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Oppiliappan List Archive: Message 00010 Oct 2002

 
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Dear Sri Sadagopan,
Yes,it is really strange and a pain
for us that we seem to know so much of this Stranger??
from the scriptures and works of acharyas and
alwars,but today when we ask ourselves whether we have
seen him or found him?,we are not in a position to
give a definite and convincing reply though we can
arrive at logical conclusions or answer based on our
faith in the Lord generated in us from our own
experiences in life.

Now,coming back to your question :- 

Would anybody tell me how to find this Stranger?

The Lord or the very Stranger himself has given the
solution to this problem in his own works and
incarnations.

In his work,the Bhagavad geetha the Lord has stated 
the reason for this problem in the 7th chapter as :-

TEXT 13 

tribhir guna-mayair bhavair 
ebhih sarvam idam jagat 
mohitam nabhijanati 
mam ebhyah param avyayam

Meaning:- Bound by the three gunas of prakriti the
whole world does not know me who am above these modes
of prakriti and inexhaustible.

But,he has given the solution in the following
slokhas:

In the 11 th chapter, TEXT 54 

bhaktya tv ananyaya sakya 
aham evam-vidho 'rjuna 
jnatum drastum ca tattvena 
pravestum ca parantapa

and

18th chapter, TEXT 55 

bhaktya mam abhijanati 
yavan yas casmi tattvatah 
tato mam tattvato jnatva 
visate tad-anantaram

where both slokhas point in unmistakable terms that by
"Bhakti" one can surely know the Lord,see the Lord and
experience the cummunion with the Lord by transcending
the gunas of prakriti.

Now this Bhakti characterized by a continuous longing
only for the Bhagavan on the part of the Bhagavtha
rises to such heights that the Lord himself graces the
Bhagavatha and appears before him.

The following avataras are proofs for this :-
1. Narasimha avatara for Prahaladha.
2. Lord Narayana appearing for Dhruva's devotion.
3. Sri Rama meeting Shabari.
4. In Krishna avatara he has appeared before and 
graced many devotees and the list continues.

In short,from the above discussion,we can come to the
following conclusion :-
when a person obtaining knowledge of god "seeks" to
know and see god in reality,the very seeker at some
point in his process of seeking the lord becomes the
sought by the Lord himself or the Lord himself appears
or finds the devotee trying to find him.

Sri Krishnaarpanamasthu
Suresh B.N.








