Sincere Appeal to SrI VaishNavas in 1977 : Reg. UttamUr SwAmi's Books

[Guest guest]

SrI:

SrI SrInivAsa ParabrahmaNE namaha

SrImad " abhinava dESIka " UttamUr VeerarAghavArya mahAdESIkAya namaha

SrImatE nArAyaNa yateendra mahAdESikAya namaha

 

Dear devotees,

namO nArAyaNa.

 

Note : Please read this very important posting completly, though

quite lengthy. Thanks in advance for your patience.

 

aDiyEn would like to share a very sincere and emotional

appeal from SrI R.Venkatachari, in his " Publisher's Note "

for the UttamUr swAmi's book " UpanishadArtha Sangraha " .

This work was rendered in sanskrit verses by UttamUr

SwAmi, bringing out the cardinal teachings of around

twenty upanishads starting from ISAvAsyOpanishad,

followed by kEna, KaTha, praSna etc. UttamUr SwAmi himself

has written a short commentry in tamil for it, explaining

the meaning conveyed by these verses. It was published in

commemoration of the SatAbhishEkam of SrI UttamUr SwAmi

on 10th Oct 1977.

 

SrI Venkatachari, a very devouted disciple of SrI UttamUr

SwAmi writes atfirst about this book, then shares his

anubhavams with SrI UttamUr SwAmi and then proceeds to

make an appeal for the whole SrI VaishNava Community.

What he appealed twenty three years ago through his

" Publisher's Note " still carries lot of message and its

very important for the SrI VaishNavas to ponder over.

These feelings are also shared by some of us now. Lets

read it and take appropriate action towards the

successful fulfilment of these goals through the

blessings of the Divya Dampati and AchAryas. Its high time

to do more things concrete in action.

 

It was during that time that the commentaries on almost all

the works of SwAmi dESikan got completed by UttamUr SwAmi,

within a span of just ten years. Trigerred by this amazing

achievement and the invaluable importance of the works of

SwAmi DESikan with the added invaluability through SrI

abhinava DESikan's commentaries, SrI VenkatAchAri makes

more references in his appeal regarding it.

 

 

PUBLISHER'S NOTE by SrI R.VenkatAchAri

*****************************************

 

I have great pleasure in presenting to the public a

unique and rare work in Sanskrit as kArikAs of SrI

" abhinava dESika " swAmi, called " UpanishadArtha Sangraha

KArikAs " . The poems were written long ago, almost at the

time of writting the commentaries for the Upanishads

(1940s). Out of modesty, he didn't publish the same, as

he wanted to publish all the works of SrI VEdAnta dESika

first. Now that the works of SrI DESika are almost

completed, he agreed to my request to publish this work.

He has already published a tamil book in essay form

called " Upanishad SAram " and this book will be a

valuable addition for the proper understanding of the

meaning of the Upanishads by the aastikas without much

knowledge in Sanskrit. I felt really honoured when my

Revered AchArya ordered me to be the publisher of this

book and I now present this book to the aastikas as my

humble homage to my Revered AchArya SrI U.Ve. abhinava

dESIka UttamUr VeerarAghavArya MahAdESIkan on his

SatAbhishEkam which falls on SwAti nakshatra of Makara

mAsa (month) in the year Anala, which is being

celebrated on 10th February 1977.

 

 

In this connection, permit me little bit of indulgence

and a bit of loud thinking on my impressions, sitting

under the feet of my Revered AchArya for more than a

decade as a student in his famous kAlakshEpa gOshti and

also as his servant-secretary in his publications,

starting with SrutaprakASika commentary followed by all

the works of SrI VEdAnta DESika.

 

I had the great fortune to associate myself under the

feet of my Revered AchArya for the past twelve years. I

consider that day as the luckiest day in my life when I

caught hold of his feet and begged him to accept me as

his Sishya. On that day, I approached him to undertake

the re-publication of SrI RangarAmAnuja MahAdESikan's

" LaghuvAhnikam " . Eventhough I never had any qualification

to sit before him, I had the courage to approach him

with my only qualification of having undergone the

" Panca SamskAra - Purification " (SamASrayanam) from SrI

KozhiyAlam swAmi, who is also the AchArya of SrI abhinava

dESika swAmi. He permitted me to attend the kAlakshEpa

gOshti of SrI GIta BhAshya. Today, when I look back, I

really wonder how easily I could complete, not only the

Grantha Chatushtaya, but many other granthas also under

his feet.

 

 

Almost immediately after I joined the kAlakshEpa

gOshti, I found out that the publication of SrI BhAshya

with SrutaprakASika commentary, started more than a year

ago, could not progress for want of printing facilities

in the city. SrI swAmi, my Revered AchArya, told me,

casually, that he undertook the publication of

SrtutaprakASika under instructions from SrI KOzhiyAlam

swAmi and also about his dilema to find means to push

through the publication. He suggested that there is no

other alternative than owning his own composing section.

My Revered AchArya gave me the command to be incharge of

the printing side. Within a few days Types and other

appliances were purchased and work was started in my

humble cottage. With the wide knowledge SrI swAmi

possesed about the printing and with his guidance, we

were able to finish the book SrutaprakASika in a record

time of about one and a half years.

 

 

Even though SrI swAmi had written more than seventy

granthas (both original and commentaries) he was not

satisfied and he expressed his desire to publish all the

works of SrI dESika after a thorough scrutiny of the

original works, along with ancient commentaries available

and wherever there is none worth publication, along with

his own commentaries. Under the banner of " Ubhaya VEdAnta

GranthamAla " , we announced the publication of SrI dESika's

panca kAvyAs (*). Today, within a span of ten years, SrI

swAmi has completed almost all works of SrI dESika, in

addition to many other works.

 

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

(*) : panca kAvyas : YAdavAbhyudayam, PAdukA Sahasram,

Hamsa SandEsham, SubhAshita Neevi and Sankalpa

SUryOdayam are referred to as five kAvyAs here.

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

 

It used to be a point of discussion amongst scholars

as to how it was possible for SrI dESika to write so many

books within his lifetime. But after my association with

SrI abhinava dESika swAmi, my Revered AchArya, I have no

doubt about that. SrI swAmi has also completed an equal

number of books and thereby confirmed and proved that he

is, no doubt, the abhinava avatAra of SrI dESika. Anybody

visiting SrI swAmi, at 'SiddhAshramam " , at 25 (*), nAthamuni

street, will find SrI swAmi thoroughly immersed in

scrutinising some SrI SUkti or other, whether it is day

or night. We all know that, he is the walking

Encyclopaedia, not only in ViSishtAdvaita siddhAnta, but

in other siddhAntas also.

 

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

(*) : The house number was later changed by the govt to 17

and recently to some other number.

----------

 

He was the first paNdit selected for the President's

award for Sanskrit on the year the award was instituted

by the government of India. It is a fact that, throughout

India, there will not be any paNdit who had not studied

under SrI abhinava dESika swAmi either directly under him

or through his books. For a few years, while he was

staying in Pushkara Divya KshEtra, he had the oppurtunity

to train many paNdits to understand the intricacies of our

siddhAnta and today there are many who are doing

AchAryakam in North India. There are many, spread over

India, who had taken guidance under our swAmi and got

their Ph.D. degrees.

 

 

The most unique thing in our swAmi, SrI abhinava

DESika, is his kAlakshEpa gOshti. To my knowledge and

also from enquiries, I can boldly say that, in no Divya

KshEtra, there is a regular sampradAya kAlakshEpa gOshti,

similar to our swAmi's. We have about thirty sishyAs

coming to him every day. The sishyAs are mostly the so

called lowkikas consisting of office goers, retired

officials, and professionals like doctors, advocates etc.

It is a pity that more paNdits are not coming forward to

utilize the vast ocean of knowledge which SrI swAmi could

teach, so that they can inturn conduct similar gOshtis,

little later in life. The way in which SrI swAmi is

coming down to our level (in most cases it will be only

a basic knowledge of sanskrit gathered while in college)

and make us understand the intricate truths very easily

and raise us to the ultimate God-Realization is unique.

