Acharya vaibhavam - 71- What is Prapatti or Saranagati? what are the saasthric proofs and Vedic references / pramANams on the same?...

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SrI:

SrImathE Gopaladesika Mahadesikaya nama:

 

Dearest all,

 

Let us enjoy and understand the glories of Prapatti

[saranagati] here and the saasthric and vedic

references to the same.

 

References:

Sri SMS Chari book on Vaishnavism

Sri Anand Karalapakkam article on bhakti and Prapatti

Dr Sri VN Vedanta Desikan's compilation of

Commentaries on Swamy Desikan's nyAsa thrayee.

Sri V Satakopan Swami's article.

 

sAstrAs declare that Bhakti yogam and prapatti are the

only two means (sAdhya upAyAs) by which the baddha

jIvAtmAs can attain moksham, while the Divya Dampathi

are the Siddha upAyam. SaasthrAs are equal to thousand

mothers. They always prescribe do's and don'ts for us

for our betterment.

 

Sriman NArAyaNA Himself categorically declares:

 

bhaktyA paramayA vA-pi prapattyA vA mahAmathe

prApyoham na anyathA prApyO mama kainkarya lipsubhih:

[Ahirbudnya SamhithA]

 

NArAyaNA here clarifies that bhakti yogam and prapatti

are the only means & by no other means will He grant

moksham. So, all other processes like Bhagavad kalyAna

guna Sravanam, nAma sankeertanam, living at a Divya

desam, bathing in pushkarinIs & sacred rivers etc

should culminate in either " bhakti " or " prapatti " for

one to obtain moksham. So, it is not that a highly

devoted person would be deprived of moksham by Sriman

nArAyaNA. Such a devotee would be guided by Sriman

nArAyaNA to end up with either

" bhakti yogam " or " prapatti " and thus its just a

matter of time may be within that life time or in the

next few births, that he/she would obtain moksham.

 

Thus, PerumAL will not grant moksham for someone who

hasn't completed either bhakti yogam Or Prapatti,

since they are not fit enough to obtain moksham. His

wish as to who is fit enough for moksham has already

been indicated in the sAstrAs and asserted by His own

divine words. This also doesn't contradict His

nirAnkusa svAtantrayam (unfettered independence),

because it is His own wish. It is to be noted that, no

one can question such a wish of His to grant moksham

to only those who complete either bhakti Or prapatti,

since He is NirAnkusa swatantra. He is independent and

the master of everyone.

 

It is He who grants mOksha not the performance of a

ritual. It is He who prescribes that a mere simple

performance of Prapatti would please Him and He would

then grant the jeevathma mOksha. It is not the act

that assures us of moksha; It is the Lord’s pleasure

that arises out of our act [which is mandated by Him

in saasthrAs and is performed at His saanishi by our

most merciful acharya on our behalf] that yields us

the fruit of eternal kaimkarya Anandham and enjoyment

of His abode in the same level as He and Nithyasuris

enjoy.

 

There is no fancy of ours with regard to the nature of

Prapatti. The modus operandi of Prapatti is well

defined in sAstrAs. Anything that violates these

conditions will not be taken as Prapatti by SrIman

nArAyaNa. Otherwise, the sAstrAs will become

meaningless. Also, sAstrAs are not " our fancy " and it

is applicable universally to everyone. In fact, vEdAs

are not sectarian as everyone is wrongly thinking of.

 

A great AchAryA , who was called by the Lord as His

own mother , NadAthur AmmAL in his most scholarly work

has established the Sruthi/smruthi pramANam for

Prapatthi elegantly . In his seventh verse, he points

out that the section starting with " VasuraNya "

 

in Taittiriya Upanishad deals with the ways to observe

NyAsam or Prapatthi . Professor Prasad can elaborate

on this manthram .

 

AmmAL says :

 

prapatthis TaittireeyANAm vEdhE taavath vidheeyathE I

nyAsAkyA saprayOgAsou (hi) VasuraNyEthi manthratha: II

 

 

Dr.S.M.S. Chari has eloquently defended the ancient

nature and the antiquity of the Prapatthi doctrine as

a separate yOgA sanctioned by the vEdhAs ( p.262,

VishNavism : Its Philosophy, Theology and Religious

Discipline ) . He quotes the appropriate texts from Rg

Vedam, Taittireeya Upanishad and SvEthasvathAra

Upanishads.

