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- ( Srimathe srivansatakopa sri vEdAntha dEsika yatheendra mahA dEsikAaya namaha)

-- aaLavandAr aDiyOm paDiyOm ini alvazhakke

This is the last line of the pAsuram in praise of sri aaLavandAr in Sri GuruparamparA Saram.SwAmi Desikan has a special affinity towards sri aaLavandAr ,which is evident throughout his works,whether philosophical,polemical or otherwise. This is not to belittle his bhakti towards the other purvAchAryAs-but to emphasise the special footing on which he treats sri aaLavandAr .In the pAsuram cited above,a rare compliment is paid to sri Yamuna muni - _SwAmi Desikan says that once we become the devotees of this AchAryA, we would never again fall victim to unworthy practices. It must be remembered here that SwAmi Desikan is not very liberal with his accolades,nor is he given to exaggerations,poetical or otherwise. In this little piece,adiyen would like to try to fathom the reasons for this special devotion of sri NigamAntha Guru.

 

The term Alvazhakku is used by sri PeriAzhwAr is his ThiruppallAndu-upon his admission to the Thondar kulam, and purified by the “kOir pori”,he describes himself proudly as “Alvazhakkam ondrillA ani kOttiyarkOn”.Similar pride pervades SwAmi Desikan,upon his joining the elite band of devotees of sri aaLavandAr .He proudly proclaims this in the following AdhikAra Sangraha pAsuram:

 

NeeLavandhu indru vidhivagayAl ninaivondriya nAm

MeeLavandhu innum vinai udambu ondri vizhundhu uzhalAthu

AlavandAr ena vendru arul thanthu viLangia seer

AlavandAr adiyOm padiyOm ini alvazhakkE.

Swami Desikan’s special attachment to Sri YamunAchAryA is also borne out by the fact that ,out of the innumerable PoorvachArya stOthras,the only ones(excluding theGadyAs which cannot strictly be called stothras) that are privileged to have SwAmi Desikan’s commentary are the Stothra Rathnam and Sri ChathuslOki. The GeethArtha Sangraha Churukku is another of his tributes to sri Yamuna muni. It is no exaggeration to say that the Stothra Rathnam has provided considerable inspiration to AchAryAs like Sri RamAnujA,Sri KooratthAzhwAn,Sri Bhattar and Swami Desikan and the sampradAya artthas, which are to be found in every sloka of the AlavandAr Stothram and Sri Chathussloki , are indeed the fountainhead for the elaborations of the subsequent AchAryAs.

 

Tathvathrayam,arttha panchakam,paradEvathA pAramArthyam,Sri Swaroopam,Prapatthi lakshnam and innumerable other topics are dealt with in Sri AlavandAr’s stothrAs and SwAmi Desikan repeatedly acknowledges his debt of gratitude in his various stothrAs and rahasya granthAs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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An interesting comparison here:-

SwAmi Desikan,in Daya Sathakam,coins the elegant phrase “Karuna VarunAlayam”(ocean of mercy)for SrinivAsA,while in Sri EthirAja Saptathi,he talks about “Yamunam Theerttham” with reference to Sri AlavandAr(vigAhe yamunam theerttham-sAdhu brindAvanE sthitham-nirastha jihmaga sparse-yethra Krishna:krithAdhara:). The description of EmberumAn as (kripa)samudram and the AchArya as a theerttham(punya nadhi or thatAkam),though occurring in different stothrAs and contexts,is none the less significant. We are able to draw a few inferences from the analogies;

 

1.A punya theerttham is much more accessible and lends itself more easily to avagAhanam(a spiritually and physically invigorating dip) than the deep and dangerous ocean. Likewise,AchAryas like Sri AlavandAr are infinitely more accessible to baddha jeevas like us,than EmperumAn ,who,in his Sri Vaikunta,appears as remote and unreachable to us as is Mount Everest to the lame.

While EmperumAn,for preserving his neutrality and so as not to be accused of vaishamyam and nairgrinyam,protects only when sincerely appealed to (RakshApEkshAm prateeskshathE),AchAryAs like sri Yamuna muni ,due to their sahaja kArunyam,protect us suo motu and without any expectations(payanandrAgilum pAngalarAgilum seyal nandrAga thirutthi pani kolvAn).

2.Water from the punya theertham is sweet and potable,while that of the samudram is salty and undrinkable (the Vedas specifically prohibit drinking sea water-“tasmAt samudrasya na pibanti”).

Similarly,for observers of purushAarttha kAshtta(bhAgawata.AchArya seshathvam,AchArya srisookthis like the Stotra Rathnam are bhogyathama,vis-à-vis Bhagavatsookthis like sri geetha,which are at best bhogyatara.

 

3.Punyanadhi snAnam can be done whenever one feels like it,while samudra snAnam is possible only on parvAs. .Sri AlavandAr and AchAryAs of his lineage are always available to mortals like us ,while EmperumAn is totally inaccessible to us in his Para,Vyuha,Vibhava and AntharyAmi avasthas, and is severely restricted by ArchA SamAdhi.

4.Even in bhagavat kainkaryam,the samudra can be counted only after Yamunam Theertham. One may recall Samudra Raja’s indifference to Chakravarthi Thirumagan’s saranAgathi,forcing Him to issue an uncharacteristic threat(sagaram soshaishyAmi padhbhyAm yAnthu plavangamA;).In contrast,the waters of the Yamuna readily and obligingly parted to make way for the Krishna sisu on his journey to nanda gokulam, on that stormy night. Similarly,AchAryAs like sri AlavandAr , by their beneficial,merciful and constant interaction ,induce us to adopt bhagawat kainkaryam (which is more than EmperumAn could ever hope to do-that was indeed why He took an Abhinava DasAvatArA ,through the nitya sUris, as various AzhwArs ,in his attempts to emancipate mankind.)

 

it may not be out of place here to mention another analogy ,this time in the reverse direction .

Sri Bhashyakara, in a prelude to one of his GadyAs,says

YamunArya sudhAmbOdhim avagAhya yathAmathi

AdhAya bhakti yOgakyam ratnam sandharsayAmyaham.

 

{Having delved deep into the ocean of nectar that is Sri AlavandAr,to the best of my abilities,I proffer herewith the invaluable diamond of Bhakti yoga).The word ‘yathamati’ denotes that the YAmuna sAgaram is too deep and wide for anyone to have an idea of its true potential and that one may, at best,access it to the limited extent of one’s own capabilities,such as they are. Sri RamAnujA liberally borrows,verbatim, phrases from the Stotra Ratna of Sri AlavandAr,to embellish several passages of the GadyAs,not because he is at a loss for words,but because no other words but those of Sri AlavandAr would have fitted the context . Sri EmperumAnAr’s bhakti for sri AlavandAr does not need to be spoken of,for it pours out ,almost involuntarily,in all his works.” ThamO YenApAstham sa hi vijayatE” is Sri RamAnujA’s eloquent acknowledgement . We can now understand very well Swami Desikan’s visEsha pratipatthi towards sri YamunAchAryA,on two counts.:-

1.Anyone dear to sri RamAnujA is, ipso facto,dearer to SwAmi Desikan.

2.Sri AlavandAr’s invaluable contribution to the SampradAyA makes him a favourite object for SwAmi Desikan’s unqualified adoration.

One recalls here Sri Valmiki’s immortal words that Sri Sita was dear to Sri Rama,not only due to Her own sterling qualities,but also because she was the darling of her fatherinlaw,the venerable dasarathA.

Sri InjimEdu Azhagiasingar,in his Sri SarabOdhini,elaborates the term “alvazhakku” to mean the conduct occasioned by dEhAtma bhramam and swatantrAtma bhramam ,which are the root cause of all the evils that can befall a prapannA.

Though the subject is fit for a doctoral thesis,adiyen would like to end here,for fear of wasting more of the bhagavatAs’ time. .my apologies once more for being longwinded and unoriginal.

dasan,sadagopan.

 

 

 

 

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