Sometimes, we even ask some silly questions out of

ignorance; but he never looses his mood. He can very

easily find out just by looking at our faces whether we

have understood him or not. The soulabhya and souseelya

of our swAmi is really unique. The true qualification

for a great AchArya (as SrI swAmi has written while

commenting on the 'Sad Vidya' of ChAndOgya Upanishad)

is " mukha darSana mAtrENa Sishya jig~nyAsya niSchayam " .

This is cent percent true in our case. Nowadays, he is

not keeping good health. Even then, he will not stop

his kAlakshEpam. The moment he starts teaching us, he

will gather so much energy that we will be amazed. I am

quite sure that the antaryAmi Lord HayagrIva is giving

him the energy needed for that. While commenting on the

GIta SlOka (10.9) " KathayantaSca mAm nityam tushyanti ca

ramanti ca .... " , our revered AchArya says that, a true

bhakta takes pleasure in reciting the kalyANa guNas of

ParamAtma, considering that the mere recital of the

kalyANa guNa itself is the parama purushArtha (Highest

Goal) and incidentally help the Sishyas to do the same.

This is absolutely true in our swAmi's case.

 

 

Eventhough swAmi had the mantrOpadEsa for entering

the fourth aashrama (SanyAsa), he was forbidden by his

AchArya SrI KOzhiyAlam swAmi, from entering the sanyAsa

aashrama and he was ordained the mamoth task of bringing

to print all the important SrI SUktis. It is a firm

belief, of both the AchAryAs that the RAmAnuja SiddhAnta

and SrI DESika SampradAya could be properly preserved and

spread *Only* through the publications of all the granthas

and *Not* by any other method. SrI swAmi used to say that

money spent on platform talks and other festivities are

equal to money spent on fireworks during DeepAvali. That

is why he is concentrating on publications through his

organization " Ubhaya VEdAnta GranthamAla " . He is nearing

completion of all the works of SrI DESika with suitable

commentaries both in sanskrit and tamil. It is a pity that

the response from the aastikas is very poor. Almost all

the copies are lying idle and there is not enough space

in his aashramam to store the books. I earnestly request

all the aastikas to come forward and purchase one set of

books. SrI swAmi is offering the books at almost half

the cost. He is printing only thousand copies in each

book and I am not able to believe that there are not

enough aastikas throughout India who cannot afford two

or three hundred ruppees, just to help the cause of our

siddhAnta. SrI abhinava dESika swAmi used to say that

there is sAnidhyam of Lord HayagrIva in these books and

the SrI sUktis are cent percent fit for worship. Just

like we possess a set of KOyilAzhwAr in our homes, every

one of us should possess a set of SrI DESika's works in

our homes and do pooja, and earn the blessings of Lord

HayagrIva. Just like we possess a set of KOyilAzhwAr and

sAlagrAmam in our houses, to be handed over to the next

generation, we should also possess a set of SrI DESika's

works on our homes. That is the only way in which we can

repay our debt to SrI DESika and SrI abhinava DESika, for

the trouble they have taken to give us the SrI SUktis. If

we imagine for a moment, " What will happen to our

siddhAnta if all the SrI sUktIs disappear " , we will

realize the importance of possessing a set of books. Who

knows, in future generations some may be born in our

family who may have the knowledge to study SrI DESika's

works and to enrich the existing commentaries. It is but

fitting that we leave a set of books also along with the

KOyilAzhwAr and sAlagrAmam.

