SrimatE Raamaanujaaya Namaha //
SrimatE Nigamaanta Mahaa Desikaaya Namaha //
SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anupadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya/
SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anupadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya//
KAvEri VardhathAm kAlE, kAlE varshathu vAsava: /
SrI RanganAthO jayathu Sri Ranga Sri cha VardhathAm//
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SRI RANGA SRI VOL.07 / ISSUE # 03 dated 29th October 2005
===================================================
EDITORIAL
HAPPY DEEPAVALI!
On behalf of the Members of the Board of Advisry Council (BAC) and the
Internal Resource Panel (IRP) and on my own behalf, I wish you all a very
HAPPY DEEPAVALI. May the ?Festival of Lights light and delight your homes
and your life?. May the dawn of lights bring an era of mutual understanding
and respect and continued ?Kainkarya praapti? for all of us.
Dasoham
Anbil Ramaswamy
President SDDS and Moderator SRS
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IN THIS ISSUE:
1. IMPORTANT DAYS IN AIPPASI (TULA) MONTH
2. AN ADDENDUM TO THE TALK OF SRI ANBIL RAMASWAMY ON THE OCCASION OF
TIRUVENKATAMUDAIYAN AND SWAMI DESIKAN?S TIRUNAKSHATRAM CELEBRATIONS IN
ATLANTA
3. ATHI MANUSHA STHAVAM OF KOORATHAAZHWAAN
Part 14 ? Slokam 35 and 36 (Anbil Ramaswamy)
4. VILAKSHANA MOKSHADHIKARI NIRNAYAM OF SRI ERUMBIAPPA
Part 18 (Anbil Ramaswamy)
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ISSUES RELEASED
So far, 179 Regular issues of SRS have been released apart from Special
Issues:
27 Issues of Vol. 1
15 Issues of Vol. 2
42 Issues of Vol. 3
35 Issues of Vol. 4
28 Issues of Vol. 5
30 Issues of Vol. 6 and
02 Issues of Vol. 7
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1. IMPORTANT DAYS IN AIPPASI (TULA) MONTH
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DATE/ENGLISH)/DAY/NAKSHATRAM/ (THITHI)/ EVENT/ REMARKS
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01/10-11-05/Tuesday/Prathamai/Aswani/Tula Month begins, Tula Snaanam
06/10-23-05/Sunday/Shashtui/Tiruvadirai/Gurukulottamadasar
09/10-26-05/Wednesday/Navami/Aslesha Yatiraja Jeeyar
11/10-28-05/Friday/Ekadasi/Krishna Paksha Sarva Ekadasi
14/10/31-05/Monday/Chaturdasi/Night=Naraka Chaturdasi Snanam
15/11-01-05/Tuesday/Sarva Amavasya/Chitrai/ DEEPAVALI
20/11-06/05/Sunday/Panchami/Moolam/Uttama Nambi, MANAVALA MAA MUNIGAL
21/11-07-05/Monday/Shashti/Pooradam/TirukkurugaipiraanpiLLaan, SEnai
Mudaliar
22/11-08-05/Tuesday/Saptami/utradam/Sravanam/ POIGAI AZHWAR, PILLAI LOkACHAR
23/11-09-05/Wednesday/Ashtami/Avittam/BUDAT AZHWAR
24/11-10-05/Thursday/Navami/Sadayam/PEY AZHWAR
26/11-12-05/Saturday/Sukla Paksha Ekadasi/Utrattadi /Tirutturaippooondi
Andavan, Uthaana Ekadasi
29/11-15-05/Tuesday/PourNami/BharaNi/Pournami, KADAIMUKAM
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2. AN ADDENDUM TO THE TALK OF SRI ANBIL RAMASWAMY ON THE OCCASION OF
TIRUVENKATAMUDAIYAN AND SWAMI DESIKAN?S TIRUNAKSHATRAM CELEBRATIONS IN
ATLANTA
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The following paragraph was left out and may be added at the end of the
day?s talk:
?KALIYUGA:
Lord KrishNa in Dvaapara yuga, had asked us to take refuge in him (MaamEkam
SaraNam vraja). But, we, the dull witted, may not know where to take refuge!
