Sri Ahobila Mutt, Chembur
Sri Lakshmi Nrisimha [Centre]
Sri Lakshmi Narayana [Right]
Sri Lakshmi Hayagriva [Left]
Sri Maha Lakshmi Thayar
Our Acharya:Sri Lakshmi Nrisimha Divya Paduka Sevaka Srivan Satakopa Sri Narayana Yatheendra Maha Desikan
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Presiding Deities and our Acharya
Sri Ahobila Mutt, Chembur
Sri Lakshmi Nrisimha [Centre]
Sri Lakshmi Narayana [Right]
Sri Lakshmi Hayagriva [Left]
Sri Maha Lakshmi Thayar
Our Acharya:Sri Lakshmi Nrisimha Divya Paduka Sevaka Srivan Satakopa Sri Narayana Yatheendra Maha Desikan
Welcome to Sri Ahobila Mutt
His Holiness, the 44th Azhagiyasingar took personal interest to have Sri Lakshmi Nrisimha, Sri Lakshmi Narayana, Sri Lakshmi Hayagriva temple Complex constructed at Chembur, Mumbai. He raised a substantial amount needed for the construction of Sri Ahobila Mutt, Chembur and gave a fillip to the fast construction of the Temple and the adjoining Marriage Hall complex. His Holiness had his Chaturmasya Vratam in Mumbai in the year 1968 and personally supervised the completion of the Temple and its consecration on August 25, 1968.
Our Temple is located in a central place in Chembur, near 'Diamond Garden' and the street is known as 'Ahobila Mutt Marg'.
The temple has sannadhis for Perumal, Thayar, Sri Garudan, Sri Hanuman. Arond ul prakaram we have sannadhis for Sri Srinivasar, Sri Jwala Nrisimhar, Sri Guruvayurappan and Sri Suriya Narayanan and Gajanan.In Perumal sannidhi ,Moolavars are Sri Lakshmi Nrisimhar(middle), to his left Sri Lakshmi Narayana and to his right Sri Lakshmi Hayagriva.Sri Garudan is at tiruvadi of Sri Lakshmi Nrisimhan. Moolavars wear Gold Kavacham everyday. Muthangi kavacham to moolavars on special occasions.
Apart from Sri Prahladavarada and Ubhaya Nachimars, the other deities in perumal sannidhi are Sri Andal ,Sri Visvakshenar, Sri Jwala Nrisimhar,Sri Sudarshanan, Salagramams, Azwars and Sri Ahobila Matam Acharyans.
Location of the temple is known as " Ramanuja Shetram". Vimanam is called " Vijayadwaja vimanam ".
The temple is open at from 6 AM to 11 AM on week days and upto 12 noon on Fridays to Sundays.Evening timings are 5 PM to 9 PM.
At the time of first Samprokshanam Utsavar was brought by the 44th Srimad Azaghiyasingar( who built Srirangam Gopuram) Sri Vedanta Mahadesikan. The first samprokshanam took place on 25 Aug 1968 in the august presence of Srimad Azaghiyasingar.
Second samprokshnam took place on 11 July 2005 in the presence of 45th Azaghiyasingar Sri Naarayana Yatindra Mahadesikan
A seperate Thayar Mahalakshmi ( Utsavar Sri Chenchulakshmi ) sannidhi was constructed and Samprokshanam took place on 9 Feb 2007 in the presence of 45th Srimad Azaghiyasingar.
Perumal Sannidhi, Thayar Mahalakshmi sannidhi ,and main door /entrance of the temple all have " Gold doors ".
Swathi Homam is held on Swathi Nakshtram in the presence of Sri Jwala Nrisiman. Srisooktha Homam is also held every month ( on Uttiram ) in the presence of Utsavar Thayar Sri Chenchulakshmi.
Dolothsavam to Sri Chenchulakshmi Thayar is held on all Fridays.
" Swarna Pushpa Sahasranama Archanai " to Thayar Moolavar Sri Mahalaksmi is held on all Sundays.
On Ekadesi day, ' Achitparayanam' takes palace by vidwans. Annadanam,known as 'Dwadsai paranai' ( sponsored by devotees ) is held on all Dwadasi thithi.
A seperate hall exists where regular upanyasams by Vidwans are hosted by the temple.A spacious marriage hall is also located in the temple premises.
The temple office can be contacted on 022 2528 7183 / 2528 0249.
e mail id ; ahobilamutt.chembur@gmail.com.
web; ahobilamuttchembur.blogspot.com.
Temple address; Sri Ahobila mutt, Chembur, Mumbai 400 071.
The temple publishes a monthly News Letter for free issue to the devotees wherein programme for the month is included.
Photos of various utsavams of temple are regularly made available at website www.ramaswamy03.shutterfly.com ( maintained by Sri R. Veeraraghavan).
Questions and Answers
These days the youth have many questions about our religion and philosophy. It is incumbent on our part to answer those questions so that our younger generation undersands the value of our traditions and heritage.
Here are a few Frequently asked Questions and Answers thereto. This has been designed as a discussion between a youth and an old man:
Q.1 If the God is Omnipresent, why should we go to Temples?
The old man who was posed this question, responded as under:
We are living in India under the Indian Government. In this vast land of India, our Government is present everywhere, say omnipresent. Wherever we live or wherever we go, we are under watch by the Government and the moment, we commit any offence, the Government takes appropriate action on us.
Despite the fact that the Government is omnipresent, in case we need the help of the Government, it is not sufficient if we appeal to Government on the bank of a river. To make our appeal to the Government, we need to approach the designated office of the Government and make our prayer to be heard.
Similarly, Temples are offices of God which are meant to receive and hear people. The God is ready to receive you and hear your grievances in these temples.
In addition, Temples have been playing a major role in promoting & maintaining humanity, peace, divinity, spirituality, religion, health and harmony among the people. Temples have been the place for Law and Justice. Besides, Temples have been promoting art and architecture over centuries. Beyond all the above, Temples have been places of learning.
Temples have been playing a crucial role in preserving and promoting mental health of people. Any person who is in a depressed state, can easily come out of his negative state if only he visits a temple, for there he receives Hope, Solace and Mental Strength to carry on. No where else one can redeem his mental health than in a temple. Thus if one desires to keep his personal life healthy, he needs to make Temples a part of his daily routine.
The youth then asked his next question,
Q.2 “What does a religion expect from us? Does it want us to abandon this life and become ‘other-worldly’?
The answer is a clear ‘NO’. The very fact that our religion has provided for “Grahastha Ashrama’, is a clear indication that we should have a family and work for the progress and prosperity of the family and to enjoy the legitimate pleasures of life. Religion recognizes the need to earn wealth to quench the legitimate appetites. Religion does permit seeking wealth and happiness, i.e. Artha and Kaama. What the Religion has done is only to add one key word before the words Artha and Kaama, and that key word is “Dharma”.
“Dharmaarthakaama”, i.e. Dharma, Artha and Kaama is the combined password to spirituality. The Religion only says that Dharma should always be associated with any effort towards acquiring wealth and happiness. In other words, Dharma should come first in earning wealth and enjoying life.
One day I spotted one of my friends speaking untruth to a third party to get things done. Later when we were alone, I reminded my friend that he spoke untruth and that was not correct. My friend told me that these days, speaking truth may put us in disadvantage and hence speaking untruth is a necessity.
Then I asked my friend, ‘how would he like if his child were to tell lies to him or his subordinate in office being untruthful to him’ He immediately said that was not acceptable.
We all know that Dharma is nothing but honesty and purity of mind. We all expect others to transact with us honestly. And that is exactly the same thing that Dharma expects from us also. It simply tells us “Do anything you want, but do it with Dharma”.
The Youth then asked his next question
Q.3 “Whether Dharma would keep us happy?”
He was responded to by the old man as under:
“Before telling you whether Dharma would keep us happy, I need first tell you what exactly is Dharma. The most important element of Dharma is Ahimsa. “Ahimsa Paramo Dharmaha” is the famous saying. Many think eating vegetarian food and avoiding violence in life is Ahimsa. Yes, they are. But that is not the end.
Our elders respected trees, rivers, etc. Trees such as Peepal tree were respected and they used to go round them and pray. It may appear to be a superstition. But by this act, they did something which is known in modern days as “Chipko Andolan”. Similarly all tanks and rivers were considered sacred and worshiped. These attitudes helped in preventing misuses of tanks and rivers and saved us from pollution of water and protected our water resources. If only Dharma had been followed we don’t have to spend crores on cleaning Ganga and that money would be available to us for other welfare programmes. Similarly, if Dharma had been associated with chasing wealth, there would be not scams, scandals, black markets and black money.
Thus Dharma has a direct relevance to our lives and only Dharma can keep us happy. All the ills we are facing in Society and the Nation today are directly the result of non-observance of Dharma in people’s lives. Hence the need for all people is to observe Dharma in day to day life so that our lives are problem free and happy.”
The Youth asked his next question.
Q.4: “Sir, please tell me whether it is rational to worship a stone as God?”
The old man replied as under:
“My dear young man, think of the National Flag. The same cloth which we use in our day to day lives for different purposes becomes highly respectable and salutable when it takes the form of a National Flag.
Next, consider Books. There are books of many kinds like novels, stories, etc. While they are not respectable, the books giving us knowledge and wisdom are highly respected.
In the same way, stones also are used for different purposes. But the ones that take such a shape and conform to the forms of God becomes highly respectable.
As for the deities in our temples, they are not mere stones. By invocation of God’s power in them through various Mantras, they become Gods themselves.
Have you known the Homeopathy pills? They are mere sugar pills, but potentised with various processes they acquire the power of curing illnesses. Thus every material we have around us can be put to either ordinary use or turned into a noble one. And once they are given the form of nobility, they become highly respectable.
The youth then asked his next question. While agreeing with the fact that the Dieties are highly divine, his concern was on the financial angle. He asked
Q. 5 "Whether it is justified to spend so much money on Deities in Temples."
The old man responded as under:
“My dear young man, you were already informed about ordinary cloth taking the form of National Flag and getting the respect of one and all at the National level. Just think as to how much money we do spend on Independence Day and Republic Day every year throughout the country just to salute this National Flag? Can any one claim that this is waste of money? Such celebrations are necessary to arouse and renew national and patriotic feelings in the citizens. Similarly, we do celebrate many festivals in our Temples and even spend money so that people turn religious and pious and of course ultimately turn spiritual.
Even if you consider the monetary aspect alone, you should take into account the economic law of circulation of wealth. When one Republic Day is celebrated, so many poor artisans make flags and sell them. When the buyers make the purchases, they may be spending money, but it goes to support many families. Take the festival of Deepavali and examine how many crores of rupees are burnt into ashes in a matter of few hours. But still, no Government has banned it, because the money spent on the festival directly supports many families. Similarly, when money is spent on temple festivals, we should take into account the number of families such as flower vendors, decorators, electricians, etc. who earn their livelihood, through such festivals.”
The youth then asked his next question:
Q 6: “Sir, is it true that there is a God?”
“Wow! It is a Great Question” said the old man whom the young man asked his above question.
The old man asked the youth “What do you think?” The young man replied, “Sir, I thought about it again and again. But I am not clear.”
The old man said, “True, there are many people who tell us not to blindly accept anything that is told to us. They say that before you accept any thing, first think and do research to know whether what is told to you is right….and then only accept. Thus people are asked to think about a matter first and if found agreeable, accept. But then, do you know Andal, I mean have you heard of Andal?” he asked.
“Yes, sir, I know Andal who had sung Thiruppavai”.
“Yeh, she had said in her Pasuram Mayanai Mannu Vada Madurai Mainthani, something different. In that Pasuram, she asks us to
“Thoomalar Thoovi Thozhu, Vayinal padi and
………….Manathinal sinthikka”.
In effect she asks us to first accept and then think.
In fact in her every Pasuram she says “Elor Empavai”. The word that she constantly uses in every Pasuram is “Elor”. This expression “Elor” consists of two words El and Or. El means Accept and Or means “and then Think”.
You know, that is the right way of doing things. In fact that is what all parents have been doing with their children. In all families, parents demand their children to obey first and after obeying ask any questions if they want. By demanding such unquestioned obedience, what the elders convey is that they had already thought about the matter exhaustively and arrived at conclusions and there is no need for our children to waste their time and energy in analyzing what the parents had asked them to do, before doing the same.
Not only in families. Even in Schools, the same sequence is demanded. Teachers impart education to our children. They ask children to accept new words, new formulas, etc. without questioning. No child can ask why 2+2=4 and why not 3? No teacher can try to prove to the children why it is not 3 and is only 4. They cannot ask why “tion” should be pronounced as “shun”. What is told by elders must be first be accepted and there is no need to do research on that and no need to waste time on reinventing the wheel.
Andal recognized that it is very difficult to make people re-understand the proven truth if they were allowed to think and research before they accept. You should know, there are certain realities which have already been analysed sufficiently and our elders have come to the conclusion that they are facts.
Thus First Accept what our elders have said over centuries that there is God. Every generation has no need to re-research on the same before accepting! There is no need for reinventing the wheel.
