[Fwd: Qualities of Devotees - IV]

[Guest guest]

Dear Ramanuja Bhaktas,

 

Sri Sheshagiri, one of the newest members of our Society, has been posting a

wonderful series on the qualities of a SriVaishnava, as taught to him by HH Sri

Chinna Jeeyar Swamy. This is the fourth article in the series....

 

Ch Sheshagiri wrote:

 

> ---

> Srimathe RamanujayaNamah

> Jai SrimanNarayana

> ----

>

> Dear Bhagavathas,

>

> Please accept my humble obeisances. Jeeyar ThiruvadigalE Sharanam.

>

> In this mail H.H. describes the quality of " surrender " in a devotee. Also,

H.H explains how without this exquisite quality one cannot get rid of

" prarabdha " karma and hence this material world.

>

> As discussed in the last mail, one can remove one's Sanchitha and Agami

karmas by sincere and submissive chanting of " Ashtakshari " , by rendering loving

devotional service unto the lotus feet of the Lord but one still cannot remove

one's Prarabdha karma. The only means of obliterating the Prarabdha karma from

our " karma sack " without any trace, is " surrender " unto the lotus feet of

Acharya. It is stated in Bhagavad Githa also, " Tad viddhi Prani paathena, pari

prashnena sevayaa... "

>

> People are too much puffed up with their accomplishments in this world.

They don’t know that they are traversing on the wrong path. They think they are

the masters of everything and want to lord it over this material nature. When

all of their energies exhaust and when they reach an utterly helpless condition

in life, they shall realize that they are completely dependent on the causeless

mercy of the Supreme Lord Sriman Narayana. Without His mercy, it is not even

possible to enjoy this material world, what to speak of entering any spiritual

planet? Jiva is suffering from the weight of Karma from time immemorial. Lord

takes compassion on all these souls and kindly descends with them into all kinds

of most abominable bodies and helps the soul enjoy the fruits of their Karmas

life after life. As such, we don't even have the necessary capacity to enter any

material body. Lord, out of His " Nirhethuka Krpa " , stays in our hearts in His

" Paramathma " feature and sustains our life in these

> material bodies. As everybody knows, soul and Super Soul are compared to two

birds sitting on the same tree, the former enjoying the fruits of Karma and the

latter, witnessing the activities of soul.

>

> Demoniac people never realize this. In fact, they don't even cry out for

the help of Lord in a dependent mood, as they have false estimation of their

energies. H.H. instructs seriously that " One cannot do anything worthy of

appreciation without the help of Lord. People think that their religious

practices and their vedic knowledge, rituals they might be so conversant with

and so called opulences they might possess will take them back to Vaikuntha. No.

What an ordinary, infinitesimal jiva like us can do to attract the mercy of that

Supreme Person, who is beyond this cosmic manifestation? " It is by His and

Acharya’s " Nirhethuka Krpa " alone, that we might enter the divine realm of

Vaikuntha, not by our meager knowledge or petty day to day to practices. Here,

one might ask " Why, then, is it necessary to perform devotional service, read

Shastras etc " . H.H gives the answer. They are meant to keep your consciousness

at the present state. By practicing them, you see that you don't

> degrade yourself further.

>

> When one meditates on these facts continuously and associates with only

saintly persons who are free from material conception of life and those 6

diseases (mentioned in the last mail), one slowly realizes that one has to

surrender unto the lotus feet of Lord. What it means to surrender or do

" prapathi " ? Prapathi does not simply end by reading out " Sarvadharman

Parithyajya...... " or following some rituals. But surrender means to place

oneself at the disposal of one's Acharya. Serving menially Acharyas,

Bhagavathas, putting conscious efforts to reduce completely the Ahankara or

false ego, voluntarily accepting difficulties in life to increase one's level of

realization and dependence on the Supreme Lord. Here Adiyen remembers two

incidents quoted by H.H.

>

> The best example to illustrate the fact that Acharya's mercy is indispensable

to receive the mercy of Lord is that of Thandava Krishnanamacharya in

Simhachalam. Lord LaxmiNarasimha Himself used to dance everyday when he sang

different songs in praise of the Lord, so mellifluously. No doubt, his level of

expertise in singing nicely attracted the Supreme Lord. Even then, he couldn't

attract the mercy of Lord to the extent, that Lord granted Him the ultimate boon

of serving Him in Vaikuntha. And, Lord stressed the fact that unless one

undergoes the process of surrendering unto the lotus feet Bhagavadh Ramanuja and

treat oneself as the most menial servant of Ramanuja and reduce completely the

feeling of " I " and its false designations like " I am a great singer " or " I am

a very great scholar " ( " Sarvopaadhi Vinirmuktham.. " ) etc, placing oneself at the

dust of the lotus feet of one's Acharya, it is NOT possible to enter Vaikuntha.

