Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
The Life After
The Scripture exhorts us to get out of Samsara by adopting a suitable
strategy therefor. This is because this world of ours is both impermanent and
sorrow-filled-"anityam asukham lOkam". Things regarded by us as pleasures prove
to be both short-lived and puerile-"alpam, astthiram". The Lord Himself tells
us the way out too-"anityam asukham lOkam imam prApya bhajasva mAm". Having
suffered enough from the unrelenting shackles of Karma, the only way we can
obtain relief is to surrender to Him, either directly through Prapatti or
indirectly through Bhakti. Since the latter strategy is beyond the
contemplation of frail mortals like us due to its long-drawn-out and continuous
nature, involving strict adherence to numerous tenets requiring super-human
discipline, we have to plump for Prapatthi through our Acharya. This done, we
live the rest of our lives on this earth in sweet relief-"nirbharO
nirbhayOsmi", looking forward to the day when this life would end, the day the
Lord would take us away to His abode. Why does Death scare us? Because of the
inherent fear of the Unknown.
Once we are assured that what awaits us at the end of this mundane life is
nothing but Bliss, we cease to be concerned about the end, and in fact look
forward to it, as we do to the arrival of a beloved guest-"priya athitim iva".
When we go to a new place, we are always apprehensive of the sort of
welcome we would receive. Azhwars seek to allay such apprehensions by providing
graphic descriptions of what awaits us at the doors of Paramapadam and en
route, once we rid ourselves of our mortal coils and soar into the skies in our
quest for the liberated life, in the gentle clutches of the Lord, who serves as
MArgabandhu or VazhitthuNai, not only during our sojourn on this earth, but
also when we leave for our permanent abode.
Sri Nammazhwar devotes an entire decad to the description of the Reception
Party for the Liberated Soul, in the ten pAsurams beginning with "Soozh visumbu
aNi mugil". The Kousheetaki Upanishad, Sri Bhashyakara's Vaikuntta Gadyam and
Swami Desikan's "Gati VishEsha adhikAram" provide us graphic accounts of what
happens when a PrapannA leaves his mortal coils.
Once the time comes for the spirit to leave the body, the Lord arranges for
some plausible cause like a heart attack. All the ten external senses like
speech, sight, smell etc. are merged with the mind, the mind in turn with the
life spirit ("PrANa vAyu"). This composite of twelve items is then merged with
the JeevAtmA, accompanied by the subtle aspects of the five elements comprising
the mortal remains. The Lord, as the antaryAmi or Inner-dweller, keeps the
JeevAtmA beside Himself, affording it much-needed rest and recuperation from
the immeasurably long travails of Samsara. After this, the Soul leaves the
body, destined for its final journey, soaring up into the skies towards
liberation and endless bliss.
During the commencement of the journey, the Lord ensures that the Jeeva leaves
the body through the right exit ("Brahma nAdi"), as it would otherwise be led
astray again to places of impermanence like heaven or hell.
There are two routes leading from earth, the Divine Road ("DEva YAnam") and
that of Ancestors ("Pitru YAnam"). The Lord takes the Jeeva through the DEva
YAnam, which passes through the Solar orb ("tErAr nirai kadirOn mandalattai
keeNdu pukku") and through the "archirAdi mArgam", the path to Paradise, with
the deities controlling the Day, Shukla Paksham, UttarAyaNam, Year, the Wind,
Moon and Lightning. The Soul is helped on its way by Varuna, Indra and
PrajApati.
The liberation of a soul is a matter for such great rejoicing for the Lord and
His acolytes at SriVaikuntam, that they arrange for a scintillating welcome,
using both natural and manual phenomena. The thunderous rain clouds provide a
tumultuous band,("aNi mugil tooriyam muzhakkina"), while the waves of the deep
ocean raise their foamy hands in hearty welcome-"Azh kadal alai tirai kai
edutthu Adina". We are told in Srimad BhAgavatam that the birth of Sri Krishna
was greeted by deep rumbling in the skies, indicative of the glee at the Divine
arrival-"mandam mandam jaladharA: jagarju: anu sAgaram". It is a measure of
greatness of the liberated soul that it is afforded an equally joyous reception.
We have seen VIPs being accorded a traditional welcome with an
ornamental pot of water-a "poorNa kumbham". Unsatisfied with a mere vociferous
welcome, the beautiful clouds shape themselves into enchanting pots, to be
offered to the guest of honour--the liberated soul. The Sun, shining
through these clouds, bestows them with a golden hue, making it appear as
though the Atma is being offered a golden pot of water in welcome, adhering to
the Shruti vAkya-"HiraNya pAtram madhO: poorNam dadhAti". Unwilling to be left
behind in the reception party, the water-filled ocean adds its stentorian voice
to the chorus of welcome-"neer aNi kadalgaL nindru Artthana". The entire path
of the soul's progress to Paramapadam is adorned with giant festoons, adding to
the general atmosphere of festivity and celebration.
As the liberated Atma passes, those above rain soft petals of
fragrant
flowers and burn perfumed incense ("dhoopa nal malar mazhai pozhivanar"), while
Devarishis assemble on either side in good numbers, welcoming the soul to their
respective places, happy to see another devotee of the Lord being accorded his
due.
All along the route to Sri Vaikuntam, dEvatAs put up specially
decorated
stalls for the blessed soul to relax for a second, while the clamorous beat of
a
rolling drum heralds its arrival to all those en route. The Sun and his
associates hold out their innumerable ray-like arms in welcome and also point
out the way to Paramapadam ("Kadiravar avar avar kai nirai kAttinar"). When
there is a drumbeat, can song and dance be far behind? KinnarAs and GarudAs,
specializing in the performing arts, provide a touch of melody and music to the
proceedings ("GeetangaL pAdinar Kinnarar GarudargaL"), while the divine music
of VEda ghOsham reverberates in the background ("VEda nal vAyavar vELviyuL
maduttE").