Then the Youth asked his next question:
Q 7: “Sir, our religion has been telling us about Paramapadam, also called Moksham or Sri Vaikuntam and that our Acharyas and Family elders are still living there. Sir, is it true that there really is a Sri Vaikuntam and our ancestors are living there still?”
The old man pondered over the question asked to him. Then he said, “Well, my dear Young man, I would tell you a story which might answer your question on Sri Vaikuntam. Here is the story”, he said.
Once upon a time, a mother conceived a twin. Weeks passed and the twins developed. As their awareness grew, the twins explored their life. They found their mother's cord that gave them life. The first child said to the other, "How great our mother's love is, that she has given us our lives!" The second child responded, “How do you know, we have a Mother? Have you ever seen our mother?" “No” said the first child. "Maybe she only lives in our minds." The first child had no reply.
More time passed. In a few months, the twins noticed how much each was changing. "What does this mean?" the second child asked. "It means our stay in this world is drawing to an end." said the first child.
"But I don't want to go," said the second child. "I want to stay here always." "We have no choice," said the first child. "Maybe there is life after exit", he continued.
"But how can there be?" responded the second child. "If there is life after exit, no one who had exited before us has returned to tell us there is life after leaving this world. I think once we exit this place, we do not live any more”.
So the last days in the womb were filled with deep questioning and fear.
Finally, the moment of exit from their world arrived. When the twins had passed from their world, they fell into an altogether new world. They opened their eyes and cried with joy - for what they saw exceeded their fondest dreams. What a great fantastic new world it is, in comparison with the one they lived before!!
There is life after birth……...
And similarly there is life after death.
Believe, our Poorvacharyas and our beloved family elders continue to live in a happier world, even today!!
The Youth then asked his next question.
Q 8: “Sir, if God resides in Sri Vaikuntam, what is the sanctity of idols in our Temples?”
The old man replied, “My dear Young man, you see God lives in different forms.
The form in which He lives in Sri Vaikuntam is called ‘Param’. The form in which He lives In the Milky ocean is called ‘Vyuham’, The form in which He took birth in this world in ten Avataras is called ’Vibhavam’.
Then the old man asked the young man, “Have you ever been to the sea shore and heard the noise of the sea?”
Yes, of course”, the young man said.
“And have you ever put the sea shell on your ears?”
“Yes, I had done that at home in my childhood and listened to the noise of the Sea coming from within the sea shell”.
“Yes, just like the noise of the sea resides in each and every sea shell, the God resides in the heart of each and every one of us. And this form is called ‘Antaryami’. And it is this Antaryami that guides you in your day to activities…...Well, have you ever felt your inner voice that said NO when you were out to do something wrong?
“Yes sir, I had felt this inner voice.”
“And this is Antaryami—God speaking to you and guiding you.”
And now to the form of God in our Temples. This form is called the ‘Archa’.
Thus God has different forms and we can worship Him in every form. “
The old man then asked, “Well, are there photographs of yourself in your house?”
“Yes sir, there are”, the young man replied.
“How many of your photographs are there in your house?”
“Six or seven”, the young man said.
“Well, there must be different photographs of yours, as a baby, as a child, as a teenager and as you are today. Isn’t ? In these photographs of yourself, you may be in different forms, but all of them are only YOU. Am I right”
“Yes sir”
“Thus, God may be in different forms, but they are all ONE “, he concluded.
After knowing that there are many Roopas i.e. different forms of Lord, the Youth asked his next question. He now asked a very fundamental question.
Q 9. He innocently asked, “Sir, please tell me what does God do to us?”
The old man was flabbergasted. He never thought that the Youth would ask this very basic question. Then he remembered about a poem that he read sometime earlier. He got up, went to his book shelf, picked up the relevant book and opened the pages. After finding the poem he handed the book to the Youth and asked him to read the same to know what God has done to us. The poem was as under:
All things bright and beautiful
All creatures great and small
All things wise and wonderful
The Lord God made them all.
Each little flower that opens
Each little bird that sings
He made their glowing colours
He made their tiny wings.
The purple headed mountain
The river running by
The sunset and the morning
That brightens up the sky
The cold wind in the winter
The pleasant summer sun
The ripe fruits in the garden
He made them every one.
He gave us eyes to see them
And lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty
Who has made all things well !
The youth was impressed with the poem on God’s Contribution to humanity. But then he posed his next question.
Q 10. “Sir, if the God is so merciful as explained in the poem, can you please tell me as to why there is so much of suffering in this world and why God allows many people to suffer?”
The old man replied. “My dear Young Man, you know that of the many creations God made, the humans are special. No other creature was given the wisdom and ability that the man was conferred. The man was the only creature that was gifted with a Mind and the Free Will. With these gifts the man is able to read, write, speak, paint, work, invent and achieve many things.”
“But, you see, with this Free Will, the man could do anything—good or bad.”
“The Divine rule is that if the man does good, he would get good results and if he does bad, he would get bad results. This is called the Law of Karma, the law of cause and effect. It only means ‘As you sow, so shall you reap’. You cannot sow thorns and reap mangoes. So, please understand that people who suffer are those people who had committed wrong and thus suffer the consequence”, the old man concluded.
The youth then asked, “Sir, there are many people, who had committed wrong but still they are leading a happy life. What do you say for this?”
The old man replied, “My dear young man, you do not really know the personal life of those people whom you say, have done wrong and are leading happy life. We all have problems, but in public we maintain a happy face. So when you say, I am leading a happy life, that is your perception and you do not really know what is happening in my life.”
The old man continued. “And then, there are some causes that produce their effect immediately and there are other causes that produce their effect after a long time. “
“If you over eat, there is immediate effect, of indigestion. But then if you smoke, you find the ill effects over a period of time. “
“Thus people suffer because of their own doing out of their free will. It is this reason, even within the same family one may be rich and another poor; one may be healthy and another sick. All this, good or bad, is the result of one’s karma and God cannot be blamed for one’s suffering.”
Thus the Youth was told that God cannot be blamed for the problems of human beings and that all problems that we face are our own creations.
The Youth then asked his next question.
Q. 11 He said, “Sir, many times when we are in trouble we make prayers to God to help us. But majority of times we do not receive any help and we fail in our endeavors. Sir, Please tell me why God does not answer our prayers many times?”
The old man said, “My dear young man, you have asked a very good question. You must understand that God answers all your prayers. Only you may not hear His voice.
May be He answers our prayers sometimes with a NO, sometimes with YES and some other times with an answer which is neither YES or NO.
But then, think what a catastrophe it would be if God answered every prayer of every one? Terrorists may be praying for the worst for the world. What would happen if God grants their prayer? May be an incompetent student prays for 1st rank. What would happen if God grants his prayer?
Thus God cannot grant everyone’s prayer every time. He has to be choosy in granting our prayers.
There is also another angle to it. If God were to concede every one’s prayer every time, He would become our servant. Suddenly, He would be working for us instead of us working for God! Thus, be aware that God knows when to grant our Prayers.
Let me explain you further.
When your idea is not right, God says NO.
NO when your idea is not the best
NO when your idea is absolutely wrong
NO when though it may help you, it could create problems for some one else.
When the time is not right, God says SLOW.
When you are not right, God says GROW. The selfish person has to grow in unselfishness. The timid person has to grow in confidence. The dominating person has to grow in sensitivity. The critical person must grow in tolerance. The negative person has to grow positive. The pleasure seeking person has to grow in compassion for the suffering people
But, when everything is alright, God says GO. The door to your dream suddenly swings open and there stands God saying “Proceed” !!
Well, the youth was told as to why God cannot grant all our wishes all the time. He was further told that God has given us a thinking brain which he has not given to other creatures. This means that God wants us to think for ourselves and steer out of problems.
Here was his next question.
Q. 12
Here are a few Frequently asked Questions and Answers thereto. This has been designed as a discussion between a youth and an old man:
Q.1 If the God is Omnipresent, why should we go to Temples?
The old man who was posed this question, responded as under:
We are living in India under the Indian Government. In this vast land of India, our Government is present everywhere, say omnipresent. Wherever we live or wherever we go, we are under watch by the Government and the moment, we commit any offence, the Government takes appropriate action on us.
Despite the fact that the Government is omnipresent, in case we need the help of the Government, it is not sufficient if we appeal to Government on the bank of a river. To make our appeal to the Government, we need to approach the designated office of the Government and make our prayer to be heard.
Similarly, Temples are offices of God which are meant to receive and hear people. The God is ready to receive you and hear your grievances in these temples.
In addition, Temples have been playing a major role in promoting & maintaining humanity, peace, divinity, spirituality, religion, health and harmony among the people. Temples have been the place for Law and Justice. Besides, Temples have been promoting art and architecture over centuries. Beyond all the above, Temples have been places of learning.
Temples have been playing a crucial role in preserving and promoting mental health of people. Any person who is in a depressed state, can easily come out of his negative state if only he visits a temple, for there he receives Hope, Solace and Mental Strength to carry on. No where else one can redeem his mental health than in a temple. Thus if one desires to keep his personal life healthy, he needs to make Temples a part of his daily routine.
The youth then asked his next question,
Q.2 “What does a religion expect from us? Does it want us to abandon this life and become ‘other-worldly’?
The answer is a clear ‘NO’. The very fact that our religion has provided for “Grahastha Ashrama’, is a clear indication that we should have a family and work for the progress and prosperity of the family and to enjoy the legitimate pleasures of life. Religion recognizes the need to earn wealth to quench the legitimate appetites. Religion does permit seeking wealth and happiness, i.e. Artha and Kaama. What the Religion has done is only to add one key word before the words Artha and Kaama, and that key word is “Dharma”.
“Dharmaarthakaama”, i.e. Dharma, Artha and Kaama is the combined password to spirituality. The Religion only says that Dharma should always be associated with any effort towards acquiring wealth and happiness. In other words, Dharma should come first in earning wealth and enjoying life.
One day I spotted one of my friends speaking untruth to a third party to get things done. Later when we were alone, I reminded my friend that he spoke untruth and that was not correct. My friend told me that these days, speaking truth may put us in disadvantage and hence speaking untruth is a necessity.
Then I asked my friend, ‘how would he like if his child were to tell lies to him or his subordinate in office being untruthful to him’ He immediately said that was not acceptable.
We all know that Dharma is nothing but honesty and purity of mind. We all expect others to transact with us honestly. And that is exactly the same thing that Dharma expects from us also. It simply tells us “Do anything you want, but do it with Dharma”.
The Youth then asked his next question
Q.3 “Whether Dharma would keep us happy?”
He was responded to by the old man as under:
“Before telling you whether Dharma would keep us happy, I need first tell you what exactly is Dharma. The most important element of Dharma is Ahimsa. “Ahimsa Paramo Dharmaha” is the famous saying. Many think eating vegetarian food and avoiding violence in life is Ahimsa. Yes, they are. But that is not the end.
Our elders respected trees, rivers, etc. Trees such as Peepal tree were respected and they used to go round them and pray. It may appear to be a superstition. But by this act, they did something which is known in modern days as “Chipko Andolan”. Similarly all tanks and rivers were considered sacred and worshiped. These attitudes helped in preventing misuses of tanks and rivers and saved us from pollution of water and protected our water resources. If only Dharma had been followed we don’t have to spend crores on cleaning Ganga and that money would be available to us for other welfare programmes. Similarly, if Dharma had been associated with chasing wealth, there would be not scams, scandals, black markets and black money.
Thus Dharma has a direct relevance to our lives and only Dharma can keep us happy. All the ills we are facing in Society and the Nation today are directly the result of non-observance of Dharma in people’s lives. Hence the need for all people is to observe Dharma in day to day life so that our lives are problem free and happy.”
The Youth asked his next question.
Q.4: “Sir, please tell me whether it is rational to worship a stone as God?”
The old man replied as under:
“My dear young man, think of the National Flag. The same cloth which we use in our day to day lives for different purposes becomes highly respectable and salutable when it takes the form of a National Flag.
Next, consider Books. There are books of many kinds like novels, stories, etc. While they are not respectable, the books giving us knowledge and wisdom are highly respected.
In the same way, stones also are used for different purposes. But the ones that take such a shape and conform to the forms of God becomes highly respectable.
As for the deities in our temples, they are not mere stones. By invocation of God’s power in them through various Mantras, they become Gods themselves.
Have you known the Homeopathy pills? They are mere sugar pills, but potentised with various processes they acquire the power of curing illnesses. Thus every material we have around us can be put to either ordinary use or turned into a noble one. And once they are given the form of nobility, they become highly respectable.
The youth then asked his next question. While agreeing with the fact that the Dieties are highly divine, his concern was on the financial angle. He asked
Q. 5 "Whether it is justified to spend so much money on Deities in Temples."
The old man responded as under:
“My dear young man, you were already informed about ordinary cloth taking the form of National Flag and getting the respect of one and all at the National level. Just think as to how much money we do spend on Independence Day and Republic Day every year throughout the country just to salute this National Flag? Can any one claim that this is waste of money? Such celebrations are necessary to arouse and renew national and patriotic feelings in the citizens. Similarly, we do celebrate many festivals in our Temples and even spend money so that people turn religious and pious and of course ultimately turn spiritual.
