Thiruvaheendhrapuram RathnAngi Kaimakryam: Part 123 ( Desika Prabhandham-- XIV: Paasurams 87

[Guest guest]

SrI:

 

Dear Swamy Desika BhakthAs:

 

In this posting , adiyEn will cover One Paasuram( 87) of

Desika Prabhandham , which is the 48th Paasurams of

AdhikAra Sangraham. This Paasuram has so many subtle meanings

relating to the essence of Charama slOkam that adiyen will

focus on it alone in this posting.

 

The Greatness of Today

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Today is the Iypaasi SravaNam day at Oppiliappan KOil .

ThiruviNNagarappan adorns nila mAlais and invites us

to reflect on the message imprinted on His right hand

(MaamEkam SaraNam Vraja). On top of Hasthi Giri ,

at Kaanchi , Lord VaradarAjan invites us to reflect on

the message imprinted on His right hand : " Maa Sucha: "

 

Today is also the birth day of Poygai AzhwAr followed by

the avathAra dinams of BhUtham and PEy AzhwArs

( the three " Mudhal AazhwArs " ) .

 

In the 89th Paasuram of Desika Prabhandham

( the 50th slOkam of AdhikAra Sangraham) ,

Swamy Desikan acknowledges with gratitude

the upakAram of the Mudhal AzhwArs in revealing

the UpAyams of Prapatthi and Bhakthi yOgams

to us for gaining Moksham.

 

The " yEka Sabdham

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On this auspicious occasion , it is very appropriate to

reflect upon the " YEka " sabdham , which is the essential

part of Charama slOkam : " Maam YEkam SaraNam vraja " .

The six meanings of the " YEka " sabdham is the subject

matter of the 87th Desika Prabhandham (48th Paasuram of

AdhikAra Sangraham) to be covered today.

 

In the 93rd slOkam of Desika Prabhandham ( 54th of AdhikAra

Sangraham ) , Swamy Desikan describes our status of

living in a state of freedom from fear due to the following

of the UpadEsam of the Lord housed in His Charama slOkam .

 

87) Charama SlOkam : Meanings of Charama SlOkma : Part III

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Saadhanamum naRppayanum nAnE aavan

Saadhakanum yenn vayamAi yennai paRRum

Saadhanamum SaraNa neRi anru unakku

SaadhanangaL innilaikku ohr idayil nillA

Vedanai sEr vErangam ithanil vENDA

vEru yellAm niRkkum nilai NaanE niRppan

ThUthanumAm NaaTanumAm YennaippaRRi

sOham theer yena uraitthAn soozhhinrAnE

 

The Six Meanings of " yEka " Sabdham

*********************************

In this Paasuram , Swamy Desikan instructs us

on the six meanings of the word " yEkam "

( " Maam yEkam SaraNam Vraja portion " of

Charama slOkam ) as revealed by the SrI Sookthis

of His PoorvAchAryAs .

 

Additional References on " yEka " Sabdham

**********************************

Swamy Desikan elaborates on the above meanings

of the " yEka " sabdham again in the 318th Paasuram of

Desika Prabhandham ( 4th slOkam of Charama slOka

Surukku ) and the 344th Desika Prabhndha Paasuram

( the 19th Paasuram of GeethArTa Sangraham ) .

The 29th Chapter of SrImath Rahasya Thraya sAram

entitled " Charama SlOkAdhikAram " has the most

elaborate commentary by Swamy Desikan on our

GeethAchAryan's Charama SlOkam .

 

87 th Prabhandha Paasuram ( 48th AdhikAra Sangraha Paasuram)

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1) The first Meaning of YEka Sabdham

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The first of the six meanings is : " Saadhanamum nall-payanum nAnE

aavan " ( I will remain as the UpAyam/Means and the Phalan/auspicious

fruit of that UpAyam of SaraNAgathy) . Our Lord is both UpAyam

and its Phalan . The yEka sabdham reveals that SarvEswaran alone

is both upAyam and Phalan.

 

2) The second meaning of the YEka Sabdham

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The second meaning is : " Saathakanum Yenn vayamAi Yennaip-PaRRum "

( The anushtAthA /practioner of that UpAyam will remain under my

Lordship and perform SaraNAgathy to Me to gain Moksha siddhi).

