Sri Vilakkoli Perumal, Thoopul/ThirutthaNkA dhivya Desam: Nithya AarAdhana Kaimkaryam for VilakkoLi PerumAL and Swamy Desikan : Part XXXIX: Thirty Fifth SlOkam

[Guest guest]

SrI:

 

Dear BhakthAs:

 

Today , adiyEn will cover the Thirty Fifth slOkam

of Sri SaraNAgathi DhIpikai , where Swamy Desikan

salutes the glories of Bhaagavath asEshathvam :

 

NaaTa Thvath-ishta-viniyOga-visEsha-siddham

sEshathva-saaram-anapEkshya nijam GuNag~nyaa:

BhakthEshu thE varaguNArnava Paaratantryaath

dhAsyam bhajanthi vipaNI-vyavahAra-yOgyam

 

--SrI SaraNAgathi DhIpikai: SlOkam 35

 

Meaning:

********

Oh ViLakkoLi PerumALE ! Oh Vast Ocean of all auspicious

attributes (Vara GuNArNava)! The chEthanAs are Your bonded

servants (sEshAs). You are their undisputed Master and Lord(sEshi).

It is but natural for You as the Master of property (Your servants)

to command them to become the servants of Your dear BhaagavathAs.

This is quite a natural development arising out of the relationship

between true servants and their undisputed Master.Your servants are not

content just with the serving of Your BhaagavathAs. They are overcome

with the noble attributes of Your BhaagavathAs as they serve them

and reach a stage in their relationship to sell themselves to

those BhaagavathAs in the context of being their property. Your true

servants( nija bhruthyAs) possess admirable auspicious attributes

and are therefore recognized as " GuNaj~nA: " .They understand

the essence of their relationship (sEshathva Saaram ) to You as

seshans and aim to please Your ThiruvuLLam always ( Thvath ishta

viniyOga VisEsha siddham sEshathva saaram anubhavathi). Even

this does not make them fulfilled , when they get a taste of

serving Your BhaagavathAs dear to You . They get attracted to

Your BhaagavathAs and become bound to them ( nijam sEshathva saaram

anapEkshya thE BhakthEshu paaratantryAth dhaasyam bhajanthi).

Swamy Desikan points out that their attitude of subservience

to the Lord's BhAgavathAs make the servants of the Lord reach

the highest state of dependency , where they enjoy being treated

as a commercial property that could be readily bought and sold by

the BhAgavathAs so that they can use them (sEshAs) as they please.

That is the high quality of Daasyam ( servitude)that the sEshAs

desire ( VipaNi vyavahAra dhAsyam Bhajanthi).

 

Additional Comments (V.S):

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

We hear the echo of this statement in one of PeriyAzhwAr's

ThirukkOttiyUr Paasurams ( Periya Thirumozhi:4.4.10):

 

" KesavA! PurudOtthamA! KiLarcchOthiyAi!KuraLA yenRu,

pEsuvAr adiyArkaL yenthammai VIRKAVUM PERUVAARKALE "

 

( Those dear BhaagavathAs of the Lord , who recite with Joy

the various names of the Lord have the right to buy and

sell us as their property).

 

Swamy Desikan states in PurushArTa KaashtAdhikAram

that this is the ancient way designed by the Lord .

He is immensely pleased with His BhakthAs worshipping

His BhaagavathAs and He welcomes that even more than

the devotion shown to Him by His BhakthAs.If Bhagavath

Kaimkaryam is a lofty goal of life ( PurushArTam ),

the boundary or yellai nilam for that Bhagavath Kaimkaryam

is BhAgavatha Kaimkaryam.

 

The PramANams cited by Swamy Desikan in this context are:

 

1. aaradhanAnAm sarvEshAm VishNOrArAdhanam Param

Tasmath PARATARAM prOktham TadhiyArAdhanam PARAM

---PaadhmOtthAram: 29-81

 

(Among all kinds of worship , the worship offered to VishNu

is the most lofty one. Even better than that is the aarAdhanam

of His TadhiyAs or His BhaagavathAs).

 

2. TadhAsrayasyAsrayaNAth tasya tasya cha tasya tasya cha

SamsEvAnnaraa lOkE pooyanthE sarva-paathakai:

--Garuda PurANam , Sriranga MahAthmyam 8.91

 

( Men are released from all kinds of sins by worshipping

the Lord , His devotee and the devotee of that devotee

and the devotee of the latter and down that chain of

devotees of the Lord ).

 

This is what ThiruppANAzhwar informs us in the very first

Paasuram of his dhivya prabhandham: " AmalanAdhipirAn adiyArkku

yennai aatpaduttha Vimalan " ( My sacred Lord , who made it

possible for me to become the servant of His BhaagavathAs).

 

Poushkara Samhithai classifies the entourage (ParivAram ) of

the Lord as AapthAs and anApthAs ( dear ones and not so dear

ones ). The AapthAs (vENDIyavar) are the Nithya Sooris ( eternally

liberated ones ) , MukthAs ( those liberated souls , who gained

that status thru the observance of Bhakthi or Prapatthi yOgam)

and His BhaagavathAs ; the anaapthAs ( vENDAthavarkaL) are

the SamsAri Jeevans devoid of Bhagavath Bhakthi and other karma

VasyAs. Thus BhaagavathAs are grouped among the dearest ones of

the Lord .

 

In the concluding section of the PurushArTa-KaashtAdhikAram ,

Swamy Desikan extolls the greatness of the ParamaikAnthis ,

who consider the worldly wealth as insignificant as a blade

of grass (ThruNam) ; they reject kaivalyam ( aathma saakshAth-

kaaram ) or even the lofty status of Brahma (Brahma Padham) ;

the ParamaikAnthi BhAgavathAs do not even ask the Lord for

the boon of MokshAnugraham . They are parisuddhAs (the purest ones)

and of the firmest of mind ( sTira dhiyA:)in their devotion to their

Lord . They are compared to the Chaste wife , who never leaves

her inner chambers (SuddhAntha SiddhanthnI) and is devoted only

to her wedded husband. Swamy Desikan prays for becoming

the daasan for the TadhiyAs of the Lord , the paramaikAnthis.

 

Vedam aRintha Bhagavar viyakka viLangiya seer

Naatan vahuttha vahai peRunAmm Avan nalladiyArkku

aatharamikka adimai isainthu azhiyA marai nool

neethi niRuttha nilai kulayA vahai ninRanamE

 

(Meaning): We are the thankful inheritors of the sampradhAyam

blessed to us by the Lord , whose radiant and auspicious

attributes is the perennial object of adoration by His

BhAgavathAs. We stay resolutely committed to the practise of

the anushtAnam rooted in His eternal VedAs that command

the devotional kaimkaryam to His BhAgavathAs as the boundary

of Bhagavath kaimkaryam ( PurushArTa Kaashtai).

 

SrImath Azhagiya Singar PaadhAngri rENu ,

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan

 

(P.S): Dear BhakthAs: Please help with the NithyArAdhana

Kaimkaryam at ThUppul VedAntha Desikan Sannidhi and

the daily AarAdhanam for Swamy Desikan's home PerumAL

and PirAtti , Sri Maragathavalli SamEtha Sri DhIpa PrakAsan.

Please contact adiyEn , if you would like to support this

important Kaimkaryam and join the BhaagavathAs , who have

already contributed Five and a quarter laks of Rupees

against the need of 10 laks of Rupees. Thank You.