Even if you consider the monetary aspect alone, you should take into account the economic law of circulation of wealth. When one Republic Day is celebrated, so many poor artisans make flags and sell them. When the buyers make the purchases, they may be spending money, but it goes to support many families. Take the festival of Deepavali and examine how many crores of rupees are burnt into ashes in a matter of few hours. But still, no Government has banned it, because the money spent on the festival directly supports many families. Similarly, when money is spent on temple festivals, we should take into account the number of families such as flower vendors, decorators, electricians, etc. who earn their livelihood, through such festivals.”
The youth then asked his next question:
Q 6: “Sir, is it true that there is a God?”
“Wow! It is a Great Question” said the old man whom the young man asked his above question.
The old man asked the youth “What do you think?” The young man replied, “Sir, I thought about it again and again. But I am not clear.”
The old man said, “True, there are many people who tell us not to blindly accept anything that is told to us. They say that before you accept any thing, first think and do research to know whether what is told to you is right….and then only accept. Thus people are asked to think about a matter first and if found agreeable, accept. But then, do you know Andal, I mean have you heard of Andal?” he asked.
“Yes, sir, I know Andal who had sung Thiruppavai”.
“Yeh, she had said in her Pasuram Mayanai Mannu Vada Madurai Mainthani, something different. In that Pasuram, she asks us to
“Thoomalar Thoovi Thozhu, Vayinal padi and
………….Manathinal sinthikka”.
In effect she asks us to first accept and then think.
In fact in her every Pasuram she says “Elor Empavai”. The word that she constantly uses in every Pasuram is “Elor”. This expression “Elor” consists of two words El and Or. El means Accept and Or means “and then Think”.
You know, that is the right way of doing things. In fact that is what all parents have been doing with their children. In all families, parents demand their children to obey first and after obeying ask any questions if they want. By demanding such unquestioned obedience, what the elders convey is that they had already thought about the matter exhaustively and arrived at conclusions and there is no need for our children to waste their time and energy in analyzing what the parents had asked them to do, before doing the same.
Not only in families. Even in Schools, the same sequence is demanded. Teachers impart education to our children. They ask children to accept new words, new formulas, etc. without questioning. No child can ask why 2+2=4 and why not 3? No teacher can try to prove to the children why it is not 3 and is only 4. They cannot ask why “tion” should be pronounced as “shun”. What is told by elders must be first be accepted and there is no need to do research on that and no need to waste time on reinventing the wheel.
Andal recognized that it is very difficult to make people re-understand the proven truth if they were allowed to think and research before they accept. You should know, there are certain realities which have already been analysed sufficiently and our elders have come to the conclusion that they are facts.
Thus First Accept what our elders have said over centuries that there is God. Every generation has no need to re-research on the same before accepting! There is no need for reinventing the wheel.
Then the Youth asked his next question:
Q 7: “Sir, our religion has been telling us about Paramapadam, also called Moksham or Sri Vaikuntam and that our Acharyas and Family elders are still living there. Sir, is it true that there really is a Sri Vaikuntam and our ancestors are living there still?”
The old man pondered over the question asked to him. Then he said, “Well, my dear Young man, I would tell you a story which might answer your question on Sri Vaikuntam. Here is the story”, he said.
Once upon a time, a mother conceived a twin. Weeks passed and the twins developed. As their awareness grew, the twins explored their life. They found their mother's cord that gave them life. The first child said to the other, "How great our mother's love is, that she has given us our lives!" The second child responded, “How do you know, we have a Mother? Have you ever seen our mother?" “No” said the first child. "Maybe she only lives in our minds." The first child had no reply.
More time passed. In a few months, the twins noticed how much each was changing. "What does this mean?" the second child asked. "It means our stay in this world is drawing to an end." said the first child.
"But I don't want to go," said the second child. "I want to stay here always." "We have no choice," said the first child. "Maybe there is life after exit", he continued.
"But how can there be?" responded the second child. "If there is life after exit, no one who had exited before us has returned to tell us there is life after leaving this world. I think once we exit this place, we do not live any more”.
So the last days in the womb were filled with deep questioning and fear.
Finally, the moment of exit from their world arrived. When the twins had passed from their world, they fell into an altogether new world. They opened their eyes and cried with joy - for what they saw exceeded their fondest dreams. What a great fantastic new world it is, in comparison with the one they lived before!!
There is life after birth……...
And similarly there is life after death.
Believe, our Poorvacharyas and our beloved family elders continue to live in a happier world, even today!!
The Youth then asked his next question.
Q 8: “Sir, if God resides in Sri Vaikuntam, what is the sanctity of idols in our Temples?”
The old man replied, “My dear Young man, you see God lives in different forms.
The form in which He lives in Sri Vaikuntam is called ‘Param’. The form in which He lives In the Milky ocean is called ‘Vyuham’, The form in which He took birth in this world in ten Avataras is called ’Vibhavam’.
Then the old man asked the young man, “Have you ever been to the sea shore and heard the noise of the sea?”
Yes, of course”, the young man said.
“And have you ever put the sea shell on your ears?”
“Yes, I had done that at home in my childhood and listened to the noise of the Sea coming from within the sea shell”.
“Yes, just like the noise of the sea resides in each and every sea shell, the God resides in the heart of each and every one of us. And this form is called ‘Antaryami’. And it is this Antaryami that guides you in your day to activities…...Well, have you ever felt your inner voice that said NO when you were out to do something wrong?
“Yes sir, I had felt this inner voice.”
“And this is Antaryami—God speaking to you and guiding you.”
And now to the form of God in our Temples. This form is called the ‘Archa’.
Thus God has different forms and we can worship Him in every form. “
The old man then asked, “Well, are there photographs of yourself in your house?”
“Yes sir, there are”, the young man replied.
“How many of your photographs are there in your house?”
“Six or seven”, the young man said.
“Well, there must be different photographs of yours, as a baby, as a child, as a teenager and as you are today. Isn’t ? In these photographs of yourself, you may be in different forms, but all of them are only YOU. Am I right”
“Yes sir”
“Thus, God may be in different forms, but they are all ONE “, he concluded.
After knowing that there are many Roopas i.e. different forms of Lord, the Youth asked his next question. He now asked a very fundamental question.
Q 9. He innocently asked, “Sir, please tell me what does God do to us?”
The old man was flabbergasted. He never thought that the Youth would ask this very basic question. Then he remembered about a poem that he read sometime earlier. He got up, went to his book shelf, picked up the relevant book and opened the pages. After finding the poem he handed the book to the Youth and asked him to read the same to know what God has done to us. The poem was as under:
All things bright and beautiful
All creatures great and small
All things wise and wonderful
The Lord God made them all.
Each little flower that opens
Each little bird that sings
He made their glowing colours
He made their tiny wings.
The purple headed mountain
The river running by
The sunset and the morning
That brightens up the sky
The cold wind in the winter
The pleasant summer sun
The ripe fruits in the garden
He made them every one.
He gave us eyes to see them
And lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty
Who has made all things well !
The youth was impressed with the poem on God’s Contribution to humanity. But then he posed his next question.
Q 10. “Sir, if the God is so merciful as explained in the poem, can you please tell me as to why there is so much of suffering in this world and why God allows many people to suffer?”
The old man replied. “My dear Young Man, you know that of the many creations God made, the humans are special. No other creature was given the wisdom and ability that the man was conferred. The man was the only creature that was gifted with a Mind and the Free Will. With these gifts the man is able to read, write, speak, paint, work, invent and achieve many things.”
“But, you see, with this Free Will, the man could do anything—good or bad.”
“The Divine rule is that if the man does good, he would get good results and if he does bad, he would get bad results. This is called the Law of Karma, the law of cause and effect. It only means ‘As you sow, so shall you reap’. You cannot sow thorns and reap mangoes. So, please understand that people who suffer are those people who had committed wrong and thus suffer the consequence”, the old man concluded.
The youth then asked, “Sir, there are many people, who had committed wrong but still they are leading a happy life. What do you say for this?”
The old man replied, “My dear young man, you do not really know the personal life of those people whom you say, have done wrong and are leading happy life. We all have problems, but in public we maintain a happy face. So when you say, I am leading a happy life, that is your perception and you do not really know what is happening in my life.”
The old man continued. “And then, there are some causes that produce their effect immediately and there are other causes that produce their effect after a long time. “
“If you over eat, there is immediate effect, of indigestion. But then if you smoke, you find the ill effects over a period of time. “
“Thus people suffer because of their own doing out of their free will. It is this reason, even within the same family one may be rich and another poor; one may be healthy and another sick. All this, good or bad, is the result of one’s karma and God cannot be blamed for one’s suffering.”
Thus the Youth was told that God cannot be blamed for the problems of human beings and that all problems that we face are our own creations.
The Youth then asked his next question.
Q. 11 He said, “Sir, many times when we are in trouble we make prayers to God to help us. But majority of times we do not receive any help and we fail in our endeavors. Sir, Please tell me why God does not answer our prayers many times?”
The old man said, “My dear young man, you have asked a very good question. You must understand that God answers all your prayers. Only you may not hear His voice.
May be He answers our prayers sometimes with a NO, sometimes with YES and some other times with an answer which is neither YES or NO.
But then, think what a catastrophe it would be if God answered every prayer of every one? Terrorists may be praying for the worst for the world. What would happen if God grants their prayer? May be an incompetent student prays for 1st rank. What would happen if God grants his prayer?
Thus God cannot grant everyone’s prayer every time. He has to be choosy in granting our prayers.
There is also another angle to it. If God were to concede every one’s prayer every time, He would become our servant. Suddenly, He would be working for us instead of us working for God! Thus, be aware that God knows when to grant our Prayers.
Let me explain you further.
When your idea is not right, God says NO.
NO when your idea is not the best
NO when your idea is absolutely wrong
NO when though it may help you, it could create problems for some one else.
When the time is not right, God says SLOW.
When you are not right, God says GROW. The selfish person has to grow in unselfishness. The timid person has to grow in confidence. The dominating person has to grow in sensitivity. The critical person must grow in tolerance. The negative person has to grow positive. The pleasure seeking person has to grow in compassion for the suffering people
But, when everything is alright, God says GO. The door to your dream suddenly swings open and there stands God saying “Proceed” !!
Well, the youth was told as to why God cannot grant all our wishes all the time. He was further told that God has given us a thinking brain which he has not given to other creatures. This means that God wants us to think for ourselves and steer out of problems.
Here was his next question.
Q. 12
Panguni Uttiram and Prapatti
Every year we celebrate the Festival Panguni Uttiram Festival. It would of great value to know the significance of this very important festival for Sri Vaishnavas.
Firstly, this is the Avathara Dinam of Sri Mahalakshmi from the Milky Ocean during the churning for nectar, i.e. during Amritha Mathanam. As Sri Maha Vishnu had taken different Avatars from time to time, Sri Mahalakshmi’s Avatharam as part of Amruta Mathanam as mentioned in Puranas, is celebrated today.
Secondly, this is also the day of Establishment of Srirangam Temple, the Srivaishnava Capital. We all know already that Vibheeshana was installed as the King of Sri Lanka by Lord Sri Rama after the demise of his elder brothers. Sometime afterwards, Vibheeshana started for Ayodhya along with the Archa Moorthy of Lord Sri Ranganatha gifted to him by Lord Sri Rama. When he reached the island of Srirangam between the holy rivers of Cauvery and Kollidam, Vibheeshana performed Pujas to Lord Sri Ranganatha at the island. After the Pooja when he started, the Archa moorthy of Lord Sri Ranganatha could not be lifted. According to Acharyas, this is a predesigned act of Lord to make Srirangam as His Eternal Abode to bless the Bhaktas. Thus on this day, the Lord Sri Ranganatha had made Srirangam as His permanent Abode, the Bhooloka Vaikuntam. This is the reason that the Bramhotsavam at Sri Rangam takes place in the Tamil month of Panguni and on the concluding day of this Brahmotsavam, Lord Azhagiya manavala Perumal, i.e. Sri Ranganatha is seated on the same throne pedestal as the Goddess Ranganayaki in the Kalyana Mantapam of the Goddess. This Serthi seva is a very rare Darshan occurring only once in a year.
Centuries later, it was on this auspicious Panguni Uthiram Day, Swami Ramanuja, did Saranagathi at the Feet of Divya Dhampathis, Sri Ranga Nachiyar and Lord Sri Ranganatha , when they were together in the Serthi and composed and recited the famous "Gadhya Thrayam", an unparalleled work on SARANAGATHI - Total Surrender. Through this great composition, Acharya Ramanuja showed us the way to perform Saranagathi to the Dhivya Dampathis for gaining Nitya Kainkaryam at Sri Vaikuntam. .