>

> The second example H.H. gave is from Ramayana. It explains why Sugreeva

had to be punished for one of his acts portraying his " Ahankara " and his neglect

of the Universal spiritual master, Laxmana Swamy. After the first battle between

Vali and Sugreeva, Lord asks Laxmana to decorate Sugreeva's neck with a garland

so that He can " recognize " Sugreeva. In the second fight, Sugreeva was

protected, as there was some " mark of recognition " from the Acharya, Laxmana

Swamy. There are umpteen number of examples in our religious history

exemplifying the fact that the only savior is the mercy of Acharyas, not our own

personal endeavor or personal material qualifications. In fact, it is said in

many places that, the more a person is materially qualified, the more difficult

it is for him or her to come to a good level of surrender, as his/her so called

material qualifications invoke time to time a sense of false prestige and

identifications in this material world. (Dhana, Vidya and Abhijana

> Madhas)

>

> Surrender unto those, who have the knowledge of Athma and Paramathama.

Only associate with them. The best association for a person aspiring to become a

good devotee, is the association of saintly persons. Never and never even

contemplate, what to speak of associating with, opposite sex, money, enemy and a

non-devotee. ( " Sthri, Dhana, Nasthika, Vairi charithram Na Shravaneeyam " -Narada

Bhakthi Sutra) Just like you go to a lawyer to take his help in law related

matters, you have to go and seek the shelter of Acharyas to cross this ocean of

material nescience.

>

> Decrease completely the false ego or Ahankara. Completely reduce the

feelings of false attachments in this world. Feel always that they are not

permanent. " Asanga Shastrena Dhrudena Chithva.... " Grow attachment to " Aa " , the

Supreme Lord, SrimanNarayana. Keep attachment to Lord only. Know that you are

just like a robot controlled by Lord. You belong to Lord.

>

> The mind of a devotee is always decorated with the beautiful thoughts of

serving Lord. He doesn't say " I am eating " . He says " I am performing

Anuyaaga " . And he offers prasadam to Lord inside.

>

> Bhakthi is never to be proclaimed. It gets reflected in our activities and

behavior. A devotee never boasts about his religious practices. Your “nithya

karma” reflects your Bhakthi. Mother Andal tells this in 8th Pashuram. You have

to dovetail everything you do in the service of Lord. Past is not in our

control. But future is. You have always the freedom to change and reshape your

future life.

>

> We don't want any miracles to be done. Let it be slow, but let it be the

right process. Let us resolve that we should not again get this bad human

bodies. Let us wish for " Divya Sharira " , divine bodies, so that we can serve

Lord without any break.

>

> Every moment, one should think deeply, how can I utilize the present work

at hand in the service of Lord. This feeling is the result of accumulated

“Sukrtha” of crores of years. Unless one is blessed by the dust of the lotus

feet of " Mahanubhavas " , is NOT possible. Not once in a week, once in a day, but

every moment, your heart should be filled with gratitude towards Acharya and

Lord.

>

> You cannot achieve anything by your own wish, will or effort. It's Lord

pure love upon all of us that is granting you what you wished. If you are able

to accumulate something by your own endeavor, that will be of no use whatsoever

and as good as dirt. There is nothing in this world, which you can proclaim to

be yours, including your own body, what to speak all those false designations

you acquire with that. This knowledge and realization comes only by the mercy of

Acharya. The above 2 facts should be completely internalized, then you become a

surrendered soul.

>

> " Hey Bhagavan, Na Dharmo Nishtosmi, Na cha Athma Vedi,

> Na Bhakthimaan Thvachcharanaaravinde,

> Akinchanah, Anayagathih , Sharanah

> Tvath paadamoolam sharanam prapadyeh "

>

> --This is surrender.

>

> A surrendered devotee never commits a mistake knowingly. Never does

anything opposite to shastric injunction. He is ready to do the bidding of

Acharya. Whatever Acharya says, so shall he execute without any hesitation.