 

 

Eventhough our swAmi SrI abhinava dESika is a

gruhasta, we all know that he is actually living as a

sannyAsi with complete detachment. He does not even know

or have a list of his Sishyas, who have undergone either

" Panca SamskAra " Or " BharanyAsa " under him (ie. he

personally does not communicate to the Sishyas for forcing

them to donate money etc by virtue of he being the AchArya

etc and he concentrates only in their well-being through

upadEsam). Many times, he used to spend more money by way of

SambhAvanas to the paNdits during the celebrations of

the thirunakshatrams (of AzhwArs and AchAryas, including

himself) than what he gets from Sishyas. Today, SrI swAmi

is the undisputed guiding star for our sampradAya. I have

heard SrI U.Ve. ThirukkaLLam swAmi say that, by reading a

few pages of the commentary of SrI abhinava dESIka, one can

do upanyAsam for months together. He also used to compare

the people who attend the " evening upanyAsams " in thousands

to children in elementary classes and those who attend

SrI swAmi's upanyAsams to students in M.Sc. and Ph.D.

classes. Naturally the number is low, but contains the

essence. I have seen lot of people directed by Jagadguru

SankarAcharya (the late kAnchi SankarAchArya) who come to

purchase SrI swAmi's books. The Jagadguru used to say, it

seems, that if one wants to study advaita philosophy, he

should read abhinava dESIka's works, where both the

siddhAntas are very clearly explained and discussed. Such

is the merit of our abhinava dESIka, even among other

siddhAntins and it is a pity that we do not realize the

Treasure available to us right at arm's length.

 

 

In this connection, all paNdits will agree with me

that one is amazed and astounded at the profundity of

knowledge of my Revered AchArya, covering all the

SAstras like MImAmsa, Tarka (ie. NyAya), VyAkarana,

VEdAnta etc. to the extent he can talk and discuss with

authority on all of them. Side by side, he was

practising to the extreme limits the rigorous of AchAra

and anushThAna in daily rituals. I can only think of one

possible explanation to the profundity of knowledge of

my Revered AchArya, matching in no mean way to that of

SrI VEdAnta DESika himself. While explaining to us

during the kAlakshEpa gOshti, the meaning of the nigama

pAsuram in SrImad Rahasya Traya sAram viz. " veLLaip

parimugar dEsikarAi virakAladiyOm, vuLLatthezhudiya

vOlaittanam ........ " (**), our Revered AchArya used

to explain to us as follows : " Lord HayagrIva, assuming

the role of an AchArya, has written my (SrI DESika's

mind). This is compared to the recording of voice in a

gramaphone record - Mind being the Record. When I

(SrI DESika) apply my buddhi(intellect ie. dharmabhUta

gn~yAnam ) to my mind, I am able to read and tell you

what is written there by Lord HayagrIva " . This is

compared to the reproduction of the recorded sound when

a needle(Buddhi) is applied to the lines marked earlier

on the record. The lines marked on the record are

permanent. So also the lines written by Lord HayagrIva

in the mind of SrI DESika are permanent and did not

disappear. It remained there even in the abhinava

avatAra as my Revered AchArya, SrI VeerarAghavArya

MahAdESIkan. So, it is no wonder that the knowledge of

my Revered AchArya is no way inferior to that of SrI

DESika.

 

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

 

(**) : In the pAsuram cited <a very often quote>, SwAmi DESikan

pays his reverential tributes to his most merciful

AchArya(s) and thereby with sAtvIka-tyAgam, the greatness

of his grantha esp.SrImad Rahasya Traya SAram, in which

this pAsuram occurs <Please read this very esoteric

message in chaste tamil> :

 

" VeLLaip parimugar dEsikar-aai viragAl adiyOm

uLLaththu yezhudiyadu Olayil ittanam yAm idaRku yen

koLLath tuNiyinum kOdu enRu igazhinum koor-madiyeer

yeL athtanai ugavAdu ikazhAdu yem yezhil madiyE "

 

ie. " The Lord (HayagrIva) whose face resembles that of a

white horse, incarnated as my aachArya and by the

device of upadEsam, He wrote these facts unto aDiyEn's

mind and aDiyEn wrote them unto these palm leaves.

Hence, where is the question of defect in this work (Or

these works) ? (idaRku yen). Oh wise men with critical

mind ! (koor-madiyeer), Whether you accept/glorify this

work <by realizing its greatness> (koLLath tuNiyinum),

Or you discard it as unworthy with defects <due to

jealousy etc> (kOdu enRu igazhinum), my <pure, firm and>

beautiful mind (yem yezhil madi) will Neither be elated

<out of ego> (ugavAdu) Nor cast aspersions and hate <out

of ego, those who disregard this work> (igazhAdu)

respectively, to even an infinitesimal amount (yeL atthanai)

<ie. It is Lord HayagrIva to be elated about it Or show

nigraham as the case may be, since He is the principal

writer of the work> " .

 

What a great message from the greatest AchArya of all times !!

 

The beauty as noted by SrI SrIrAmadESikAchArya is that, in

general, people record whats available in palm-leaves/records

into their mind ; But in case of SwAmi DESIkan, its the reverse:

SwAmi DESikan wrote unto palm-leaves/records, what was recorded

earlier in his mind by Lord HayagrIva !!

 

Ref : SrI SrIrAmadESikAchArya's translation and noted on

SwAmi DESikan's prabandhams, LIFCO.

 

 

 

All these years, SrI swAmi has been modest enough

not to publish his own books. There is a long list

waiting to be published which will enrich our list of

works of ancient AchAryas. It is our duty to undertake

publication of his books, by way of repayment to SrI

abhinava DESika for what he has done to our sampradAya.

Otherwise, we will be loosing a huge treasure. I am happy

to tell you that SrI swAmi, my Revered AchArya, has very

kindly accepted my offer to bear the cost of publishing

" UpanishadArtha Sangraha KArikas " with a commentry in

Tamil. I am sure most of you will take this oppurtunity

to grab at the chance to undertake publication of other

SrI sUktIs of SrI abhinava dESika.

 

 

Whenever my Revered AchArya mentions his association

with SrI KOzhiyAlam swAmi, he used to tell us about the

astounding capacity of SrI KOzhiyAlam swAmi to analyse

and go deeper and deeper into the various granthas and

their meaning and that if at all he (my Revered AchArya)

has gained any knowledge, it is only because of the

guidance he got under the feet of SrI KOzhiyAlam swAmi,

who even during his lifetime and even by the pandits of

other sampradAya, was hailed as " abhinava BhAshyakAra "

(ie. newer RAmAnujAchArya). SrI DESika, it seems had

always regretted that he was not born during the

lifetime of SrI BhAshyakAra to get the previlege of

being his direct sishya. So also, we are told that SrI

BhAshyakAra regretted that SrI DESika was not his direct

sishya (Pandits say that BhAshyakAra even predicted the

birth of SrI DESika). So, SrI BhAshyakAra took an

abhinava avatAra as SrI KOzhiyAlam swAmi and SrI DESika

took an abhinava avatAra as my Revered AchArya, and

thereby satisfying their mutual regrets. Later on, after

the time of SrI DESika, some people went even to the

extent of saying that SrI DESika differed in his views

of BhAshyakAra's. By publishing the SrI sUktis of SrI

DESika with many ancient commentaries, by adding suitable

foot notes wherever necessary and also by writing fresh

commentaries both in Sanskrit and Tamil wherever none

worth available for printing, and also by his other

publications, the controversy over the supposed

difference of views between SrI BhAshyakAra and SrI

DESika was given a deep burial by my Revered AchArya.

 

 

SrI U.Ve.KOzhiyAlam swAmi himself blessed the

Tanian (*) of SrI abhinava dESika as follows :

 

" adbhutam yasya vikrAntam vEda-veethI-viSOdhanE

aparam nigamAntAryam prapadyE VeerarAghavam "

 

{ " ie. Salutations/Surrender unto VeerarAghavAchArya, the newer

VEdAnta DESika, whose expertness/prowess (vikrAntam) in

cleansing (viSOdhanam) the streets of VEda (vEda veethI)

<through the exposition of its actual interpretations> is

wonderful/awesome (adbhutam) " . }

 

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

(*) : The traditional kAlakshEpa style involves the recitation

of ShAnti-pATha from VEda viz. " SannO mitra ... " , followed

by taniyans of the AchAryas of the guruparampara for the

kAlakshEpa grantha, till the taniyan of the AchArya under

whom one is undergoing kAlakshEpam. Then, a sishya will

read out the text(s) from the grantha and the AchArya will

explain it word to word with the help of commentaries. Then

the sishya should re-read the previously read text(s) and

thereby see to it as to whether he has understood the text

completely. If any doubt arises, he can ask it at the end

of the kAlakshEpam (Or then and there itself, as per the

style adopted by the AchArya). Again, the sishya should

read the next text and the cycle goes on. At the end of

each kAlakshEpam session, the AchArya taniyan has to be

recited (Offering prostrations at the beggining and the

end, being in SrI VaishNava dress code etc are assumed).