As Lord Ranganatha sat in court with Sri Ranga Nachiar on His divine throne, SrI Ramanuja stood before Them, surrendered himself and all his belongings to the divine and begged that all his earthly sins be pardoned and that he be accepted in the service of the Divine couple. Swami Ramanuja, also out of overwhelming compassion for the humanity en-shackled by this Samsara, poured out his heart to The Divine Couple seeking deliverance to all the Bhaktas. The outcome is this nectar Saranagathi Gadya delivered for the sake of our deliverance. This is in the form of a conversation between Swami Ramanuja and The Divine Couple. The shorter SrIranga Gadyam is an abridged version of Saranagathi gadyam, a personal exposition. The ultimate goal, reward, that is purusharta for every Prapanna, in eternal service in Sri Vaikuntam is contained in SrI Vaikunta Gadyam.
The Divya Dhampathis Blessed Swami Ramanuja and accepted Swami Ramanuja's Prapatti. Not only this, the Divya Dampathis also Blessed all those who follow the foot steps of Swami Ramanuja with an assurance that all his spiritual protégés would be accorded what was assured to him – Ref: Piratti's assurance “Asthu the, Tayaiva SARVAM Sampathsyathe”.
Thus, the assurance of acceptance was not in isolation to Swami Ramanuja alone, but to all his spiritual progeny who surrender to God and perform Prapatti. It is on behalf of all humanity that Acharya Ramanuja pleaded and we, as His spiritual heirs, can feel assured of the Lord's grace.
Thus the Day of Panguni Uttiram is the Day of Celebration of “Saranagathi / Prapatti” that was performed for us all by our Acharya Sri Ramanuja.
It is indeed a thrilling event, something out of this world, an opportunity afforded to the fortunate few, to watch hundreds of ardent Sri Vaishnava bhAgavathas recite these sacred Gadyas around midnight, in unison at SrI Rangam temple even today on Panguni Uttiram day, an event commemorating the magnificent, compassionate, uplifting vision of swami Ramanuja for all of humanity.
In celebration of the above holy events we celebrate this Grand Festival in every Sri Vaishnava Temples all over the world.
Bhaktas of Mumbai are requested to participate in large numbers on all the three days of this Grand Festival. More especially, let us all make sure we recite Gadya Trayam before the Divya Dampathis and renew our Prapatti request before the Lord.
And those who are desirous of making their contribution towards 108 Kalasa Thirumanjanam, Sri Sooktha Homam, Kalyana Utsavam, Thiruveedi Purappadu or Serthi Sevai, are requested to get in touch with the Temple office for making their Ubhayams.
Having seen the significance of Panguni Uttiram and its relevance to Prapatti, we now can, with advantage, understand what is Prapatti.
First Step to Prapatti:
We all know “Prapatti” is total surrender to God. There are many among us who have already done Prapatti to God through our Acharyas. And beyond that, every time our Acharyas visit our Temple, we see many Bhaktas coming to Acharyas seeking Samashrayanam and Bharasamarpanam for themselves. And on this holy occasion of Panguni Uttiram, which is the day of “Saranagathi” performed for us all by Acharya Sri Ramanuja, it would be very appropriate for us all to know more about this Prapatti.
Prapatti is not a simple subject that can be covered in one column of this small News Letter. The subject needs to be dealt with in its many facets. But as a first step, let us all know about the First step to Prapatti.
Simply stated, the First step to Prapatti is to acquire the Sambandha Gyanam, i.e. the knowledge on the relationship we have with Lord Sriman Narayana.
We had a very interesting write up on Cricket in the last News Letter, which indicated as to how Jeevatma and Paramatma are linked in the game of life on this earth. Here let us have another very interesting story explaining the “Sambandam” between Jeevatma and Paramatma, written by Prakritam Srimad Azhagiyasingar in an article that appeared in June 2006 issue of Sri Nrisimhapriya. Here goes the story.
In the ancient days there was a businessman in a village. He used to travel extensively, even abroad pursuing his business. Once this businessman left his village and went abroad did not return for years.
This businessman had a small child when he left home. In these long years, the child grew up to become a handsome lad, inherited his father’s property and started doing business himself. As the years passed by, once this young man also went abroad pursuing his business.
At one port, the young man purchased huge amount of goods and he approached a cloak room nearby to store his materials. There he found another old man staying with his goods in the cloak room. The young man felt there was not adequate space to accommodate the goods of both the persons. So, the young man tried to push out the old man. But the old man advised that with some adjustment, both can get accommodated. But the young man was not willing and was particular that the old man must quit.
Now in the mean time, there came a third person, who identified both the young man and the old man . He told the young person to recognise his father in the old man. The young man was taken aback in this sudden revelation and fell at the feet of the old man who was all willing to accommodate the young man.
Continuing this story, Srimad Azhagiyasingar comes forward to give names to the father and son in this story.
According to Srimad Azhagiyasingar, the Father was the Paramatma and the son was the Jeevathma. Just like the father and the son having come and stayed under one roof in this story, both the Jeevathma and Paramatma come and stay in a cloak room called our body. Thus our body is a cloak room which offers both the Jeevathma and Paramatma a place for temporary stay.
In the first instance, the Jeevatma has no knowledge that the other resident inside the body is the Paramatma. Even when Paramatma offers to accommodate him inside the cloak room, the Jeevathma refuses to deposit his hard earned materials to the care of Paramatma. Even that the Jeevatma wanted the Paramatma to get out of his way and allow him to have a free space. Now at this stage, the third person enters the scene and he is none other than the Acharya.
It is Acharya who helps the Jeevathma to recognise the Paramatma. The Acharya then tells the Jeevathma that both he and his materials actually belong to the Paramatma and that the Jeevathma has no independent entity in this world without Paramatma and that the Paramatma is the real Owner of all. With these words, the Acharya asks the Jeevatma to surrender to Paramatma and serve Him.
Having been awakened and obtained the “Sambandha Gyanam”, the Jeevathma begs pardon from Paramatma and seeks the continuous company of Paramatma in the remaining years of his life. Now, the Paramatma who was already too willing to accommodate the Jeevathma, was very glad that His son had identified Him with the help of Acharya and embraces the Jeevathma with all the affection and goodwill. Thus the first step to Prapatti is to acquire the “Sambandha Gyanam” between us and the Emperuman.
And then what are the subsequent steps?
The 2nd Step:
In the last issue, we had known the first step to Prapatti, i.e. “Sambandha Gyanam”, i.e.
We know that our father is Lord Sriman Narayan Himself and that we are all his children.
We accept the fact that all that we have in this world belongs to Him and that there is nothing that can be called as our own.
Now, after having acquired this Sambandha Gyanam, we need to proceed to the second step. The Second step to Prapatti is Aanukoolya Sankalpam. This Aanukoolya Sankalpam can be explained thus:
In the first step, we have known our Father and we have the realisation that all that we have belongs to Him. Having realised this, the next step is to obey Him. Obeying Him means, obeying His orders.
Our religion is presently known as Hindu Religion. But that is the real name of our Religion. There was a time when there was no other religion than our religion. But later on may new religions came into being after the name of the person who founded it. They were Buddhism, Christianity, etc. Thus when more religions came into existence, our own religion was identified by a name and that name was Hindu Religion.
Our religion is a way of a life. This way of life was prescribed by the Vedas. Hence the ancient name of our Religion is Vedic Religion. And these Vedas were not written by any human being. They were handed over by Lord Sriman Narayana Himself to Sri Bramha. In these Vedas the Lord Himself has prescribed the way of life we should lead. Thus every person doing Prapatti should understand that the orders of our Father, i.e. the Shaastraas are contained in the Vedas. The Lord says:
Shrutihi Smritihi mamaivaagya; Yasyamullanghya vartate
Agyanacchedi mamadrohi; Madbhakto api vaishnavaha
Meaning, “The Shrutis and Smritis convey my commands and whoever violates them goes against spiritual dictates. Even if he is my devotee, by no means he is a Vaishnava.
Thus obeying the Lord means obeying the Shaastraas. Having understood this, the term Aanukoolya Sankalpam means making a promise that we would conduct our lives in accordance with the Shaastraas. Thus promising to obey the Shaastraas is the second step to Prapatti.
The 3rd Step:
The third step to Prapatti is simple. It is yet another promise by us not to do anything which is prohibited in the Shaastraas. And this is called “Praathikoolya Varjanam”, i.e. not to do what is prohibited by our Father, as revealed in the Shaastraas.
Thus for every one who is desirous of doing Prapatti, the important thing is to know what the Shaastras are all about.
Thus, the right way to get initiated to Prapatti is after [1] undergoing the religious teachings, [2] internalising the principles of our Religion and [3] adopting the religious way of life in day to day living. If this [1], [2] and [3] route is adopted, it would ensure that there is Aanukoolya Sankalpam and Praathikoolya Varjanam by the Prapanna, i.e. who had done Prapatti.
Here lies the importance of Upanayanam and Samaasrayanam. The Upanayanam initiates the person to Nithya Karmas and Aanhikam, the Daily Discipline. Please refer to the Book on Aanhikam written by HH 45th Azhagiyasingar available in our Mutt. The Samaasrayanam [Sam Aasrayanam, i.e. effective refuge], on the other hand, initiates us to Mantropadesam, Bhagavad Aaradhanam and to the Rahasyas. Both these together make us ready to meet the standards prescribed for Saranagathi, viz. the Aanukoolya Sankalpam and Praathikoolya Varjanam.
The Shaastras containing the Dos and Don’t’s can be categorized into Saamaanya Saastras and Visesha Shaastras. One may perhaps not be able to master the Visesha Shaastras. But the Samanya Shaastras are very simple and cover the Nitya Karmas which give us the discipline and regularity necessary for spiritual evolution. Similar to the routine exercises like drills and other practices that have nothing to do with war are insisted upon in the Defence Sevices to keep up the fitness of military personnel, in the same way, the Nitya Karmas make us fit for spiritual service. Hence, the minimum Aanukoolya Sankalpam that Prapannas need to do is to do Nithya Karmas like Sandhya Vandanam and Thiru Aaradhanam without fail.
Well, we have so far known the first three steps to Prapatti.
1. The first step was “Sambandha Gyanam” and understanding God as our Father
2. The second step was “Aanukoolya Sankalpam”, i.e. promising to obey the Father
3. The third step was “Praatikoolya Varjanam”, i.e. not to do things prohibited by Father
We also discussed that the dictates of God are contained in Vedas. These were codified as Dharma Shaastraas written by our ancient Sages like Manu, Apasthamba. Gautama and Yagnavalkya. Thus these Dharma Shaastraas prescribe the DO s and DON’T s for all of us to follow. And Lord Krishna, in Bhagavat Gita endorsed these Shaastras by saying “Tasmaat shaastram pramaanam the kaaryaakaarya vyavasthithou”.
In the olden days, in Gurukulas, the Teachers used to teach the students all these Dos and Don’ts and with this learning, people used to adhere to a value based life. And this type of Gurukula Education continued for a long time. All our Purvacharyas were Gifts of this Gurukula system to our Religion. Even when the country suffered at the hands of invaders, while the whole society suffered, still the Gurukula system continued. Our Acharyas like Sri Ramanuja and Sri Vedanta Desika led a value based life even during the peak of invasion, popularly called Kalaapa Kaalam.
But the whole system of education changed with the arrival of British. The Britishers changed our Value Based Education System and replaced it with modern education system. And with the introduction of this modern education system we lost touch with our Shaastraas, and resultantly with Value Based system of Life.
In this background, there is a definite need for us to know what are the Dos and Don’ts prescribed by our sages. We shall try to bring out the Dharma Shaastras, the religious Dos and Don’ts, one by one, from the next issue of this News letter.
And now, let us get on with the subject of Prapatti and let us proceed with the next step i.e. the 4th step to Prapatti.
4th Step to Prapatti—Aakinchanyam
Sri Alavandar in his Stotra Ratnam says:
Na dharma nishtosmi; Na cha aatma vedi; Na bhaktimaan twat charanaravinde
Akinchano ananya gati: sharanya Tawat paada moolam sharanam prapadye
He says:
I am not good in Karma Yoga; I am not good in Gyana Yoga; Nor I am good in Bhakti Yoga. Thus having no other means to attaining Lord I surrender myself at your lotus feet in the act of saranagati.
Thus Aakinchanyam is saying, “I am a simple person and I am not good in Karma, Gyana, Bhati Yogas. Not having any other means to attain Lord [Ananya Sadatvam], I perform Prapatti.
Aakinchanyam finds a mention in Tiruvaimozhi also. Swami Nammalwar says :Notra nonbilen; Nunnarivilen”. Sri Bhattar also says in Sri Rangaraja Stavam, “Gyana Kriya Bhajana sampat akinchanoham”, i.e. I am very poor in Gyana, Karma and Bhakti Yogas.
When Acharyas themselves have pleaded Aakinchanyam saying that they are poor in Karma, Gyana and Bhakti Yogas and have opted for Prapatti, we also need plead Aakinchanyam and do Prapatti.
While discussing Aakinchanyam, we recalled our inability to pursue the difficult path of Karma yoga. As for Gyana Yoga, we know very well our incompetency to comprehend the correct meanings of the Vedas and perform the Karmas ordained by the Vedas. Thus we recognized that it is not only difficult to practice such Karmas like Pancha Yagnas in these days but also it would be equally impossible to perform them in the future. There we also found ourselves totally insufficient to follow the difficult Bhakthi yoga as an upayam for Moksham.
