Sri Guna Rathna Kosam : Part 62: slOkam 52

[Guest guest]

SrI:

 

Dear BhakthAs of Sri RanganAyaki ThAyAr:

 

In the 52nd slOkam , Swamy ParAsara Bhattar

focuses further on the Vaathsalyam of SrI RanganAyaki

for Her erring children and the special efforts She

takes to influence Her Lord posiitvely in favor of

Her/Their children:

 

pithEva thvath prEyAn Janani! paripoorNAgasi janE

hitha srOthO vruthyA bhavathicha kadAchith kalUshadhI:

kimEthath nirdhOsha: ka iha jagathIthi thvamuchithai:

upAyair vismArya svajanayasi MaathA tadhasi na:

 

(Meaning: Dr.V.N.Vedantha Desikan Swamy):

 

" Oh Mother ! This view is not merely our personal view .

It is indeed Your perspective on things (as well). For,

Your Consort , Lord RanganAthA has a tendency to be harsh

on (towards) us under certain circumstances , even if

it be in our own interest . A father ought to do it

as it is the order of the worldly tings. But You always

intercede, argue on our behalf , and, when necessary

question Him " Who in the world is free from some

occasional error? After all, to err is human! " .

Not only that: You would even conspire to make Him

forget our transgressions , for which You would

employ Your enticing impact , love-play etc,--

which is all in the nature of any worldly mother.

Yes, You are our Mother indeed! "

 

Additional Comments:

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

This and the previous slOkam suggest that

the PurushakAram ( intercession and pleading

for us with Her Lord) arises directly out of

our ThAyAr's great affection (vaathsalyam )

for us inspite of the many transgressions

by us of Her Consort's Saasthrams.

 

To understand PurushakArathvam of Periya PirAtti,

we have to understand the Dhvaya ManthrAdhikAram of

SrImath Rahasya Thraya Saaram. Swamy Desikan quotes

here a slOkam of Swamy AruLALa PerumAL EmperumAnAr:

 

AakAriNasthu vij~nAnam Aakaara Jn~Ana poorvakam

tEnAkAram SRIYAN Jn~AthvA jn~AthavyO BhagavAn Hari:

 

(meaning): Only after understanding the attributes

(VisEshaNam )of a vasthu, we can begin to understand

the vasthu. Therefore , We can understand BhagavAn

only after understanding His pradhAna VisEshaNam ,

PirAtti.

 

VisEshaNam is a word or a tatthvam that qualifies

or defines another and is recognized as an adjective

or a distinguishing attribute.

 

Swamy Desikan proceeds thereafter to derive the six

meanings of SrI Sabdham and connects them to Her

PurushakAra anugraham as per PaancharAthra Saasthram .

These six meanings are indicated in the following

pramANam:

 

SruNAthi nikhilAN dhOshAn SrINAthi cha guNair-jagath

SreeyathE chAkhilair-nithyam SrayathE cha param padham

Srayantheem SriyamANam cha SruNathIm SruNvathImapi

 

The Six Meanings of the Word SrI:

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

These six aspects of SrI sabdham are:

(1) SrIyathE (2)SrayathE (3)SruNOthi

(4)SrAvayathi (5)SruNAthi (6)SrINAthi.

 

Among these , The two aspects of Her anugraham

( SrIyathE and SrayathE ) .These two aspects

are close to the PurushakArathvam of our Mother.

She intercedes on our behalf , reduces the anger of

Her Lord and enhances his " sahaja KaaruNyam " in

Her role as the affectionate and caring Mother

(Maathruthva Vaathsalyam ) .She questions Her Lord :

" Is there a chEthanam that has not erred ? "

As She stated in SithAvathAram : " na kascchin-

nAparAdhyathi " . She also charms her husband with Her

Bhogams and redcues His anger at the erring chEthanams

and serves as the PurushakAra BhUthai.That the Lord is

totally under Her bhOgaanubhavam is referred to by

Swamy NammAzhwAr in ThiruvAimozhi 3.10.8:

 

" Alli Malar MakaL BhOga-mayakkuhaL aahiyum niRkum AmmAn "

 

(meaning): Our Lord is enchanted by the BhOga anubhavam of

His consort , SrI Devi and is totally under Her influence " .

 

She as PurushakAra BhUthai pleads with Him to reduce

Her Lord's anger at the erring jeevans and also uses

Her infinite charm to achieve the same goal. Through

Her natural Motherly instincts , She saves us from the Lord's

anger and prepares us to become the objects of His grace

and stays in the UpEya Sthaanam at the time of the jeevan's

enactment of the anushtAnam of SaraNAgathi.Swamy Desikan

has blessed us with upadEsams on PurushakArathvam and

Prapathti doctrines in His SrI Sookthi NikshEpa Rakshai .

adiyEn hopes to write in greater detail about Her

glories in future articles on the SrI Sookthi of

ChathusslOki of Swamy AaLavanthAr as per the KaalakshEpams

of Prakuratham AchAryALs and VyAkhyANams of PoorvAchAryALs

like Swamy Desikan , NaayinArAcchAn PiLlai and PeriyavAcchAn

PiLLai . These will appear in the SaraNAgathi Journal.

