Tomorrow's UpanyAsam by Srimath Azhahgiya Singar , SaraNAgathy Gadhyam of AchArya RaamAnuja :

[Guest guest]

SrI :

 

Dear AaasthikAs :

 

Srimath Prakrutham Azhagiya Singar will be blessing us tomorrow

with the first of the 8 upanyAsams during the ChAthurmAsyam

observance at ThiruppuLLambhUthangudi .

 

Please register for these important UpanyAsams on SaraNAgathy

Gadhyam at the Ahobila Matam Web site and join the ghOshti :

 

http://ahobilamutt.org/upan/sign01.asp

 

Srimath Azhagiya Singar will be following the Commentaries of

Periya VaacchAn PiLLai and Swamy Desikan's.

 

AchArya RaamAnuja's Nine Sri Sookthis

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AchArya RaamAnuja blessed us with 9 Sri Sookthis .

 

The first three ( Sri BhAshyam , VedAntha Saaram and

VedAntha dheepam) deal with Brahma Soothrams.

 

The Fourth one is VedArtha Sangraham and it describes

the meanings of selected Veda Vaakyams.

 

The Fifth one is GeethA BhAshyam and it elaborates on

the GeethArtha Sangraham of Swamy AlavanthAr .

 

The sixth is Nithya Grantham , which instructs us on the daily

observances (nithyAnushtAnams) of a Sri VaishNava .

 

The last three cover the essence of our noble sampradhAyam ,

the Svaroopam of Prapatthi and the ways to perform Prapatthi.

These three dhivya granthams ( SaraNAgathi , Sriranga and

Vaikunta Gadhyams) and have a samudhAya nAmam ( Gadhya

Thrayams).

 

These three Gadhyams speak about the Vaibhavam of Prapatthi

and the Bhagavath Svaroopa-Roopa-GuNa VibhUthis and connects them

to the Rahasya Thrayams in general and Dhvaya Manthram in particular.

 

The meanings of these three Gadhyams are taught by our Compassionate

AchAryAs for the benefit of those , who do not have the power or Jn~Anam

to absorb the tachings of complex Sri Sookthis like Sri BhAshyam .

 

Commentaries on the Three Gadhyams:

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Great PoorvAchAryAs such as YengaLAzhwAn (VishNu Chitthar) ,

Nanjeeyar , Periya AacchAn PiLLai , PiLLai LokAcchAr , Srutha PrakAsar

and Swamy Desikan have blessed us with their commentaries on

Gadhya Thrayams .

 

Among these Commentaries , the three in circulation are the brief

commentary by Srutha PrakAsikAcchAr ( Sishyar of NadAthUr AmmAL )

and the elaborate commentaries of Periya AcchAn PiLLai and Swamy

Desikan .

 

It will take many months to complete the KaalkshEpam of the three

Gadhyams . Srimath Azhagiya Singar will cover SaraNAgathy Gadhyam

alone in the 8 sessions of the ChAthurmAsya UpanyAsams.

 

Scope and content of SaraNAgahty Gahdyam

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The three Gadhyams house the dialogs of the JeevAthma with

the ParamAthma . It has been said of these three Gadhyams :

" the fervour of the Jeevan throbbing with deep love & sense of

total surrender to ParamAthmA ( its Master) has rarely found such

moving expression and there is a pervasive sense of certainity and

an atmosphere of Serenity ".

 

SaraNAgathy Gadhya is considered to be made of the three parts

each of which dealing with one of the three rahasyams : " Moola

Mantram , Dvyam and Charama SlOkam ". PurushaakAra Prapatthi

involving the mediation or intercession by Mahaa Lakshmi for

the contrite Jeevans with Her Lord takes place at the very beginning

of SarNAgathy Gadhyam .

 

AchArya RaamAnuja teaches us here about how to perform SaraNAgathy

before the dhivya Dampathys . On a Panguni Uttharam day , AchArya

RaamAnuja had the darsana soubhAgyam of the sErthi sEvai of

the divine couple and was overcome with rapture , which drove him

to perofrm His prapatthi to them spontaneously and that ended up

in the vision of darsanam of the dhivya Dampathis at their supreme

abode of Sri Vaikuntham ( Sri Vaikunta Gadhyam).

 

The central message of all the three gadhyams is SaraNAgathy

in all its aspects. It is an easy to perform (KshaNa Karthavyam) ,

accessible to all independent of gender, scholarship level or

VarNaas unlike the difficult to practise Bhakthi Yogam , which is

limited only to the three VarNaas and is hard to practise .

 

AchArya RaamAnujaa establishes clearly in SaraNAgathy Gadhya

that Prapatthi is an independent route to Moksham or liberation from

the cycles of births and deaths for a Jeevan and to enjoy ParipoorNa

BrahMAnandham through nithya Kaimkaryam to the Divine Couple in

their Supreme Abode of Sri Vaikuntam .

 

There are 33 , 7 and 14 ChoorNikais ( Unitary Prose Passages ) in

SaraNAgathy , Sriranga and Vaikunta gadhyams respectively.

 

Srimath Azhagiya Singar will cover the introduction(avathArikai)

to SaraNAgathy Gadhyam tomorrow and possibly portions of

the First ChoorNikai :

 

" Bhagavan-NaarAyaNa abhimatha anuroopa svaroopa-roopa guNa

vibhava aiswarya SeelAdhi anavadhkAthisaya asankyEya kalyANa

guNa ghaNaam PadmavanAlayAm Bhagavatheem Sriyam dEveem

dEva-dEva dhivyamahisheem akhila-jaganmAtharam asman-mAtharam

aSaraNya-SaraNyaam ananyaSaraNa: SaraNam aham prapadhyE "

 

There are 29 words that constitute the First ChoorNikai saluting

the Divine Consort of Sriman NaarAyaNan . Each of these 29 words

have such deep meanings that it will take considerable time to

comment .

 

We are fortunate to have the benefit and anugraham of Srimath

Azhagiya Singar's extraordinary UpanyAsam skills and Scholarship

to guide us thru these doctrine-laden words used through out

the SaraNAgathy Gadhyam.

 

Srimath Azhagiya Singar ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam .

Daasan , Oppiliappan KOil VaradAchAri Sadagopan

 

P.S : AdiyEn is hoping that one of the aprticpants will be recording

the upanyAsams of Srimath Azhagiya Singar for the benefit of all .

adiyEn will try to post in English the highlights of Srimath Azhagiya Singar's

upanyAsam for the benefit of those not familiar with Tamil language.