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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

                               A Drop in the Ocean

        "Orondru tAnE amayAdo!" enthuses a devotee of Swami Desikan, pointing  
out that even if we have neither the time nor the powers of comprehension to 
master all the works of the Acharya, the regular study of even one of the 
exalted works, is eminently capable of leading us on to liberation. However, 
ardent students of Desikaite literature would aver that not even an entire 
stotra or work need be studied: a single sloka, a single line of a sloka, would 
bestow such wisdom as to make us eligibe for emancipation. This is because all 
the works of the illustrious Acharya are power-packed, designed to generate in 
us a deep-rooted devotion towards the Lord and His votaries, which would 
ultimately reach us at the coveted goal of Moksha. Like the invisible golden 
thread on which precious pearls and gems are strung, forming an enchanting 
necklace, the concept of Prapatti runs through all works of Swami Desikan, 
whether they be stotras, plays, kAvyAs, philosophical or polemical works. 
Knowing fulwell that the mortals of the future would like everything in capsule 
form, suffering as they would from a misplaced sense of priorities and having 
little time for things that matter most, the Acharya has made the precept of 
Prapatti and its practice the cornerstone of almost all of his works, so that 
the study of even one would bless us with the requisite abhiruchi for the 
performance of Sharanagati through our own Acharya.

Two slokas from the "NyAsa Tilakam" of Swami Desikan are dealt with here, to 
illustrate the aforesaid.

"andha: anandha grahaNa vasaga: yAti RangEsa! yadvat
 pangu: noukA kuhara nihita: neeyatE nAvikEna
 bhunktE bhOgAn avidita nripa: sEvakaya arbhakAdi:
 tvat samprAptou prabhavati yathA dEsikO mE dayAlu:"

This beautiful verse tells us that just as a blind man reaches his destination, 
hand-led by by another blessed with sight, just as a lame person is able to 
cross the river by being put on a boat and taken to the other shore by the 
boatman, just as the family of a royal servant, even in the absence of direct 
contact and acquaintance with the Sovereign, is able to derive the benefits of 
the latter'munificence second-hand, the Jeeva too is guided by the merciful 
Acharyas to the otherwise unattainable portals of Paramapadam.

Though simple in structure and apparently in purport too, this sloka holds a 
wealth of  wisdom to the connoisseur. The reference to the blind man is 
indicative of lack of knowledge-GnAnam. Comprehensive knowledge, about the 
Self, the Lord, the strategy for liberation and the hurdles that impede the 
Pilgrim's Progress, is absolutely essential for liberation from our mundane 
shackles. Few mortals can lay claim to such wisdom, which is indeed difficult 
to acquire and assimilate. People without such knowledge blunder through life 
aimlessly and knowing not either the place to be reached or how to reach there, 
go around in circles and endup where they started. Such peregrination through 
the jungle of life leads us deeper and deeper into the swampland of Samsara, 
with our getting caught up in the vicious cycle of births and deaths, with no 
means of deliverance.  Just as a blind man needs someone to lead him by hand to 
ensure safe passage, we too need an Acharya to lead us through the fierce 
forest that is life. The Acharya, who knows the terrain well, is able to guide 
us through safe trails, avoiding pits filled with the dangerous vipers of KAma, 
KrOdha etc., widely skirting dense thickets which might hide  deadly predators 
which are but our own senses (which lie in wait to ensnare and gobble us up). 
In effect, the Acharya endows us with wonderful wisdom about who we are truly, 
what our mission on this earth is, what is our real stature, who is our Master, 
how we got separated from Him and how to be reunited with Him and be a partner 
in His endless bliss. Thus the Preceptor leads us by hand, step by step, in our 
quest for freedom and ensures that we surrender ourselves at the Lord's lotus 
feet. He supports us when we stumble, lends a shoulder to lean on when we are 
fatigued, has a word of encouragement when we are depressed with the long and 
apparently unending journey and never tires himself till he delivers us at the 
gates of Paradise, handing over charge to the inhabitants of Srivaikunatam.

The reference to "anandha:", or an "unblind" person leading the blind one, is 
to emphasize the futility of entrusting our lives to pseudo Gurus, who know not 
where they themselves are going, leave alone lead others to the cherished goal. 
Putting ourselves in the hands of such impostors would result in the blind 
being led by the blind-"andhEnaiva neeyamAnA yathA andhA:" as the Upanishad 
says. It is therefore imperative to search for an Acharya belonging to a hoary 
and proven tradition, owing allegiance to the time-tested tenets of our 
Sampradaya, rather than some nine-day wonder who has managed to garner a motley 
crowd of undiscerning disciples about him, irrespective of how persuasive his 
teachings are. It is to such an Acharya, belonging to the distinguished lineage 
of our beloved Bhashyakara, that we must entrust ourselves, heart and soul.