 

He says: The term prapatthi is derived from the

root-words ,pra-pad; pad means to move and pra implies

in the best manner.

 

In the context of an Upaaya or means , the term

implies self-surrender to the Lord as the sole refuge

.... There are numerous statements in the Rg VedA

referring to the basic principle of SaraNAgathi , viz

.., the individual pleading his inability to achieve a

desired object seeks with a fervent prayer the help of

a divine power . The famous Rk addressed to Agni ,

which is reiterated in IsavasyOpanishad states:

 

O Agni , lead us along the auspicious path to

prosperity , O God , who knows the means of attainment

, remove all the obstacles coming in our way ; we

shall offer unto Thee salutations with the expression

of Namah : "

 

According to Swami Desikan , Agni in this Rk (AgnE

naya supathArAyE ---) refers to the Supreme Being

resident as the antharAthmA in Agni and the Nama:

signifies the act of self-surrender to the Lord .

 

The Rg Vedha manthram ( VIII.19.5 ) states , a person

who offers prayer witht he expression of nama: (

implying self-surrender ) is to be regarded as one ,

who has performed a good yaagam . Ahirbudhnya SamhithA

holds this intrepretation of self- surrender for this

manthram .

 

The two passages from SvEthasvathAra and

Taittireeya NaarAyaNa upanishads in support of

Prapatthi are :

 

" yO BrahmaNAm vidadhAthi purvam -- ( I as an aspirant

of Moksha seek refuge in the effulgent God , who

creates BrahmA first and who verily delivers to him

the VedhAs --)

 

" tsmaannyaasaeshAm tapasAm athirikthamaahuh -- "

( Extolling NyAsa an denjoining that the Self is to be

surrendered to Brahman with the PraNava manthrA ) .

 

Katavalli Sruthi cited by VaishNavite AchAryAs refers

to Dhvaya manthram ennunciating the essence of

SaraNAgathi .

 

We do not even to go to PurANAs , SamhithAs

or PaancharAthrAs to establish the antiquity

of the prionciple of SaraNAgathi .

 

Few verses from sAstrAs regarding the nature of

Prapatti :

 

all the following are quoted in SwAmi dESikan's

utmost outstanding SrImad Rahasya Traya sAram)

 

1. Ahirbudhnya Samhita (37-18) :

" Anukoolyasya saNkalpaha prAtikoolyasya varjanam

rakshishyatIti viSvAsO gOptrutva varaNam tathA

aatma nikshEpa kArpaNyE ShadvidhA SaraNAgatihi "

 

This specifies the angi (prapatti) with its five

angAs. Thus, any general act can't be considered

as Prapatti.

 

2. Lakshmi Tantra (17-74):

 

nikshEpAparapargrAyO nyAsaha pancAnga samyutaha |

sanyAsaha tyAga ityuktaha SaraNAgatirityapi ||

 

nyAsa i.e. self-surrender / prapatti has five angAs

and is also called as sannyAsa, tyAga and SaraNAgati.

NyAsa vidya in Upanishads are explained in the

upabrahmanas like pAncarAtra.

 

3. Lakshmi Tantra (17-72) : " aprArthitO na gOpayEt "

 

No protection would be given, when it is not sought

i.e. a prayer is essential. If one seeks moksham, a

prayer regarding it towards SrIman nArAyaNa is

essential. This is called as the " goptruta varaNam " ,

an angA of prapatti. The very word " purushArtham "

means, " that which is prayered for/sought after by a

Purusha (person) " ( purushanAl prArthikkap paduvadu).

 

4. Lakshmi Tantra (17-78):

 

" sarvaj~nOpi hi viSvESaha sadA kAruNikOpi san |

samsAratantravAhitvAt rakshApEkshAm pratIkshatE || "

 

The Lord who controlls everything, though omniscient

and always compassionate, expects a prayer for

protection, since He has to look after the process of

samsAra.

 

note: The above pramAnams out rightly rejects the

theory that PerumAL on His own will grant moksham,

without any prayer from the side of a jIvAtma. In

other words, PerumAL doesn't grant moksham due to His

" nirhEtuka krupa " (Causeless mercy i.e. without any

pretext from the side of jIvAtma). If it is so, then

He is partial in picking up some jIvAtma arbitrarily

and would be considered also cruel, biased and partial

to others. Also, it is PerumAL who makes a mumukshu

perform such a prayer, due to that jIvAtma's

appropriate sukrudams.