At a time when we were bewildered as to what could be the easy route for Moksha Anugraham, our Acharyas tell us that there is a simpler route (viz)., the easy to practise Upayam, i.e. Saranagathy at the sacred feet of Sriman Narayana to accomplish the same goal of attaining Moksha. Thus our Acharyas have opened this path of Saranagathi for people like us who suffer total insufficiency, i.e. Aakinchanyam.
5th Step: Maha Viswaasam
Now before we plunge ourselves into the act of Saranagathi, we have to cross the next step to it. This step, the fifth step to Prapatti, is Maha Viswaasam, i.e. an unwavering faith that the Lord endeared by our performance of Prapatthi will overlook all our deficiencies and will protect us without fail. This Maha Viswaasam assures that we are eligible for the bliss of Moksham that is normally gained through giganctic penance i.e. Bhakthi Yogam of great sages. Our Maha Viswaasam should be such that even if our blemishes would normally disqualify us for Moksham, our Prapatthi has equal power to gain the hard-earned Moksham by the adoption of the tough-to-practise Bhakthi yogam .
In fact this Maha Viswaasam should be the power behind us to make Prapatti to the exclusion of Karma, Gyana, Bhkti Yogas. This Maha Viswaasam makes us totally rely on Sriman Narayana’s souseelya gunam. Our Poorvacharyas have explained that Lord’s Souseelya Guna grants the ease of access to Him by one and all, independent of one's status , Thus we become the object of protection by the Sarvaloka Saranyan , who is bound by our Maha Viswaasam
in Him.
In this context, it would be of interest to read about the Maha Viswaasam expressed in Saint Thyagaraja’s Kritis. In his Kritis, Saint Thyagaraja says:
"I have reposed my faith ENTIRELY in You and You alone. ...I have never asked for gold or wealth for me, for I have always cherished You in my mind as my family Treasure ( kula Dhanam ).I meditate on You and have selected You alone as my object of worship . I can not bring myself to approach any others for blessing me and granting me Moksham. The people of the world think that I am a destitute and an orphan because I have no support of men . I am protected by You , the Supreme One. Who else do I need for protection , when You are protecting me ? I have Maha Visvasam in You and stay in a state of fearlessness. I am proud that there is no one equal or greater than You. Unlike the common folk , who fail to develop faith (viswaasam ) in You due to their ignorance about Your greatness, I have fully understood Your limitless and unparalleled Mahimai . I have accordingly sought refuge in You so that You can take me in Your hand and bless me. I have always firmly believed that You are the friend of the distressed (dhinaas) and have constantly prayed to You. You alone are the God , whom I want to see. WHO IS THERE WHO COULD LIVE WITHOUT YOUR GRACE? I concede that the greatest of happiness consists in seeing You taking residence in my heart cavity."
Here we need also study Sri Vedanta Desika’s Maha Viswasam on Lord Sri Lakshmi Nrisimha from his stotra “Kamasikashtakam”. In verse 8 of this stotra he says:
Tvayi Rakshathi Rakshakai: Kimanyai: tvayi charakshathi Rakshakai: kimnayai:
Ithi niscchitha dhee: srayami nithyam Nruhare VegavathI tatasrayam thvam
Here it has also to be noted that a Saranagathy performed without the Maha Viswaasam would not be fruitful. Thus please understand that performing Prapatthi should be with unflinching/unwavering Faith in Him as our Protector at all times .
Sixth Step to Prapatti
The sixth step to Prapatti is known as “Goptrutva Varanam”. Before proceeding with this important step to Prapatti, let us revisit the story of Gajendra Moksham and its analysis written by Dr. V. Sadagopan of USA, a very learned Sishya of Srimad Azhagiyasingar.
In this well known story, the elephant Gajendra went into a pond to gather flowers for the Lord's worship. At that time, his leg was suddenly grasped underwater by a crocodile. The struggle between Gajendra and the crocodile continued for 50 years and beyond. And despite maximum struggle, the elephant could not free itself from the crocodile's mighty teeth. Then he appealed to the Lord to save him. The God immediately arrived at the scene, killed the crocodile and saved Gajendra. This simple story known to us for long time is the classic example of Goptrutva Varanam. How?
The above story tells us that Gajendra was battling the crocodile for over fifty years. During these years, the elephant gained the upper hand at times and the crocodile at other times. This went on and on, at the end of which Gajendra appealed to the Lord for succour and was duly saved. The question is, why didn't Gajendra seek the Lord's protection earlier? When he could do it at the end of fifty years and after fighting a losing battle, he could have done it pretty early on, avoiding all the pain and wasted effort!
We cannot blame the elephant Gajendra for delaying the Call to Lord, when we are doing the same thing. We labour under the mistaken notion that it is we who protect ourselves. We valiantly battle against our numerous enemies, external and internal, for a lifetime of sixty, seventy and eighty years, without realising, like Gajendra, that we are doomed to failure.
Like us, Gajendra was confident in the early years of the struggle that his own strength will pull him out of trouble. It was only when the concerted effort failed to have any effect, that he realised the impossibility of the situation and decided to appeal to the Lord for saving him. And the moment he performed Saranagati, Emperuman descended from the heavens to save him.
Here is the next aspect of this story. In this story, we are told that during the entire fifty years that he was struggling for his life and limb, the Lord did not act till the animal's cry for protection reached the Lord. Then He rushed in and saved the elephant. The question is if the Lord has boundless affection for His devotees, should He not rush to their aid the moment they are in trouble, rather than waiting for an SOS call from the afflicted person? How can the Lord callously witness all their suffering and then save them at the very end, like the policemen in cinemas who rush in after the hero has successfully battled with the gangsters?
The answer to this lies in the following Ahirbudhnya Samhita sloka:
"Sarvagyopi hi Visvesa: sada kaarunikopi san;
Samsara tantra vaahitvaat raksha apeksham pratIkshate"
Though infinitely powerful, omniscient and merciful, the Lord, because He had given a freewill to the humans to act as the way they want, He waits for a word, just a word from the devotee, seeking His help and assistance, before rushing to his aid. That the Lord protects only those who apply to Him is further confirmed by a sloka in LakshmI Tantram:
"Aprartthito na gopayet iti tat prartthana mati:
Gopayita bhavet Evam Goptrutva varanam smritam"
The specific request to the Lord to save us, known as "Goptrutva Varanam", is one of the important elements of Saranagati, without which the Lord protects us NOT. This concept is like this. We have Supreme Court, High Court, etc. which exist to protect us from troubles. But they do not come to our rescue on their own, unless we move an application before them. And this Moving of an Application is Goptrutva Varanam in the context of Prapatti. Thus the 6th step to Prapatti is the actual Act of Saranagati before Emperuman,
Sri Andal's Thiruppavai and Prapatti
we had so far covered the Prapatti in six steps. It is to be noted that the previous first five steps are Angams to the sixth step, the actual final act of doing Saranagathi. On this holy occasion of Thiru Aadipooram, in this News letter, we shall see the guidance to Prapatti that Sri Andal gives us in Her Thiruppavai.
We can observe that in most verses of Thiruppavai, Sri Andal goes about the streets of Srivilliputthur to wake up Her friends so that all of them can approach the mansion of Nandagopa [Thiru Koil] where the Lord is engaged in Yoga nidra. The message here is that all the Bhagavathas / Bhaktas should get together and engage themselves in the worship of Lord Sriman Narayana at his Temple. Sri Andal further says that this worship should be in the form of Prapatti. And she further elaborates, thus:
1. Aanukoolya Sankalpam:
Mella Ezhundu - Ari enra Per aravam ullam pugundu - kulinrndu
Get up in the morning, allow God’s name to enter in you, feel divine
Natkale neeradi - Thooyomai vandu
Take Bath, get pure
Kallam thirandu kalandu - Ellarum Pondu
Remove all evil thoughts, Mix with other Bhagavathas; Go together to the temple
Devadi Devanai chenru sevittu
Go and prostrate before the Supreme Lord
Manathukkiniyanai paada vai thirandu - Uttaman Per paadi - Paraman adi paadi
Potri Pugazhndu - Adi Potri; Thiral potri; pugaz potri; Gunam potri
Vaayinal paadi ; Thoomalar Thoovi Thozhudu ; Manatthinal sindithu,
Pray, Sing His praise, Do archana, Meditate on Him
Varuttamum theerndu - Magizhndu
Let go of all your personal worries, Be happy and confident
Aiyamum pichaium andanaiyum kai kaati
Do Charity;
2. Praatikoolya Varjanam
Seyyadana Seyyom
We shall not do anything unbecoming
3. Maha Viswasam:
Naarayanane namakke parai [Moksham] Tharuvan –
Narayanane tharuvan; No other can give
4. Goptrutva Varanam:
Sengan Siruchiride Enmel vizhiyavo ; Kan irandum kondu engal mel nokkudiyel
- Oh Lord, Please bless us with your Kripa Drishti
Engalmel chaapam izhindu - Please remove all our sins
Yam vanda kaariyam aarayndu, aruli - Please consider our prayers, please bless us
Unnai Archithu vandom, parai tharudiyaagil—We had prayed you for Grant of Moksham
5. Visualize Sriman Narayana coming to you:
Seeriyasingam theevzhithu - veri mayirponga eppadum perndudari
moori nimirndu, muzhangi purappatu podaruma pole
Visualize that Lord Sri Lakshmi Nrisimha comes down and blesses you
6. Then do Saranagati and Pray:
Siru kale vandu; unnai sevitthu; un potramarai adiye potrum porul kelai
We came in the morning and prayed at your lotus feet, please know our purpose.
Kutreval engali kollamal pogade - All we request is: Please accept our Kainkaryams
Etraikkum, Ezezhpiravikkum unthannodu utrome yavom
Please bless us to have uninterrupted and permanent relationship with You
Unakke Nam aatcheyvom
We shall serve you and you alone
Matrai nam kamangal matru
Please banish all other desires in us for material objects
Thus Thiruppavai is a simple enactment of Saranagathi with detailed instructions for our benefit by Sri Andal.
In conclusion, let us listen to Sri Vedanta Desika
We all know that Prapatti has to be done through our Acharyas. Therefore, no discussion on Prapatti can be complete without prostrating before our Acharyas and listening to them as to how to do Prapatti. In this context, I bring to the readers of Ahobila Vaani the guidelines of Swamy Vedanta Desika as to How to do Prapatti.
Swamy Desika mentions Prapatti as “Nyasam” and he has written a number of Granthams on Nyasa. The shortest among these is Nyasa Dasakam consisting of only 10 slokas. Let us briefly go through these 10 Slokas and benefit from the advice of Sri Vedanta Desika on How to do Prapatti.
Sloka 7:
Swamin, I realise that all that I have so far considered as mine, are actually Yours. Please therefore accept me, mine and my Kainkaryams with Your full kind heart. I have nothing more to place at your disposal since all are already Yours. ………...[ The 1st step to Prapatti]
Sloka 1:
I surrender myself at the lotus feet of Emperuman. I recognise that I am subservient to Lord. I Surrender the responsibilities for my protection to the Lord. I also surrender whatever benefits that arise because of my existence in this world to the Lord.
Sloka 2:
Swamin, I am incapable of observing any other path for Moksha and therefore I surrender before You. [Aakinchanyam] All I will say is I would perform only those duties that pleases you [Anukulya Sankalpam] and I will not violate the codes of conduct prescribed by you [Pratikulya varjanam]. I have total faith in You [Maha viswasam] and I surrender at Your lotus feet the total responsibilities for my protection with this Prayer [Goptrutva Varanam].
Sloka 3:
Swamin, You have blessed me with the Knowledge that I am now under complete protection of Sriman Narayana and You have relieved me of any worries about my protection. Swamin, You are my Lord. Whatever knowledge I have, whatever I do, whatever result they produce are all Yours and Your acts. [This is Karthrutva thyagam, mamata tyagam and phala tyagam].
Sloka 9:
I had been leading a life of sins so far. I had not been doing the Karmas prescribed for me and had been transgressing the Saastras by doing prohibited acts so far. Swamin, the power of Pardon from You alone can destroy my accumulated sins.
Sloka 8:
Swamin, You are my only protector from now on. Out of your compassion, please destroy all my accumulated sins and guide me not to commit any sin any more.
Sloka 6:
Swamin, all that I want to do from now on is flawless Kainkaryam to You in a manner that would please the Divya Dampathis.
Sloka 5:
Swamin, please guide me from now on that I do not indulge in any act that is against Saastras and also guide me to spend rest of my life doing uninterrupted service to You . Let me give up all those acts that benefit myself. Let my only goal from now on be to attain You.
Sloka 4:
Swamin, I have performed my Bhara Nyasam at Your sacred feet. Please grant me the boon of reaching Sri Vaikuntam at the end of my stay in this world so that I can move over there and do my uninterrupted Nitya Kainkaryam to You daily.
