Swamy Desikan-4 (Tamil prabandhams-cont'd) Thoopul maNdapam kaimkaryam appeal

[Guest guest]

SrI:

SrImathe Ramanujaya namah:

SrImathe Nigamantha mahadesikaya namah:

SrImAn venkatanAthAryaH kavitArkika kesarI |

vedAntAcArya-varyome sannidhattAm sadA hRdi ||

 

May the glorious Venkatanatha, the greatest of teachers of Vedanta, and the

lion among poets and debaters, reside forever in my heart.

 

Dearest Srivaishnavas,

 

I am continuing on my appeal and posts on Swamy Desikan.

 

Thoopul MaNdapam kaimkaryam for Swamy Desikan by Smt Shantha Kalyanarangan

of Thoopul trust. Sri Lakshmi N. Srinivasa also has created a web site for

this trust and also for this special kaimkaryam for Thoopul Pillai.

 

URL: http://www.geocities.com/lsriniva/thoopulappeal.html

It is my humble request to please contribute your mite towards this

kaimkaryam, as remembering Acharyan, and talking alone will not suffice.

 

Last week we were enjoying the ParamapadasOpAnam (the flight of steps to

SrivaikuNtam). Let us continue further. The study of this grantha will

reveal that it is almost a very useful epitome of Rahasyatraya saram the

magnum opus of Swamy Desikan.

 

Structure of the text:

 

The text if made up of nine chapters. Chapters are called “parvas” meaning

steps keeping in line with the name “stair case “ given for the work. The

nine steps are:

1. vivkea (Discrimination)

2. Nirveda (disgust)

3. Virakti (dispassion)

4. Bheethi (Sensitization)

5. Prasadana (Pleasing or Propitiation)

6. Utkiramana (Departure)

7. Archiradhi (the route starting

8. Reaching the divine region

9. Union with the Supreme

 

The nine steps can be grouped into three sets, say landings. The first four

steps (viveka to bheethi) make the soul qualified to try emancipation.

Hence, they are known as Adhikarana Petika. The fifth step forms one set

called Upaaya petika.

 

Steps sixth to ninth with the phala that is, the fruits enjoyed by the soul,

in the process of emancipation and after it attains emancipation. These

steps can rightly form a box or petika that can be captioned Purushaartha

Petika.

 

The summary of the text:

 

A soul should gain analytical knowledge. This is the first step to be

climbed. This analytical knowledge enables him to discriminate the three

components of the universe i.e. the individual soul, the inanimate (achith)

and the supreme (Sriman Narayanan). The Properties and nature of each of the

three should be understood. Once the seeker understands his limitations,

realizes that all other souls are as limited as he, appreciates the bondages

created by his attachment to achith, and appreciates that only Sriman

Narayanan can protect and free him from the bondages, he becomes qualified

to climb the next step.

 

The seeker feels for having wasted all his time in pursuit of materialistic

prosperity and the consequent sins and the inevitable stay in hell. He is

disgusted with the past foolishness. This leads the seeker to the third step

which brings in detachment from all the mundane pleasures and prosperity.

 

This takes him to the fourth step where he is highly sensitized. He is

scared of his future – after this life is over. He has to do something to

ensure that he is liberated from his oscillations between heaven, hell and

earth , by pleasing the Lord.

 

Bhakti and Prapatti Yoga are means of such propitiation. Bhakti yoga needs

knowledge, capacity and qualification by birth, etc. It gives results only

in a leisurely manner; prapati has no such limitation. Fruits can be

achieved at the specified by the seeker. The seeker can choose between the

two. Adopting any of the two means forms the fifth step.

 

When such a seeker’s soul departs from the body, the departure can be either

in uttarayaNam or dhakshiNAyaNam. His puNyas and papas are distributed to

his friends and enemies respectively. The Lord provides him with memory of

His Feet while the soul departs from the body. The eleven organs and the

praana are all assimilated and converged in the subtle form at the soul. The

soul with all these is amalgamated with the five basic elements in their

micro form. The soul with this group takes rest with the Lord residing in

the heart so that it gets relaxed. (I heard that there is tremendous pain

when these five elements are extracted from the neck bone and is mixed, the

Lord gently hugs the soul in order to lessen the suffering. How

compassionate is our Father!) Then the Lord in the heart – the Haarda guides

the soul to the “Exit” sign from the body thorugh the sushumna naadi by

opening the Brahma Randhra (which is supposed to be in the center of the top

of the head.)