 

But, the prayer alone is not the sAdhyOpAyam i.e.

Prapatti. Prayer is only an anga (accessory) called

" goptrutva varaNam " .

 

5. Lakshmi Tantra (17-91,92) :

 

" apAyasamplavE sadyaha prAyaScittam samAcarEt

prAyaScitiriyam sAtra yat punaha SaraNam vrajEt

upAyAnAmupAyatvasvIkArEpyEtadEva hi ... "

 

If there is an offence, the atonement is that is to be

done is only the performance of prapatti again for the

specific reason, which is other than moksham). If

after performing prapatti for the sake of moksha, a

man should perform karma yOga and the like (jn~Ana

yOga, bhakti yOga), with the thought that these are

upAyAs i.e. means to moksha, it would also constitute

an offense.

 

In order that this offense might disappear, prapatti

alone should be performed again.

 

It is to be noted that, one who performs prapatti

should never resort to any other upAya i.e. Means of

attaining PerumAL.

 

6. Ahirbudhnya Samhita (37.36) :

 

" tEshAm tu tapasAm nyAsamatiriktam tapaha Srutam "

 

Of all the austerities (tapas) prescribed for the

attainment of moksham, the austerity called nyAsa

(prapatti) is the highest.

 

7. Lakshmi Tantra (17.62) :

 

satkarmaniratAhA SuddhAhA sAnkyayOgavidastathA |

nArhanti SaraNasthasya kalAm kOtitamImapi "

 

note :

 

satkarmaniratAhA : One who is in Karma yOga nishta.

 

sAn~khyavidaha : One who is in jn~Ana yOga nishta.

yOgavidaha : One who is a bhakti yOga nishta.

 

Those who with their thoughts fixed only on moksha,

are absorbed in the performance of karma yOga,

and those again, who follow jn~Ana yOga and bhakti

yOga, do not deserve to be placed on a par with even

one-ten millionth of the man who has performed

prapatti.

 

8. SrI Vishnutattvam (quoted by SwAmi dESIkan in

the CharamaslOkAdhikAram of SrImad Rahasya traya

sAram) :

 

samtyajya vidhinA niyam ShadvidhAm SaraNAgatim |

aachAryAnuj~nayA kuryAt SAstradrushtEna vartmanA ||

 

Giving up all object of desire and the karmAs by which

they can be secured, SaraNAgati with its five angAs

should be performed with the permission of the

aachArya, in accordance with the rules prescribed in

the sAstrAs and with renunciation of the fruits of all

actions .

 

So, the sanction of aachArya is extremly important.

 

Further, SwAmi dESIkan in SrImad Rahasyatraya

sAram, firmly establishes through sAstrAs and logic

that, atleast the following are _not Prapatti_ ( from

the above quoted verses also one can get a good

picture about Prapatti):

 

a. Knowledge of the relationship between the sEsha

(jIvAtmas) and sEshi (SrIman nArAyaNa) is not by

itself the Prapatti.

 

b. Mere knowledge that SrIman nArAyaNa is the

siddhOpAya, the one who mercifully grants moksham, is

not Prapatti.

 

c. Non-resistance to PerumAL's grace is not Prapatti

by itself.

d. Prapatti is not an attribute of an adhikAri.

 

e. Prapatti is not mere faith in the saving grace of

SrIman nArAyaNa.

 

f. Prayer for moksham is not prapatti by itself.

 

g. Refraining from one's own activity (to attain

moksham) is not prapatti by itself.

 

SrI Satakopar [Nammaazhwaar], Sriman Nathamuni, Sri

YamunAchArya, Sri Ramanujacharya have all advocated

and have performed their Prapatti. It is the genius of

SwAmi dESikan in assimilating all the pramAnams

regarding Prapatti and systematizing this esoteric

doctrine with brilliant analysis and excellent logic.

It has to be kept in mind that, an interpretation

about Prapatti should not violate any of the saasthric

injunctions / pramAnams.

