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Oppiliappan List Archive: Message 00035 Oct 2002

 
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 (continued from Part 5)
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In the 'parama-pada-sOpAnam', Swami Desikan put forward a Vedantic
thesis in a very scientific and modern way. It is a thesis that shows
Man a pathway to personal development from lower to the highest state
of existence and experience. It is a "vEdAnta-mArga" which shows us
how to enrich our lives in an easy-to-follow 9-step program. 

The 9-step program begins at the first stepping-stone as surely as it
ends with the last. There are no alternate routes on this journey ---
just as there are none on a stairway. The "parama-pada-sOpAnam" is a
journey which leads only one way: upwards, straight from the low
plains of worldly experience towards "paramapada", the very summit of
human experience in the kingdom of God. 

Swami Desikan described 9 "steps" or 'parianka-s' which a man
aspiring to reach the pinnacle of Joy in 'parama-padam' must have to
tread:

1) vivekam
2) nirvedam
3) virakti
4) bheeti
5) prasAda-hetu
6) utkramanam
7) archirAdri
8) divya-desa-prApti
9) prApti

The first 4 steps from 'vivEkam' to 'bheethi' are collectively termed
by Swami Desikan as "adhikAra-parva". These deal with the the various
processes by which a man acquires the requisite "adhikAra", or
qualifications or eligibility, that will enable him to proceed along
the pathway to the next 5 steps. 

The stepping-stone described as "prasAdana-hetu", next, is termed by
Swami Desikan as "UpAya-parva". It is the program that deals with the
various "practical means" a qualified spiritual aspirant employs in
order to get ahead further on the journey to 'parama-padam'.

The last 4 stepping-stones viz. "ut-kramaNam", "archirAdi",
"divya-dEsa-prApti" and "prApti" are all collectively put together by
Swami Desikan in one program called "phala-parvA". It deals with the
aftermath of the journey man has already undertaken along the path of
the first step through the 5th 'parianka'. 

It is interesting to note that out of the 9 steps above, a man is
expected to take the trouble to scale only the first 5. Steps #6 to
#9 are easily traversed by an aspirant with the aid and Grace of God
himself. While a little of strenuous effort is required of Man to
climb onto Step #5, none is required thereafter. The Lord Himself
assumes the burden and responsibility of "lifting" the soul of man
from Step #6 through Step #9. The first 5 'parianka-s' in the
'parama-pada-sOpAnam' are thus so many steps on a stairway; but the
last 4 may be said to be a bit like a modern escalator. One merely
needs to step on it to be conveyed forward effortlessly.

While Steps #1 to #5 are trodden with the physical body of the
aspirant, the journey through Steps #6 to #9 is believed to be
undertaken without the physical body i.e. Man's spirit alone
undertakes this leg of the journey.

While sometimes one can attempt to hop-step & jump over ordinary
stairways in order to accelerate one's way up, it is not possible to
do so on Swami Desikan's 'parama-pada-sOpAnam'. Here one has to scale
the height in proper "krama" (methodically) and there are no
short-cuts or slip-throughs. You cannot arrive at any given
stepping-stone without first having landed on the immediately
preceding one.

(to be continued)

dAsan,
Sudarshan




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