Acharya vaibhavam - 15- Our sampradayam's Universal applicability and Catholicity

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SrI:

SrImathE Gopaladesika Mahadesikaya nama:

Dearest all,

 

There are very religions in the world. In that, there

are Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism etc..

There is a wrong notion among many of us that there is

no sectarian squabbles and splits within other

religions. It is not the case. All religions have

different schools of thought within themselves.

 

So firstly let us drop the notion or habit of talking

low and belittling our ancient and glorious religion

and sampradayam. Let us try to understand our

religion, see its greatness, understand its rich

tradition, enrich our awareness and inform others of

its vaibhavam as well instead of doing negative

campaigning. This is only mentioned with a view to

informing the greatness of our sampradaya. Please

forgive if it sounds preaching.

 

As we saw earlier, our religions has three main

schools of philosophy, namely., Dwaita,

VisishtAdvaita, and Advaita. There is no need

elaborate any further as we have discusses about these

in the earlier posts. We have seen that VishNu is the

Supreme Lordship. And Srivaishnavas, especially

mumukshus [those desirous of moksha] do not worship

anyone other than Sriman Narayana. People talk of this

quality as being ‘narrow minded’ due to their

ignorance. They think that only if one goes to all

temples and goes to any deity then only it is broad

mindedness. It is not correct. Sriman Narayanan alone

grants all kinds of fruits to all. He is the One who

grants and bestows such powers to other deities.

 

If that is the case, what is wrong in praying to or

going to the temples of other demigods? – one may

argue. It is not the right way to pray to Sriman

Narayanan. One can prostrate to the Head of the Family

and thus please all servants and children of the house

rather than prostrating at the feet of the gardener,

cook, gate keeper, son, son-in-law and NOT the Father

at all. The first one would please all; the second one

upsets and embarrasses everyone.

 

Ok- let this be uttered by VishNu bhakthas. We don’t

care and we can not accept – others may say. But

Srimad Bhagavad GitA mentions this. Lord Krishna

Himself says so. Adi Sanraracharya in his commentary

on GiTA mentions that it is better to pray to Sriman

Narayanan than praying to other deities. Scholars,

paNdithars accept GiTA as the saasthra. It is one of

the prasthAna thrayam [three authoritative texts] of

our religions.

 

Let us enjoy some of those verses here:

 

GitA 7.21-

yo yo yam yam thanum bhaktha: sradDhayaarChithum

icchathi |

thasya thasyAChalAm SradDhAm thaamEva vidhaDhAmyaham

||

 

All the other devathas are only My Body and I am their

inner Soul. Even without knowing this truth, if any

devotee desires to worship with faith and devotion,

any devatha, then I consider that faith as relating to

My Body only [in the form of that devatha]. So I see

that he develops full and unshakeable faith in

worshipping that devatha.

 

These devathas are also My manifestations as taught is

texts like “He who dwelling in the Sun… whom the sun

does not know, whose body is the Sun [brhadaraNyaka

Upanishad III.7]. whichever devotee desires to worship

with faith whatever manifestation of Mien, such as the

Sun even though not knowing them [these devathas] to

be My manifestations, I consider this faith to relate

to My Maifestations, even though he is ignorant of

that, and make that faith of his unshakeable and firm

i.e. free from interruptions.

 

If one garland’s the king’s neck, the king’s AthmA

gets pleased. This is similar to that. Thus it is

ultimately the Lord Sriman Narayanan who gets pleased.

He alone grants just like the king grants not his

neck..

 

GitA 7.23 and 9.23 also echo the same meaning.

 

Anthavatthu phalam thEshAm thadbhavathyalpamEDhasAm |

dEvAndEvayajO yAnthi madbhakthA yAnthi mAmamapi ||

[7.23]

 

In the case of people with weak intelligence, who

worship only Devendra and other devathas, the fruit

that they get is only mean and temporary. Why? The

worshippers of the devathas go to the devathas. Those

devathas themselves are not permanent firstly. They

also have a specific life time being in that position

of devathas. Their life time is much longer than that

of human beings. Therefore, these devotees who attain

these devathas and enjoy fruits with them also go down

with these devathas at the end of their lives.

 

But my devotees know that the works they perform, are

in the nature of My worship. They give up attachment

to the finite results i.e. objects of desire. They

wish only to please Me. Then they attain Me and do not

return to this samsaara, of births and deaths.

 

GitA 9.23

 

yEthvanyadEvathAbhakthA yajanthE sradDhayAnvithA: |

thE(S)pi mAmEva kaunthEya yajanthyaviDhipoorvakam ||

 

People who are devoted to other devathas who merely

follow and be possessed of faith, and worship them,

they too without following the ordered rule, worship

Me alone oh Arjuna.

 

Those who are devoted to Devendra, Rudra et al and who

follow the mere teachings of the three Vedas [karma

kaaNda], who are possessed of faith and who worship Me

in truth and in accordance with the principle

enunciated that everything, on account of being My

Body, hasa Me as its soul, and because words like

Indra, Sivan etc., actually denote Me etymologically.

So, without knowing this truth, ignorant people

worship other debathasm in an improper manner,

thinking that they [those devathas[ grant fruits. They

do not know that all yaagaas and yagnas constitute My

worship alone. And that I grant the desired fruits.

 

Thus when these devathas complete their terms of life,

these jeevaathams have to be born again and start from

scratch. He has to be born again and again and it may

be even rarity to get human birth in the near future…

On the contrary, if one is devoted to Sriman

Narayanan, He would grant the devotee upto the end and

the devotee will finally be blessed with SrivaikuNta

praapti i.e. moksha.

 

GiTA 9.24 and 9.25 also say: I am the One whorshipped

in all pujas, amnd I am the One who grants all fruits.

Those who are ignorant of this, hence attain lower

fruits and get back to this earth to suffer.

 

Those who worship Me, attain My Abode Sri vaikuNtam, I

am the Omniscient. My bliss and happiness are

limitless and unbounded, After attaining Me, and such

eternal Bliss, such people do NOT return at all to

samsaara. Those people who worship other devathas

attain these devathas and after enjoying finite

pleasure with them in their loka, such people also get

destroyed along with the devathas [when those devathas

come to the end of their life cycles.]

 

In advaita, one has to become a sanyaasi and renounce

everything to attain mOksha. Such restrictions are not

there in our Srivaishnava VisishtAdvaita sampradaya.

If one surrenders to our Sriman Narayana, He grants us

all including moksham. There is no distinction of

jeevathmas in this case. Regardless of race, castes,

colour, sex, creed, one can perform saranagati [self

surrender] at His Lotus feet and He would not let us

down. After attaining mOksham, the anubhavam is the

same for all.

 

Thus it is a Universal Religion; Its catholicity is

thus thus beneficial to all human kind. Why human

kind. There are cases, where our Srivaishnava

aaacharya purushas have performed saranagati for even

the animals or insects, birds.

 

anthaNar andhiyar...maRRum nondhavarE mudhaalaaga...

 

All that we need is interest to get rid of this

samsaara saagaram; repent for the past;

For those who are interested in such glorious

sampradayam, you are most welcome and you are assured

of kaimkarya praapthi at Srivaikuntam. Here is the

solution. Here is the Super Highway to Highest Bliss.

 

Is that so? what is so special about Narayana, VishNu

or Vaasudeva? what do these names actually signify...

Let us enjoy these wonderful names tomorrow

 

asmadhAchArya paryanthAm vandhE GuruparamparAm

Regards

Namo Narayana

dAsan

 

 

 

 

 

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