Sri Vilakkoli Perumal, Thoopul/ThirutthaNkA dhivya Desam: Nithya AarAdhana kaimkaryam for VilakkoLi PerumAL and Swamy Desikan : Part XIII: Tenth SlOkam

[Guest guest]

SrI:

 

Dear BhakthAs:

 

Today , adiyEn will cover the Tenth slOkam

of Sri SaraNAgathi DhIpikai , where Swamy Desikan

pays tribute to the Lord ViLakkoLi PerumAL (The siddha

upAyan) who grants Prapannan (one has done prapatthi/

Saadhya UpAyam at His Sacred feet) the boon of

Moksham(Freedom from Births and Deaths):

 

SatthA STithi prayatana pramukhair-upAttham

svArTam sadhaiva BhavathA svayamEva Visvam

DhIpaprakAsa tadhiha tvadh-aapthayE ThvAM

avyAja siddham anapAyam upAyam aahu:

 

--SrI SaraNAgathi DhIpikai: SlOkam 10

 

(Meaning): Oh ViLakkoLi EmperumAnE ! The svaroopam

(satthA),sustenance(sTithi) and activities (prayatana)

of all the sentients and insentients are controlled by You

and You alone(svayamEva upAttham). You do all these,

all the time (sadhA yEva upAttham).You also enjoy

the fruits coming out of these activities of Yours

(svArTam upAttham).As a result of these operations

being under Your control , You become the upAyam for

the jeevans to attain MOksham. For enjoying

paripoorNa brahmAnandham in Your Supreme abode ,

the jeevan has to perform the SaadhyopAyam of Prapatthi.

For one ,who has performed prapatthi, You stand in

the place of SiddhOpAyam . You do not expect anything else

from the chEthanan beyond his/her prapatthi. You stand as

the eternal and ancient upAyam ( avyAja siddham anapAyam

UpAyam) to bless him/her with Moksha Sukham. The learned

ones understand and remember these Vedic truths.

 

Comments on the SlOkam

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

 

We have to understand the early creation of

the SrI Sookthi of SrI SaraNAgathi DhIpikai

and connect it to the SrI Sookthis completed

later in the life of Swamy Desikan.

 

Towards the end of His life on this earth ,

Swamy Desikan blessed us with two magnum opus

granthams.He had already completed 120 plus

granthams including SaraNAgathi DhIpikai ,

NyAsa Dasakam , NyAsa Tilakam , NyAsa Vimsathi

and other granthams dealing with saraNAgathy .

One of the two magnum opus granthams completed

in his advanced age is the Srimath Rahasya Thraya Saaram

(RTS) with 32 chapters dealing with the three esoteric

manthrams of VisishtAthvaitha Darsanam .The other is

a companion piece known as VirOdha ParihAram ,

which answers the doubts that one may have from

the study of the advanced doctrines discussed in RTS.

As a compassionate AchAryan concerned with our need

to understand all these important doctrines correctly ,

Swamy Desikan posed number of questions that would

cross our mind and answered them in his SrI Sookthi ,

VirOdha ParihAram.

 

Quite early in his life however , Swamy Desikan

created SaraNAgathi DhIpikai and brought out

the cardinal points related to SaraNAgathy anushtAnam

and the tatthvams behind the magnificent upAyam

of SaraNAgathi to recieve the blessings of Moksham

from SrIman NaarAyaNan .

 

It is amazing to hear the echos of the earlier

SrI Sookthi of SrI SaraNAgathy DhIpikai in

the later SrI Sookthi like RTS . There is

atleast 60 years in between these two

SrI Sookthis.

 

In this 10th slOkam of SaraNAgathi Dhipikai ,

Swamy Desikan focused on the upakArams done by

the Lord as a part of the elaborations on the doctrine

of SaraNAgathy and the Lord's role as our most

merciful protector. He focussed in particular

on the SaraNAgathi tatthvams in the 10th slOkam.

 

In the magnum opus of RTS ,he devoted many

chapters to upadEsams on the doctrines of

Prapatthi/SaraNAgathi/Aathma nivEdhanam .

One of the chapters relevant to this Tenth slOkam

is the Third chapter of RTS named PradhAna-

prathitantra-adhikAram dealing with the unique doctrines

associated with the VisishtAdvaitha SiddhAntham:

 

(1) SarIraathma BhAva Sambhandham : The Sentients

and the insentients are the body of the Lord ,

who is the indweller for them .This relationship is

known as SarIrAthma BhAvam.

 

(2) The definition of SarIram (body made up of

chEthanams and achEthanams) and SarIri (AathmA

for that body ).

 

(3) The subtle aspects related to the doctrines of

Taarakthvam-Niyanthruthvam and Sarva SEshithavm of

SarvEsvaran , which makes the Lord Swami and

the jeevan(ChEthanam) as His bonded servant (SEshan).

The Lord is the Sarva Swami and Sarva SEshi

and the Jeevan is His SEsha BhUthan.

 

(4) The benefits accruing to the sentients ( ChEthanams)

from the aadhAra-aadhEya BhAvams (Relation between the Lord

as the Supporter and the Jeevan as the one being supported).

 

(5) The establishment of the fact that the ChEthanan

is ananyAdhAran, ananya prayOjanan and ananya SaraNan.

through the correct understanding of the Three rahasyams

of VaishNava SiddhAntham (Moola manthram , Dhvayam and

Charama SlOkam).Jeevan is not supported by anyone

other than the Lord ( ananyAdhAran); Jeevan has no

recourse other than the Lord (ananya SaraNan) and

has no prayOjanam (purpose) other than the Lord

(ananya-prayOjanan).

 

In addition to the third chapter of RTS , there are

lengthy chapters devoted to the Lord standing in place

as siddhOpAyam and Prapatthi as the SaadhyOpAyam .

 

Let us briefly comment on the conclusions of

the above third chapter of RTS in the context of

the above five points :

 

(1)Only VisishtAdvaitha Siddhantham accepts that Isvaran is

the Aathma for the ChEthanams(Sentients/Jeevans) and

achEthanams ( insentients) ; latter two constitute His

body .This is the unique doctrine (PradhAna Prathitantram)

not common to other SiddhAnthams.

 

(2)The svaroopam and the sustenance of the ChEthanams and

the achEthanams are under the control of the Lord (Isvaran).

This doctrine is named aadhEyathvam .

 

(3)The svaroopam , sustenance (continued existence) and

the activities (pravrutthi) of the chethanams and

achEthanams are under the control of Isvara sankalpam

This doctrine is known as vidhEyathvam.

 

(4)The chEthnams and the achEthanams have as their prayOjanam

Isvaran only. This is known as SEshathvam.PrayOjanam here

is the derivative of the root Prayuj meaning " to be yoked

to " as " the bonded servant " to the Lord .This

doctrine is known as the SEshathvam of the Jeevan

to the Lord (SEshi).

 

5) AadhEyathvam , VidhEyathvam and SEshathvam together

constitute the defining attributes (LakshaNam ) of SarIram.

The Lord becomes the AathmA for that SarIram and is known

as SarIri. The relationship between SarIram and SarIri

is known as SarIrAathma BhAvam , the unique defining

doctrine of VisishtAdvaitha Darsanam. Bhagavath SEshathvam

is common to both sentients and insentients. Since Jeevan

is ChEthanan , his SEshathvam ends in Daasathvam. EmperumAn

is " Parama ChEthanan " and therfore His SEshithvam ends in

Swamithvam ( Lordship).The Lord becomes the Swamy for

the ChEthanan and the ChEthanan becomes the Daasan for

the Lord.

 

All of these deep thoughts are brought up in

the first two lines of the tenth slOkam of

SrI SaraNAgathy DhIpikai and the First two lines

of the introductory slOkam of the Third chapter of

RTS .Here they are side by side to appreciate

their closeness . One hears the echos of one in

the other:

 

" SatthA STithi prayatana pramukhair-upAttham

svArTam sadhaiva BhavathA SvayamEva Visvam "

--SrI SaraNAgathi DhIpikai: SlOkam 10

 

AadhEayathva-prabhruthi niyamai: Aadhikarthu: SarIram

SatthA STEma Prayatana phalEshvEthadhaayattham yEthath

visvam pasyannithi Bhagavathi vyApakAdarsadhrushtE

gambhIrANAm akruthakagirAm gAhathE chittha Vruthtim

--First SlOkam of the Third Chapter of RTS

 

The 10th sOkam of SaraNAgathi DhIpikai says:

" SatthA STithi prayatana pramukhair upAttham " .

The RTS slOkam expresses almost verbatim the same

thoughts: " SatthA-STEma prayatana phalEshvEtdhAyattham

yEthath " The " STithi " and " STEma " are one and the same.

 

adiyEn will conclude with the translation of the meaning of

the RTS SlOkam as an elaboration of the same doctrines

housed in the 10th slOkam of SaraNAgathy DhIpikai:

 

(meaning ): When EmperumAn is seen in the mirror of

Moola Manthram , One understands clearly the meanings

of the ancient and apourushEya Vedams. What the Vedam

says is: (1) That this world (chEthanam and achEthanam)

is under the full control of the Lord regarding its

existence, sustenance , activities and fruits thereof .

(2) The concepts of AadhEyathva, VidhEyathva and

SEshathva possessed by the ChEthanams marks it as

the body of the Lord , who is the indweller of

that SarIram . One who understands this SarIraathama

Bhavam fully comprehends the deep upadEsams of Vedam,

which are timeless and not created by humans.

 

Such is the lofty thoughts housed in

the 10th slOakm of SrI saraNAgathi DhIpikai.

 

Sri Maragathavalli SamEtha Sri DhIpa PrakAsa ParabhramaNE Nama:

Swamy Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam,

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SaThakOpan(Sadagopan)

 

P.S: adiYen continues to appeal to you all

to support the NithyArAdhana Kaimkaryam at ThUppul,

the avathAra Sthalam of our beloved AchAryan ,

Swamy VedAntha Desikan. Please contact me about

status of the Kaimkaryam and details on how you

can support this once-in-a-life time Kaimakryam

to our ThUppul Desikan , the avathAram of the Bell

of ThirVEnkatamudayAn.