Throughout the path of the Pilgrim's Progress, divine damsels burn incense, to
make it fragrant. They watch the fortunate soul's ascension with sword-like
eyes widened in wonder. Stentorian conches are blown to announce the arrival of
the liberated Atma. The Maruth dEvatAs and the Eight "Vasu"s, who hold such
sway over a human being belonging to the mundane world, respectfully follow the
liberated soul, singing his praise ("Marutarum VasukkaLum todarndu engum
tOttiram sollinar").
When the Jeeva nears journey's end, the Lord rids the Soul of the subtle body
and enables it to cross the river VirajA. Now, the Soul is endowed with a
celestial and non-material body, quite different from its erstwhile mundane
coils.
After crossing the pond Irammadeeyam and passing the great Peepal tree known
as Somasavanam, the soul is almost at the gates of Paramapadam. Just as a VIP
is received a little distance ahead and brought with honour to the intended
destination, Nitya Suris, the permanent residents of Sri Vaikuntam, accord a
warm welcome to the Atma just outside Paramapadam. Clad in all their finery,
their heads adorned with long and beautiful headgear ("Mudi udai vAnavar"),
these Nitya Suris lead the liberated soul to the much-decorated ramparts of Sri
Vaikuntam ("Kodi aNi nedu madiL gOpuram kuruginar").
Immediately upon entry into Paramapadam, Nitya Suris in charge of the gates
welcome the soul and are so happy at the addition to their number that they are
prepared to surrender their particular kainkaryam in favour of the new entrant.
Since the liberated soul is close to Sriman Narayana, Nitya Suris consider the
newcomer to be their master and treat former with all due deference. They are
struck by wonder at the good fortune of the Atma, to have risen from the lowly
mundane worlds of distress, disease and debilitation, to the eternal and
glorious worlds above, beyond death and darkness ("Vaikundam puguvadu maNNavar
vidhiyE!").
The Liberated Soul is still apprehensive-- he is after all a new entrant into
the elite club of Sri Vaikunttam, consisting of exalted members like Adisesha,
Garuda, VishvaksEna, et al. Even if Emperuman were to be happy at the soul
reaching His abode, how would His intimate acolytes, entrenched for eternity in
His service, treat the newcomer? Would they look down upon him, treat him
patronisingly as a junior and a late entrant and allot for him only the
left-overs in kainkaryam?
Dispelling such doubts, Azhwar assures us that the Liberated Soul, as soon as
he enters Paramapadam, is received with honour by no less than the principal
officers of the Lord, viz., SEsha, VainatEya and VishvaksEna, each vying with
others to welcome the soul to their respective palaces. The soul is seated on
an exalted throne, with even Nitya Suris performing the tasks of washing his
feet to relieve the strain of the journey from Samsara to Sri Vaikunttam.
After the initial reception at the innumerable palaces of nitya suris, the Lord
sends His female acolytes to bring the liberated soul to His abode. These
divine damsels bear, as a measure of welcome, lighted lamps casting bright
light, ornamental pots filled with water ("PoorNa Kumbham") and TirumaN and
SreechoorNam for the newcomer. Above all, they bear in their hands the holy Sri
SathAri, the coveted holy foot-rest of the Lord, a treasure every Sri Vaishnava
craves for, and adorn the liberated soul's head with the same. This is similar
to the current practice of receiving Acharyas a little distance ahead of the
sannidhi, by an advance party of arcchakAs bearing the Sri SathAri. Azhwar
tells us that the faces of these damsels glow like the full moon, exulting at
the prospect of another kindred soul joining the Lord's kainkaryam ("nidhiyum
narchuNNamum nirai kuda viLakkamum madi mukha madandayar Endinar vandE").
To cap it all, as soon as the liberated soul nears the Lord's Court, Emperuman
Himself, along with His Consorts, meets the Jeeva and escorts Him to the
gem-studded DurbAr ("vandu avar edir koLLa"), embracing the newcomer warmly to
remove any vestiges of distress resulting from aeons of SamsAric suffering.
Immediately, SridEvi allots to the new entrant the particular kainkaryam which
is dear to his heart, so that he doesn't lose even a moment of the coveted
service, for which everyone longs. Though Azhwar doesn't mention this, Sri
Ramanuja makes it clear in his Vaikunnta Gadyam that it is the Divine Consort
who is in charge of allotting to the muktAtmA the particular service desired by
the latter, as also by Emperuman-"tat tat paricharyAyAm AgyApayantI".
Accorded his due place of honour in Paramapadam, the Liberated Soul starts
performing blissful service, affording himself and Sria: Pati eternal and
immeasurable delight, in the company of kindred souls similarly immersed in
Bhagavat Kainkaryam.
Does a contemplation of the aforesaid contribute in any way to us while we are
in this world? Can we not enjoy our lives here peacefully, without a thought of
what awaits us later? Anyway, we are destined to reach the Lord after our
earthly sojourn, having performed Prapatti. Should we at all think of it now
itself?
Swami Desikan says that, just as the mere contemplation of an impending
marriage is extremely pleasurable to the young bachelor, so too, it is
decidedly delightful for the Prapanna to think of the great bliss that lies
ahead. It makes the rest of the mundane sojourn pass in a jiffy, with the
sorrows and shortcomings of this life mattering not at all, in view of the
incomparable treasure that awaits him at Journey's End. More than anything, it
cures him entirely of the fear of death (which afflicts all ordinary mortals),
making his life here peaceful and free of tension.
Srimate Sri LakshmINrisimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana
Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
dasan, sadagopan
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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