for our benifit. For becoming

a VaishNava, if SAstras stipulates certain things (5

samskAras), then its essential that we need to undergo

it to become a VaishNava.

 

2. SAstras are the divine commands of SrIman nArAyaNa. He

is the author of PAncarAtra also. He, the same person

who gave these bodies to us, is also instructing us to

undergo 5 samskAras. For those who want to attain Him,

these things becomes important. So, its not that we

are performing 5 samskAras out of our own whims and

fancies. Infact, disobeying this SAstric injunction

amounts to misuse of the freewill given to us by

SrIman nArAyaNa and we don't act us proper trustees

of the body. If one really feels as the servant of

SrIman nArAyaNa, then he/she will certainly obey what

the master instructs/commands, which is known through

the SAstras. Thus, a real servan t will certainly come

forward happily to undergo SamASrayanam.

 

3. It is only through SamASrayanam does one gets linked into

the SrI VaishNava Parampara, through that AchArya. Attaining

an AchArya is of utmost importance enroute to attaining

SrIman nArAyaNa.

 

4. There are 5 samskAras totally. Its not that only

applying the marks of Sanka and Chakra (ie. tApa samskAra)

denotes SamASrayanam. It is only one of the 5 samskAras.

Hardly does one will feel the pain during tApa samskAra,

and it will be like a bite of an ant Or even lesser pain

than that. This is absolutely not at all a torture to

the body.

 

5. The same body, when gets infected with some disease,

one is ready to go for surgery and the like. Even

injections are taken for the improvement of health.

These will also fall under the category of " torture "

in your own terms. But, these are actually not tortures,

since the patient undergoes these things willingly for

becoming better. Also, a devotee has no right to die

by his/her own accord ie. commiting suicide is against

SAstras. A devotee has the full responsibility in taking

care of the body in a way that it is used for spiritual

purposes and adopt a means viz. either " bhakti " Or

" Prapatti " to attain SrIman nArAyaNa. Thus when a devotee

needs not only to preserve his/her health for performing

better spiritual services, but also needs to undergo

things like SamASrayanam, which are for his/her own spiritual

upliftment.

 

6. The food we take is not only for the nourishment of the

body, but it also affects " us " the jIvAtma. The sattvIka

Or rAjasa Or tAmasa characteristics of the body does

affect the jIvAtma's mental faculty (dharmabhUta jn~yAna

to be in technical terms). Similarly, what we see, hear

etc affect " us " the jIvAtmas only. Similarly, the five

samskAras, though done through the medium of the body,

actually affects the jIvAtma and this is the way SrIman

nArAyaNa has made the sankalpam (desired), as evident

from SAstras.

 

7. In bhagavad gIta, Lord KrishNa does say that while

performing a spiritual activity, we shouldn't be

either lazy Or afraid of performing tough spiritual

procedures Or fear bodily discomfort etc. We should

always be prepared to do the best, within the constraints

one is in :

 

For instance :

 

( Trans. of Bhagavad RAmAnuja's GIta bhAshya by

SrI AdidEvAnanda).

 

" The contact of senses with their objects, O Arjuna, gives

rise to feelings of cold and heat, pleasure and pain.

They come and go, never lasting long. Endure them O Arjuna. "

(2.14)

 

" Holding pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and

defeat alike, grid yourself upto the battle. Thus, you

shall not incur any sin " (2.38)

 

 

8. The bottomline is that, as long as we are baddha jIvAtmas

acting under the control of karma, SAstras are the guide

given to us by SrIman nArAyaNa. One who loves His

Master viz. SrIman nArAyaNa, will automatically follow His

instructions (through SAstras), which are for our

well-being only.

 

adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan,

anantapadmanAbha dAsan.

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