You are here: SriPedia - Oppiliappan - Archives - Oct 2002

Oppiliappan List Archive: Message 00058 Oct 2002

 
Oct 2002 Indexes ( Date | Thread | Author )
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]


 
(continued from Part 16)
---------------------------------------------------------------------

In the last stages of his life, Swami Venkatanathan lived happily for
many years in SriRangam amidst peers and 'sIshyA-s'. He became a
highly renowned and venerated 'vEdAntAchAryA'. His fame spread far
and wide in the country. This doyen presided over a period in history
when the school of "sri-rAmAnuja-darsanam" flourished, the
SriVaishnava following grew and their institutions and traditions
strengthened.

In 1369 CE, at the age of 100, after his life's work was done, Swamy
Desikan passed away in SriRangam. His son, VaradArya a.k.a
NainAchArya composed the immortal 'tanian' and colophon by which we
know the father today, as all posterity in the future shall remember
too Swamy Desikan -- the man, his life and work:

srimAn venkata nAThArya kavitArkika kEsari
vEdAntAchArya varyOmE sannidhatAm sadAhrudi

kavitArkika simhAya kalyANa guNashAlinE
srimathE venkateshEyA vEdAnta guravE namaha

When we relect deeply upon the son's moving tribute made above to the
father, we realize why Desikan was truly the giant he was. To the
extent I could and to the best of my humble ability, I explained in
the past 16 postings in this series, the greatness of Desikan 

-- as a "kavi-kEsari" -- a glorious poet (Part 1 in this series of
postings); 

-- as a "tArkika-simham" -- a lion amongst philosophers (Part 2)

-- as a "kalyANa guNa shAlin" -- a person of rare and sublime human
qualities (Part 3); and

-- as a "vEdAntAchAryA" or "vEdAnta-guru" -- a preceptor or guru
who
showed The Way, the "Art of Living", to followers not only of his
times but to posterity as well (Parts 4 to Part 16). 

******** *********** **********

By way of an invocation prior to chanting the IsavasyOpanishad, a
beautiful verse called 'sAnti-pAta' is generally sung:

"pUrnamada: pUrnamidam
pUrnAt pUrnamudachyate;
pUrnasya pUrnamAdAya
pUrnam evAvashishyate"

"Om sAnti, sAnti, sAntih: --"

The prefatory verse, if one notices it, uses the Sanskrit word
"pUrna" again and again. This word "pUrna" roughly translates into
English as "fullness", "completeness", "wholesomeness", 
"consummation", "plenary" etc.

Now, what the Upanishad is trying to tell us through the verse is
roughly this:

"God is Fullness --
This Universe, his Creation too is fullness;
>From the Fullness of God came this Universe;
Although fullness came out of Fullness,
Fullness did not become any less Full,
since Fullness remains ever full!

This Universe shall remain filled
Ever with God's Fullness!"

"So let Peace, Peace... let Peace prevail for ever!".

******* ********** **********

The language of the Upanishads is very often poetic and cryptic. But
the essential message of the Upanishad in the above verse is this: 

All beings that exist in this world, whether human or otherwise, seek
ultimately only one thing in life: "pUrnatva" or fulfillment in life,
in one way or the other. When we are fulfilled, we are happy, isn't
it? When there is "pUrnatvam" or completeness in our life, we attain 
contentment. In "pUrnatva" there is "sAnti" also -- we are at peace
with ourselves and with the rest of the Universe. 

But in this world there is nothing like absolute fulfillment. When we
have achieved "completeness" in one thing we find that there is
"completeness" to be attained elsewhere that beckons us. For e.g. a
student feels fulfilled when he "completes" a University education
only to find that he still has to find "fulfillment" in some chosen
career out in the real world. Similarly, a girl may feel very
"fulfilled" after tying the marital knot, but after few months or
years therafter, she begins seeking to be a "complete woman" in
motherhood... And so on, so forth in life... 

"Completeness" or "fulfillment" in life remains for most people
either a moving target or an elusive mirage. Absolute "pUrnatva" is
indeed very hard to attain in this world. But it is on the other hand
very easily achieved in the kingdom of God.. who as the Isa says
above, is Himself "pUrnamada: pUrnamidam...": Absolutely Fulfilled!

******* *********** ***********

After describing the goal of "pUrnatva" to be the Principle and
Substance of all life, the IsavasyOpanishad proceeds to tell us how
to achieve such "completeness" or "fulfillment" in life. In the
second of 18 wonderful stanzas the Upanishads tells us:

"kurvanneva: karmAni jijIvishEt satam samAH;
Evam tvayi nAnyathEto'sti na karma lipyate narE --

"One should desire to live a full 100 years in this world 
engaged in ceaseless action...
Thus, and in no other way, 
can a man free himself from
the taint or shackles of Action".

In Indian families, when a boy ('brahmacharin') is initiated into
"upanayana" (the rite of passage in which he dons the "yagnyOpavIta",
the sacred thread), all his elders will bless him saying "satamAnam
bhavati satAyur" --- meaning "May You live to be a 100 years old!".
Similarly, we can see elders and friends blessing a newly married
couple wishing them 100 years of life together. This is common custom
in all Indian families.

The reason for such a blessing ("satAyur vai purusha:") can be traced
back to the IsavasyOpanishad which, as we saw in the above verse, too
says, 
"jijIvishEt satam samAH"
"One should desire to live a full 100 years in this world..."

When one blesses another with a "satAyur" or a "100 years of life",
one is not referring merely to length of life but to the quality of
life. There is no point in living for a 100 years with poor or simply
no "quality of life". So then, what is meant by "quality of life"?
The IsavasyOpanishad says in the above verse it is :

"kurvanneva: karmAni..."

The "quality" of our life can be judged by the quality of our
"karma". In other words, a life that is lived both zestfully and
purposefully is the only one that is really worth living for a 100
years. A life of real "quality" must be full of good action, useful
deeds and noble effort if it must become truly "pUrnAm"...

Living a zestful and purposeful life, as the Isa describes it for us,
is really an Art... It is an "Art of Living" that has to be mastered
slowly and painstakinly over many years... sometimes even a 100
years!

Now, we may ask ourselves: Where can one learn such an "Art of
Living" by which we can live zestfully and purposefully for a 100
years; and finally attain that grand "pUrnatva" described by the
Upanishads? 

The anwer is: Look at the example of the 100-year life which Swami
Venkatanathan lived... And learn from the "Art of Living" which the
great "vEdAntAchArya" fully described in the "parama-pada-sOpAnam". 

(CONCLUDED)

dAsan,
Sudarshan 



















__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
HotJobs - Search new jobs daily now
http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/



[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index ] [Thread Index ] [Author Index ]
Home Page
http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia
oppiliappan-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To subscribe to the list