Here , yEka sabdham reveals that the Svatantram of the ChEthanam

is banished in the context of the Lord's unfettered will and His

SvAtantryam . Our Lord is the SiddhOpAyan and the jeevan

should not get confused as the the adhikAri, who practises

the UpAyam. It is SarvEsvaran's sankalpam that lets the chEtanan

perform the UpAyam as a totally dependent one on the DayA

of the Lord . The chEthanam is never-ever independent to

perform the UpAyam on its own.

 

3) The third meaning of the YEka sabdham

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The third meaning is " unakku SaraNa neRi Saadhanamum anRu "

( The Lord says: For you , the ChEthanan , SaraNAgathy is

not a direct upAyam , but is only a vyAjam for gaining

the fruit of that UpAyam ). Here , the " yEka " sabdham

cautions the chEtanam not to link Iswaran (SiddhOpAyam )

with SaadhyOpAyams like Prapatthi or Bhakthi yOgams .

Iswaran uses Prapatthi as a vyAjam to grant the boon of

Moksham . He stands in the place of difficult to observe

upAyams like Bhakthi yOgam to grant Moksham to

those who perform Prapatthi to Him alone .

 

4) The Fourth Meaning of the YEka Sabdham

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The fourth meaning is " SaathanangaL innilaikku ohr idayil nillA "

( UpAyams like Bhakthi yOgam will not have any value/help to

the SaraNAgathy / Prapatthi yOgam . In other words , Bhakthti

yOgam and other upAyams do not assist/advance Prapatthi) .

Our Lord does not place any obstacle/burden between Him

and the one , who hastened to perform Prapatthi stands in place of

all other upAyams and bears all the burdens Himself. He does not

expect any other UpAyams from the Prapannan after

the performance of Prapatthi .

 

5) The Fifth Meaning of the YEka Sabdham

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The Fifth meaning is " vEthanai sEr vERu angam ithanil vENDA "

( For one who observes SaraNAgathy as the UpAyam , there is

no admixture with angams that are very difficult to observe).

Except the five angams associated with Prapatthi (aanukoolya

Sankpam , PrAthkoolya Vrajanam , KaarpaNyam , Gopthruva

VaraNam and MahA Visvaasam ), Our Lord does not desire

any other angams from those , who perform Prapatthi to Him.

 

6) The Sixth Meaning of the YEka Sabdham

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The Sixth meaning is: " vERu yellAm niRkkum nilai nAnE niRppan "

( I will stand in place of all other upAyams like difficult-to-observe

Bhakthi yOgam and bless the ChEthanan performing Prapatthi

with the fruits of Moksham ). Our Lord instructs the Prapanna

jeevan that He is under the influence of that Jevan as a result of

the performance of Prapatthi to Him alone and therefore He will stay

in place of all other upAyams and bless that jeevan with

the fruits of Moksha sukham.

 

Our Lord's UpadEsam

*******************

The Lord says : " For all these six reasons , Oh ChEthanam ,

observe Prapatthi yOgam to Me alone and leave the other upAyams

(Sarva dharmAn Partithyajya Maam yEkam SaraNam vraja) .

 

After performing Prapatthi , live in a state of freedom from worries

and sorrows ; place the burden of your protection and the fruits of

that protection at My feet . As Your Lord and Parama Soulabhyan,

who went as the messenger for the PaaNDavAs , I will protect You

without fail so that you can stay in a state of nirbhayam and nirbharam

( freedom form worries and fears about your gathi) " .

 

Swamy Desikan's instruction to us

**************************

Swamy Desikan summarizes the Charama slOkam message

this way :

 

" ThUthanumAm NaaTanumAm Yennaip-paRRI

sOham theer yena uraitthAn soozhkinrAnE "

 

That Lord who identified Himself as the Lord of

all the ChEthanams and as the soulabhyan , who went to

DuryOdhanA's court as the messenger for PaaNDavAs

instructed us to free ourselves of all fears and sorrows

through the performance of Prapatthi at His sacred feet

alone. He does not let the PrapannAs down since He is

Achyuthan and surrounds them (SoozhinrAn) with

His anugraham .

 

Swamy Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam ,

Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan

 

Srimate Sri Laksminrisimha Divya Paduka Sevaka

SrivaNN Satakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama: