Paasurams 123-125

We will now enjoy  three more   Paasurams of Amrutha SvAdhini Prabhandham  . These Desika Prabhandha Paasurams ( 123-125 ) deal with the 25th among the 32 ChillaRai Rahasyams(Viz)., UpakAra Sangraham .

VidvAn Dr. Ananatha NarasimhachAr Swamy of SrIrangam has brilliantly summarized this  SrI Sookthi (UpakAra Sangraam) of Swamy  Desikan in SaraNAgathy journal in  5 separate postings:

http://www.srivaishnava.org/sgati

Volume 2.3 ( 22 Jan 1999) to Volume 3.01 ( 12 April ,2000).

Bhagavan's 40 upakArams to the JeevAthmA are covered in SrI U.Ve. Anantha NarasimAchAr Swamy 's essay .
Please refer to them .

123) EmperumAn's MahOpakArams
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As the children and adiyArs of EmperumAn , all of us have the right to enjoy Moksha Sukham . Our Lord blesses
all of His children with Svaroopam and Dharma BhUtha Jn~Anam and protects us this way always . Further , He directs us towards His SadAchAryans so that we do not drown in the ocean of SamsAram due to previous karma vaasanais ; further , He helps us to perform Prapatthi to Him through the SadAchAryAs after understanding rahasyArTams from them . After that , He waits impatiently for us , the PrapannAs to join Him at SrI Vaikuntam at the end of our life on earth and to perform nithya kaimakryam for Him there. We prostrate before this Lord ,
who renders such great upakArams for us and stands as the protective Father . We are blessed to know about the power of the holy feet ( Thiruvadi ) of our Lord through the SrI Sookthis of Swamy NammAzhwAr , who is our caring Mother.

The key passage is : " Desikar tamm munnE sErtthu  , Manthiramum Manthiratthin vazhiyum kAtti , vazhippadutthi , vAnn yERRi , adimai koLLa , Tanthai yena ninRa tanit-ThirumAl  tALil SatakOpan aruLinAl  talai  vaitthOm "

Prior to uniting us with His DesikAs (AchAryAs) , our Lord renders important UpakAram to us , who are entitled to enjoy the ParamAnandham of Moksha Sukham (anthamilA pErinbham aruntha yERkkum adiyOmai) as His children . He protects us next with the anugraham of  Dharma bhUtha Jn~Anam ( yenRum aRivudanE kAtthu). After that , He makes sure that we do not get affected by our previous karmAs and their influences  ( Yemmai munthai nirai vinai vazhiyil ozhuhAthu Kaatthu). After taking care of all these upakArams , He unites us with His AchAryAs to let them take over from there .

AchAryAs  perform three more upakArams for us at the behest of their Lord : (1) upadEsam on the AshtAksharam and the other two manthrams (2) Instruction on their meanings focused on Prapatthi mArgam and (3) performance by us of that Prapatthi upAyam at  the sacred feet of the Lord for ascending to SrI Vaikuntam ,where He stands as our Father to recieve our nithya kaimkaryams ( Vaan yERRi adimai koLLa , Tanthai yena ninRa Tanit-ThirumAl tALil talai vaitthOm ). All of this happened due to the grace of the first AchAryA of  the Lord on this earth , Swamy  NammAzhwAr ( ThirumAl tALil SatakOpam aruLinAl talai vaitthOm ).

124) Comprehending the Svaroopam of the Jeevan
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If JeevAthmA were to know about some thing other than itself , it can only know about it only through its
GuNam of DHARMA BhUtha Jn~Anam.The Jeevan is described as DHARMI  BhUtha Jn~Anam since Jeevan  is also Jn~Ana Svaroopan . When JeevAthmA wishes to learn about  itself , he does not need the help of DHARMA
BhUtha  Jn~Anam . Jeevan  is appearing as a well defined entity.This nature of existence is known as Svayam
PrakAsathvam. Jeevan gains for itself the phalan  from its appearance .This attribute is known as PraTyakthvam.
Just as the Sun's lustre does not ever part from Him , the DHARMA BhUtha Jn~Ana guNam  of the Jeevan
does not ever disassociate  from the Jeevan .Therefore , the Jeevan can recognize itslf without the help of
the DHAMA BhUtha Jn~Anam. Our doctrines state that DHARMA BhUtha Jn~Anam is essential to understand
the atomic size and the eternal nature of the Jeevan. Since DHARMA BhUtha Jn~Anam does not have  its own chith ( aRivu), it is classified as achEthanam (insentient category) . Only when DHARMA BhUtha Jn~Anam is applied towards the Lord , Jeevan can be uplifted (Ujjeevanam) . For that to happen , one needs Saasthra Jn~Anam. When one gains Saasthra Jn~Anam , Jeevan develops the visEsha Jn~Anam that (1) it is different
from the achEthanams  and that (2) it (Jeevan) is the eternal servant of the Lord. This Saasthra Jn~Anam is blessed by the Lord Himself through His SaasthrAs .

This is a difficult paasuram to understand on first reading. Swamy  Desikan describes the relation between
Jevan and Dharma BhUtha Jn~Anam as being similar to that between the radiant Sun and its lustre . Dharma BhUtha Jn~Anam is a guNam of   Jeevan and it is directed towards the Lord to recognize that Jeevan is totally different from the achEthana dravyams.The application of the Dharma BhUtha Jn~Ana GuNam towards the Lord also lets the Jeevan gain the visEsha Jn~Anam of its eternal dependence on the Lord as the Iswaran (Its unconditional Master) .

125) The Limitlessness of the UpakAram of The Lord
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Lord VaradarAjan intends to protect us from our sinful deeds that land us residence in many kinds of wombs ; when our good fortune (Bhagyam) is ripe , He blesses us to approach  the sacred feet of  a SadAchAryan. Afterwards, He moves us towards the performance of SaraNAgathy as an upAyam and at the end of earthly life leads us
to His Supreme abode with the help of AdhivAhikAs populating the ArchirAdhi mArgam ( the path of Light ). At His Supreme abode, He blesses us to enjoy  ParipoorNa  BrahmAnandham and perform Nithya Kaimkaryam to Him . Who can really measure these limitless help of our Lord to us ? It is impossible for anyone to succeed
in such an effort .

The key passage of this Paasuram is: " AzhiyAtha AruL Aazhip-PerumAn seyyum antham ilA udhavi yellAm aLappAr Yaar ? ". ( Who indeed can venture to count  the limitless upakAram rendered to us by the Eternal and
the Most Merciful Lord ? Indeed any one's attempt to engage in this effort would be futile).

The details on the ArchirAdhi Maargam and AadhivAhikAs are covered in the 67th Desika Prabhandha Paasuram.

Paasurams 126-129

We will now enjoy  Four more   Paasurams of Amrutha SvAdhini Prabhandham  . These Desika Prabhandha Paasurams ( 126-129 ) deal with the two ChillaRai Rahasyams of Saara Sangraham (Paasuram 126) and VirOdha ParihAram ( Paasurams 127-129).

Saara Sangraham
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This Rahasyam instructs us on the essential topics that a Mumukshu ( One desiring Moksham ) should be clear about . Some of these are:

(1) The need for ParamiakAnthis to reject those who seek lesser gods for insignificant phalans (2) Three Tatthvams (3) Three Rahasyams (4) the guNams of Prakruthi (5) The anantha kalyANa guNams  of BhagavAn (6) The relationship between Jeevan and BhagavAn (7) The UpAyams of Bhakthi and Prapatthi for Moksham
(8) Ultimate goal of Life/ PurushArTam  (9) The Duties of AchAryan , Iswaran and Sishyan (10) The fruits of the conviction that the Jeevan is the sEshan (Servant /liege) for the Sarva sEshi (Master of All).

Swamy Desikan distills the essence of Saara Sangraham in one powerful Paasuram dealing with SaraNAgathy Tatthvam . This Paasuram is recited by SrI VaishNavAs  daily since it is a fantastic summary of SaraNAgathy with its five angams.The 341st Desika Prabhandham describes the details about the five angams of
SaraNAgathy.

Line by Line Meaning of 126th Paasuram
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(1) The first line of the Paasuram consisting of eight lines deals with the angam of KaarPaNyam:

" ninnaruLAm gathi anRi maRRu onRu illEn "

Oh Lord ! I do not have any recourse (gathi) other than Your aruL (Krupai) .

(2) The second line deals with PrAthikoolya Varjanam ( the vow to discard acts that go against the Saasthrams of BhagavAn ):

" nedum kAlam pizhai seytha nilai kazhinthEn "

I have now arrived at the stage of freedom from the trespasses made by me over aeons.

(3)The third line deals with Aanukoolya Sankalpam ( Vow to engage only in those activiites that please the Lord).

" UnnaruLukku inithAna nilai uhanthEn "

I have sought the path of Prapatthi that will lead to gaining Your Krupai.

(4) The Fourth line relates to MahA ViswAsam ( the Great Faith in the Lord as the unfailing Protector).

" Unn SaraNE SaraNN yennum thuNivu pooNDEn "

I developed total faith in Your sacred feet as my only protection.

(5 & 6) The 5th and the 6th lines cover gOpthruva VaraNam , the 4th angam of SaraNAgathy .

