Bhagavad Ramanuja Vaibhavam- 1.69- Desikan's enjoyment of Ramanuja's glories

[Guest guest]

SrI:

SrImathE Gopaladesika manahadesikaya nama:

 

Dearest all,

Continuing on our pastime of enjoying Bhagavad Raamanuja vaibhavam: [as part of

our series and service to Srivaishnavas to commeomorate the 1000th year (2017)]

 

Swami Desikan mentions in his 56th verse of Yatiraja Saptathi about Ramanuja's

glories

 

Ramanuja incarnated on this Earth owing to the

culmination of the penances and the noble deeds that were done

by our ancestors. If not for his incarnation, then many

Srivaishnavas would have fallen prey to the alluring words of the

Advaitins and would have plunged hard into the pit of

mayavadam that states that everything is illusory and would

have suffered without having any means of redemption. If that

were the fate of our ancestors, what to talk of us? The advaitins

of today are advaitins for namesake while they are in reality

Shaivas. We would have been similar to them if not for

Ramanuja. It is only our good fortune that we have been blessed

to have the manifestation of Adishesha as Ramanuja and the

manifestation of Ramanuja as Swamy Deshika. It is our greatest

fortune that we have been blessed with their divine works. It is

due to this that we have been wearing the urdhvapundrams,

sacramenting ourselves with the holy marks of the discus and

the conch (samashrayanam), performing prapatti through the

benign blessings of a sadacharya and rendering ourselves free of

all our burdens (nirbhara). Swamy Deshikan has enshrined this

shlokam with this purport in it.

 

Swamy Deshika, after having elaborately celebrated the

glories of Ramanuja’s works and in particular the glories of

Sribhashyam, extols Udayavar here.

 

The Sun brings us great comfort by unfolding its bright rays

at dawn driving away the murky gloom. This enables everybody

to do their everyday chores without hindrance during the day. As

each one conducts himself independently a lot of conflicts arise

that finally takes their peace of mind and their lives become

similar to those of prisoners.

 

jnAnEna heena; pasubhi: samAna: - It is said that an unwise is equal

to an animal. For a man to lead a human life, wisdom is most

essential. In order to acquire this, we must first drive away the

gloom of nescience that covers our hearts and minds and make

way for the bright rays of knowledge to enlighten us. This is only

possible by taking to disciplehood. The pursuits in material

sciences will only aid us in securing a comfortable living for our

earthly sojourn. After that, one gets trapped in the cycle of

transmigration again. In order to redeem ourselves from the

clutches of this cycle and to attain the eternal bliss of beatitude,

we must pursue the science of philosophy or Vedantham. The

Mudalazwars were the foremost who, with this knowledge, drove

away the gloom of nescience and lit the lamp of knowledge. The

combined manifestaion of these three azhwars is our Ramanuja.

Ramanuja incarnated similar to a guiding lamp kept on top of a

hill. If this divine lamp does not glow springing forth its lustre

and effulgence, then even the pious and the holy will be shrouded

by the gloom of nescience. Unable to attain redemption, they

would be forced into the deep trenches of adverse systems like

Advaitam that is infested with poisonous snakes of derision,

myth, illusions and fallacies.

 

This divine Ramanuja-deepam would stay bright perennially

with no dip in its effulgence as it is lit with inexhaustible and

blemishless ghee. The noble apostles who bestowed this lamp

with supreme fragrant ghee are the most merciful and benign

poorvacharyas like Periyanambi, Alavandar, Manakkal Nambi,

Uyyakondar, Nathamuni, Shatakopan, Senainatha, Periya

Piraatti and Parama Purushan.

 

Ramanuja had a natural inclination to be affable and reachable to all classes of

subjects without any preferences or prejudices. Ramanuja was equally and

exceptionally benevolent and merciful towards his disciples and even towards the

common subjects.

 

The common populace lacked tattva jnanam or the knowledge of the Supreme. The

thought of these subjects suffering without redemption in this samsara ran

foremost in his mind. Ramanuja won the acclaim of one and all, as his compassion

towards mankind and his devotion towards the supreme Paramapurushan were

blemishless, pure and selfless, as he did not accept anything in return.

 

It is therefore Swamy Deshikan’s heartfelt enunciation that

if not for the incarnation of the most compassionate Ramanuja

and if not for his virtue of being the lamp of knowledge that

shone in the hearts of the Lord’s subjects making the light of the

supreme truth to sparkle with effulgence, then none of the pious

and the virtuous populace could have possibly escaped the

trench of mayavadam.

 

[From Sri CG Balaji swami's english translation of asmadhacharyan's wonderful

tamil commentary of Yatiraja Saptathi]

Acharyan Thiruvadigale saranam

Regards

Namo narayana

dAsan