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Ramanuja List Archive: Message 00053 Nov 2001

 
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SrImatE rAmAnujAya namaha

Dear bhagavathas,

We are honored and delighted to announce the next live upanyaAsam
(discourse) inTamil by Sri U Ve E S Bhoovarahachar Swamy on Sri ParAsara
BhaTTar's ashTa shlOki.
Sri Bhoovarahachar swamy's upanyasams have the uncanny ability to bring to
light abstruse shaastraarthams in a very elegent yet simple manner, and
everyone of you is strongly urged to dial in and partake of the divine
nectar of AzhwAr AchArya aruLiccheyals seamlessly laced into a discourse on
AshTashlOki.

AshTashlOki is considered to be one of the most insightful works of renowned
sri vaishNava Acharya, Sri parasara bhaTTar (PB), whose divine insights and
consummate mastery of the conceptual underpinnings of srI vaishNavam were
matched
only by his devotion to emberumAnAr and srI ranganAtha.

In AsTashlOki, swamy PB delineates the very essence of the thirumantram,
dvayam and charam shlOkam, in eight stanzas. The first four stanzas
describe the meanings expounded in the thirumantram, and the other four
provide an easy path to understanding the essence of dvayam and charama
shlOkam.

=================================================
Synopsis of previous upanyasam on 10/20/01 by Sri ES Bhoovarahachar swamy
=================================================

In his wonderful upanyasam of 10/20/01, Sri Bhoovarahachar swamy focussed
attention on the fourth shlOkam of AshTa shlOki:

dEhAsaktAtma buddhi: yadi bhavathi padam saadhu vidyAth thrutheeyam
swAthanthryAndhO yadi syAth prathamam ithara sEshatvat dhee: chEth dviteeyam
AtmatrANOnmukhaha chEth nama ithi cha padam bhandhava bhAsalOlaha
shabdham nArAyaNAkhyam vishaya cha phala dhee: chEth chathurtheem prapannaha

In his previous upanyasams, Sri Bhoovarahachar swamy described how the
esoteric essence of thirumantram is succinctly captured in the first three
stanzas of AshTashlOki. The fourth shlOkam, Sri swamy explained,
highlights the pitfalls one should avoid, even when one has been exposed to
the thirumanthram; errors that can be easily avoided by going back to the
essence of the thirumanthram.

The first pitfall is the false notion that the body (dEham) and soul (Atma)
are one and the same; If such a notion exists, it is negated by third
syllable of the praNavam (makAram), which separates the sentient jeevatma
(chith tattvam) as different from, superior with respect to, all the achith
tattvams (that insentient matter represents).

The second pitfall is a sense of free agency (swAthanthyAndhaha) that we may
develop, a blindness stemming from a false notion of independence that will
act to prevent us from gaining the requisite gnyAnam to reach paramAtma.
Sri PB tells us that to prevent such a state of blindness (ignorance of our
real swarooopam), we have to focus on the first syllable of praNavam
(akAram) to realize that it is srImannArAyaNA that is both the support and
the kAraNam, that all of chith and achith exists in Him and because of Him.
That we are the dependent element (sEsha) and He alone is the Independent
One (sarva swathanthran).

Even when we realize our sense of dependence, it is critical to realize that
such dependence is only towards srImannArAyaNA (and not anybody, god,
demi-god or being, or anything else). ithara sEshatvam (dependence on
something else) is clearly negated when we realize the meaning of the middle
syllable in the praNavam (u'kAram) that enjoins exclusivity with respect to
the jeevAtma paramAtma relationship, that we are sEsha (subjects, belonging
to) only to srImannArAyaNA, that He alone is the sEshi (owner).

The 'namaha' shabdam in thirumantram eliminates another source of conceptual
error, the notion of swashEshatvam (AtmathrANOnmukhaha), and firmly
entrenches the idea that we exist only to serve srImannArAyaNA, neither our
selves nor any one else, that we should fully embrace pArathanthryam only
with respect to srImannArAyaNA in every mode of our existence.

The word nArayaNa in the thirumantram reinforces the idea that He alone is
our real bandhu, that He is our true friend, guide, master, destination.
The term Aya (which is the fourth one in thirumantram) delineates the true
purushArtham, goal, for a prapanna, a goal consistent with our swaroopam, is
to seek service at his lotus feet as the only and the ultimate reward.

Sri Bhoovarahachar swamy, whose endearing style of delivery is marked by the
ability to simplify, communicate, difficult to comprehend tattvArthams
(familiar to all those who have
dialled into the previous upanyasams) will continue the discourse series
with the fifth shlOkam of ashTa shlOki

TOPIC: Sri Parasara BhaTTar's AshTa shlOki
DATE: November 17, 2001 (SATURDAY MORNING)
TIME: 9:00 AM CST/7:00 AM PST
Suggested donation: $10 per family
(http://www.radioramanuja.com/lectures.htm)
LANGUAGE: Tamil

=================================================
Conference number: 1-405-244-5555
Access code: 1533# (Please enter # after the 4 digit number)
=================================================

AzhwAr emberumAnAr Jeeyar thiruvadigalE sharaNam

aDiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan,

sridhar srinivasan
(pataps@xxxx)




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