As if to clear our doubt, the Lord took his abode in Kali yuga at
TiruvENkaTam (in which ?Vem? means ?sins? and ?KaTam? means incinerate?
indicating that when resorted to, the mountain itself would dispel our sins
(Sarva paapEbhyO mOkshayishyaami). He shows with his right hand his feet
beckoning us to surrender at his feet. With his left hand, he assures that
?If you do this, the Samsaara Saagaram (Ocean of lifecycle) will be only
knee deep for you. In other words, you can cross this ocean and reach my
abode in Sri VaikunTam?
Thus, we are reassured that the Lord of TiruvEnkaTamuDaiyaan will never
forsake us, once we surrender at his feet.
Reason enough for us to celebrate his Tirunakshatram! Is it not?
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3. ATHI MANUSHA STHAVAM OF KOORATHAAZHWAAN
Part 14 ? Slokam 35 and 36 (Anbil Ramaswamy)
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SlOkam 35:
THE BUTTER THIEF!
Pasyastsu soorishu sadaa padam tE
dEvyaa sriyaa saha vasan parayaa vibhoothyaa /
yOgEna yOganiratai: parimrigyamaaNa:
kim tvam rajEshu navaneetham ahO!vyamushNaa:?//
?Oh! Lord! You know that the dEvas, yOgis and Munis seek you through
meditation all the time and the Nityasooris are incessantly staring at you
without even batting their eyelids for a split second. This being so, I
wonder, how did you take bold to steal butter in the homes of AyarpaaDi??
COMMENTS:
Here Azhwaan alludes to the Veda Vaakhyam
?Tad VIshNO: paramam padam sadaa pasyanti Sooraya:?
Azhwaan seems to imply that in the world, a thief would ply his trade only
in the absence of people who might catch him red-handed. When great Mahaans
were always after the Lord, how could he ever entertain even the thought of
stealing? Especially, how could he hope to escape the watchful eyes of the
eternally vigilant Nityasooris in Paramapadam?
Paryaa vibhootyaa:
Azhwaan seems to ask: ?Also, only those in want might sometimes get such
ideas as stealing. But, you are the Lord of all the worlds. How come, you
thought fit to indulge in such a mean act??
dEvyaa Sriyaa: saha vasan:
?In the world, when the wife comes to know that her husband is a thief she
would feel very bad about it. Much worse, it would be a matter of utter
shame for the husband. This being so, ?Sri?, your wife is always with you
and in your company (akalgillEn iraiyum enru alarmElmangai urai maarbaa).
Are you not ashamed to go about stealing in the very presence of your own
wife??
nava neetam:
The word ?nava? means both ?fresh? and ?nine?. The butter churned out in
Gokulam was always fresh. But, how ?nine? fits in? It is said that from the
time milk is milked from the udder of the cow to the point when butter is
churned out, the process undergoes nine different stages. In the Rahasya
grantas, ?Tattva navaneetam? and ?Rahasya navaneetam?, Swami Desika
identifies these nine stages.
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SLOKAM 36:
Yam durgraham sumanasO manasaapi nityam
Bandaschidam paramam eesamudaaharanti /
Daamnaa nibaddha iti susruma tam bhavantam
naaLam babhoovidha! Batha! slatanaaya tasya //
?You are known to the wise and the divine celestials as ?THE Supreme being,
as THE one who is always beyond the comprehension of anyone, as THE one who
alone can cut asunder the strong bonds of Karma, as THE one who is always in
the company of ?Sri?, as THE one who is unequalled unique leader ? It is
said that such a you appeared weak enough to be bound by a rope to a mortar
and that you were not strong enough to free yourself from this bondage! How
incredibly strange is your drama in this??
COMMENTS:
Nityam durgraham:
In Bhagavad Gita 7.25, the lord describes himself as ?naaham prakaasa:
sarvEshaamyOgamaayaa samaavrata:? and in 7.26 as ?maam tu vEda na kaschana?
meaning that he cannot be recognized by those who are shrouded in his
yOgamaaya and none can know him fully.
Badha chittam:
The Maharshi vaakhyam that none can free oneself from the bondage by one?s
own efforts has been reflected by Swami Desika in Sarvaartha Siddhi.? kaTTil
irundu viDupaDa virumbubavan DamOdaranai dhyaanikkak kaDavan?- The one who
desires to cut off the shackles of Samsaaram should meditate on DaamOdara.