Sloka 10:
Swamin, You have Yourself caused the execution of Bhara Nyasam for me at Your sacred feet. You have now accepted the responsibilities of my protection. I am therefore freed of any worries about my protection. I will therefore lead a life of Prapanna from now onwards with all peace of mind and tranquillity. Relieved of the cycle of Samsara, I will now devote myself to the Bliss of Kainkaryam to the Divya Dampathis.
In Conclusion:
Let us all recite the above “Nyasa Dasakam” written so briefly for us by Sri Vedanta Desika, in our Daily Prayers so that we remind ourselves of the Spirit of Bhara Nyasam daily and live our lives in the same spirit daily.
Firstly, this is the Avathara Dinam of Sri Mahalakshmi from the Milky Ocean during the churning for nectar, i.e. during Amritha Mathanam. As Sri Maha Vishnu had taken different Avatars from time to time, Sri Mahalakshmi’s Avatharam as part of Amruta Mathanam as mentioned in Puranas, is celebrated today.
Secondly, this is also the day of Establishment of Srirangam Temple, the Srivaishnava Capital. We all know already that Vibheeshana was installed as the King of Sri Lanka by Lord Sri Rama after the demise of his elder brothers. Sometime afterwards, Vibheeshana started for Ayodhya along with the Archa Moorthy of Lord Sri Ranganatha gifted to him by Lord Sri Rama. When he reached the island of Srirangam between the holy rivers of Cauvery and Kollidam, Vibheeshana performed Pujas to Lord Sri Ranganatha at the island. After the Pooja when he started, the Archa moorthy of Lord Sri Ranganatha could not be lifted. According to Acharyas, this is a predesigned act of Lord to make Srirangam as His Eternal Abode to bless the Bhaktas. Thus on this day, the Lord Sri Ranganatha had made Srirangam as His permanent Abode, the Bhooloka Vaikuntam. This is the reason that the Bramhotsavam at Sri Rangam takes place in the Tamil month of Panguni and on the concluding day of this Brahmotsavam, Lord Azhagiya manavala Perumal, i.e. Sri Ranganatha is seated on the same throne pedestal as the Goddess Ranganayaki in the Kalyana Mantapam of the Goddess. This Serthi seva is a very rare Darshan occurring only once in a year.
Centuries later, it was on this auspicious Panguni Uthiram Day, Swami Ramanuja, did Saranagathi at the Feet of Divya Dhampathis, Sri Ranga Nachiyar and Lord Sri Ranganatha , when they were together in the Serthi and composed and recited the famous "Gadhya Thrayam", an unparalleled work on SARANAGATHI - Total Surrender. Through this great composition, Acharya Ramanuja showed us the way to perform Saranagathi to the Dhivya Dampathis for gaining Nitya Kainkaryam at Sri Vaikuntam. .
As Lord Ranganatha sat in court with Sri Ranga Nachiar on His divine throne, SrI Ramanuja stood before Them, surrendered himself and all his belongings to the divine and begged that all his earthly sins be pardoned and that he be accepted in the service of the Divine couple. Swami Ramanuja, also out of overwhelming compassion for the humanity en-shackled by this Samsara, poured out his heart to The Divine Couple seeking deliverance to all the Bhaktas. The outcome is this nectar Saranagathi Gadya delivered for the sake of our deliverance. This is in the form of a conversation between Swami Ramanuja and The Divine Couple. The shorter SrIranga Gadyam is an abridged version of Saranagathi gadyam, a personal exposition. The ultimate goal, reward, that is purusharta for every Prapanna, in eternal service in Sri Vaikuntam is contained in SrI Vaikunta Gadyam.
The Divya Dhampathis Blessed Swami Ramanuja and accepted Swami Ramanuja's Prapatti. Not only this, the Divya Dampathis also Blessed all those who follow the foot steps of Swami Ramanuja with an assurance that all his spiritual protégés would be accorded what was assured to him – Ref: Piratti's assurance “Asthu the, Tayaiva SARVAM Sampathsyathe”.
Thus, the assurance of acceptance was not in isolation to Swami Ramanuja alone, but to all his spiritual progeny who surrender to God and perform Prapatti. It is on behalf of all humanity that Acharya Ramanuja pleaded and we, as His spiritual heirs, can feel assured of the Lord's grace.
Thus the Day of Panguni Uttiram is the Day of Celebration of “Saranagathi / Prapatti” that was performed for us all by our Acharya Sri Ramanuja.
It is indeed a thrilling event, something out of this world, an opportunity afforded to the fortunate few, to watch hundreds of ardent Sri Vaishnava bhAgavathas recite these sacred Gadyas around midnight, in unison at SrI Rangam temple even today on Panguni Uttiram day, an event commemorating the magnificent, compassionate, uplifting vision of swami Ramanuja for all of humanity.
In celebration of the above holy events we celebrate this Grand Festival in every Sri Vaishnava Temples all over the world.
Bhaktas of Mumbai are requested to participate in large numbers on all the three days of this Grand Festival. More especially, let us all make sure we recite Gadya Trayam before the Divya Dampathis and renew our Prapatti request before the Lord.
And those who are desirous of making their contribution towards 108 Kalasa Thirumanjanam, Sri Sooktha Homam, Kalyana Utsavam, Thiruveedi Purappadu or Serthi Sevai, are requested to get in touch with the Temple office for making their Ubhayams.
Having seen the significance of Panguni Uttiram and its relevance to Prapatti, we now can, with advantage, understand what is Prapatti.
First Step to Prapatti:
We all know “Prapatti” is total surrender to God. There are many among us who have already done Prapatti to God through our Acharyas. And beyond that, every time our Acharyas visit our Temple, we see many Bhaktas coming to Acharyas seeking Samashrayanam and Bharasamarpanam for themselves. And on this holy occasion of Panguni Uttiram, which is the day of “Saranagathi” performed for us all by Acharya Sri Ramanuja, it would be very appropriate for us all to know more about this Prapatti.
Prapatti is not a simple subject that can be covered in one column of this small News Letter. The subject needs to be dealt with in its many facets. But as a first step, let us all know about the First step to Prapatti.
Simply stated, the First step to Prapatti is to acquire the Sambandha Gyanam, i.e. the knowledge on the relationship we have with Lord Sriman Narayana.
We had a very interesting write up on Cricket in the last News Letter, which indicated as to how Jeevatma and Paramatma are linked in the game of life on this earth. Here let us have another very interesting story explaining the “Sambandam” between Jeevatma and Paramatma, written by Prakritam Srimad Azhagiyasingar in an article that appeared in June 2006 issue of Sri Nrisimhapriya. Here goes the story.
In the ancient days there was a businessman in a village. He used to travel extensively, even abroad pursuing his business. Once this businessman left his village and went abroad did not return for years.
This businessman had a small child when he left home. In these long years, the child grew up to become a handsome lad, inherited his father’s property and started doing business himself. As the years passed by, once this young man also went abroad pursuing his business.
At one port, the young man purchased huge amount of goods and he approached a cloak room nearby to store his materials. There he found another old man staying with his goods in the cloak room. The young man felt there was not adequate space to accommodate the goods of both the persons. So, the young man tried to push out the old man. But the old man advised that with some adjustment, both can get accommodated. But the young man was not willing and was particular that the old man must quit.
Now in the mean time, there came a third person, who identified both the young man and the old man . He told the young person to recognise his father in the old man. The young man was taken aback in this sudden revelation and fell at the feet of the old man who was all willing to accommodate the young man.
Continuing this story, Srimad Azhagiyasingar comes forward to give names to the father and son in this story.
According to Srimad Azhagiyasingar, the Father was the Paramatma and the son was the Jeevathma. Just like the father and the son having come and stayed under one roof in this story, both the Jeevathma and Paramatma come and stay in a cloak room called our body. Thus our body is a cloak room which offers both the Jeevathma and Paramatma a place for temporary stay.
In the first instance, the Jeevatma has no knowledge that the other resident inside the body is the Paramatma. Even when Paramatma offers to accommodate him inside the cloak room, the Jeevathma refuses to deposit his hard earned materials to the care of Paramatma. Even that the Jeevatma wanted the Paramatma to get out of his way and allow him to have a free space. Now at this stage, the third person enters the scene and he is none other than the Acharya.
It is Acharya who helps the Jeevathma to recognise the Paramatma. The Acharya then tells the Jeevathma that both he and his materials actually belong to the Paramatma and that the Jeevathma has no independent entity in this world without Paramatma and that the Paramatma is the real Owner of all. With these words, the Acharya asks the Jeevatma to surrender to Paramatma and serve Him.
Having been awakened and obtained the “Sambandha Gyanam”, the Jeevathma begs pardon from Paramatma and seeks the continuous company of Paramatma in the remaining years of his life. Now, the Paramatma who was already too willing to accommodate the Jeevathma, was very glad that His son had identified Him with the help of Acharya and embraces the Jeevathma with all the affection and goodwill. Thus the first step to Prapatti is to acquire the “Sambandha Gyanam” between us and the Emperuman.
And then what are the subsequent steps?
The 2nd Step:
In the last issue, we had known the first step to Prapatti, i.e. “Sambandha Gyanam”, i.e.
We know that our father is Lord Sriman Narayan Himself and that we are all his children.
We accept the fact that all that we have in this world belongs to Him and that there is nothing that can be called as our own.
Now, after having acquired this Sambandha Gyanam, we need to proceed to the second step. The Second step to Prapatti is Aanukoolya Sankalpam. This Aanukoolya Sankalpam can be explained thus:
In the first step, we have known our Father and we have the realisation that all that we have belongs to Him. Having realised this, the next step is to obey Him. Obeying Him means, obeying His orders.
Our religion is presently known as Hindu Religion. But that is the real name of our Religion. There was a time when there was no other religion than our religion. But later on may new religions came into being after the name of the person who founded it. They were Buddhism, Christianity, etc. Thus when more religions came into existence, our own religion was identified by a name and that name was Hindu Religion.
Our religion is a way of a life. This way of life was prescribed by the Vedas. Hence the ancient name of our Religion is Vedic Religion. And these Vedas were not written by any human being. They were handed over by Lord Sriman Narayana Himself to Sri Bramha. In these Vedas the Lord Himself has prescribed the way of life we should lead. Thus every person doing Prapatti should understand that the orders of our Father, i.e. the Shaastraas are contained in the Vedas. The Lord says:
Shrutihi Smritihi mamaivaagya; Yasyamullanghya vartate
Agyanacchedi mamadrohi; Madbhakto api vaishnavaha
Meaning, “The Shrutis and Smritis convey my commands and whoever violates them goes against spiritual dictates. Even if he is my devotee, by no means he is a Vaishnava.
Thus obeying the Lord means obeying the Shaastraas. Having understood this, the term Aanukoolya Sankalpam means making a promise that we would conduct our lives in accordance with the Shaastraas. Thus promising to obey the Shaastraas is the second step to Prapatti.
The 3rd Step:
The third step to Prapatti is simple. It is yet another promise by us not to do anything which is prohibited in the Shaastraas. And this is called “Praathikoolya Varjanam”, i.e. not to do what is prohibited by our Father, as revealed in the Shaastraas.
Thus for every one who is desirous of doing Prapatti, the important thing is to know what the Shaastras are all about.
Thus, the right way to get initiated to Prapatti is after [1] undergoing the religious teachings, [2] internalising the principles of our Religion and [3] adopting the religious way of life in day to day living. If this [1], [2] and [3] route is adopted, it would ensure that there is Aanukoolya Sankalpam and Praathikoolya Varjanam by the Prapanna, i.e. who had done Prapatti.
Here lies the importance of Upanayanam and Samaasrayanam. The Upanayanam initiates the person to Nithya Karmas and Aanhikam, the Daily Discipline. Please refer to the Book on Aanhikam written by HH 45th Azhagiyasingar available in our Mutt. The Samaasrayanam [Sam Aasrayanam, i.e. effective refuge], on the other hand, initiates us to Mantropadesam, Bhagavad Aaradhanam and to the Rahasyas. Both these together make us ready to meet the standards prescribed for Saranagathi, viz. the Aanukoolya Sankalpam and Praathikoolya Varjanam.
The Shaastras containing the Dos and Don’t’s can be categorized into Saamaanya Saastras and Visesha Shaastras. One may perhaps not be able to master the Visesha Shaastras. But the Samanya Shaastras are very simple and cover the Nitya Karmas which give us the discipline and regularity necessary for spiritual evolution. Similar to the routine exercises like drills and other practices that have nothing to do with war are insisted upon in the Defence Sevices to keep up the fitness of military personnel, in the same way, the Nitya Karmas make us fit for spiritual service. Hence, the minimum Aanukoolya Sankalpam that Prapannas need to do is to do Nithya Karmas like Sandhya Vandanam and Thiru Aaradhanam without fail.
Well, we have so far known the first three steps to Prapatti.
1. The first step was “Sambandha Gyanam” and understanding God as our Father
2. The second step was “Aanukoolya Sankalpam”, i.e. promising to obey the Father
3. The third step was “Praatikoolya Varjanam”, i.e. not to do things prohibited by Father
We also discussed that the dictates of God are contained in Vedas. These were codified as Dharma Shaastraas written by our ancient Sages like Manu, Apasthamba. Gautama and Yagnavalkya. Thus these Dharma Shaastraas prescribe the DO s and DON’T s for all of us to follow. And Lord Krishna, in Bhagavat Gita endorsed these Shaastras by saying “Tasmaat shaastram pramaanam the kaaryaakaarya vyavasthithou”.
In the olden days, in Gurukulas, the Teachers used to teach the students all these Dos and Don’ts and with this learning, people used to adhere to a value based life. And this type of Gurukula Education continued for a long time. All our Purvacharyas were Gifts of this Gurukula system to our Religion. Even when the country suffered at the hands of invaders, while the whole society suffered, still the Gurukula system continued. Our Acharyas like Sri Ramanuja and Sri Vedanta Desika led a value based life even during the peak of invasion, popularly called Kalaapa Kaalam.
But the whole system of education changed with the arrival of British. The Britishers changed our Value Based Education System and replaced it with modern education system. And with the introduction of this modern education system we lost touch with our Shaastraas, and resultantly with Value Based system of Life.
In this background, there is a definite need for us to know what are the Dos and Don’ts prescribed by our sages. We shall try to bring out the Dharma Shaastras, the religious Dos and Don’ts, one by one, from the next issue of this News letter.
And now, let us get on with the subject of Prapatti and let us proceed with the next step i.e. the 4th step to Prapatti.
4th Step to Prapatti—Aakinchanyam
Sri Alavandar in his Stotra Ratnam says:
Na dharma nishtosmi; Na cha aatma vedi; Na bhaktimaan twat charanaravinde
Akinchano ananya gati: sharanya Tawat paada moolam sharanam prapadye
He says:
I am not good in Karma Yoga; I am not good in Gyana Yoga; Nor I am good in Bhakti Yoga. Thus having no other means to attaining Lord I surrender myself at your lotus feet in the act of saranagati.
Thus Aakinchanyam is saying, “I am a simple person and I am not good in Karma, Gyana, Bhati Yogas. Not having any other means to attain Lord [Ananya Sadatvam], I perform Prapatti.
Aakinchanyam finds a mention in Tiruvaimozhi also. Swami Nammalwar says :Notra nonbilen; Nunnarivilen”. Sri Bhattar also says in Sri Rangaraja Stavam, “Gyana Kriya Bhajana sampat akinchanoham”, i.e. I am very poor in Gyana, Karma and Bhakti Yogas.
When Acharyas themselves have pleaded Aakinchanyam saying that they are poor in Karma, Gyana and Bhakti Yogas and have opted for Prapatti, we also need plead Aakinchanyam and do Prapatti.
While discussing Aakinchanyam, we recalled our inability to pursue the difficult path of Karma yoga. As for Gyana Yoga, we know very well our incompetency to comprehend the correct meanings of the Vedas and perform the Karmas ordained by the Vedas. Thus we recognized that it is not only difficult to practice such Karmas like Pancha Yagnas in these days but also it would be equally impossible to perform them in the future. There we also found ourselves totally insufficient to follow the difficult Bhakthi yoga as an upayam for Moksham.
At a time when we were bewildered as to what could be the easy route for Moksha Anugraham, our Acharyas tell us that there is a simpler route (viz)., the easy to practise Upayam, i.e. Saranagathy at the sacred feet of Sriman Narayana to accomplish the same goal of attaining Moksha. Thus our Acharyas have opened this path of Saranagathi for people like us who suffer total insufficiency, i.e. Aakinchanyam.
5th Step: Maha Viswaasam
Now before we plunge ourselves into the act of Saranagathi, we have to cross the next step to it. This step, the fifth step to Prapatti, is Maha Viswaasam, i.e. an unwavering faith that the Lord endeared by our performance of Prapatthi will overlook all our deficiencies and will protect us without fail. This Maha Viswaasam assures that we are eligible for the bliss of Moksham that is normally gained through giganctic penance i.e. Bhakthi Yogam of great sages. Our Maha Viswaasam should be such that even if our blemishes would normally disqualify us for Moksham, our Prapatthi has equal power to gain the hard-earned Moksham by the adoption of the tough-to-practise Bhakthi yogam .
In fact this Maha Viswaasam should be the power behind us to make Prapatti to the exclusion of Karma, Gyana, Bhkti Yogas. This Maha Viswaasam makes us totally rely on Sriman Narayana’s souseelya gunam. Our Poorvacharyas have explained that Lord’s Souseelya Guna grants the ease of access to Him by one and all, independent of one's status , Thus we become the object of protection by the Sarvaloka Saranyan , who is bound by our Maha Viswaasam
in Him.
In this context, it would be of interest to read about the Maha Viswaasam expressed in Saint Thyagaraja’s Kritis. In his Kritis, Saint Thyagaraja says:
"I have reposed my faith ENTIRELY in You and You alone. ...I have never asked for gold or wealth for me, for I have always cherished You in my mind as my family Treasure ( kula Dhanam ).I meditate on You and have selected You alone as my object of worship . I can not bring myself to approach any others for blessing me and granting me Moksham. The people of the world think that I am a destitute and an orphan because I have no support of men . I am protected by You , the Supreme One. Who else do I need for protection , when You are protecting me ? I have Maha Visvasam in You and stay in a state of fearlessness. I am proud that there is no one equal or greater than You. Unlike the common folk , who fail to develop faith (viswaasam ) in You due to their ignorance about Your greatness, I have fully understood Your limitless and unparalleled Mahimai . I have accordingly sought refuge in You so that You can take me in Your hand and bless me. I have always firmly believed that You are the friend of the distressed (dhinaas) and have constantly prayed to You. You alone are the God , whom I want to see. WHO IS THERE WHO COULD LIVE WITHOUT YOUR GRACE? I concede that the greatest of happiness consists in seeing You taking residence in my heart cavity."
Here we need also study Sri Vedanta Desika’s Maha Viswasam on Lord Sri Lakshmi Nrisimha from his stotra “Kamasikashtakam”. In verse 8 of this stotra he says:
Tvayi Rakshathi Rakshakai: Kimanyai: tvayi charakshathi Rakshakai: kimnayai:
Ithi niscchitha dhee: srayami nithyam Nruhare VegavathI tatasrayam thvam
Here it has also to be noted that a Saranagathy performed without the Maha Viswaasam would not be fruitful. Thus please understand that performing Prapatthi should be with unflinching/unwavering Faith in Him as our Protector at all times .
Sixth Step to Prapatti
The sixth step to Prapatti is known as “Goptrutva Varanam”. Before proceeding with this important step to Prapatti, let us revisit the story of Gajendra Moksham and its analysis written by Dr. V. Sadagopan of USA, a very learned Sishya of Srimad Azhagiyasingar.
In this well known story, the elephant Gajendra went into a pond to gather flowers for the Lord's worship. At that time, his leg was suddenly grasped underwater by a crocodile. The struggle between Gajendra and the crocodile continued for 50 years and beyond. And despite maximum struggle, the elephant could not free itself from the crocodile's mighty teeth. Then he appealed to the Lord to save him. The God immediately arrived at the scene, killed the crocodile and saved Gajendra. This simple story known to us for long time is the classic example of Goptrutva Varanam. How?
The above story tells us that Gajendra was battling the crocodile for over fifty years. During these years, the elephant gained the upper hand at times and the crocodile at other times. This went on and on, at the end of which Gajendra appealed to the Lord for succour and was duly saved. The question is, why didn't Gajendra seek the Lord's protection earlier? When he could do it at the end of fifty years and after fighting a losing battle, he could have done it pretty early on, avoiding all the pain and wasted effort!
We cannot blame the elephant Gajendra for delaying the Call to Lord, when we are doing the same thing. We labour under the mistaken notion that it is we who protect ourselves. We valiantly battle against our numerous enemies, external and internal, for a lifetime of sixty, seventy and eighty years, without realising, like Gajendra, that we are doomed to failure.
Like us, Gajendra was confident in the early years of the struggle that his own strength will pull him out of trouble. It was only when the concerted effort failed to have any effect, that he realised the impossibility of the situation and decided to appeal to the Lord for saving him. And the moment he performed Saranagati, Emperuman descended from the heavens to save him.
Here is the next aspect of this story. In this story, we are told that during the entire fifty years that he was struggling for his life and limb, the Lord did not act till the animal's cry for protection reached the Lord. Then He rushed in and saved the elephant. The question is if the Lord has boundless affection for His devotees, should He not rush to their aid the moment they are in trouble, rather than waiting for an SOS call from the afflicted person? How can the Lord callously witness all their suffering and then save them at the very end, like the policemen in cinemas who rush in after the hero has successfully battled with the gangsters?
The answer to this lies in the following Ahirbudhnya Samhita sloka:
"Sarvagyopi hi Visvesa: sada kaarunikopi san;
Samsara tantra vaahitvaat raksha apeksham pratIkshate"
Though infinitely powerful, omniscient and merciful, the Lord, because He had given a freewill to the humans to act as the way they want, He waits for a word, just a word from the devotee, seeking His help and assistance, before rushing to his aid. That the Lord protects only those who apply to Him is further confirmed by a sloka in LakshmI Tantram:
"Aprartthito na gopayet iti tat prartthana mati:
Gopayita bhavet Evam Goptrutva varanam smritam"
The specific request to the Lord to save us, known as "Goptrutva Varanam", is one of the important elements of Saranagati, without which the Lord protects us NOT. This concept is like this. We have Supreme Court, High Court, etc. which exist to protect us from troubles. But they do not come to our rescue on their own, unless we move an application before them. And this Moving of an Application is Goptrutva Varanam in the context of Prapatti. Thus the 6th step to Prapatti is the actual Act of Saranagati before Emperuman,
Sri Andal's Thiruppavai and Prapatti
we had so far covered the Prapatti in six steps. It is to be noted that the previous first five steps are Angams to the sixth step, the actual final act of doing Saranagathi. On this holy occasion of Thiru Aadipooram, in this News letter, we shall see the guidance to Prapatti that Sri Andal gives us in Her Thiruppavai.
We can observe that in most verses of Thiruppavai, Sri Andal goes about the streets of Srivilliputthur to wake up Her friends so that all of them can approach the mansion of Nandagopa [Thiru Koil] where the Lord is engaged in Yoga nidra. The message here is that all the Bhagavathas / Bhaktas should get together and engage themselves in the worship of Lord Sriman Narayana at his Temple. Sri Andal further says that this worship should be in the form of Prapatti. And she further elaborates, thus:
1. Aanukoolya Sankalpam:
Mella Ezhundu - Ari enra Per aravam ullam pugundu - kulinrndu
Get up in the morning, allow God’s name to enter in you, feel divine
Natkale neeradi - Thooyomai vandu
Take Bath, get pure
Kallam thirandu kalandu - Ellarum Pondu
Remove all evil thoughts, Mix with other Bhagavathas; Go together to the temple
Devadi Devanai chenru sevittu
Go and prostrate before the Supreme Lord
Manathukkiniyanai paada vai thirandu - Uttaman Per paadi - Paraman adi paadi
Potri Pugazhndu - Adi Potri; Thiral potri; pugaz potri; Gunam potri
Vaayinal paadi ; Thoomalar Thoovi Thozhudu ; Manatthinal sindithu,
Pray, Sing His praise, Do archana, Meditate on Him
Varuttamum theerndu - Magizhndu
Let go of all your personal worries, Be happy and confident
Aiyamum pichaium andanaiyum kai kaati
Do Charity;
2. Praatikoolya Varjanam
Seyyadana Seyyom
We shall not do anything unbecoming
3. Maha Viswasam:
Naarayanane namakke parai [Moksham] Tharuvan –
Narayanane tharuvan; No other can give
4. Goptrutva Varanam:
Sengan Siruchiride Enmel vizhiyavo ; Kan irandum kondu engal mel nokkudiyel
- Oh Lord, Please bless us with your Kripa Drishti
Engalmel chaapam izhindu - Please remove all our sins
Yam vanda kaariyam aarayndu, aruli - Please consider our prayers, please bless us
Unnai Archithu vandom, parai tharudiyaagil—We had prayed you for Grant of Moksham
5. Visualize Sriman Narayana coming to you:
Seeriyasingam theevzhithu - veri mayirponga eppadum perndudari
moori nimirndu, muzhangi purappatu podaruma pole
Visualize that Lord Sri Lakshmi Nrisimha comes down and blesses you
6. Then do Saranagati and Pray:
Siru kale vandu; unnai sevitthu; un potramarai adiye potrum porul kelai
We came in the morning and prayed at your lotus feet, please know our purpose.
Kutreval engali kollamal pogade - All we request is: Please accept our Kainkaryams
Etraikkum, Ezezhpiravikkum unthannodu utrome yavom
Please bless us to have uninterrupted and permanent relationship with You
Unakke Nam aatcheyvom
We shall serve you and you alone
Matrai nam kamangal matru
Please banish all other desires in us for material objects
Thus Thiruppavai is a simple enactment of Saranagathi with detailed instructions for our benefit by Sri Andal.
