Guest guest Posted October 10, 2000 Report Share Posted October 10, 2000 Sri: Sri Gurubhyo Nama: Namaskarams to all the bhaktas I hope all of you have been reading the postings of Sri Satakopan on Sri Hayagriva Stotram. His attention to detail while dealing with the individual slokams and timely references of other works indeed reveal the divinity and the inner, real meanings of those slokams. I, personally, am truly indebted to Sri Satakopan for this Knowledge he has imparted and request him to accept my humble pranamams. I have, with Sri Satakopan's gracious permission, archived these postings in form of HTML pages. Please visit http://hayagriva.homepage.com and click the " Scriptures and Stotrams " section for these translations and other stotrams on Lord Hayagriva. Sri Hayashiirshha ParabrahmaNe Nama: Rajeev ----Original Message Follows---- Sadagopan <sgopan bhakti-list CC: , , Thiruvengadam Articles for SharaNagati Journal prepared by Oppiliappan Sannidhi U.Ve. Dr.V.N.VedAntha Desikan : Part I Sun, 8 Oct 2000 09:17:18 -0400 (EDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 Received: from [208.50.99.211] by hotmail.com (3.2) with ESMTP id MHotMailBBA9BEE5009E40042A0FD03263D3366033; Sun Oct 08 06:17:36 2000 Received: from [10.1.10.35] by hi. with NNFMP; 08 Oct 2000 13:17:28 -0000 Received: (EGP: mail-6_0_3); 8 Oct 2000 13:17:28 -0000 Received: (qmail 5002 invoked from network); 8 Oct 2000 13:17:28 -0000 Received: from unknown (10.1.10.26) by m1.onelist.org with QMQP; 8 Oct 2000 13:17:28 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO ns.computer.net) (207.50.192.4) by mta1 with SMTP; 8 Oct 2000 13:17:28 -0000 Received: from oemcomputer (nyc-ip160.computer.net [140.186.252.160]) by ns.computer.net (8.9.1/8.9.1) with SMTP id JAA13343; Sun, 8 Oct 2000 09:17:18 -0400 (EDT) From sentto-1198566-743-971011049-rkaramchedu Sun Oct 08 06:22:13 2000 X-eGroups-Return: sentto-1198566-743-971011049-rkaramchedu=hotmail.com (AT) returns (DOT) X-Sender: sgopan X-Apparently- Message-Id: <200010081317.JAA13343 X-Sender: sgopan X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.2 Mailing-List: list ; contact -owner Delivered-mailing list Precedence: bulk List-Un: <-> SrimathE RaamAnujAya Nama: Dear BhakthAs: As the editor of SarNAgathi Journal, adiyEn had requested Vangipuram NavanItham VedAntha Desikan Swamy of Oppiliappan Sannidhi to bless us with few articles for the SaraNAgathi Journal . He has been gracious enough to send me two excellent articles , which would be of wider interest beyond the readership of SaraNAgathy Journal .Hence I am releasing these articles to You on this birth day of Swamy Desikan instead of sitting on them because of the long queue that we are experiencing now for the articles awaiting release in the SaraNAgathi Journal. Dr.VedAntha Desikan(VNV) is one of the most distinguished Sri VaishNavite Scholars ,who has the command of English , Tamil and Sanskrit. He is doing yeoman service to Sri VaishNavite Community by bringing the AchArya Sri Sookthis and Dhivya Prabhandham within the reach of one and all . He contributes a series of articles to Nrusimha priyA . The most recent series is on Sri GuNa Rathna KOsam , the matchless tribute ofParAsara Bhattar to Sri RanganAyaki ThAyAr. adiyEn is glad to share these articles of Dr. V.N.Vedantha Desikan with you all, Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SatakOpan The first Article by Dr.V.N.VedAntha Desikan ********************************************* Sri: A SPIRITUAL OVERVIEW - I These are times when myriads of metaphysical theses are propagated though without a real basis. They are often innovations of minds that have fertile imagination that weaves some fictitious castles in the air. They should be spurned by any religious-minded person. The Visishtadvaita system is built on solid authority, namely, the most ancient literature, the Vedas. The vedas are countless. They along with the Smritis, holy Puranas etc. constitute the rock-bottom of this system. The genius of Ramanuja, that of Vedanta Desika and that of many similarly >great minds have built a sold edifice. That is what we call the Sri Vaishnava system. This religious system has as its 'Aadharasruti', so to say, the Sesha-Seshi relationship between individual souls and the supreme soul. Readers ought to imbibe it first and foremost. They must recognise, without any disdain or illwill, however, that the so-called identity - propounded by Advaita - is totally incongruent with the Vedas, is misconceived on a wrong reading of certain lines, and irrational. Brahman, the