Acharya vaibhavam - 32- Paadhukas [Acharyas] are thus greater than the Lord Himself

[Guest guest]

SrI:

SrImathE Gopaladesika mahadesikaya nama:

 

Dearest all,

 

Let us enjoy some more on Paadhukas..

Several important themes are presented in the Padhuka

Sahasram, each extolling a unique facet of the

Padhukas and their elevated role in the Srivaishnava

tradition. Significantly, it is helpful to note that:

 

(1) The Padhukas never transgress the commands of the

Lord: When Lord Rama selected the Padhukas to

accompany him to the forest they demonstrated implicit

obedience. Later, when commanded to assume rulership

of Ayodhya, the Padhukas obeyed implicitly. In an

analogous manner Swami NammAzhwar and sadhaacharyas in

his line demonstrate utmost obedience to the commands

of Lord Narayana. How? Lord Narayana declares that the

Shrutis and Smrutis are His commands (“shruti smruthi

mamaIva Ajnyaa”). By following these commands in

letter and spirit, Sadachaaryas demonstrate their

implicit obedience to the Lord's commands.

 

(2) The Padhukas (Sadacharyas in the line of Swami

NammAzhwar) are endowed with the powers of Sri Devi,

Bhudevi, and NeeLa Devi. Why? They implore to the Lord

on behalf of the Baddha jivaatmas (jivans caught in a

seemingly endless cycle of births and deaths from

beginningless time) for forgiveness of the latter's

enormous pile of sins. The relevant references

attesting to this aspect can be found in the Sri

Sooktam Rk " thaam padhminimeem sharaNamaham prapadhyE

alakshmeermEnashyathAm thvaam vruNE " , the Bhu Sookti

rk " shrungE shrungE yajnE yajnE VibhIshiNee " and the

NeeLa sookthi rk " PruthivyA asyEshAna jagathO viShNu

patni " . The act of granting sharanagati to a

supplicant is a yajna performed by Lord Narayana. The

term Pathni is reserved for exclusive use in the

context of yajna. The elevated role played by Sri Devi

and the ubhaya nacchiyars (dual manifestations of Sri

while retaining her unitary nature) in this yajna is

glorified in the above rks. Sadhaacharyas in the line

of Swami NammAzhwar play a similar role, while

granting Prapatti to desirous supplicants.

 

(3) Knowing that the reign of the Padhukas would be

superior to his own reign, Lord Rama’s dearest wish

was to behold the coronation of the Padhukas.

Testimony in support of this fact can be seen from

Swami Desikan’s Padhuka Sahasram salutation

“Abhishechanikam BhANdam chakrE rAma pradakshiNam”

Even the reign of Lord Rama was not free of mishaps.

(i) Lord Rama was accountable for the untimely death

of the son of a Brahmin. (ii) Lord Rama had to mete

out punishment to a shudra, who engaged in Veda

Parayana.

 

However, during the fourteen year rule of the

Padhukas, only auspiciousness prevailed everywhere.

The coronations of Sugriva, Vibhishana, and Lord Rama

as Sethurama upon successfully constructing the great

causeway took place only after the coronation of the

Padhukas. The last event is somewhat less known since

it is glorified only in a solitary verse of the

Ramayana. The previously stalled coronation of Lord

Rama took place only after the coronation of the

Padhukas. Even the Avatara Karya of Lord Rama, i.e.,

killing of Ravana was accomplished only because of the

coronation of the Padhukas. Why? The Padhuka reign

guaranteed the safety of Ayodhya from enemies. Also

had the Padhukas - the very epitome of compassion and

forgiveness adorned Rama's feet, there could be no war

between Lord Rama and Ravana. The Padhukas would have

brought about a reconciliation on some pretext or the

other. Thus the Padhukas acquire a stature greater

than that of the Lord Himself!

 

(4) The Padhukas ensure yogakshema of the entire

universe. Testimony in support of this fact can be

found in the Mahaveera Vaibhavam salutation

" PadhukAgriyAbhisheka nirvartita sarvalOka

yogakshema”, where Swami Desikan glorifies Bharata for

performing the coronation of the Padhukas of Lord

Rama, which ensured the welfare of the entire

universe. The term Yogakshema is composed of the words

Yoga and Kshema. Yoga can denote

- Recovering something that is lost

- Begetting something that one has never had

- Union

- Path

Kshema denotes preservation of present state. Let us

now focus on the four meanings of the term Yoga:

 

(I) Recovering Something that is lost: Every baddha

jeeva is immersed in an ocean of sin on account of

bondage to Samsara through karma. As a result the

baddha jeeva loses its true identity, i.e., (i) its

existence is solely for the purpose of performing

kaimkarya at the behest and for the pleasure of

Paramatma (Lord Narayana) (ii) The jeevatma is the

property of the Paramatma, who is the Sheshi, Swami

for the jeevatma (iii)The surest way of restoring the

property to its rightful owner is by performing

SharaNagati at the Lord's lotus feet. Sadhaacharyas

facilitate a baddha jeeva to realize their true

identity by setting an example through Anushtana,

upadesha, Kalakshepa and their Sri Sookthis containing

blissful Anubhavas of the Divya Dampati.

 

(II) Begetting something that one has never had: The

bliss of eternal Kaimkarya for the pleasure and at the

pleasure of the Divine Couple is something that a

baddha jeeva has never experienced. Sadhaacharyas

assure a Baddha jeeva of this benefit by blessing them

with Bharanyasa. This aspect is glorified in the

Vishnu sookta rk " Tad vishNO: Paramam Padagam sadA

Pashyanti soorayaha: " and the Taittriya Upanishad

salutation " sa ekO BrahmaNa Ananda: "

 

(III) Union: Sadhaacharyas in the line of Swami

NammAzhwar are forever engaged in contemplation of

Lord Narayana and his endless glory. The Padhukas are

never separated from the Lord's feet. So too

Sadhaacharyas are immersed in thoughts of Lord

Narayana every moment. Their union with the Lord's

feet assures baddha jeevas of union with Lord Narayana

as a result of Acharya Sambandha.

 

(IV) Path: The easiest path for attaining Lord

Narayana is through an unconditional, total surrender

to His lotus feet (SharaNagati). Sadhaacharyas in the

line of Swami NammAzhwar are foremost exponents of

this path and thus ensure that baddha jeevas are

forever freed from the infinite cycle of births and

deaths. Kshema denotes their ability to confer as a

by-product the benefits of Dharma, Artha and Kama

(Performing the acts prescribed in the scriptures in

accordance with one’s birth, acquiring wealth by

proper means, and satisfying one’s desires in

accordance with Dharma, respectively).

 

Further references attesting to the greatness of

Acharyas can be found in Sri Parashara Bhattar’s

opening line of the Vishnu Sahasranamam commentary

“Prathamamapi Gurum Nathameedey”, the Manu smriti

injunction “Loukikam Vaidikam vaapi

thathaadhyatmikameyvacha,Adadaiti yato Gnaanam tam

Pooravam abhivadayet”, and the Meemamsakarika

declaration “abhivandya guroon adau sishyadheepadmini

raven”

 

In summary, Sadhaacharya sambandha confers upon one

the knowledge of their real nature, their inseparable

relationship with Lord Narayana, and the ultimate goal

of life-securing the bliss of eternal service to the

Lord. The writer wishes to conclude with quotations

from Swami Desikan’s Srimad RahasyatrayasAram “gurum

prakAshayEth dhImAn manthram yathnEna gOpayEth”

(meaning: Bring to light (glorify) the guru and

safeguard the manthram received through instruction

from him) and Subhashitha nivi “ekaIva gurOr

dhrushtyA…” [meaning: a single glance of the guru

confers a benefit that exceeds the combined benefit

accruing from the glances of the three-eyed one

(Shiva), eight-eyed one (Brahma) and thousand-eyed one

(Indra/Vishnu)].

 

Adiyen humbly submits this offering to the Lotus Feet

of my Acharya, H.H. Srimad Andavan Swami of Srimad

Poundarikapuram Ashramam and wish to acknowledge that

everything correctly stated herein is entirely due to

the munificent grace of H.H. I am most thankful to

U.Ve. Sri Venkatakrishnan Swamin of Chennai for his

careful reading of the article and for suggesting the

references from Sri Parashara Bhattar, Manu Smriti,

and Meemamsa [from Sri Muralidhar Rangaswamy’s

article]

 

Thanks to Sri Muralidhar Rangaswamy for his wonderful

write up on Acharya mahima.

 

asmadhAchArya paryanthAm vandhE GuruparamparAm

Regards

Namo Narayana

dasan