" ManniruLAi  ninRa nilai yenakkut-teertthu
  Vaanavar tamm vAzcchi tara varithEn Unnai "

I have chosen You as my Protector to banish this current state of my firm ajn~Anam and grant me the glorious life led by Nithya Sooris at Your Supreme Abode.

(7&8) The 7th and 8th lines of this Paasuram deal with the Aathma SamarpaNam.

" inn aruLAl ini yenakku ohr bharam yERRAmal
  yenn ThirumAl adaikkalam koLL yennai NeeyE "

Oh My  Master , SrIman NaarAyaNaa! Through Your abundant and sweet Krupai, please accept me as an object
to be protected by You and free me from any foolish thought of protecting myself .

127) Gaining tranquility of Mind through Bhagavath Kaimkaryam
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Paasurams 127-129 summarize selected doctrines covered in the 27th chillaRai Rahasyam of  VirOdha ParihAram dealing with the doubts that arise in the understanding of the three rahasyams by the Mumukshus. The Rahasyam is set in the form of Questions and answers to 108 doubts that cross the mind of the Mumukshus.

VirOdha ParihAram is organized  along four topics : Moola ManthrAdhikAram , DhvayAdhikAram , Charama SlOkAdhikAram and NigamanAdhikAram. Swamy  Desikan answers 80 possible doubts of a Mumukshu about
Moola Manthram ; 10 doubts on Dhvyam , 10 sandEhams about Charama slOkam and 8 doubts about general matters are answered by Swamy  Desikan  in VirOdha ParihAram.

( Meaning of the 127th Paasuram ) :The entire Vedam salute the glories of the sacred feet of the Lord . That Lord as PaarTasArathy used His Sudarsana chakram to bring in night during day time at Kuru KshEthram in the middle  of BhAratha Yuddham . Periya Thiruvadi ( Garudan) and ThiruvananthAzhwAn (AadhisEshan), who are natural enemies , perform Kaimkaryam to His sacred feet  with great devotion .This is VirOdha ParihAram in acrtion. Our Lord has given us the firmness of purpose to perform Kaimkaryam to His holy feet and has blessed us with His sacred feet worshipped by the Nithya sooris.

128) The Vaibhavam of AchArya RaamAnuja: Conversation between Two
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The converstion between two BhakthAs devoted to AchArya RaamAnujA sitting on the banks of a pond is the Question and answer format for this Paasuram .

( One ) : The Swan in this pond is sitting on the lotus flower but it does not taste the honey inside that flower .It does not imitate the gait of beautiful women ,which it likes to do . It appears weak and famished . My friend ! What could be the reason ?

(Other) : I know the answer. It is grief stricken over losing its pride.

(One): What could that be ? What did it lose ? Please explain.

(Other): Swans have the capacity to separate water from Milk. This Swan has lost that power , which makes it proud and hence it is sorrowful .

( One): That power was bequeathed to the Swans by Brahma Devan .Why would this Swan lose it ?

(Other) : I will tell you why. Many  deluded ones thinking that they were experts in SaasthrAs came to debate RaamAnujA. Our AchAryan defeated them all in fair debates and roared that he will meet with any kudrushti , who wants to debate with him on the impeccable doctrines of VisishtAdvaitham. As a result of his many victories ,
AchArya RaamAnujA's fame spread like the white hue of  conch. That fame with white color spread all over the world and made all matters that it came in to contact with a white hue . Thus all the waters of the world became white. As a result , there was no need anymore for the skills of the Swan to separate the water from the milk .
This unique skill made the Swan until then proud became irrelevant . Now , the  Swan is sad over loss of this fame. Blemishless indeed is the glory of RaamAnujA ! Hail to Him !

129) Inability to recieve the essential meanings from other Gods
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Saasthrams state that a SaamAnya adhikAri can obtain Jn~Anam from Lord Siva by pleasing Him with worship. Even if such an adhikAri gets abundant Jn~Anam form Lord SivA , they would still not have gained the quintessential meanings ( SaarArTams) of the Rahasyams. These SaarArTams can be acquired only through the UpadEsam route from SadAchAryAs , who have the BhAgyam of the auspicious glances of Lord KrishNa on them . We have learnt these SaarArTams from such blessed AchAryAs.

Paasurams 130-132

We will now enjoy  Three more   Paasurams of Amrutha SvAdhini Prabhandham  . These Desika Prabhandha Paasurams ( 130-132 ) deal with the Chillari Rahasyam known as Muni Vaahana BhOgam saluting the Vaibhavam of ThiruppANa AazhwAr , who blessed us with His SrI Sookthi of AmalanAdhipirAn . With the 132nd Paasuram ,
the Desika Prabahndham of  Amrutha SvAdhini is concluded .