 

Sri RanganAyaki ThAyAr ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam ,

Daasan, Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SaThakOpan /Sadagopan

 

P.S: AdiyEn appeals to you to participate in the NithyArAdhanam

for Swamy Desikan at Thoopul .Our AchArya Saarvabhouman was

conferred the title of Sarva Tanthra Svathanrar by

Sri RanganAyaki ThAyAr Herself.Please contact me for

details on how you can help with this kaimkaryam .

[Guest guest]

SrI:

 

Dear SrI Jagdish Dasa:

 

Your questions are welcome. Sri Vaishnavas born

in this country and with deep knowledge of

SrI VaishNavam doctrines and the ethos of

western society can join in and answer your

questions even more effectively than myself

in the sense that they are brought up

here and yet have deep roots in the soil of

their traditions as SrI VaishNavAs.

 

VaishNavAs can be from any part of the world.

You are most welcome to join the assembly of

devotees following SrI VaishNava sampradhAyam

(Tradition). SrI Mohan Sagar ( vide infra)

can help you with the details further thru

off line communication. One of the purposes of

the International Ramanuja Society is to

help in this area of seekers , who wish

to learn more about Sri RaamAnuja Darsanam

(VaishNavite practises and philosophy behind it).

 

I have copied two of the members , who can

be of particular help to you . One is the moderator of

the Bhakthi list (SrI Mani Varadarajan of San Fransisco)

and the other is the moderator of the International Ramanuja

Societylist pags ( Sri Mohan Sagar of Colorado).

I am sure that they would not mind my referral of their

names .They are very good both at analysis and synthesis and

absorbing the best in both the worlds , while living

here as strict Vaishnavas with abundant faith in their

perceptors (AchAryAs) and the Lord ( Bhagavaan

SrIman NaarAyaNa ). Please feel free to establish contact

with them .I am not sure as to how far Santa Rosa is

from major cities in California like San Fransisco or LA.

There are a lot of Vaishnavaas in California near these

two cities , who can help you with details on practises

and respond to your questions including the above two

resource persons .

 

Now , I will answer your questions item by item :

 

Question 1:

 

At 04:12 AM 3/1/02 +0000, you wrote:

>

>Dear V. Sadagopan,

>

>Thank you for your reply.

 

>There are in fact several questions I have and I do not expect all of them

>to be replied to. They are as follows:

>

>-(1)I wish to know if there is somewhere I can make note of the guru

>parampara(s) in Sri Vaishnavism, life histories, main temples or maths, etc.

 

Response:

*********

Sri Ramanuja Mission of USA has released an informative chart on

the Guru Paramparaas of SrI VaishNavam . You may wish to obtain it

from Sri Madhavan (mathavan_matt).

 

Sriman Sunder Kidambi (Sunder.kidambi)has

a wonerful web site , which has extensive coverage of

the 108 divine Temples important to SrI VaishNavAs .

The 12 AzhwArs have sung about the ancient deities

at these temples. Two of the 108 are not on this earth.

Please refer to this site. We are coming up with a multimedia

CD ROM on the lives of these Azhwars and the 108 temples that

they sung about shortly .There is also a set of two

audio tapes that cover the lives of the 12 AzhwArs besides

a Multimedia interactive CD ROM on the Life and works

of AchArya RaamAnujA , who is one of the most important

Gurus in the line of preceptors for SrI VaishNavam .

 

There are many sites with elaborate information on

the temples and AzhwArs as well as AchAryaas

( SrIman Venkatesh Elayavalli's Vasihnava home page,

the one on the Temple of Thiruppahti, where you

will find many other links:http://www.srivaishnava.org ,

http://venkateswara.freeservers.com ).There are telephone

lectures weekly (Weekend ) in English by great Indian

scholars , which might require some basic familiarity

with Vaishnava doctrines.

 

>-I also would like to know about the practices, and frankly, if westerners

>such as myself can engage in some form of worship. What are the general

>practices of Sri Vaishnavas?

 

SrI Mohan Sagar can help you here.

>

>_I live in Santa Rosa, California. Are than any bhaktas known in this area

>that are willing to meet and discuss teachings?

 

I have commented on this point earlier.

>

>-How have the teachings of Yoga (Classical or Hatha) been integrated with

>the teachings of Sri Ramanuja. I am just becoming familiar with the

>teachings of Sri T. Krishnamacharya. Do Sri Vaishnavas practice asana or

>pranayama as part of their sadhana? Is there any use of mantra or

>smaranam/dhyana during asanas?

 

Yes. PrANAyAma is part of their thrice a day worship.

Yes , there are mantraas for smaraNam and dhYanam ,

which one recieves during the initiation stages .

Proper Aasanams are an integral part of manthra japam.

>

>-How do Sri Vaishnavas worship Lord Krishna?

 

This is a vast subject . He is considered

as the incarnation of Sriman NaarAyana

and is the choice Lord of worship for many.

