Thiruvaheendhrapuram RathnAngi Kaimakryam: Part 120 ( Desika Prabhandham-- XI: Paasurams 76-79

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SrI:

 

Dear Swamy Desika BhakthAs:

 

In this posting , adiyEn will cover 4 more Paasurams( 76-79) of

Desika Prabhandham , which are the 37th to the 40th Paasurams of

AdhikAra Sangraham.They deal with the final three chapters(30 to 32)

of Swamy Desikan's magnum opus , SrImath Rahasya Thraya Saaram :

AchArya KruthyAdhikAram , Sishya KruthyAdhikAram and

NigamanAdhikAram .

 

(76) AchArya KruthyAdhikAram : The UpakAram given by AchAryAs

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(Meaning ): Our SadAchAryAs known for their freedom

from even a trace of ajn~Anam protected the meanings of

the three rahasyams from falling in the hands of the undeserving .

When the time for them to ascend to their Lord's Supreme Abode ,

they had the merciful thought to banish the ajn~Anam of the SamsAris

and decided that latter group should perform prapatthi at the sacred

feet the Lord and get uplifted. They chose a select list of sishyAs

known for their discriminating intellect (vivEkam ) and taste

(ruchi) for Bhagavath Kiamkaryam and lit in their minds ,

the auspicious dheepam of Sath SampradhAyam and caused

the spread of this sampradhAyam around the world.

 

The key passage in this paasuram is: " maruL aRRa Desikar

aruL uRRa chinthainAl teruL uRRa siRanthavar paal azhiyA

viLaku yERRinar " . ( Our SadAchAryAs untainted by ajn~Anam

lit the ever shining lamp of sath sampradhAyam in the minds of

the specail sishyAs known for their VivEkam, Sraddhai and

Kaimkarya ruchi to the Lord and His BhAgavathAs).

 

77) Sishya kruthyAdhikAram: Duties of a Sishyan

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A SadAchAryan instructs his sishyan on the three Tatthvams

(ChEthanam ,achEthanam and Iswaran) , UpAyam (means)

and PurushArTam (ultimate goal) and lights up the dheepam of

Jn~Anam to banish the darkness of ajn~Anam . There is no way

in which one can repay the AchAryan for his matchles upakAram .

Even the omniscient (Sarvaj~nan) Lord can not describe the right way

to repay the SadAcAryan for his mahOpakAram. If this were to be so

for the omniscient Iswaran , then how would it be possible for lesser

beings (humans) to suggest the methods to pay back the debt of

gratitude of Sishyans to their AchAryans . Inspite of it , sishyAs

delight in praising their AchAryans . They meditate on the AchAryan's

glories. The Sishyans spread the reputation of the AchAryans by

praising him . All of these attempts of sishyAs to eulogize and

celebrate their AchAryans is an expression of their affection and

reverence and will never ever compensate for the abundant help

that they have recieved from their most merciful AchAryAs.

 

The two key passages from this paasuram are :

 

1. " Manatthu yezhil jn~Ana viLakkai yERRi iruL anaitthum

mARRinavarkku oru kaimmARu Maayanum kaaNahillAn "

( For the AchAryan , who lit the lamp of true knowledge

and banished all the darkness that existed before , even the all-

knowing Lord Himself can not come up with a way to pay back

for the upakArams recieved).

 

2. (aathalin nAmm ) pORRi uhappathum punthiyil koLvathum

pongu puhazh sARRi vaLarppathum , munnam peRRathaRkku

saRRu allavO? ( Therefore , what we do in terms of praising

the aathma guNams of the AchAryan , meditate on him and

spread his glory in the world by talking about it are insignificant

acts compared to the greatest of help recieved from that AchAryan

earlier ).

 

78) NigamanAdhikAram: The Four parts of SrImath Rahasya Thraya Saaram

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We composed the grantham of SrImath Rahasua Thraya Saaram to bless

Aasthika sishyAs with vivEkam about their AchAryans , who instruct them

(the sishyans) about the glories of Prapatthi yOgam. First , we explained

the savroopams and svabhAvams of Tatthva Thrayam , UpAyam and

PurushArTam as we learnt from our AchAryAs. Second , we

answered the objections raised about them and established their

unshakable validity . Third , we explained the ways to gather the meanings

of the three rahasyams and pointed out the essence of such meanings

is that the Jeevan has no independence of its own and is the property of

the Lord , the sarva sEshi and he ( the jeevan ) is His unconditional,

eternal servant (sesham ).

 

Fourth , we explained the greatness of the most merciful SadAchAryAs ,

who bless the qualified sishyAs with sath sampradhAya Jn~Anam .

Therefore , it is futile to spend one's life on this earth chasing

evanescent pleasures instead of enjoying the SrI Sookthi of

SrImath Rahasya Thraya Saaram.

 

Swamy Desikan states that he covered the four topics outlined

above in his SrI sookthi ( ivai seppinam) . What is the purpose of

wasting one's life pursuing trivia instead of learning about the lofty

and rejuvenating concepts housed in SrImath Rahasya Thraya Saaram ?

( chinn paRRi yennpayan ?).

 

There is the learned AchAryan (MaRayavar) , who instructs us on

the glories of SaraNAgathy at the Lord's feet , who is Jagadheesavaran

( mann paRRi ninRa vahai uraikkinRa maRayavar).Here , we are as discerning

sishyAs , who approach the AchAryan to gain the Jn~Anam about

the true meanings of VedAntham .We composed this Sri Sookthi of

SrImath Rahasya Thraya Saaram to focus on the VivEkam acquired by

the Sishyan from the AchAryan and the resulting clearance of doubts

as well as the attainment of relaization that he( the jeevan ) has no

independence whatsoever and as a jeevan he is totally dependent on

the Lord , his Master at all times , places and conditions.

 

79) NigamanAdhikAram: Part II: These Paasurams beautify Tamil language

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BhagavAn and His BhAgavathAs bless with delight the qualified persons ,

who possess aathma guNams and do not swerve from the Saasthrams .

We composed the paasurams of htis Prabhandham with the benedictions of

BhagavAn and His BhAgavathAs after familiarizing ourselves with

the VedAnthic doictrines. These paasurams serve as nectar to the ears of

the listeners even if they do not understand their meanings. These 32

paasurams

about SrImath Rahasya Thraya Saaram set in the andhAthi format

are alankArams ( decorative objects ) for the language of Tamil

constituting Iyal, Isai and Naatakam ( prose , sangItham and drama).

 

The key passages of this Paasuram are : " ivai muppatthiraNDu

muttamizh sErntha mozhi ThiruvE " . " Mutthamizh sErntha Mozhi "

refers to three sets of triads characterizing these paasurams :

 

A .(1) delectable taste of the chosen words (2) deep meanings of

the thoughts housed in these paasurams and (3) appropriateness

to set them to most enjoyable music.

 

B. (1) the reputation of the composer (2) the glory of the topic

and (3) the beauty of the passages of the Paasurams

 

C.(1) Aasu Kavi ( the instanteneous and fluent )composition

(2) the intricate geometric patterns found in the paasurmas

and (3) sweetness associatd with them .

 

With the 79th Pasuram of AdhikAra Sangraham , the 32 paasurams on

SrImath Rahasya Thraya Saaram starting from the 47th Paasuram

of Desika Prabhandham set in the andhAthi format comes to an end.

 

Swamy Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam ,

Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan

 

Srimate Sri Laksminrisimha Divya Paduka Sevaka

SrivaNN Satakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama: