Acharya vaibhavam - 46- who can be equal to us?- we can be justifiably proud of being blessed with the most benign merciful Acharya Sriman nAThamuni...

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SrI:

SrImathE Gopaladesika mahadesikaya nama:

 

Dearest all,

 

Accodring to Srivaishnava Guru paramparA, Lord

VishvaksEnar forms the bridge to the Celestial Acharya

and the Acharyas who appeared in human form for our

sake. Senapathi VishvaksEnar himself came down to

Alwar Thirunagari, and gave pancha samskAram and

initiated Swami SatakOpa [Nammazhwar].

 

Swamy Vedantha Desikan pays his obeisance to Sriman

Nathamuni thus:

 

nAthEna muni nAthEna bhavEyam nathavan ahamam |

yasya naigamikam tatvam hastAmalakatam gatam ||

 

Sriman Nathamuni is the most benign master (Acharya )

for me. Sriman Nathamuni indeed availed the good

opportunity to perceive the true and purport of Vedas,

like a tiny amla fruit on one’s palm (uLLankai

nellikani). Let me pay my humble obeisance to Sri

Nathamuni by the folding of my palms.

 

Sriman Nathamuni [sri Ranganathamuni] is the most

benign Acharya. Because of Sri Nathamuni alone, I

could boldly consider me as the one ever taken care by

a true Guardian. Sri Nathamuni, indeed, availed the

good opportunity to perceive the nigama tattva [the

true and subtle purport of Vedas] like a tiny fruit on

one’s palm [of the hand]. Let me convey my whole-

hearted reverence to Sriman Nathamuni by the folding

of my palms. May that supreme master protect me!

 

Sriman NathamunigaL was born in 824 CE in Aani anusham

star, in Kaattumannargudi, at veeranarayanapuram near

GangaikoNda chaozhapuram.

AzhwAr's paasurams (poems) called naalaayira divyap

prabhandam composed by twelve AzhwArs.

 

It was by divine grace of Sriman Narayanan that Sriman

Naathamuni came to know of the Tamil poems praising

Lord Vishnu. It is believed that Sriman Naathamuni

heard some devotees visiting his home town singing a

few (11) Tamil songs starting with " aaraa amudhE

adiyEn udalam " and ending with " ... kuruhoor sadagOpan

kuzhalil maliyach sonna Or AyiratthuL ippatthum,

mazhalai theera vallaar kaamar maanEy nOkkiyarkE. "

 

(NammAzhwAr's Thiruvaaymozhi 5.8.1 - 5.8.11)

 

Sriman Nathamuni was greatly excited and enchanted

with the exquisite beauty of the poems. He approached

the devotees and enquired about its origin. The ending

of the 11 poems, " aayiratthuL ippatthu, " (means this

ten of the thousand) suggested that there are many

more such poems (may be thousand?).

 

Unfortunately, the devotees were unaware of any other

poems besides the eleven they had just finished

reciting. However, they suggested to Sriman

Nathamuni that he may try enquiring in the town of

thiruk kuruhoor, present day AzhwAr thiru nagari near

thirunelvEli. So he set out to travel from

kaattumannarkudi to thiruk kurugoor, where he found

one paraangusa daasar.

 

From him, Sriman Nathamuni learnt 11 more paasurams

called kaNNinuN sirutthaambu. These were composed by

Madhurakavi AzhwAr and all 11 paasurams are in praise

of kurugoor SatakOpan(NammAzhwAr).

 

Paraangusa daasar suggested that he repeatedly recite

this great kaNNinuN sirutthaambu (sung in praise of

Sri Sadagopan- NammAzhwAr) in the hope of pleasing the

Lord. Sriman Naathamuni took his advice sincerely and

recited it about 12,000 times! It is said that

NammAzhwAr was impressed with Sriman Nathamuni's

persistence and appeared before him.

 

NammAzhwAr was so impressed that he revealed to Sriman

Nathamuni not just the 1102 paasurams of his own

" thiruvaay mozhi " , but also all the rest of

the paasurams composed by the other eleven AzhwArs.

 

Sriman nathamuni set these 4000 to tune and music and

taught to Melai agatthAzhwAn and Keezhai agatthAzhwAn

(his nephews) and propagated the 4000 in various Divya

Desams. Nathamuni re arranged 4000 into four parts and

introduced the same as part of recitation in Divya

Desams, as part of worship. Following the teaching of

NammAzhwar, Sri Nathamuni seems to have

advocated the adoption of prapatti (self- surrender)

as the means of salvation in [place of rigorous bhakti

yogam]

 

Sri Nathmuni wrote two works: Nyaya tatvam and Yoga

rahasyam.

 

Both are not extant But Swamy Desikan and Ramanuja

have referred to nyAya tatvam in their works. Sri

Alavandhar in his Athmasiddhi says, nyAyatatvam is the

most wonderful composition..