--- sadagopaniyengar <sadagopaniyengar@xxxxxxxx>
wrote:
> 
> Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika yatindra
> Mahadesikaya Nama:
> 
> 
> 
> The Stranger
> 
> 
> The BrihadAraNyaka Upanishad speaks about a
> peculiar Stranger. This Stranger resides pretty
> close by, in fact inside ourselves. He functions as
> the inner controller of the body and the soul, while
> being distinctly different from both. Neither the
> soul nor the body realise His existence, much less
> know Him intimately. We know not what He looks like,
> what His attributes are, what He stands for and what
> is the relationship between this Stranger and
> ourselves.
> 
> "Ya Atmani tishttan Atmana: antarO yam AtmA na vEda
> yasya AtmA sharIram ya AtmAnam antarO yamayati sa ta
> AtmA antaryAmi amruta:" says the Upanishad.
> 
> 
> 
> We are filled with sadness.
> 
> We know our neighbours thoroughly. In fact, we take
> a healthy interest in their doings, and voice
> impartial (!) criticism about their deeds of
> omission and commission, all, of course, in the
> interests of good neighbourliness.
> 
> We know our colleagues at office intimately, and
> take genuine pleasure in apprising some of them of
> the shortcomings we observe in the others. We take
> care never to wound feelings by talking to people
> about themselves-we always voice our feelings to
> others.
> 
> We know our relatives inside out and try our best
> to improve their lot in our own way, whether they
> like it or not. We know our leaders and matinee
> idols, we know our celebrities and intimate details
> about their ways of life.
> 
> 
> 
> It therefore makes us sad to learn that there is
> someone, that too residing within ourselves, who has
> escaped so far from the ambit of our
> all-encompassing knowledge which we had so far
> considered comprehensive.
> 
> However, when we read on, we find that the situation
> is not so bad. There are others too, of considerable
> distinction, who share our ignorance. For instance,
> we find that this sprawling, wide world is equally
> ignorant about this Stranger, who has the Universe
> as His abode and controls it from inside-
> 
> " Yam prithivyAm tishttan prithivya antarO yam
> prithivI na vEda yasya prithivI sharIram ya:
> prithivIm antarO yamayati sa ta AtmA antaryAmi
> amruta:"
> 
> 
> 
> As if this were not enough, the TaittirIyOpanishad
> adds to our woes by putting this Stranger's form
> beyond our ken-
> 
> "na sandrisE thishttathi roopam asya, na chakshushA
> pasyati kascha na Enam". Sri Nammazhwar concurs with
> this thought by saying that He cannot be seen by
> ordinary human eyes-"KaNgaL kAndarku ariyanAi".
> 
> 
> 
> Our eyes, ever sharp to identify and announce the 
> shortcomings in others, are just not enough to grasp
> this Stranger's form. We find this hard to believe.
> We have at our disposal the most modern of
> scientific instruments, which enhance our vision to
> take in the minutest of microbes and the most
> distant of stars in the heavens. Then how come this
> Stranger continues to elude our vision?
> 
> 
> 
> Even if the Stranger is beyond our vision, can He at
> least be visualised? No, says Sri Nammazhwar,
> putting Him beyond mental imagery too-"evarkkum
> chintaikkum gOcharam allan" . He cannot be captured
> by our intellect or mind, says Sri Alavandar-"namO
> namO vAng manasAti bhoomayE" says he in his Stotra
> Ratnam.
> 
> 
> 
> Can we at least identify this Stranger's gender?
> Azhwar says that this person is neither male nor
> female, nor even an intermediate creature. It is
> impossible to see this person. However, this doesn't
> make the Stranger non-existent. Looking to the
> difficulties in sizing up this Stranger, Azhwar
> gives up the task and throws up his hands-
> 
> "AN allan peN allan allA aliyum allan
> 
> KANalum AgAn uLan allan illai allan
> 
> PENum kAl pENum uruvAgum allanumAm
> 
> KONai peridu udaitthu em pemmAnai koorudalE"
> 
> 
> 
> Compounding the problem, this Stranger does not have
> a definite form, says the JitantA Stotra-"na tE
> roopam na cha AkAra:".
> 
> If we try to know Him from His origins, we find
> that He is without one. "apramEya:" says the Vishnu
> Sahasranama. We are unable to find His parents, if
> He had any. He appears to be a person without a
> beginning and an end-"anAdi nidhana:"
> 
> 
> 
> A person is known by the company he keeps, says the
> adage. By this token, when we try to find out the
> company the Stranger keeps, we find that He is one
> of a kind ("Eka:") and beyond compare, being without
> an equal or superior-
> 
> "oppAr mikkArai ilaiAya mAmAyA!' says Sri
> Nammazhwar.
> 
> 
> 
> Now we really despair and are ready to give up.
> Adding fuel to fire, Sri Tondaradipodi says that He
> is beyond the reach of even exalted souls like
> Brahma and Shiva, despite their penance lasting
> several millennia-
> 
> "PeN ulAm sadainAnum Piramanum unnai kANbAn
> 
> eNNilA oozhi oozhi tavam seidAr veLgi nirpa".
> 
> It is really frustrating to learn that the Stranger
> is present everywhere, occupying the space inside
> and around all beings. Whatever we see and hear has
> this Stranger in its midst, thus making Him
> omnipresent ("antar bahischa tat sarvam vyApya.
> stittha:"). However, even if He is present
> everywhere, we are unable to see or feel Him, try as
> we might.
> 
> Would anybody tell me how to find this Stranger?
> 
> 
> 
> Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka
> SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya
> nama:
> 
> Dasan, sadagopan.
> 
> 
> 
> 


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