After the kAlakshEpam on the entire grantha gets over,

SAtRumarai is performed. For learning SrI BhAshya type

of granthas, there are stricter rules like being in empty

stomach etc and it will be taught in the morning hours.

 

Usually, a sishya will compose the taniyan for his AchArya.

Its very very rare and a great honour to the exalted status

of a sishya, if an AchArya by himself composes the taniyan

for his sishya. SrI KOzhiyAlam swAmi composed that taniyan

for its recitation by the sishyAs undergoing kAlakshEpam

under SrI UttamUr SwAmi.

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

 

How well SrI KOzhiyAlam swAmi predicted the

completion of SrI DESika's works ! What other better way

can we find in cleansing the street of VEda ? He has not

only cleaned the street of VEda, but also repaired and

decorated and lighted the same by publishing SrI DESika's

works. Don't you want to possess the light which adorns

the " VEda VIthI " to illuminate your own homes also ! So,

aastikas ! Come forward and hurry up by purchasing SrI

DESika's works, the mere possesion of them will fill your

house with Light viz. the blessings of Lord HayagrIva.

 

 

How fitting it is that SrI SrInivAsa PerumAL and

SrI VEdAnta DESika, enshrined in Mylapore, conferred the

title of " abhinava dESika " on my Revered AchArya SrI

UttamUr swAmi ! Is there any doubt that SrI DESika

himself is born again amongst us (after having seen the

complete works of SrI DESika being published) ? Are we

going to stand aloof and keep quiet without helping the

cause ! Is mere lip sympathy and a few words of praise

on a platform, enough ! Do you want to stand out and

allow the SrI SUktis of DESika, eaten away by white ants,

for want of proper storage facilities in SiddhAshramam

of SrI swAmi ! The blessings of Lord HayagrIva is just

waiting for you, just for the asking. Just as we plant

coconut trees in our garden so that our children can

enjoy the fruits of the labour, it is our duty to

possess a set of SrI DESika's works in our homes. Who

knows ! One of your children Or grand children may be

an AchArya, and do you want to deny him the pleasure of

having the access to SrI DESika's works !

 

 

Finally, let us pray that Lord HayagrIva bless our

swAmi, SrI abhinava dESika with long life and health, so

that the task of " VEda VeethI ViSOdhanam " could be

completed in full. With reverential regards and pranAmams.

 

 

SrImatE VeerarAghavArya MahAdESikAya namaha

SrI Bhoomi DEvi SamEta SrInivAsa Para BrahmaNE namaha

 

- SohattUr Vangipuram Oppiliappan Sannidhi R.Venkatachari

 

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

 

This very moving appeal by SrI R.VenkatAchAri is much

more relevant now. Please read it again to understand fully

the deep emotions mixed with many disappointments, underwent

by him even when " abhinava dESika " was in his vibhava dasai

(in our midst). There is no need to elaborate on the

current situation.

 

aDiyEn will post a separate mail on the availability of the

divine works of SrI abhinava dESika UttamUr SwAmi and other

related issues. In the meantime, if any of you have missed

reading the previous articles on SrI UttamUr SwAmi posted

in the recent 5 months, please do read them. Thanks.

 

Lets work together towards the propagation of

" VEda VeethI ViSOdhanam " performed by our pUrvAchAryas.

 

More in the future ....

 

AzhwAr,emberumAnAr,dESikan,Azhagiyasingar thiruvadigaLE saraNam

 

aDiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan,

KaralapAkkam KOmAndUr ELayavilli ananthapadmanAbhan.

krishNArpaNam.