 

Sri NathamunigaL has unalloyed devotion to Sri

Ranganthan. Once, Chozha Rajan (king chola), who is

also a sishya of Nathmuni, came to pay his

obeisance to Acharyan. He came in his chariot along

with his few devis (spouses).

 

When Raja got down with his spouses, in such great

ornaments, crown, and silk cloth, Sri Nathamuni for a

moment lost himself and thought Sri Krishna with His

devis have come from Dwarakai. He fell at the feet of

the king to prostrate. The king was shocked and

immediately sprung to lift Sri Nathamuni from the

ground. Later he came to know of the mind of Sri

Nathamuni, and why he fell at the feet.

 

Also, when on another occasion, the same king had

completed discussing with Sriman Nathamuni and he took

Acharya’s permission to leave. He started walking

towards the chariot. When he was about to board, (as

usual, the king used to call the chariot driver on

whose shoulder he sets his foot to jump into the

chariot), the driver was there for the king to jump

in. After he jumped in, he saw below and it was Sriman

Nathamuni’s shoulder. The king was stunned and got

down to apologize to Acharyan. What have I done!

Stepped on your shoulders! I am terribly sorry!.

Sriman Nathamuni then only came to this world. He had

thought it is Sri Rama who had come by the chariot

along with Sumanthrar. Hence, he offered his shoulders

for Rama to step into the chariot.

 

That was Sriman Nathamuni’s [akrithrima bhakti]

unalloyed devotion. No acting.. No show.. No

exhibitionistic..

 

Swami YamunAchArya praises Sriman Nathamuni in the

first verse of Sthothra Rathnam saying: - Sriman

Nathamuni is the repository of jnAna, VairAgya and

Bhakti.

 

namO(S)cinthya adhbhutha akliShta j~nAna vairAgya

rAshayE |

nAThAya munayE agADha bhagavadh bhakthi sinDhavE ||

 

How did he ever get this jnAnam? How much jnAnam does

he have? – However many times or ways one analyses, no

answer. Not understood. Thus such extent of jnAnam,

the manner in which the jnAnam was acquired, is beyond

understanding, it is athi Ascharyam- most wonderful,

marvellous, and excellent never heard or seen in the

world. It is rarest and hence apoorvam; hence

addressed as aklishtam. Also it is not acquired with

hard work or penance; it is effortless due to the

grace of the Lord, like Sanaka, Sanathkumaras. It is

the acquisition of jnAnam with complete accordance

with saasthrAs, running nowhere haywire towards other

religions, looking for the correct philosophy. Not a

single word is understood by Sriman nAtha muni is

wrong manner; everything in tandem with saasthrAs and

thus effortless, so naturally acquired. Thus, there is

no decaying or change in his jnAnam and always

consistent and coherent- not contradicting any other

word in saaathrAs, when one word or statement is

understood.

 

And such a characteristic is also due to his greatest

virAgyam [detachment and renunciation] as well; Due to

such rarest Para, avara tattva jnAnam, he is able to

take his mind away from worldly pleasures,

materialistic pursuits and hence jnAna, vairAgyam are

both essential and are found in Sriman nAThamuni as

the embodiment of both of them in one lot.

 

Thus on lower tattvams, he has vairAgyam, and on Para

tattvam, love and focus with paripoorna jnAnam and

hence bhakti is flooded in his heart for Sriman

Narayanan. Thus he becomes the repository of deep

ocean of great bhakti towards Sriman Narayanan and to

such greatest sage, Saint Sriman nAThamuni- I pay my

namaskarams says Sri Alavandhar wonderfully. He is

called RanganAthan; shortly called as nAThan; nAThan-

as he is nAThan [master] for all of us. How blessed am

I to be born in his family! Enjoys Sri Alavandhar on

his birth as Sri NAthamuni’s grand son.

 

kaaLam valampuriyanna naRkaadhal adiyavarkku

thaaLam vazhangit thamizh maRai innisai thandha vaLLal

 

mooLum thavaneRi naattiya nAthamuni kazhalE

naaLum thozhudhezhuvOm namakku aar nigar innaanilatthE

 

Swamy Deshikan says that, we bow at the holy feet of

Sriman Nathamuni, by becoming his subservient

(adiyan), who by means of his nephews has done great

service to our community by helping us to enjoy the

sweet nectar of bhagavat-vishayam. Who can be equal to

us who are thus bequethed with such GREATEST Acharya-

Sriman Nathamuni.

 

NathamunigaL is the vaLLal who gave us the 4000 the

insatiable nectar, set to music.. He is the One who

has passed to us the path of Saranagati through his

sishyas about whom we will see tomorrow.

 

Sriman Nathamuni ThiruvaDigaLE SaraNam

asmadhAchArya paryanthAm vandhE GuruparamparAm

 

Regards

Namo Narayana

dasan

 

 

 

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