SrI: SrImathe Ramanujaya namah: SrImathe Nigamantha mahadesikaya namah: SrImAn venkatanAthAryaH kavitArkika kesarI | vedAntAcArya-varyome sannidhattAm sadA hRdi || May the glorious Sri Venkatanatha, the greatest of teachers of Vedanta, and the lion among poets and debaters, reside forever in my heart. PurattAsi SravaNam is the star of both Lord VenkatanAthan of Thirumalai and of Swamy Desikan , the incarnation of the Thirumalai EmperumAn's Sannidhi hand bell(GhantA). Even today, the hand bell is not used inside the sannidhi of ThiruvEnkadamudaiyAn? Swamy Desikan composed a unique sthOthram on ThiruvEkadamudayAn revered as "SrI DayA satakam " extolling the Lord's DayA or KaruNai He states in this sthothra at the end that he was just an instrument in the hands of the Lord of Thiruvenkatam in composing DayA sathakam. This slokam housing his Sattvika thyaagam is a gem (104th slOkam): VEDANTHA DESIKA PADEH VINIVESYA BAALAM DEVO DHAYASATAKAM YETAT AVADHAAYAT MAAM VAIHAARIKENA VIDHINAA SAMYEH GRUHITAM VEENA VISESHAMIVA VENKATA SAIL NAATHA : [From Sri Sadagopan Swami?s translation] Here Swamy Desikan says: "adiyEn is not fit to compose this sthOthram about the dayA guNam of Lord SrInivAsan. The responsibility for that effort belongs to the Lord Himself. He is always fond of engaging in playful acts. AdiyEn's sukrutham ( puNyams done in previous janmAs) has now become fruitful. At this time, the Lord decided to engage in a sport using adiyEn . Boy that adiyEn is, now elevated to the status of VedAnthAchAryan and placed in a lofty position. The fruit of making that playful act becoming appropriate is also the Lord's sankalpam. He made it possible for this DayA satakam to emerge out of adiyEn's mouth. The Lord used me as HIS instrument and completed the task of singing it. In this world, a musician will please himself by playing on a VeeNA and raise sunAdham from that VeeNA. It is appropriate to say that VeeNA is only an instrument for generating that sunAdham and it by itself does not raise that pleasing sound. It is the skill of the VeeNA player that is normally praised. In a similar manner, adiyEn has only been an instrument in is hands for the birth of this SthOthram. All the glories belong only to Him. Thus the Lord of ThiruvEnkatam has performed a leelA through adiyEn. Vedantha Desika was the brightest star in the firmament of VisishtAdvaita next only to Sri Ramanujacharya. Initial exposure to Vedas, Divya Prabandhams, and SaasthrAs provided him with an independent and individualistic insight into the secrets of the world of knowledge. Hence, his knowledge was encyclopaedic. His knowledge offered him modesty, which is rare commodity among scholars. In him, there was a synthesis of moral fervour and spiritual insight. He was a saint to the core and detachment, the like of which is hard to notice among others. He was a poet, philosopher, scrupulous in the performance of his duties and upholder of the righteous cause. He was imbued with the sense of responsibility to uphold the concepts, which SrI Ramanujacharya had preached. He adopted almost all possible ways of writing to achieve this purpose. No writer among the followers of Ramanuja fought for the right place for AhzwArs, as much as Swamy Desikan. His compositions in pure Tamil and in maNipravALam and their graded classifications from the simple to the complex bear ample testimony to this. With all these achievements and attainments, which no single scholar could ever dream of possessing, he has an embodiment of humility, he shunned pelf, repute, gain and adoration and was ever a devout devotee of a Srivaishnava, not slighting anyone. His son SrI Kumara Varadachrya observes: yak khyAthi laabhapUjAsu vimukO vaishnavO janE krayaNIyadasaam praaptah: His appeal to the Lord of Srirangam, that he should be allowed to live amidst those who are mutually well-disposed. paraspara hithashiNAm parisarEshu mAm varthaya:. An indefatigable crusader for Vaishnavism like the AchArya Swamy Desikan is quite needed in the present day. Let us pray to the Lord for fulfilment of this prayer of ours. Kavithaarkika simhaaya Kalyana Gunasaalineh | srimateh Venkatesaaya Vedantha guraveh Nama || Salutations to Sri Venkatesa, in whom all perfections reside, who is the teacher of Vedanta and the lion among poets and debaters! Acharya saarvabhouman Swami Desikan ThiruvaDigaLE SaraNam Regards Namo Narayana dAsan __________________________________ Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005 http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------ Yahoo! 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