Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
"Tirutthi PaNi KoLvAn"
Who is the most merciful person in the whole world? Some may say it is one's
mother, because she puts up with quite a lot of trouble with the child, even
before it is born. The physical inconveniences, which a mother undergoes
before, during and after childbirth, are beyond description and only those who
have experienced motherhood would be able to appreciate their magnitude. Even
if the son is totally impervious to the mother and her needs, she never ceases
to care for him till the end.
Others may ascribe maximum mercifulness to the Lord, for He patiently forgives
all our transgressions and strives constantly to emancipate us through various
strategies.
However, the fact remains that the most merciful of all is the Acharya. More
than the mother, who cares for our physical and material welfare (which does
not save us from the eternal and vicious cycle of births and deaths), more than
the Lord (who liberates us because He selfishly craves our company -"Sa EkAkI
na ramatE"- to relieve the tedium of loneliness in Sri Vaikuntam), it is the
Acharya, who yearns for our spiritual well-being and liberation from samsara,
who displays the maximum mercy. The mother may put up with us because we are
from her own body, the Lord may forgive us because we are an inseparable part
of Him, but to the Acharya, we are complete strangers, and whatever he does for
our upliftment is absolutely without any expectation of a quid pro quo. Our
Acharyas are "KripA mAtra prasanna Acharyas", driven solely by the motive of
mercy towards misguided mankind. They scrupulously adhere to the dictum
"KripayA nisspruhO vadEt" (The Acharya should impart instruction to the
disciple without expecting anything in return).
What makes the Acharyas more merciful than any other category, is their
propensity to seek out souls in need of succour and to provide them appropriate
relief, instead of waiting for the needy individual to seek their assistance.
They do not stand on prestige and think nothing of taking deliverance to the
sishya's doorstep. While the normal procedure is for the intending disciple to
search for an Acharya, satisfy him through sincere personal services and obtain
the desired instruction ("tat viddhi praNipAtEna priprasnEna sEvayA"), there
have been numerous instances of the Guru himself going after the prospective
sishya, driven by concerns for the latter's spiritual welfare and the need for
diverting the disciple before he travels too far on the path to nowhere. One
such instance involves Sri Parasara Bhattar, the illustrious adopted son of
Lord Ranganatha Himself, which is recounted below.
When Sri Bhattar was engaged in the Lord's service at Srirangam, a Srivaishnava
from Thirunarayanapuram visiting Srirangam sought him out for paying obeisance,
and in the course of the ensuing conversation, disclosed that an erudite,
generous and extremely wealthy advaiti, endowed with sterling qualities, was
holding court near Melkote, with an enviable strength of disciples. He was also
in the practice of feeding a battalion of the hungry every day, putting his
considerable wealth to good use.
When Sri Bhattar heard this, perhaps due to the Lord's will, it occurred to him
as to what an acquisition the VedAnthi
(the gentleman of Melkote) would be to the Sampradaya. Though Sri Bhattar
realized that this would be a difficult task in view of VedAnthi belonging to a
diametrically opposite philosophical camp and his apparent invincibility in
debate, yet the Acharya decided to go after him, driven solely by boundless
mercy for the unseen stranger.
Sri Bhattar, who had not known physical discomfort since birth, journeyed to
Thirunarayanapuram traveling on foot over hill and dale, braving inhospitable
terrain. En route, when he reached the banks of Cauvery, Sri AnanthAzhwan came
running to him, having heard of the Acharya's journey and its purpose. Despite
Anantazhwan's remonstrations in regard to the Acharya going after a prospective
disciple, Sri Bhattar continued till he reached Thirunarayanapuram, where he
performed mangalasasanam of Sri Yadugiri Nacchiar, Sri Selvapillai and Sri
Yoganrisimha , with a prayer for the successful completion of his task.
Thereafter, the Acharya proceeded to GangOthri, the village where Vedanthi was
put up. Hearing that the Vedanthi could not be accessed so easily due to a bevy
of sishyas restricting entry to his quarters, Sri Bhattar went to the Vedanti's
house in the garb of a poor Brahmin in search of food. When others who had come
for a similar purpose made a beeline for the dining hall, Sri Bhattar strayed
from the line and found Vedanthi ensconced on a high pedestal, imparting his
erudition to admiring acolytes. When the disciples espied the presence of an
unbecomingly-clad stranger in their midst, they sought to direct him to the
dining hall, where, they were sure, he belonged. When Sri Bhattar refused to
move, Vedanthi asked him what he wanted ("KA bhikshA?"). Seizing the
opportunity, the newcomer replied that he wanted a debate ("Tharka bhikshA").