Daama means Rope and Udra means belly. Hence DaamOdara meaning ?one whose
belly was bound by a rope?
Paramam:
Parakaalan in his 10.6.6 refers to how the Lord?s Paratvam and Sulabhyam
play all at the same time and says: ?Look at the Lord who can free others
from bondage is bound as punishment for having stolen butter?
?kaaNmin! Inru aaychiyaraal aLai veNNai uNDu aappunDu irundavanE?
Swami Nammaazhwaar?s famous quote ?mathuru kaDai veNnai kalavinil uraliDai
yaappuNdu ethiram uralinOdu iNaindu irundu yEngiya yeLivE? should be
remembered in this context. It may also be remembered that even at birth, it
was the same Krishna who broke off the shackles from the feet of his father
VasudEva. Now, he acts as if he cannot break off the rope shackle that his
YasOda had wound around his belly warning him
?Oh! Brat! Go, if you CAN get off the rope?
?Yadi saknOshi gachcha tvam athi chanchala chEshTita?
Azhwaan wonders at the good fortune of the mortar getting KrishNa tied to
it.
In Yaadhavaabhyudaya, Swami Desikan says:
?nikhila bandha nivartaka sannidhou vigaLanam nigaLasya kin adbutam? /
abaalisO baalisavat prajaanaam prakhyaapayan svaatmani paaratantryam/?
Meaning:
?You are the one who relieves the bondage of everyone. How strange that
though the most powerful, you appeared as if you were so powerless even to
get out of the feeble and brittle rope that your mother tied you with and
you had to depend on her (paaratantryam) for this?
And,
?nyadarsayat visvapati: prajaanaam bandhE cah mOkshE cha nijam prabhutvam //
Meaning:
?You are the ultimate authority whether it is for binding or for unbinding
(bandE cha mOkshE cha nijam prabhutvam)?
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4. VILAKSHANA MOKSHADHIKARI NIRNAYAM OF SRI ERUMBIAPPA
Part 18 (Anbil Ramaswamy)
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STORY OF AJAMEELAN:
You know the story of AjaameeLan. He was steeped in vice. During his
lifetime, there was not a sin that he had not committed whereby he became
eminently eligible for suffering in all the hells known in the scriptures.
At the time of his death, he beckoned to his bedside his dear son calling
him by the ?given name, which happened to be ?NaaraayaNa?. The Lord made
that a case of ?ajnaata sukritam?, a pretext to bestow his grace on
AjaameeLan.
Citing this, some argue that this shows how the Lord grants mOksha on the
basis of a mere unintended good deed and therefore there is no harm in our
being vile. All that is required to secure mOksham is to remember to do some
small good like AjaameeLa.
ANSWER:
The mistake that people do is that they tear the incident out of context in
support of their conclusions. If we read the story fully, we learn that the
messengers of Narayana forbade the messengers of the Lord of death from
taking AjaameeLa to the hells. AjaameeLa was pleasantly surprised at this
turn of events, developed an intense Bhakti towards the Lord. It was so
intense and instantaneous that the Lord excused his sins and granted him
mOksham (SarvapaapEbhyO mOkshayishyaami).
The story highlights the quality of mercy of the Lord. No doubt, it is said
he is compassionate even to his enemies (ripooNaam api vatsala:) This does
not mean that the jeeva is entitled to ?nirhEtuka kripa? (Causeless mercy)
despite all the time indulging in precisely those evil ways that lead to
Bhagavad nigraham (displeasure of the Lord). The Jeeva has to behave
consciously in accordance with its true innate nature of ?Seshatva? to be
worthy of such grace.
Just because Kaakaasura who offended PiraaTTi was spared does not confer a
right or license for us to commit apachaarams like Kaakaasura.
If one acts in tune with ?Atamswaroopam?, it will evoke the sympathy of the
Lord. Even granting that the Lord showers his grace out of ?nirankusa
swaatantryam? (unbridled independence), we cannot expect to make a general
rule and claim similar protection but we should by our devotion and conduct
prove worthy of his grace.