130) State of never being separated from our Lord
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It can be said that the Tamil Prabhandham of AmalanAdhipirAn blessed to us by ThiruppANAzhwAr houses the essence of Tamil Vedam (Dhivya Prabahndham ) inside it . Through this celebrated SrI Sookthi, we have comprehended the Lord as the protector of ALL (Sarva Rakshakan ) , indweller in ALL (SarvAntharyAmi ) and
the Cause for ALL ( Sarva KaaraNan) . We have now reached the status of the Gopis , who had limitless love for the Lord and are staying like the legendary Female AnRil bird , which never leaves the side of its male mate . We find ourselves in a state, where we do not need help form any one or any thing else except  the Lord.

Swamy  Desikan salutes the ten verses (Paadal Patthu) of ThiruppANar ( PaaNN PerumAL) as the essence of Tamizh Vedam ( Tamizh maRayin payanE koNDa). We understood from reflections on  these ten Paasurams
of PaaNN PerumAL that the Lord is our protector (Kaavalan ) , Naayakan ( KaNavan and antharyAmi Brahmam ) and Cause for all ( KaaraNan ). After gaining this understanding ( ithu nAmm karutthu uRak-kaNDa pinn), we united with the Lord as the female AnRil bird with its male companion ( sEvaludan piriyAtha pedai pOl sErnthOm). As a direct result , we got rid of the prior status of helplessness  characterestric of those with bad karmAs ( thee vinayOr tanimai yellAm nAmm theernthOm ).

131) Reaching the level of VivEkam /Nishtai described by AmalanAdhipirAn
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SrIranaga VimAnam has the shape of PraNavam recited first at the commencement of VedAdhyayanam (PraNavAkAra VimAnam ). Inside that VimAnam is seen the dhivya mangaLa vigraham of the ocean of Mercy  delighting the eyes of the devotees . We have secured those e ten pasurams sung about Lord RanganAtha sung by
ThiruppANAzhwAr in a state of bliss as our recourse (gathi) for sustenance and support . We desired this Prabhandham as the one , which will confer on us the tranquility of mind and firmness of purpose for seeking Moksha gathi . These prabhandha pAsurams do not contain any yukthi vAdhams for critiquing the deficinet darsanams but are intended for those knowledgable about the svaroopams of the three Tatthvams . We strived to attain the nishtai celebrated in this Prabhandham .We state in this ChillaRai Rahasyam of Muni Vaahana BhOgam that  the AmalanAdhipirAn Prabhandham is the seed for all the Phalans described by the VedAnthis.

132) Seeking a SadAchAryan for gaining VisEsha Jn~Anam
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ThiruppANAzhwAr never saw any thing with his eyes or spoke any thing with his tongue EXCEPT Lord RanganAtha . We celebrate the ten paasurams arising from ThiruppANar as the expressions of the boundless love he had for Lord RanganAtha as the essence of the timeless Vedaas . We stand with the title given to us as "VedAnthAchAryan " by the Lord Himself at this Karma BhUmi surrounded by the oceans , where we assemble to experience the phalans of our karmAs. Even if we have been the object of such a high praise and recognition by Lord RanganAtha , we have no ego and consider all these anugrahams as the direct result of the benovolent glances cast on us by our AchAryAs ; we will always stay in a state of seeking SadAchAryAs for upadEsams to develop more visEsha Jn~Anam .

" KaaNbanavum Uraippanavum maRRu onRu inRi KaNNanayE kaNDu uraitthavar  PaaNN PerumAL " ( For ThiruppANar , what all he saw , experienced and spoke about was nothing but KaNNan ).

If we have to qualify ThiruppANAzhwAr , it will be by the title , KaNNanidam " kadiya Kaathal (koNDa) PaaNN PerumAL " ( the One who had intense prEmai for KaNNan ).

The Paasurams blessed by him are the quintessence of the ancient VedAs (  PaaNN PerumAL aruL seytha pAdal patthum Pazha maRayin poruL ).

In this world surrounded by the wide oceans and desired by all ( vENN periya viri thirai neer VyatthuLLE ) , we have been blessed to adorn the title of VedAnthAchAryan by the Lord of SrIrangam Himself ( VyatthuLLE VedAntha Aariyan yenRu iyamba ninROm ). Because of this, we  are not considering ourselves as great ( ithanAl , Naamm nANN PeriyOm ) and feel egotistic .We continue to seek the SadAchAryAs , who can perform upadEsams for us on the righteous and unrighteous matters and are convinced that they do exist to help us ( nanRum theethum namakku uraippAr  uLar yenRu nAduvOm ) .

Swamy  Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam .