Sri Periya Jeeyer's Arthi prabhandham-17

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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

 

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Now that we have understood that a Srivaishnava is one who spends his time only

in bhagavan and bhagavat vishayam, what next?

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Mamunigal answers, “PINNAI ONDRU THANNIL NENJU PERAMAL PETTROM”. It is not

enough if we go to the temple one day and recite the nalayira divya prabhandam,

listen to upanyasam etc. Bhagavan and bhagavat vishyam should be part of our

life always. But, we see in this world that the entertainment, which we enjoy

today, is no longer entertaining us the next day. We all want variety. We get

bored doing the same things day in and day out. We don’t want to see the same

cinema again and again we do not want to eat the same dish everyday we want

variety. Is there variety in the entertainment of the Srivaishnavas?

 

Why do we need variety? We need variety only when we feel that what we are

doing is boring. But Srivaishanavas never feel that bhagavat/bhAgavata

kainkaryam is boring. They want more and more. But still there is a lot of

variety inside bhagavat vishayam itself. Consider visiting perumal in a

temple. Bhagavan due to his nirheduka krupai has stationed himself in number of

places. To attract people in different areas he stays in different temples.

Again though he is the same Narayanan still in different temples, he is

different postures and with different specialities. Leave alone having darshan

of perumal in different temples, we see people visiting the same temple day in

and day out. Do they get bored? Never. Go to Srirangam, thiruvallikeni and

other divyadesams. We find people living always with the thought of

parthasarathi and his utsavams. The same utsavams are celebrated each year and

the same perumal comes out in purappadu (procession) but srivaishnavas never

want to miss even one. They feel each day is a new experience (anubhavam).

They will afford to miss anything in this world but not parthasarathi

darshan/kainkaryam. Does this earn them anything at all? They are least

bothered about the result; the darshan itself is the result.

 

Similarly, we go and sit in an upanyasam, say bhagavata sapthAham. Every year

in the same place the sapthAham is held but the same person who has come all

seven days the previous year attends the sapthAham without fail and enjoys it as

if he is hearing Krishna kathai (story) for the very first time. How is that

possible? That is the speciality of bhagavat vishayam. So it is not like the

ordinary entertainment present in this world. The worldly entertainment becomes

boring after sometime and we want to shift over to another but the entertainment

of Srivaishnavas is ever new and interesting and makes us always involved in it.

And hence Srivaishnavas never want to shift from bhagavat/bhAgavata kainkaryams

to any other entertainment.

 

When we get what we want and even more, why should we even look at something

else? That is why mAmunigal says, “pinnai ondru thannil nenju pErAmal pettrOm”

(we have been blessed with a mind, which doesn’t jump from one thing to another.

Our mind always concentrates on bhagavan and bhagavat vishayam). It is said

that, kali gives ‘kalmasha chittam’ and hence our mind is never clear and our

mind can never concentrate on one thing. It is like a monkey jumping from one

tree to another. But even kali cannot come near bhagavatas. That is why

nammAzhvar says, “kaliyum kedum kandu konmen”. Swamy mAmunigal proudly declares

here that we, Srivaishnavas have been blessed with a mind, which never flies

towards anyother thing. There may be so many people going from one place and

another and getting involved in various activities but Srivaishnavas remain

don’t care masters and carry on with their own anubhavams with bhagavan and

bhAgavatas.

 

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But how do Srivaishnavas feel when they see others enjoying in other ways and

living a different life?

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Wait till the next posting for the answer. The next posting will be the

conclusion posting for this series on “Arthi Prabhandam”

 

(To Be Continued)

 

Alwar EmperumAnAr Jeeyer thiruvadigalE sharanam

 

Adiyen Ramanuja Dasyai

Sumithra Varadarajan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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