Sri Periya Jeeyer's Arthi Prabhandam-10

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Sri Parthasarathi thunai

Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha

Sri Vara Vara MunayE Namaha

 

SrisailEsa dayA pAthram deebhakthyAdhi gunArnavam

Yateendra pravanam vandhE ramyajAmataram munim

 

Surely all divya desams are equal and have their own specialities.

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But why do we see that all alwars and acharyas consider srirangam to be special

always?

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That is because Srirangam is the headquarters for all Srivaishnavas. While we

talk about a company we mention only the headquarters even though that company

may have a number of branches. For Srivaishnavas, Srirangam is the headquarters

and all other divya desams, its branches. The work of any company is done in

all branches but the final approval for the completion of the project comes from

the head quarters. All branches are equally essential for the work to be

completed without any problem but the headquarters plays a major role.

Similarly all divya desams have their equal importance but srirangam binds them

all. That is why all our acharyas though born in different places had to go to

srirangam when it came to establishing our sampradayam.

 

It is said by our poorvAcharyas that each srivaishnava, wherever he may be,

every morning has to atleast walk a few steps in the direction of Srirangam. The

thaniyan to mukunda mala says, “gushyathE yasya nagarE rangayAthrA dhinE dhinE l

thamaham sirasA vandhE rAjAnam kulasEkaram ll” Each day kulasekara alwar woke up

with the thought that he should leave to Srirangam that day. Each Srivaishnava

should wake up in the similar way each morning thinking to attain the divine

kainkaryam of emperuman that day. All Srivaishnavas cannot live in Srirangam.

It is like having all the employees of a company in the headquarters itself then

the work in all the branches will stop and hence will affect the company’s

progress drastically. So emperuman appoints different people to different

divyadesams and makes them stay with the abhimAnam towards that divyadesam and

perumal.

 

Sri Ramanuja had great love for kAnchi deva perumal but still he was transferred

to Srirangam due to ranganatha’s wish. Swamy desikan refuses even Sriranga

vAsam considering living in kAnchi as happiest for him. He says I do not

possess any other wealth other than that which exists on top of the hastigiri,

in his vairAkhya panchakam. Periya thirumalai nambi considered doing kainkaryam

to thirumalai appan as his prime duty. Even today there are so many jeeyers who

live in different divya desams and continue with their kainkaryams to emperuman

like HH Sri Vanamamali ramanuja Jeeyer swamy, HH Sri Thiruvenkata Jeeyer swamy

and others.

 

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Ok. The other divyadesams are branches of Srirangam, the headquarters. But

what about we people, who live in US and other places. Are we not srivaishnavas

and how is that perumal has not blessed us with divya desa vAsam?

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Though we all may be physically present in many parts of the world each

Srivaishnava starts his day only with the thought of the punya bhoomi and our

alwars and acharyas. While doing sandhya vandhanam no Srivaishnava forgets to

recite the following:

“Sriranga mangala nidhim karunAnivAsam

Sri VenkadAdhri shikarAlaya kAlamEgam

Sri hasti saila sikarOjvala pArijAtham

Srisam namAmi sirasA yethu saila deepam”

 

During the sattrumurai each day each srivaishnava recites, “adiyArgal vAzha

aranganagar vAzha saTakOPan than thamizh nool vAzha kadal soozhintha mannulagam

vAzha manavAla mAmuniyE ennumoru nootrandu erum”

 

So wherever we may be our thoughts always linger around the divyadesams and the

divine beauty of our emperumans. We pray for the welfare of all. If

SriVaishnavas have to live long then their headquarters, Srirangam has to live

with glory. If Srirangam has to live the divine work, ThiruvAimozhi of Sri

saTakOpar (nammAzhvar) has to live. Only if Srivaishnavism and Srirangam along

with the divine works of all alwars and acharyas live then the whole world

(kadal soozhintha mannulagum) engulfed by the ocean on all sides will live with

might and glory. For all these to live Sri Manavala mAmunigal, the last acharya

in the guruparamparai and the acharya of the lord ranganatha who brought the

glory of Srirangam back from its ruined state after the muslim invasion should

live for many many more years in all our minds. That is why each srivaishnavas

says pallandu to mAmunigal (yateendra pravanar) day in and day out.

 

So it is not important where we live physically but our mental status is

absolutely important. Unfortunately if a person in Srirangam doesn’t understand

its importance and doesn’t cherish the living over there, doing kainkaryam to

perumal then he is to be considered the lowest of the lowest. Since though

being given the opportunity to attain the greatest happiness in this world if he

doesn’t enjoy the same then there is no use in his living at all. But even when

we live very very far away from the divine lands of emperuman still if each day

we think of perumal and his divyadesams and lament for not being blessed with

his kainkaryams in the divyadesams sung by the alwars then that is even more

precious than a divya desa vAsam because we mentally live over there.

 

ThirupAnalwar never entered the temple and had darshan of ranganatha but was

deeply involved in his devotion mentally so perumal sent a Brahmin (loka saranga

muni) to fetch him and accepted thiruppAnan under his divine feet. So similarly

if we remain in his thoughts always then perumal will surely call us to his

divine feet for kainkaryam.

 

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There is one legend in the life of Sri pillai perumal iyyangar to illustrate the

greatness of mental devotion lets see in the next posting and then continue with

the meaning of mAmunigal’s divine paasuram.

 

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(To be continued)

 

Alwar EmperumAnAr Jeeyer thiruvadigalE sharanam

 

Adiyen Ramanuja Dasyai

Sumithra Varadarajan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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