GnAnam or wisdom about matters which matter is indeed essential for liberation, 
but mere wisdom, without attendant practice, would be meaningless. What is the 
use of a doctor with a string of degrees behind his name, who is unable to 
treat a common cold? To be effective, whatever is learnt must be put into 
practice. When we learn that we are the Lord's servants, we should 
automatically cease caring for ourselves, realising that He would indeed take 
care of us, as we are His own property. When we get to know that all this world 
is His shareeram, we should be able to eschew anger, jealousy, hatred etc. 
directed towards anyone or anything, for, all of them are an integral part of 
Bhagavat vibhooti, and one part of the body cannot be at loggerheads with 
another. Thus "anushttAnam" or putting into practice what we have learnt, is 
extremely essential if we are to cross the ocean of Samsara. And this is what 
we sadly lack, being beset by all sorts of misconduct towards all and sundry, 
which is made the worse by our knowledge that such behaviour is to be shunned 
at all cost. Sri Tondaradippodi makes fun of such people, who do know what is 
to be done but lack the drive to do it, who pose to be paragons of virtue while 
actually being nothing of the sort, who sport the appearance of devotees but 
lack the Atma guNAs  and impeccable conduct that should accompany such 
postures. 

It is such lack of anushttAnam that afflicts us with spiritual lameness. 
Despite all these grievous faults in us, the Acharya takes pity on us, toils a 
lot as does a diligent farmer on barren and unyielding soil, dins into us the 
need for righteous conduct and behaviour behoving those who belong to the Lord. 
He makes us promise to shun all acts abhorrent to the Lord and His devotees, to 
adopt only that course of action which pleases our Maker, instils in us an 
unshakeable faith in the Paramapurusha, persuades us to surrender ourselves, 
body and soul, to the Universal Saviour and makes us realise our helplessness 
in saving ourselves or what we regard as our own. In short, the Acharya either 
makes us perform Prapatti or does it on our behalf, restoring to the Lord what 
is rightfully His property. It is thus that he enables us to cross the perilous 
ocean of Samsara, reaching us safe, sound and sane on the shores of Paramapadam.

 It is customary in this world for people in high places to favour and oblige 
only those whom they know personally. Favours are doled out only to friends, 
relatives or acquaintances. In such a situation, where it is extremely 
difficult to obtain favours from people without atleast a nodding acquaintance 
with them, how are we going to wangle out the best of all boons, Moksha, from 
the Lord? None of us knows the Lord. We have not spoken to him nor have been 
spoken to by Him. We have not seen Him and would probably not recognise Him if 
He were to stand right before our eyes this very minute. Many of us do not even 
know OF Him, what He looks like, His attributes, His retinue etc. In sum, but 
for the most accomplished of souls, none could claim to know Him or to have 
seen Him.
 Granting all this, is it not a foolish dream to hope that He would favour us 
with emancipation?
No, says Swami Desikan, furnishing the example of a palace servant, who is the 
beneficiary of the King's munificence. The benefits of this royal largesse are 
automatically passed on by the servant to his family members, despite their 
having absolutely no connection with the King, except through the head of their 
family.
Similarly, despite our not knowing the Lord personally, we too can attain the 
unimaginable bliss of emancipation through the good offices of an Acharya, who 
himself has a hot line to the heavens. Knowing Him well to be the Paramapurusha 
with all auspicous attributes (including the all-important one of Mercy) and 
ourselves to be sinners of the first order, the Acharya intercedes on our 
behalf with the King of all Kings and ensures that we too are rewarded with the 
fabulous fruit of deliverance.

Anyone who is unacquainted with any other work of Swami Desikan and happens to 
read only this particular sloka, is given a fair amount of data about the 
concepts of the Godhead, the Acharya, the individual soul, the extremely 
effective strategy of Prapatti and the boundless benefits it bestows, in the 
form of freedom from mundane shackles and attainment of the ultimate bliss-- 
that of kainkaryam to the Lord. If one were to compare the works of Swami 
Desikan to an ocean of wisdom, this particular sloka might represent just a 
single drop. Normally, drops are entirely insignificant, which is why a "drop 
in the ocean" is an idiom used to indicate an inconsequential quantum. However, 
in the ocean of Swami Desikan's works, each individual drop is significant and 
noteworthy by itself, capable of independently  imparting wonderful wisdom. 
While in the case of other oceans, divers have to search long and deep for 
locating pearls and gems, in the case of the unique ocean referred to above, 
precious stones and pearls lie strewn on the shores, ours for the picking, if 
only we make the effort.

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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