ANOTHER QUESTION:
It is said that mobile and immobile (charaachara) in kOsala and gOkula
reached the Heavens; that even a mud pot (DadhipaaNda) attained mOksha. Did
they undergo any Pancha Samskaaras? Did they develop any ?Achaarya
abhimaanam?? Why should we be treated differently? Why insist on living with
swaroopam which includes Pancha Samskaaras and Achaarya abhimaanam as
pre-requisites for becoming eligible for mOksha??
ANSWER:
These are instances to highlight the ?Soulabhyam? of the Lord. The point to
be noted is that while the instances cited relate to insentient things and
less sentient beings. We as ?human beings? bestowed with cognitive abilities
to recognize our true swaroopa sEshatvam and therefore capable of greater
sense of discipline and dedication, we should remember that Azhwaars who
were aware of Lord?s ?Soulabhyam?, were more interested in pleasing the Lord
than in ?procuring mOksham? for themselves.
Vide-
?emmaa veeTTut tiramum seppam? TVM 2.9.1
?sirappil veeDU svarga narakam
irappil yeiduga ueydarkka? TVM 2.9.5
by which they held the Lord dear and in turn were held dear by the Lord.
So, if you desire to follow the path laid down by Poorva Achaaryas, do so.
Do not go about trumpeting that you are following them while all the time
twisting their srisooktis to suit your whims and fancies for indulging in
despicable conduct.
BHAYAM AND ABHAYAM
In SrivachanabhooshaNam, it is mentioned that even if one were to be afraid
of the ?SarvEsawara? (almighty) one can be fearless on securing the
blessings of the Achaarya.
Some people attempt to misinterpret this Sri sookti to mean that if one were
to secure the ?Achaarya abhimaanam?, one can act in whatsoever manner
irrespective of whether such conduct is in accordance with or against the
disciplines enjoined in the scriptures.
ANSWER:
The real meaning of ?fearlessness? with reference to ?Achaarya nishTa? has
to e understood in its context. It is intended as a kind of reassurance that
the Achaarya could be trusted to correct the Sishya (tiruthip paNi koLvaan)
to make him an object of Lord?s ?kripa? and not of Lord?s ?leela? and that
the Sishya need not entertain any fear in this regard.
Madurakavi who resorted to the feet of Nammaazhwaar did not go about sowing
wild oats under an excuse that he had secured ?Achaarya Sambandam? and
therefore, was immune from fear and could live a despicable life denounced
by the wise (saanrOr).
ANOTHER QUESTION:
There is nothing wrong even if Madurakavi had adopted such reprehensible
mode of living. Did not Ananthaazhwaar instruct Namjeeyar -
?Bathe when you perspire; Eat when hungry. It is enough if you remember to
take refuge at the feet of BhaTTar?
?vErthapOdu kuLithu pasithapOdu pusithu BhaTTar tiruvaDikalE saraNam enru
iruppadE pOdum?
ANSWER:
We should understand the meaning of this instruction. It only means that one
need not take one?s own efforts to attain ?Bhagavad praapti? and self
protection (SvarakshaNa pravritti) and surrender at the feet of Achaarya
will do the needful. It DOES NOT prohibit Bhagavad, Bhaagavata kainkaryams
or ?Pratikulya nivritti? nor does it sanction ?filling the belly? as the
only objective in life.
Why then did several great souls express fear even after securing ?Achaarya
KaTaaksham??
Once Emperumaanaar was doing ?pravachanam? on VibheeshaNa SaraNaagati.
PiLlai Urangaavilli daasar who was listening expressed his fear considering
his own involvement in Samsaara. Emperumaanaar consoled him saying ?Don?t
fear. If I can get over Samsaaram and obtain mOksham, there is no reason why
you should not??
Why was PiLLai Urangaavilli daasar afraid for himself or was he really
afraid for himself?
In fact, he had no fear whatsoever. When he saw before him the multitude of
Samsaaris all around him, he was moved by empathy and he assumed on himself
(yEriTTUkkoNDu) on their behalf and expressed ?naichya anusantaanam?; not
that he was afraid for himself.
Similarly, AlaVandaar and others also have on occasions given expression to
their sense of fear. It should be remembered that they do so for our sake.
It is therefore, clear that even after securing ?Achaarya KaTaaksham?, so
long as one adheres to the strict code of conduct prescribed in the
Saastras, one need not be afraid of elevation to Paramapadam.
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