Though not clad in finery, Sri Bhattar's face betrayed his scholarship and
spirituality, which impressed the Vedanthi, apart from the stranger's bold
request for a debate, knowing full well that no one had yet scored over the
host in debate. Though the Vedanthi was not in the habit of taking on debaters
personally, as he had an abundance of capable students who could make mincemeat
of most would-be debaters, something in Sri Bhattar's manner, bearing, radiance
of the face and bewitching eyes, and above all, the will of the Lord who wanted
the new convert as badly as Sri Bhattar, made Vedanthi agree to the challenge.
Sri Bhattar and Vedanthi argued back and forth for nine days in defence of
their respective tenets with neither yielding an inch of ground. The entire
population of scholars from near and afar was witness to the marathon debate,
with scintillating arguments from both sides. It was an unseen and unheard-of
spectacle, the likes of which had not been chronicled before. Sri Valmiki,
trying and failing to find similes for the valiant battle between Sri Rama and
Ravana, ends up lamely with "Rama RavanayO: yuddham Rama RavaNayO: iva" (the
encounter between Chakkravartthi Thirumagan and Ravana had no parallels-it
could be compared only with itself). Such was the case with the confrontation
between the son of Sri Ranganatha and the erudite Vedanti. The seesaw battle
showed no signs of tilting in either side's favour, and Sri Bhattar, despite
his indomitable spirit, began to feel disheartened due to his lack of progress.
At the end of the ninth day of verbal battle, Sri Bhattar performed
tiruvArAdhanam and went to sleep without partaking of the prasadam, with his
mind fixed on the lotus feet of Sri Ramanuja and Peria Perumal.
That night, Aranganagarappan appeared in Sri Bhattar's dream and told him, "We
waited so long only to exhibit your scholarship to the world. You will score
over the Vedanthi tomorrow. Just keep in mind the essence of Sri Kalian's
ThirunedumthAndakam and the sreesooktis of Sri Alavandar and you will sail
through."
Buoyed up beyond measure by Peria Perumal's assurance, Sri Bhattar appeared at
the opponent's palace with his countenance radiant with joy at the impending
victory. The moment Vedanthi looked at the face of the youthful challenger, he
sensed that Sri Bhattar had come to draw blood that day, and without further
ado, admitted defeat despite Sri Bhattar's protestations. The vanquished
Vedanthi prayed to the victorious Bhattar to accept him as a disciple and to
purify him with pancha samskArAm, and Sri Bhattar readily obliged.
Mission accomplished, Sri Bhattar returned to Srirangam with the satisfaction
of having saved a worthy soul from waywardness. The Vedanthi too, unable to
bear separation from his new-found Acharya, followed him to Srirangam some time
later, having assumed sanyAsam, with his riches laden on a camel, which he
surrendered at Sri Bhattar's feet. This wealth was used for putting up a
beautiful garden of flowers for the Lord's adornment and for feeding
bhAgavatAs. Pleased at the new disciple's devotion to the Lord and His votaries
and his scant regard for worldly possessions despite a lifetime of princely
pleasures, Sri Bhattar embraced Vedanthi, calling him affectionately, "nam
Jeeyar". This sobriquet stuck to the sanyasi and he came to be known as
"Nanjeeyar" thenceforth. Nanjeeyar was his master's constant companion and
imbibed all esoteric concepts of the Sampradaya, along with Sri Bhashya,
Aruliccheyal and its unfathomed depths of blissful experience.
Applying his existing scholarship and Sri Bhattar's nectarine kAlakshEpams on
ThiruvAimozhi, Sri Nanjeeyar authored the second commentary on Sri Nammazhwar's
magnum opus, titled "onpadinAyirappadi", incorporating and expanding the short,
sweet and succinct "Thiru ArAyirappadi" of Sri Thirukkurugai PirAn PiLLAn. The
"onpadinayirappadi" was the precursor and forerunner to the subsequent
IrupatthunAlAyirappadi of Sri PeriavAcchAn PiLlai and the "eedu" of Sri Vadakku
Tiruveedipillai. We find the later vyAkhyAnams quoting Sri Nanjeer verbatim in
the commentary for many of the pasurams and incorporating his ideas too for the
most part.
He also authored a bhAshyam for the SriSUktham, emphasizing the glory of
PirAtti and dispelling many misconceptions in that regard.
Swami Desikan quotes Sri Nanjeeyar with reverence at several places in Srimad
Rahasyatrayasaam, attesting to the erudition, depth of devotion and Acharya
bhakti of this Preceptor par excellence.
This is the tale of how an Acharya, driven by boundless mercy, traversed
hundreds of miles on foot to win over and emancipate a single sishya, who
proved worthy of his Acharya's efforts.
Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka Srivan Satakopa Sri Narayana
Yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama:
Dasan, sadagopan.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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