Sri Periya Jeeyer's Arthi Prabhandam-15

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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

 

Now that we have got a person to care for us (“thennarangar seer arulukku

elakkAga pettrom”), a place to live (“thiruvarangam thiruppathiyE eruppAga

pettrom”), nutritious food to eat (“mAran kalaiyE vunavAga pettrOm”), some code

of contact to act (“madurakavi sol padiyE nilaiyAga pettrom”) all the basic

needs of any human being has been satisfied. Next thing a man will go in search

of huge wealth, sophisticated living and some entertainment. Let’s see what is

the wealth for srivaishnavas.

 

“MUNNAVARAM NAM KURAVAR MOZHIGAL ULLA PETTROM” says mAmunigal. We have all been

blessed with a huge treasure of golden words of our alwars and acharyas. The

nAlayira divya prabandam of alwars are nothing else but the essence of the Vedas

and itihasa puranas in simple understandable tamil. But still the indepth

meanings of the paasurams of alwars are not so easily understood by all so the

acharyas who are full of mercy have given us the excellent anubhavam flooded

commentaries. The acharyas have also blessed us with excellent strotras to be

submitted to the divine feet of emperuman. When we want to sing the praise of

bhagavan and also submit under his divine feet our shortcomings and cry for his

mercy, we lack words to do the same but then comes to our immediate help the

divine paasurams of alwars and the strotras and other divine works of our

acharyas . There is nothing, which has been left untouched by our acharyas.

One janma is not enough to learn all of them.

 

Mamunigal didn’t do much individual works due to the same reason. Being the

last in the guru paramparai he felt that there are enough poorvacharya works and

hence he concentrated on commenting on them and teaching it to the ignorant

masses. Swamy Periya Jeeyer has been insistent on the fact that it is always

good to only repeat what our elders have taught us than creating something new

ourselves. In Upadesa ratna malai he says, “munnOr mozhindha murai thappAmal

kEttu pinnOrindhu thAm adhanai pEsadhE”. He says, one who does follow the words

of his elders and talks as it comes to his mind is a moorkan (arrogant fellow).

Here in Arthi prabhandam, mAmunigal proudly declares that the great treasure for

vaishnavas is their poorvAcharya works.

 

In our sampradayam, the difference between the rishis and the alwars are

considered to be that between a mountain and a stone, the difference between

other alwars and periAzhvar is again that like a mountain and a stone, the

difference between periAzhvar and acharyas like nAthamunigal and Alavandaar is

like a mountain and a stone. Similar is the case between the anuvritthi

prasannAcharyas (who gave the divine arthas only to eligible shisyas after

severe testing) before ramanujar and the krupAmAthra prasannAcharyas (who

considered only the interest, the shisya had as important and nothing else,

AsaiyudaiyOrkkellam) from ethirajar to Manavala mAmunigal. Even among the

krupAmAthra prasannAcharyas, acharyas who made their works into books for the

future use are considered greater, and even among them the acharyas who gave

arulicheyal vyakhyanams (periya vAchan pillai, nampillai, nanjeeyer and others)

are considered greater than those who concentrated on Vedanta vyakhyanams alone

(ramanujar). Even greater than these acharyas, stand the acharyas who gave

arthas to the rahasyams which are the essence of the divya prabhandam (pillai

lOkAcharya, azhagiya perumal nAyanar, swamy desikan and others). Greater than

them is the acharya who gave the commentaries to the rahasya granthas (Swamy

Periya Jeeyer, Sri Manavala mAmunigal).

 

Without the commentaries of mAmunigal many of the works of Sri Pillai lokacharya

and his brother Azhagiya manavala perumal nAyanar, two great geniuses in our

sampradayam, would have been like just the sound of a sea for us since we will

never be able to understand the meanings. Mamunigal not only got himself

involved in the works of poorvacharyas but has also left a great treasure for

us to cherish forever. We cherish the words of lOkacharya and others through

the words of mAmunigal even today. So there are no words to actually show our

gratefulness to our great acharya, Sri manavala mAmunigal. Like a good

intelligent father who leaves lot more of wealth to his son added to the

original ancestral property due to his earnings, mAmunigal who is our jnana

pitha has left us with not only the ancestral wealth but also a lot more added

to it. So now we have become the richest so we can more proudly say,

“MunnavarAm namkuravar mozhigal vulla pettrOm”

 

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Immediately as we get some money in our hand our mind searches for a good

entertainment, irrespective of whether we have worked hard to gain that money or

not. Similarly what is the entertainment for the srivaishnavas? How should a

Srivaishnava spend his time?

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(To Be Continued)

 

Alwar EmperumAnAr Jeeyer thiruvadigalE sharanam

 

Adiyen Ramanuja Dasyai

Sumithra Varadarajan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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