Supreme Soul and the individual soul cannot be identical, by any stretch of imagination. Why? For that matter, any one to speak of an identity concept is itself a tacit acceptance of two different things! To contend that all else except Brahman is false is an unrealistic postulate. To contend that deliverance from the world's ills is secured by mere realisation of the oneness of souls sounds very attractive - engaging enough to fashionable aristocrats not given to any serious thought or action or religious duty. " Moksha by mere Jnana' is very >attractive; yes; even to minds which cannot claim any intellectual virtue. Could there be a greater intellect than Sri Desika ! Take real life. Do no disregard it. Sensients and insentients constitute two principles; they are the body to the Supreme Brahman. This Tattva - traya should be first accepted. None of them can be negated at will. The atheist negates God; the so-called spiritualist in Advaitis negates individual souls and the world of matter and insentients. The realist that >the Visishtadvaitin is concedes all three realities. The individual souls and insensients - Chit and Achit as they are called -stand as body to the soul that god is. God pervades all. He is Vishnu. My >body subserves my soul. I do things to please my soul. When I taste a delicacy and enjoy it, when I hear (and revel thereby) good music, the actual satisfaction is for my soul. Take it one step further. We should do >all things only to please the Supreme Soul, Lord Vishnu, who is the soul of our souls. Thus from Sareera - Sareeri relation ie. Body-soul relation, we reach a conclusion regarding Sesha - Seshi relation between individual souls and the Supreme. A word about the Supreme soul; He is Sriman-Narayana. He may have thousands of names; his gunas, all auspicious, noble and pleasing, are countless. But He is the ONLY GOD. Identity of souls is wrong; identity even in respect of Godhood is wrong. Narayana is the inner soul, controller, prime mover to other souls, like Brahma, Indra, Siva etc. Hence according a godhood to these personalities and saying that all are gods, that all gods are equal and so on is wrong premises. There ought to be no mistaking in this regard. This proposition is not born of hatred, bigotry, fanaticism or narrow-mindedness. Polytheism is for immature minds. The Vaishnavitas has no disregard, contempt or hatred for Brahma, Siva etc. He has no contempt for other men too. Why, he cannot but revere other forms of life, even a plant or a shrub. His love, his reverence is universal in this sense. But recognising as his Master, as His God, as his Seshi, he will accord a unique position only to Lord Sriman Narayana. Sesha means remnant a consciousness that one is unimportant; one is merely a servant, a subservient, existing to do all kinds of loving service. From seshatva we go to dasatva and kainkarya. This word Sesha is so much vital to our religion and is a unique term too. It will be very interesting to ponder over it. We cannot serve many masters. If we do, we will have no single-minded devotion. What is to be our way of life ! Then we look to a role model of service that Adisesha is. Look at the name; Sesha. He symbolises the Sesha-spirit uniquely. He serves God in all ways at all times. He serves the Lord as an umbrella, throne, paduka, couch, pillow, lamp and all else. Whatever need arises at whichever moment,Adisesha becomes the necessary material.He has no individual liking. His praise is contained in a verse of Poigaiazhvar, the first of the FIRST AZHVARS (Mudalazhvars): " Senrl Kudaiyam " " .........53 Very interestingly this verse has been included as the sample from Tamil Vedas in the daily aradhana ritual. This is contained in a verse of lavandar also, ie. 'Nivasasayyasana'. Appropriately his name is 'Sesha' because no one ever summarizes in his personality, the totality of the 'sesha spirit' as Adisesha does. Two more points are relevant here; Vaishnavism breathes service as its soul. Ramanuja was commenting, in Srirangam, on Thiruvoymozhi. When the decade 'Ozhivil Kalamellam' came, his explanation took a new turn: " Azhvar cherished, as his greatest goal, service at Thirumalai with flowers, etc. Whoever will go there? Is there one in this audience? " he asked with a passion. One listener offered. His name is Anathazhvan. He finally settled on the Hill for rendering flower - service. In those times a thousand years ago, living on the Hill ought to have been a challenging task. Only a bold and vigorous person could have dared to take it up. Hence, he