His teachings housed in Srimath Bhagavath GitA

is a guiding light for us since it provides

us the ultimate means for liberation from

the cycles of births and deaths (Total surrender

at the feet of Sriman Narayanan) . Many AzhwArs

have recommended not to undertake demanding

yogas and penances and asked us to devote our time

on this earth in meditation (DhyAnam ) and naama sankIrthanam

( singing of His thousands of names ) and service

to the devotees of the Lord (BhagavathAs) and the Lord .

 

V.Sadagopan

 

>

>I thank you heartily,

>Ys,

>Jagadish dasa

 

- SrImate rAmAnujAya namaH -

To Post a message, send it to: bhakti-list

Archives: http://ramanuja.org/sv/bhakti/archives/

[Guest guest]

Dear Sri Jagadish Dasa:

 

SriVaishnavam as envisioned by our Magnanimous Acharya, Bhagavad Sri Ramanuja is

a spiritual path that is

available to anyone, irrespective of race, caste, or gender. All that is

necessary is the inclination

towards Sriman Narayana in any one of His Beautiful and Endearing Forms. Indeed

our AzhwArs and AchAryas

found the form of Krishna most Endearing of All, and as a result, there are a

vast number verses in the

Tamil Prabhandam of our AzhwArs and the Sanskrit compositions of the AchAryas

that are dedicated to the

Beloved Cowherd Prince.

 

I would welcome you to peruse the pages of the International Ramanuja Society

(www.ramanujasociety.org), a

recently established non-profit religious organization that is dedicated to

providing an educational

approach to Sri Ramanuja and his Vision. Included in the site is a link to a

guru parampara chart that you

may find helpful, along with many useful links to SriVaishnava web sites that

are intended to expose one to

the rich traditions and philosophies that make up the SriVaishnava experience.

I will also soon be

sending you an invitation to join the mailing list for the Society, which along

with several devout

SriVaishnava scholars and religious leaders, also includes many interested

Westerners and newcomers to the

faith.

 

Sri Mani and Sri Venkatesh, who have been " cc-ed " on this e-mail, can probably

provide you with information

regarding SriVaishnava activities in and around the Bay Area. I would encourage

you to participate, as

this will provide you with direct exposure to the unique religious, cultural,

and social aspects of our

faith first-hand.

 

In response to your question:

 

 

>

>

> >-I also would like to know about the practices, and frankly, if westerners

> >such as myself can engage in some form of worship. What are the general

> >practices of Sri Vaishnavas?

>

> SrI Mohan Sagar can help you here.

> >

 

The Way and the Goal of the SriVaishnava Path centers on a natural cultivation

of Love for the Supreme

Lord, Sriman Narayana, through the recognition that all that we are, all that we

have in our lives, and all

those who share our life with us, are His Gifts to us, given to us solely out of

His Unbounded Love and

Compassion. Ours then is simply to become humble receptacles to His Grace, and

Humble Servants to Him and,

more importantly, His Devotees.

 

Such a simple yet profound realization can only be a result of His Grace, which

manifests itself as

Bhagavad Sri Ramanuja and the entourage of Acharyas who followed him. The

connection to the Acharya, the

bonafide spiritual master, is the most blessed sacrament of the SriVaishnava

faith, through which the

realization mentioned above is brought into fruition.

 

In practical application, this philosophy is expressed in daily life through the

following of vEdic

injuntions, such as the practice of performing sandhyavandanam that Sri

Sadagopan mentioned in his e-mail,

and through simple devotional rituals such as the thiruvArAdhanai to the

sAlagrAma or vigraha form of the

Lord. Along with this is scholarly study of the life and teachings of our

AzhwArs and AchAryas and service

to the Lord and His Devotees in the temple and at satsangams. As Sri Sadagopan

has stated, nAma

sankirtana, the recitation of the Lord's Holy Names plays a major role in the

devotee's life, so almost

every SriVaishnava will set aside some time during the day or week to recite the

Thousand Names of Lord

Vishnu or other stOtras.

 

The desire to serve purely out of Love for the Lord and for the benefit of His

World is the hallmark of a

devotee of Vishnu. So, even the most mundane and materialistic of taks,

including one's daily activities at

the office, become enriched as they are seen as one means of Service to the

Divine.

 

I hope this helps as a start.

 

Please feel free to contact me with your questions or comments.

 

adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan

Mohan

[Guest guest]

Dear Respected Sri Mohan Sagar,

 

I thank you kindly for your response. I am actively seeking to understand

Sri Vaishnava philosophy and practice. I find great support in all of the

email listings as well as the communication I have had with different

Vaishnavas this week. I do hope to hear more about programs and activities

in the Bay Area.

 

I look forward to reading through the website (International Ramanuja

Society), and if the Lord so blesses, perhaps I will have the company of

bhaktas in the area. I would certainly like to work with other devotees, and

as I am affiliated with a Yoga Research organization, I feel it could help

facilitate some humble service.

 

I thank you for your encouragement and support,

 

Ys,

Jagadish dasa

 

_______________

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