 

Now the seventh step. The departed soul is offered homages enroute Parama

padham by the controlling deities of the Fire, The Day, the waxing cycle of

the Moon, the Uttarayana, the six months during which the Sun travels in the

direction of north the Year and the wind. They receive the soul and guide it

through their region with all respect. Then the soul pierces the Sun’s

orbit. It reaches the Moon, with its guidance the soul reaches the Amanavan

who takes the soul through the abode of Varuna, Indra, Prajapati. Amanava

accompanies the soul to Lord Sriman Narayana’s eternal abode. The ones who

leave the mundane world this route will not be born again.

 

This takes the soul to the eighth step. The river “viraja” flows between the

mundane (prakritha) region and the eternal region (aprAkritha), the Parama

Padham. The soul crosses the river bi its will and reaches the Parama

Padham. Here the soul enjoys the scenery of celestial ladies throng to

receive the soul and decorate the soul. The soul now is full of Divine odour

and splendor. It sees the Lord seated on Adi seshan.

 

The final step is the union with the Lord. The soul enjoys the Lord from His

top to toe. The Lord crowns the soul with His Feet. Clinging to His Feet the

soul climbs the Divine seat of the Lord. There takes place a conversation

between the Lord and the emancipated soul. The soul narrates to the Lord all

the blessings he had received from him and prays to the Lord to accept his

service. The soul gets the divine grace of the divine couple and is full of

Para Bhakti, ParajnAnam, and Parama Bhakti. He becomes as close as the

shadow of the lord performs all types of services at all times as

Adhiseshan, Garudan, Vishvaksenar et al. perform.

 

This work thus is a history of the Travel of the soul. This work like any

other work of Swamy Desikan is a well planned and beautifully presented one.

Each of the parvas starts with a Tamil verse and concludes with a Tamil

verse that serves as a synopsis of the Parva.

The main objective of the work is to teach us the taste of Lord’s physical

form and His abode. Swamy Desikan composed a Sopanam “The Bhagath DhyAna

Sopanam” in Sanksirt on Lord Ranaganathan, for easy meditataion of Lord

Rangan’s form.

 

But Paramapadha sopanam, where enjoying the Lord in Parama padha is

described, is a blend of Sanskrit and Tamil verses mostly with the phrases

of AzhwArs. This goes well with the declaration of Swamy Desikan that the

language of communication of emancipated souls in Vaikunta (where medium of

communication is needed only for the mere pleasure of communication as the

emancipated do not need any medium of communication, because of their fully

blossomed state of Dharma bhUtha jnAnam) is only Tamil. J

 

In this work he sings that in Parama Padham, we will sing only Pallandu.

 

The Great Acharyas of Kanchi have been so fascinated by the description of

Lord in Paraapti Parva in this text, that they have prepared a moving

Thirumanjana Ghattiyam for Lord Varadan borrowing literally from this work,

which is recited before Lord Varadan during abhishekam. No doubt Swamy

Desikan himself declares this work as “Swabhava chithram”- very beautiful by

nature, in the final sloka of Parama padha sopanam.

 

One of the thaniyans of text says that in the pretext of Parama padha

sopanam, Swamy Dseikan brought out all the Gems of Vedantha Saasthra. Any

reader of the text will understand that this is not a flattery; BUT TRUTH.

 

A study of this text will reveal that it is almost a very useful epitome of

Rahasyatrayasaram the Magnum Opus of Swamy.

 

Adaikkalappatthu

 

The seventh work, is in eleven verses. It gives a clear exposition of the

doctrine of Sranagathy (surrender) associating the name of God at Kanchi

with each stanza. This is suggestive of the author’s Saranagathy at the feet

of this Archa mUrthy (Sri Stakopan has written a translation for

Adaikaalapaathu and is available in http://swamydesika.tripod.com

 

The eighth work is Arthapanchakam which details in eleven verses, the five

well known topics which are vital to the philosophy of Vaishnavam. The five

topics or truths are prApyam, the Lord’s nature which is to be attained,

prApta, the nature of the soul who is to attain the Lord, UpAyam the means

for attaining the Lord, prAptivirOdham, the obstacles that lie in the path

of attainment and prApti, the Goal, namely the attainment. The name of the

deity at Kanchi is associated with the last line in each stanza.

 

Sri Vaishnava Dinasari, the ninth work, is in 10 stanzas describing the

routine life of a Srivaishnava. The treatment is based on the five fold

division routine as laid down in Pancharathra Agamam. (Again this

translation written by SrI Satakopan Swamy is available in Swamy Desikan web

page)

 

The tenth work is Thirucchinna maalai, in 11 stanzas. The author speaks of

the glory of tabor sounded in the temple of Varadan at Kanchipuram.