came to be known as 'Anantaanpillai' (a real male youth !). Ramanuja ordained that people should not ascend the Hill except for service. The Hill is holy as it is Adhisesha's body, according to Puranas. If it is said that Azhvars did not go up the Hill, Ramanuja hesitated; he finally walked on his knees. Desika too first refused and had to be persuaded. All had the greatest devotion to the Lord Srinivasa; nevertheless no true Srivaishnava will ever think of a trip up the Hill as anything but a holy pilgrimage. To interpret that Ramanuja's invocation in Sri Bhashya refers to Lord Srinivasa of Seshadri would not be inappropriate, even if the traditional commentaries do not appear to emphasise it. He wrote his first work, 'Vedarthasangraha' before this Lord. In his exposition of philosophy while commenting on Brahma-sutras, the nature and characteristics of Jiva (the individual soul) had to be mentioned. To consciousness or jnana, he added Seshatva too. There is an interesting episode cited in Thiruvoimozhi commentary that this subtle concept Ramanuja imbibed from Thirukkottiyur Nambi to whom Azhvan had to go many a time to get it! Nammazhvar's 'Adiyanullan udalullan' (VIII 8.2) is taken to emphasise that the individual ought to feel, behave and order his life as a Sesha, servant of the Lord. To crown all these facts mentioned, we may remember that Ramanuja is believed to be the incarnation of Adisesha, the first and foremost of Nityasooris. There is a particularly phase in Thiruvoymozhi III 6.8 'Dayaratharkku Mahan tannai'. It means ' the son to Dasaratha'. Azhvar does not speak of Rama here as the son of Dasaratha but as the son to Dasaratha! It implies the dative case, not the genitive. It is reminiscent of the mantras like Namo Narayanaya. What is the great significance? Rama stood as a role model for Vaishnavite seshatva. He behaved as if he existed only for pleasing his father! Dasaratha : Don the Crown ! Son Rama : Yes, Sir; Dasaratha : Go to the forest Son Rama : Yes, I am going He did not rejoice on the first command, nor grieve on the latter. Rama's avatara was only to show to us how to behave, nay, even to enjoin on us to be true Seshabhoota souls. Not only this; there are two brother characters. Lakshmana and Bharata.Lakshmana - incidentally an incarnation of Adisesha, so to say!, as the later Rama-anuja or Lakshmana-yogi, as he is called implies. Seshatva implies Dasatva; that is kainkarya. To perform this kainkarya to Rama and Sita, Lakshmana insisted on following to the forest the Divine couple! Ramayana teaches us also to perform kainkarya to the Divine couple. To the Desika-Sampradaya, the Prapatti aims at surrendering to the couple and later at serving the same couple. That is why we prefer to devote the Epic as Srimad-Ramayana. We should ever cherish the goal of service to the Divine Lord, Sriman-Narayana - that is Lord Narayana with Mahalakshmi. But our individual life in society should bear the stamp of Bharata, in his Paratantra sprit He did not stubbornly and intransigently follow Rama to the forest. He was swayed by Rama's will rather than by his own desire to serve Rama. In him, the Paratantra spirit is palpable. Bharata was truly service, as a dunt unconscious, being!, to serve the Lord but without any own wish or aspirations. To be an obedient liege, to obey and not to question why, is the sum and substance of Bharata's character. May we be all servants of God like Lakshmana, ever serving Him; may we also be, at the same time truly servile, serving Him, as Bharata did, totally in self-abnegation, to efface the own self and its loves and longings; in short, we must combine in ourselves both Lakshmana and Bharata. To be totally subordinate to the Sankalpa of the Lord - Bhagavat ->sankalpaadheenetva - is the true hallmark of a Srivaishnavite. We should reduce ourselves to the level of an insentient matter. Even when you are happy with what you have done as His service behave as though you were fragrant flowers, sandalpaste, or some other article of enjoyment. They furnish great joy to the sensient being, but they themselves do not have a scope for pleasure. You should also be like them; you are not to seek any personal satisfaction; you serve God for His pleasure. Complete self-effacement is the motto! Daasan , Oppiliappan Sannidhi V.N.Vedanta Desikan Srimate Sri Laksminrisimha Divya Paduka Sevaka Srivan Satakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama: _______________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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