 

Also, it is to be noted that, the likes of Dasaratha

and PAndavAs who were extremely close with PerumAL

Himself, were not granted moksham by Him, because they

didn't fulfill His criterion of completing a

sAdhyOpAyam. PerumAL could have considered any one of

their thousands of acts as a pretext to grant moksham.

Nevertheless, He didn't!

 

From the existing pramAnams, SwAmi dESikan has firmly

established the nature of prapatti. Hence, based on

the saasthric injunctions and proofs/ pramAnams :

 

a. First of all, AchArya Sambandham is important.

 

b. Also, if one performs Prapatti on his own as

svanishta prapatti, he should be someone like

NammAzhwAr, Nathamuni, Alavandhar and Bhagavad

RAmAnuja, with great knowledge on sAtrAs (esp.

Prapatti sAstrA), apart from devotion etc.

 

c. ananya gatitvam [having no other refuge except Him]

is a pre-requisite for Prapatti and thus, one can't

worship anya dEvatAs (i.e. demi-gods like Brahma,

Sivan and others shouldn't be worshipped. When Siva

himself is not to be considered as he can not grant

moksham, why to talk of his sons?

 

If one chooses to worship them also, prapatti will not

be accepted by PerumAL in the first place. Since this

is the case for worshipping dEvatAs who are mentioned

in vEdAs, it is obvious that those who worship any

dEvata not mentioned in vEdAs as Supreme God, based on

one's own concept of God, won't be granted moksham by

SrIman nArAyaNa (since it is anya dEvata worship).

 

d. No further Endeavour for moksham has to be done

after prapatti, which is a one time act. One is not at

all a prapannan if one does such endeavours.

 

One is completely wrong if he/she thinks that they by

themselves performed prapatti (i.e. doership ego is

still there). One cannot say " I performed prapatti to

perumAL " , since this defies kartrutva tyAgam.

Actually, it is by the mercy of the Divya Dampati that

one is made to perform prapatti. So, one with proper

understanding of prapatti will say either " Divya

Dampati by their mercy has made adiyEn to perform

SaraNAgathi and granted moksham " OR " AchAryA out of

his great compassion made an akinchanan like adiyEn

obtain moksham " etc. This is the essence of kartrutva

tyAgam.

 

The performance of prapatti is for the pleasure of

Divya Dampati. The fruit of prapatti is the eternal

kainkaryam to the Divya Dampati, which is done for

their pleasure. Though a mumukshu sincerely wishes to

be in accordance with his (jIvAtmA's) svaroopam by

performing the kainkaryam eternally to the Divya

Dampati at Sri VaikuNTham, its upto the Divya Dampati

to grant it out of their own pleasure and a mumukshu

while performing prapatti should not have ego in this

aspect also. This is the essence of mamatA tyAgam and

phala tyAgam. Of course, Sriman NArAyaNA's vratam

(vow) is to grant moksham to those who perform

prapatti unto Him and the Divya Dampati will be very

happy to grant moksham to such a mumukshu.

 

The most important thing to understand while

performing prapatti is that, " Prapatti " (SAdhyaupAyam)

as an act by itself is not the reason for one's

moksham. Rather, it is the mercy of Sriman NArAyaNA

(Siddha upAyam) which is responsible for one's

moksham. Prapatti is a SAdhya upAyA which needs to be

done by a baddha jIvAtmA. This becomes a vyAjA for

Sriman nArAyaNA, the Siddha upAyA, to grant moksham.

In front of Siddha upAyA, SAdhya upAyA is " nothing " &

can't even be compared. However, SAdhya upAyA needs

to be performed since that’s the way Sriman nArAyaNA

has ordered (in Sruti & Smruti) to have a vyAjA

(excuse) for Him and thereby grant moksham by being

impartial. Similarly, Bhakti YogA is also a

SAdhyaupAyam. Ofcourse, the performance of

sAdhyaupAyam is also due to Sriman NArAyaNA's mercy.

Since the mumukshu has proper karmA due to various

pious deeds and (most importantly) divine blessings of

bhAgavathA(s) and SadAchAryA(s), Sriman NArAyaNA out

of His mercy makes him/her perform the sAdhya upAyam

prapatti and grants moksham using it as a vyAjA.