Incidentally, these stanzas are shown to convey the sense of three rahasyas

Moolamanthra, Dwayam and Charama slokam.

 

Pannirunaamam

 

Eleventh work containing 13 stanzas describing the twelve urdhvapuNdras,

with the names of deities presiding over each and the parts of the body

where one wears Urdhva puNdram. Each stanza has the name of God at

Kanchipuram included in it. (Urdhva- vertical; puNrdam- mark.) This refers

to the ornamental mark made on the forehead with white vertical lines drawn

with sacred mud and a streak in between them made vertically with a read

ochre or turmeric powder. The white lines are joined between the eye brows.

 

The twelfth work is Thirumanthracchurukku, written in ten stanzas conveying

very briefly, as the name “curukku” in the title indicates, the substance of

Thirumanthram, also called Moola manthram or Ashtaakshara manthram.

 

The thirteenth work, Dwayacchurukku offers similarly in 12 verses, the

substance of the Dwaya manthram. The fourteenth work Charamaslokacchurukku

in 11 verses is on similar line on the charamaslokam.

 

GitArtha samgarha, which is 15th work, contains 21 verses. It offers briefly

the substance of each of 18 chapters of the Bhagawath GitA.

 

MummaNikkOvai is the 16th work, in praise of the Lord of Thiruvahindrapuram.

This work is held to have included mummaNikkOvai, pandhu, ammanai, kazhal.

Oosal, Esal, and NavamaNimaalai. Except for the first and the last all

others are lost. Akaval, veNpaa, kattaLaitthuRai are the three meters in

which this mummaNikkoVai is said to have been composed. Hence the title.

However, the ten verses in akaval alone are available to us in which the

author depicts the relationship of the husband (Bhagawaan) and Wife (Jivan)

in Nayaka Nayaki bhAvam.

 

The Navarathina maalai is treated as independent work (17th in number) has

ten verses – all in praise of SrI Devanathan at Thiruvahindrapuram. It is

said in the sixth stanza that those who do not forget the Divine Beauty of

Sri Devanathan will not have rebirth. nin vadivazhaghu maRvaathaar

piRavaadhaarE.. The author mentions in the tenth stanza the work which,

though lost, are part of mummaNikkOvai and states that these were composed

after the achuthasathakam a praakritha sthOthram in 100 slokas before which

he mentions that Devanayaka panchasath was composed by him.

 

The 18th work is Prabandha saaram, in 18 verses, devoted to the

glorification of all AzhwArs. The day, month and Thirunakshathram (star) of

each AzhwAr, their names, the number of poems composed by each of them are

given. Each verse is inestimable value as it gives us what all we have to

learn about the AzhwArs described therein.

 

Ahaara niyamam is the 19th work in 8 verses on the nature of food a

vaishnava should comsume. The ingredients for preparing the food and kinds

of food one has to avoid are alld escribed briefly and carefully so as to

avoid ambiguity in the choice of ingredients.

 

There has never been a writer like Swamy Vedantha Desikan whose life was

spent purposefully and usefully for the uplift of humanity. The 19 works

noted above are in PURE TAMIL. Intention of Swamy Desikan was to make the

Vaishnava tenets attractive and acceptable as well as understandable even to

those who knew only Tamil Language. Philosophy, Prappti, Rahasyas, routine

life, and all other aspects of Srivaishnavam have received treatments here.

Of course, the introductory and concluding verses in some of his other works

are separately put in the form of compositions and treated as separate work.

 

Please donate according to your shakthi. The money can be sent to " Thuppul

Trust " and the address is:

 

Thuppul Trust

Old No.20, New No.24, Thiruvengadam Street

West Mambalam, Chennai-600033, India

Phone No: 91-44-4741559 / 91-44-3715771

 

Please contact Sri. V.K. Sudharshan at vksudarsh or Sri Lakshmi N

Srinivasa lsriniva (He can collect and send it as single amount

in USA).

 

The address:

 

Lakshminarasimhan Srinivasa

3 Old Towne Road, #212

Ayer, MA-01432

 

For those in the South East Asia, please contact me at

srivaishnavan . Please pass on this kaimkaryam to as many people

as possible in order to complete the same.

 

kavi-tArkika-simhAya kalyANa-guNa-SAline |

Srimate venkateSAya vedAntagurave namaH ||

 

Salutations to Sri Venkatesa, in whom all perfection resides, who is the

teacher of Vedanta and the lion among poets and debaters!

 

Swamy Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

Regards

Narayana Narayana

adiyEn Narayana dAsan madhavakkannan

 

_______________

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