Surrender means to fill one's actions, speech and mind with the only desire and

attitude of pleasing one's Acharya. A surrendered devotee never does anything

whimsically. He is completely sold out to the lotus feet of Lord. He has no

other desire but to serve and please his spiritual master and Lord

SrimanNarayana.

>

> Some people may ignorantly think and vociferously try to protest that they

are living because of this mother nature and one has to be grateful to it etc.

No. You are living _NOT_ because of this Prakrthi, but because of the causeless,

unfathomable mercy of Narayana. This material nature is more dangerous than

Puthana. It acts like mother. It increases your attachment to this material

world. It nourishes the unhealthy feelings of " Ahankara " and " Mamakara " by

giving you " vishayaalu " . And thus, steals your Athma from Lord, from your

constitutional position of serving Lord in Vaikuntha.

>

> Acharya's protection in this blazing forest of material enjoyment, comes

in the form of his nectarine and soothing instructions. And, the instruction

comes with the power to execute it. So, it is again by the causeless mercy of

the Acharya that one is able to serve him.

>

> Acharya's mercy is his instructions. Follow them with complete faith and

with deep service attitude. You will surely make advancement.

>

> There is no other way of getting " Bhagavadh Anugraha " except by keeping

Bhahavathas in between Lord and us. Sugreeva precisely made this mistake by

trying to approach the Lord directly, neglected Laxmana and hence had to be

punished. (By not killing Vali in the first fight itself between Sugreeva and

Vali)

>

> So, the essence is, our life depends on association. Be always and always

with Thadeeyulu or Bhagavthas. Endeavor for their association and for their

association ONLY. (Narada Bhakthi Sutra:42) Serve them, love them with full of

your heart, respect them as good as Lord. This is the essence of Thiruppavai.

>

> A devotee doesn't hate or hurt anybody, as he has " Samyak Jnana " . He

tolerates all the disturbances and humiliations in life. Sometimes Maya creates

very awkward positions in the life of devotees. But they don't lose their

equanimity of mind. All the great personalities in our religious history have

this very marvelous and exemplary characteristic of remaining undisturbed, even

if something legitimate, like severe criticism comes in their life. (Agamo

paayino nithyaha....)

>

> Sometimes, people say " I want to get Moksha " . Moksha doesn't mean " some

convenient " position that one gets after one's death wherein one is freed from

all kinds of disturbances.

>

> Moksha means serving Lord 24 hours. Behaving in a manner pleasing to

devotees. Bearing the consciousness of serving the Bhagavaths.

>

> Material opulences, richness etc, will never be the same. They keep

changing moment to moment. It is a great pity that we never realize the

precarious position we are in. We seek so called enjoyment in this world and get

frustrated after every attempt that we make to derive some happiness. As Lord

said, " Dukahalayam, Ashashwatham.... " . Real education is that, which manifests

in practice. Until one implements what one has learned, one has not learned it.

>

> That, which helps you not change in such difficult circumstances also and

inspires you to hang on with determination, is Bhakthi and that is real

knowledge. This material education is for feeding the stomach. It is for keeping

the body and soul together. But the food for Athma is Bhakthi, engaging in the

activities pleasing to Govinda. Food for Athma is Bhagavad Seva.

>

> I beseech the forgiveness of all Bhagavthas for any mistakes in my

understanding. I sincerely beg for their mercy to improve my service attitude

towards our most munificent Acharya., H.H. Sri Sri Sri Tridandi SrimanNarayana

Jeeyar Swamiji.

>

> In next mail: Connecting all these things with Thiruppavai. How Mother Andal

very poetically expresses the above-mentioned quality of surrender in Pashurams.

Also, we discuss how “Ahacrya Hrudayam” is compared wonderfully to Nanda Gokulam

where Krsna plays in the courtyard of Nanda's home.

>

> __________________

>

> The continuous love of Godhead is Bhakthi. Bhakthi is without break.

>

> ----H.H. Pravachanam on 8th pashuram, 23rd December 2000, Hyderabad.

>

> Have always clarity in your thought, your speech and your deeds. Have clarity

in reading. Note the key points. Meditate upon them.

>

> ----H.H. Pravachanam on 9th pashuram, 24th December 2000, Hyderabad.

>

> Jnani is one who pleases Lord very much with his behavior. A jnani is never

lost to Lord and Lord is never lost to jnani.

>

> ----H.H. Pravachanam on 10th pashuram, 25th December 2000, Hyderabad.

> __________________

>

> __

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>

> Jai SrimanNarayan

>

>