 

So, if someone asks the reason for ones moksham,

without any hesitation, it is the siddha upAyam Sriman

nArAyanA. The Divya Dampati is both the upAyA (means)

& the upEyA (end).

 

Will Acharyan accept us, immediately for this? - The

verse in Saathvatha samhithai that comes to adiyEn's

mind in the context is :

 

yadhrucchayA upasannAnAm dEsAnthara nivAsinAm

ishtOpadesa: karthavyO NAARAAYANA rathAthmanAm

 

Swamy Deikan refers to this verse in His Magnum opus ,

Srimath Rahasya Thraya Saaram (RTS) in the AchArya-

KruthyAdhikAram chapter .The meaning of this verse is:

 

" If those living in faraway places arrive at the

SadAchAryan's blessed feet with a mind filled

with Sriman NaarayaNan (and AchArya Bhakthi) even by

accident, then the SadAchAryan should bless them with

their upadEsams for upliftment (SaraNAgathi) without

long term testing of their arhathai (suitability ) " .

 

Reflecting always on the words of Swamy Desikan in

NigamanAdhikAram of RTS that He gave us as guideline,

adiyEn vows to spend the rest of my life in service to

adiyEn's AchAryan, BhaagavathAs and the Dhivya

Dampathis :

 

" --sEsha aayushi api SESHA-DAMPATHI

dayA dheekshAm udhIkshAmahE "

 

(Meaning): In the remaining time of adiyEn's life ,

adiyEn remains awaiting the Sankalpam of

the Sarva Seshi Dampathis ( and performing

Bhagavath-Bhaagavatha Kaimkaryam ).

 

Thre is nothing more to be done .The rest of the days

are to be spent in the clear manner recommended to us

by Thirumazhisai AzhwAr, who ascended Parama

Padham from Sri KomaLavalli SamEtha Sri AarAvamudhan's

Thirukkudanthai . In one of His Naanmukan

ThiruvanthAdhi, this blessed AzhwAr having His

brindhAvanam at Thirukkudanthai states :

 

" -vennAhatthunnai --theritthuzhuthi

vaasitthum kEttum vaNangiyum vazhipattum

poositthum pOkkinEn pOthu "

 

AdiyEn spent my time without wasting it by reading the

Sri Sookthis celebrating the anantha kalyANa guNams of

our Lord , listening to the reading

of those glories by others and by worshipping Him

always through AarAdhanam to Him " .

 

One of the most insightful paasuram of Swamy Desikan

at the end of the AchArya KruthyAdhikAram chapter

celebrates the greatness and compassion of the

SadAchAryan,who provide ujjevanam ( upliftment to life

at Sri Vaikuntam and nithya kaimkaryam there to the

Dhivya Dampathis by giving His hand to pull us out of

the deep darkness of samsAram that shrouds us in from

anAdhi kaalam ).

 

That paasuram is as follows :

 

" maruL aRRa Desikar vaan uhappAl intha vyammellAm

iruL aRRu Iraivan iNayadi pooNduya yeNNUthalAl

theruLaRRa senthozhirc chelavam peruhi siRanthavar

paal

aruLuRRa sinthayinAl AZHIYAA VILAKKU YERRINARE "

 

(MEANING): The most compassionate and ajn~yanam-

free AchAryAs desirous of ascending paramapadham ,

reflected upon the POTENTIAL soubhAgyam to the

chEthanams longing for freedom from their ajn~yanam so

that they can hold firmly the holy feet of their

supreme Lord as THE UpAyam for their ujjIvanam . With

their mind full of compassion for the suffering

jeevans , they lit the unquenchable sampradhAya lamp

(nanthA ViLakku) of kainkarya Sampath through their

upadEsams.

 

Now that adiyEn's AchAryAn's anukampA has permitted

the realization of the SvarUpa, Bhara and Phala

samarpaNams, adiyEn enjoys the state of Nirbharam

and nirbhayam.

 

Rest of my prayers are those given to us by

Swamy Desikan in His illustrious NyAsa dasakam:

 

" nithyam niraparAdhEshu kaimkaryEshu niyunkshva maam "

(Oh Lord VaradarAjA ! (please command me to be engaged

always in blemishless kaimkaryams to Your

BhagavathAs).

 

Acharyan ThiruvaDigaLE SaraNam

Regards

Namo Narayana

dasan

 

 

 

 

 

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