Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama: " Insure and Be Secure!" One of the most difficult jobs in the world is selling insurance. If you ask insurance agents, they would tell you how hard it is to convince anyone to insure themselves, for, almost everyone believes themselves to be permanent residents of this planet, refusing to acknowledge even to themselves that they have to leave some day or the other. Sri Krishna might have proclaimed "JAtasya hi dhruvO mrityu:" ( those who are born must indeed die someday), everyday we might see people, some of them our relatives, friends or acquaintances, passing away, never to be seen again, we might see crematoria or graveyards on our way to work, standing as stark reminders of where our ultimate destination is--- we might see all these signals of life's impermanance: however, the realisation, that we too are subject to the inexorable laws of nature, somehow escapes us or we just shut our eyes and minds to the possibility, ostrich-like. And in our society, it is considered inauspicious to talk of death, though it is something we encounter in some form or the other every day, be it the demise of a relative, a friend, a mere beggar on the roadside or of just a cockroach or a rodent. We rear back at the mere mention of the word, unwilling to face the phenomenon even when it stares us in the face. The Yaksha Prasna of Mahabharata narrates, inter alia, a question addressed by the Yaksha to Dharmaputra-"Which is the most surprising thing in this world?". YudhishttirA's reply is an eye-opener for every one of us. When a dead body is being carried away for disposal, a passerby comments, "What a pity!", little realising that he too is destined to go the same way, some day or the other, sooner or later. This, says Yudhishttira, is the most astonishing thing in the world. This is what makes the salesman's job so hard, for, he has to commence his spiel with a reminder that we too are mortal and must pass off some day. He might talk euphemistically of "the unthinkable" happening, but what he means, in precise terms, is the end of life. Thus, in the process of selling insurance, he has two difficult tasks-the first is to convince people that they are indeed subject to mortality and destined to pass over like every body else, and, secondly, to make them see the necessity to provide for such an eventuality. It might interest us to know that Insurance is hardly a modern invention and has been in vogue since long, perhaps not in the form we have come across, but all the same incorporating the same concept. The difference between the current day indemnities and the ancient ones is that the former provide only financial compensation in the event of the risk materialising-they cannot provide any other form of recompense. All types of insurance, be it medical insurance, life insurance, vehicle insurance, property insurance or burglary assurance, are aimed solely at providing monetary compensation in the event of loss. There is a unique form of Insurance which our Acharyas have long held out to us, which has any number of unique features which our modern day companies can never hold a candle to. For an extremely negligible premium, this contract offers us not only the pot of the gold at the end of the rainbow, but the rainbow itself. If you are interested in this priceless product, please read on. Prapatti or Sharanagati is the name of this product, which offers us a wonderful contract of assurance. There are any number of unique charactreristics, which distinguish this Policy from others of its ilk- 1) The insurer is not some fly-by-night operator or someone of limited financial strength, who may or may not be able to honour his obligation, but the Supreme Lord Himself. There is thus no fear of contractual obligations not being honoured at maturity. 2) Unlike the ordinary life policy which offers just monetary compensation but cannot prevent death, this policy of Prapatti can indeed make us immortal. Even if this body comprised of the five elements falls in course of time, this policy enables our soul to realise and reaffirm its eternality in the service of the Lord. 3) No Insurance policy, per se, can bring us happiness. Even if it were to afford us some pleasure due to the moneys it brings along, this is at best ephemeral and puerile. Prapatti, on the other hand, offers us unalloyed and undying bliss, immeasurable and matchless. 4) When we subscribe to life insurance (especially a whole life policy), it does nothing for us, the insured, and provides only for a lump sum payment to our nominee. Thus, though we pay the premium life long, we ourselves derive no benefit from it. The policy that the Sampradaya offers, however, ensures that we ourselves benefit immensely, while conferring incidental profits on our near and dear. 5) Insurance policies necessitate recurring payment of premia over long periods of time. Prapatti, however, calls for an inexpensive, single-time payment, in the form of Bharasamarpanam, which calls not for astronomical amounts of money, but only for the correct attitude of mind. 6) Insurance is a contract of utmost good faith("uberima fidae"), requiring the insured to disclose all pre-existing illnesses and all material developments in the future too. Otherwise, claims under the policy may not be settled. In the case of Prapatti, however, though an undertaking of good conduct is obtained at the time of entering into the contract, even if the same is violated, the Lord overlooks the transgression or levies some minor penalty, with the assured benefits remaining unaffected. 7) When the eventuality occurs, the insurer has to be notified of the occurrence and the benefits under the policy claimed by the nominee after a lot of procedural hassles. No insurer keeps track of who dies when, nor does he hasten to award the insurance moneys, unclaimed. In the case of Prapatti, however, once the mortal coils are shed, the Lord Himself rushes in to carry the soul with Him to the Promised Land ("aham smarAmi mat bhaktam, nayAmi paramAm gatim"), with no other effort required on the part of the assured or their dependants. 8) There are now any number of players in the mundane insurance industry, all competing with one another for a share of the cake. In the case of eternal benefits, however, the Lord remains the sole insurer, with absolutely none to compete with Him, none capable of conferring the benefits that He can ("MOksham icchEt JanArdanAt", "apavarga pradO Hari:" etc.). 9) Insurers are selective about the individuals they cover and do not extend life cover to people suffering from chronic or major diseases, for fear of having to settle early claims not commensurate with the premia received. However, the Lord extends assurance to all and sundry, irrespective of whether they are sick or healthy, rich or poor, exalted or underdog, good, bad or ugly-He is game to accepting proposals from even the wilest of people, provided they are made with sincerity-"Viditam bhuvanE VibhishaNO vA yadi vA Ravana iti udIritam tE". 10) If you read the policy documents issued by mundane insurers, you will find the fine print containing so many restrictive clauses and loopholes, enabling the insurer to wriggle out of his commitment. On the other hand, once the Lord approves a contract of Prapatti, He adheres to His part of the bargain, come what may. His is an unconditional assurance, a categorical declaration of intention to protect and deliver us from sin and stigma-"aham tvA sarva pApEbhyO mOkshayishyAmi, mA sucha:" 11) An important difference between the two types of assurances, earthly and eternal, is the mode of canvassing potential subscribers. While the former relies on advertisement in the visual and print media, apart from engaging an army of agents, canvassing for the latter type of insurance that the Lord provides, is done purely through word of mouth, by the angelic brigade of Azhwars and Acharyas, extolling the priceless policy and the Inimitable Insurer. 12) While insurance contracts are entered into only during the companies' working hours and at specified places where they have offices, Prapatti is a policy issued anytime, anywhere, to anyone. The Sun never sets in the Lord's offices and their working hours are unlimited. He remains prepared for an emergency call anytime, anywhere and from anyone,("PAtu praNata rakshAyAm viLambam asahan iva") be it an embattled elephant fighting for its life or a Pandava princess struggling to save her modesty from being outraged. With all these going for it, is not the Lord's policy infinitely superior to the indemnity offered by any other mundane assurer? All of us must have definitely taken out life policies, to cover eventualities; but how many of us have obtained the type of assurance only the Lord can provide? And for those who are yet to join the Society of Surrendered Souls and secure their eternal welfare, the Lord's doors are always open. All they have to do is to contact their Acharya and through him, perform Prapatti at the Lord's lotus feet and be blessed with a cast iron policy of assurance. For this, there are no hidden charges, no marked-up prices or fake discounts, no promotional gimmicks nor any "festival offers"-it is a simple contract, transparent to the core and with no doubts as to its enforeceability. What are you waiting for? Rush today to your Acharya, to Insure and Be Secure. Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama: Dasan, sadagopan [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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