(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/
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