In conclusion, let us listen to Sri Vedanta Desika
We all know that Prapatti has to be done through our Acharyas. Therefore, no discussion on Prapatti can be complete without prostrating before our Acharyas and listening to them as to how to do Prapatti. In this context, I bring to the readers of Ahobila Vaani the guidelines of Swamy Vedanta Desika as to How to do Prapatti.
Swamy Desika mentions Prapatti as “Nyasam” and he has written a number of Granthams on Nyasa. The shortest among these is Nyasa Dasakam consisting of only 10 slokas. Let us briefly go through these 10 Slokas and benefit from the advice of Sri Vedanta Desika on How to do Prapatti.
Sloka 7:
Swamin, I realise that all that I have so far considered as mine, are actually Yours. Please therefore accept me, mine and my Kainkaryams with Your full kind heart. I have nothing more to place at your disposal since all are already Yours. ………...[ The 1st step to Prapatti]
Sloka 1:
I surrender myself at the lotus feet of Emperuman. I recognise that I am subservient to Lord. I Surrender the responsibilities for my protection to the Lord. I also surrender whatever benefits that arise because of my existence in this world to the Lord.
Sloka 2:
Swamin, I am incapable of observing any other path for Moksha and therefore I surrender before You. [Aakinchanyam] All I will say is I would perform only those duties that pleases you [Anukulya Sankalpam] and I will not violate the codes of conduct prescribed by you [Pratikulya varjanam]. I have total faith in You [Maha viswasam] and I surrender at Your lotus feet the total responsibilities for my protection with this Prayer [Goptrutva Varanam].
Sloka 3:
Swamin, You have blessed me with the Knowledge that I am now under complete protection of Sriman Narayana and You have relieved me of any worries about my protection. Swamin, You are my Lord. Whatever knowledge I have, whatever I do, whatever result they produce are all Yours and Your acts. [This is Karthrutva thyagam, mamata tyagam and phala tyagam].
Sloka 9:
I had been leading a life of sins so far. I had not been doing the Karmas prescribed for me and had been transgressing the Saastras by doing prohibited acts so far. Swamin, the power of Pardon from You alone can destroy my accumulated sins.
Sloka 8:
Swamin, You are my only protector from now on. Out of your compassion, please destroy all my accumulated sins and guide me not to commit any sin any more.
Sloka 6:
Swamin, all that I want to do from now on is flawless Kainkaryam to You in a manner that would please the Divya Dampathis.
Sloka 5:
Swamin, please guide me from now on that I do not indulge in any act that is against Saastras and also guide me to spend rest of my life doing uninterrupted service to You . Let me give up all those acts that benefit myself. Let my only goal from now on be to attain You.
Sloka 4:
Swamin, I have performed my Bhara Nyasam at Your sacred feet. Please grant me the boon of reaching Sri Vaikuntam at the end of my stay in this world so that I can move over there and do my uninterrupted Nitya Kainkaryam to You daily.
Sloka 10:
Swamin, You have Yourself caused the execution of Bhara Nyasam for me at Your sacred feet. You have now accepted the responsibilities of my protection. I am therefore freed of any worries about my protection. I will therefore lead a life of Prapanna from now onwards with all peace of mind and tranquillity. Relieved of the cycle of Samsara, I will now devote myself to the Bliss of Kainkaryam to the Divya Dampathis.
In Conclusion:
Let us all recite the above “Nyasa Dasakam” written so briefly for us by Sri Vedanta Desika, in our Daily Prayers so that we remind ourselves of the Spirit of Bhara Nyasam daily and live our lives in the same spirit daily.
Know about Alwars
Sri Nammalwar and Sri Nathamunigal
Swamy Nammalwar was born on the 43rd day of kali yuga, on Vaikasi Visakam in Thiru kurugoor. Since the current year is 5108th year of Kaliyuga, Swamy Nammalwar was born 5108 years before. The new born child was totally different from general human nature. It did not open its eyes, did not cry and did not eat. The distressed parents took the child to the Temple and surrendered to God. The child grew in years but did not speak to any one and sat motion– less under a Tamarind Tree in the Temple.
All these 16 years, Swamy Nammalwar was doing penance and finally Vishwaksenar from Sri Vaikuntam appeared before him and initiated him through Pancha Samskaram and gifted him with Sacred Mantras.
Swamy Nammalwar then made his profound writings and composed the following:
1.Thiruviruttam— as the essence of Rig Veda
2.ThiruvAsiriyam— as the essence of Yajur Veda
3.Periya ThiruvandhAdhi as the essence of Atharva Veda
4.ThiruvAimozhi— as the essence of Sama Veda
Swamy Nammalwar is also known as Satagopa. Sata is said to be the Maya that engulfs every human being immediately after one’s birth. Sri Nammalwar resisted the Sata and hence is called Satagopa.
After living for 35 years, Swamy Nammalwar wished to reach the Abode of Sriman Narayana and before the eyes of his discipline, Sri Madhurakavi, he became one with God.
From the History, we know that new religions were born and Emperors like Ashoka propagated these new religions and Sanatana Dharma was not patronized. Later with foreign invasions taking place, many of our Granthas were lost to us and even the 4000 Divya Prabandhams were lost to us. In 9th Century AD, Sri Nathamunigal did penance invoking Swami Nammalwar and Swami Nammalwar appeared before him and gave Upadesam of all the 4000 Divya Prabandhams. Thus for the Tamil Vedam we have today, we have to be very grateful to Swamy Nammalwar and Sri Nathamunigal.
The Thirunakshatram of Sri Nammalwar is celebrated on the day of Visakam in every Vaikasi Month. A grand 10 day festival is celebrated in Alwar Thirunagari which every Srivaishna must attend at least once in a life time. The speciality of this festival is :
Alwar Thirunagari is surrounded by Nava Thiruppathis, i.e. Nine Divya Desams. On the fifth day of this Festival, Emperumans from all the 9 Thiruppathis arrive at Alwar Thirunagar and are received by Swami Nammalwar. And on that day, every Emperumal is seen on Garuda Vahana and you will have the rare Darshan of 9 Garuda Sevai with Swami Nammalwar in Hamsa Vahanam and Sri Madhurakavi Alwar in Pallakku. A rare event for any Sri Vaishnava, indeed.
Sri Peria Alwar
King Vallabha deva was the Pandian king who was ruling the country with headquarters at Madurai. He used to take inspection rounds in the night. During one of his rounds, he saw a Brahmin sitting in a Mandap. He enquired who he was and wherefrom he had come, etc. When he came to know that he was a scholar, the king asked him to share with him a worthy philosophy. The scholar said :
To be comfortable in the night we earn during the day. To be comfortable in the old age, we earn during youth. To be comfortable in the future, we earn during the present. To be comfortable in the other world what are we doing in this world?
This question made the king to ponder. He shared his thoughts with his ministers. During discussions, the subject matter shifted to the question as to whom we should worship now to give us everlasting happiness in Moksha. One of his counsellers, Selva Nambi, suggested to the King to congregate Scholars from all philosophies and determine as to who is the Supreme God. The king agreed to the suggestion and ordered that due announcements may be made inviting learned people to attend the congregation and participate in the debate. The king also offered a bag containing gold coins as reward to the winner.
Vishnu Chitta was the fifth son of his parents – Mukunda and Padma. He was leading a simple life in Srivilliputhur plucking flowers and making garlands for the daily worship of Sri Vatapatra sayee, the presiding deity of the Temple. One day, he had a dream in which Sri Vatapatra sayee appeared and ordered him to proceed to Madurai to participate in the debate announced by the King Vallabha Deva.
Obeying the divine orders, Vishnu Chitta proceeded to Madurai and participated in the debate. The debate began, As Vishnu Chitta started speaking, the fundamental vedantic philosophy floated out of his lips due to the divine inspiration. Vishnu Chitta explained to the august assembly that Vishnu is Narayana and that He is the Parabrahma, the beginning and end of all creation, He proved to the satisfaction of every one in the assembly that one can attain Moksha only with the Krupa / Blessing of Sriman Narayana. Right at that time, the bag containing the gold coins which was hung atop the Hall, fell on the lap of Vishnu Chitta signifying the correctness of the statement made by him in the congregation. This miracle occurred to prove that Vishnu Chitta was the undoubted victor. The entire assembly stood up in reverential devotion and threw themselves at the feet of Vishnu Chitta.
The King celebrated this event by taking a procession in the streets of Madurai with Perialwar on the Royal elephant. Lord Sriman Narayana wanted to witness this event personally and so He appeared on the skies with His Consorts, on Garuda. Just as a mother would like to protect her beautiful child from the Dhrushti of people around, Perialwar, was afraid that all people's Dhrushti might affect the Lord appearing brilliantly on the skies, He immediately burst out singing Pallandu, Pallandu.., using the bells on the elephant for metre, blessing the Lord. This is the famous Thiruppallandu.
Vishnu Chitta was the only Alwar who sang blessing the God Himself. Because of his Parental affection on God, Lord chose him to be His father in law, by marrying his daughter Andal. Hence among all Alwars, he is known as Peria Alwar.
Sri Andal
Though most of us know the Andal Vaibhavam, may be it is time to make the young people know about Sri Andal. Here is a brief narrative about Sri Andal for their information.
As Sita was found by king Janaka while tilling the land for doing yagna, Vishnuchitha found the divine girl child under a Tulasi plant while he was tending his nandavana(garden) in Srivilliputhur. Sri Vishnuchitha, a great vedic scholar, poet, a Vishnu devotee and also known as Periyazhvar brought her up in simple and godly surroundings natural to a pious, vedic Brahmin. The child prodigy thus fostered lovingly grew into a beautiful maiden and became an embodiment of love for Sri Krishna.
Being a devotee of Lord Vishnu, Vishnuchitha would weave a garland of tulasi leaves daily and keep it sacredly rolled in a flower basket so that he may, after attending to his other course, take the garland later to the temple for offering to the lord. The child Andal in her profound innocence would take out the garland daily without her father's knowledge, adorn herself and look into the mirror to satisfy herself whether she was suitable bride to the lord and then would remove the garland and place it in the basket in its original form. This was going on for days and without actually knowing that his daughter had adorned the garland around herself, Vishnuchitha would offer this to the deity who wore it beatifically.
One day to his surprise, Vishnucitha saw the child wearing the garland before he could take it to the temple. He was shocked for he considered this as a great defilement. He remonstrated her for this act. He fasted that day and did not offer the garland to the Lord and remained all repentant.
But lo! What a surprise? At night, the Lord appearing in dreams asked Vishnuchitha, why he did not offer the Tulasi Garland at the Temple that day? The Lord said to Vishnuchitha that he was ever eager to have the Garland touched by His devotee. He said “Think not Andal to be a mere mortal.” To his wonder Vishnuchitha found that the Tulasi mala worn on the previous day by Andal had not faded, but was fresher than a freshly made garland. Thereafter, he offered the garland to the deity after being worn by Andal. And this is the reason why Sri Andal is also respectfully remembered as Soodi Kodutha Nachiar. Sri Andal is also called “Kodai” in Tamil, meaning, “Sweet Garland”.
Thirumangai Alwar
The star Krittikai in the month of Kaarttikai is an auspicious day for all Sri Vaishnavas for it is the birth star of one of their most revered saints, Tirumangai Alvar. He is the second most prolific author among the 12 Alvars, next only to Nammalvar.
In his early days Thirumangai Mannan, a small king himself, was a man of the sword, At that time Lord Narayana was far from his thoughts. His spiritual journey started with a commitment he made to his sweetheart Kumudavalli in exchange for her hand in marriage. While most women may have asked for her lover’s everlasting love, or a diamond ring, or a gold bangle, all that lady Kumudavalli sought from Tirumangai was that he must wear the marks of Sri Vaishnava and serve food for 1,000 Vaishnavas everyday for a period of one year. This service, initiated as a price for love, turned into a divine love towards the devotees of Lord Narayana. Days rolled by. Tirumangai spent all his wealth in the service of Vaishnavas. With his coffers empty, Tirumangai could not continue the service. That made him take to robbery.
Now Lord Narayana decided to intervene and turn Tirumangai away from the evil ways of robbery. He and Mahalakshmi appeared before Tirumangai as a newly wed couple bedecked with priceless ornaments. Tirumangai stopped the couple and forcibly relieved them of all the jewelry. But, there was one piece on our Lord's toe that wouldn't come off however much Tirumangai tried. In frustration Tirumangai put his head on the lotus feet of our Lord with the intention of biting the ring off. At that moment Tirumangai was drawn in by the beauty of the lotus feet and realized the true nature of the couple standing in front of him. The Lord then taught him the meaning of "Tirumanthram". Thus Tirumangai Mannan had his Acharya in Lord Narayana Himself!
Tirumangai immediately went on to sing the poem ``Periya Tirumozhi'' consisting of 1,084 verses. In these Pasurams, our Alwar declares that he was free from all the sins and felt assured of the ever lasting bliss at the lotus feet of Sriman Narayana. The first ten of these verses are dedicated to the name ``Narayana''. These first 10 emotional verses even today have the power of those who strayed in their youth. Tirumangai in his Pasurams comes down hard on himself with intense self criticism for the violence he had caused and for having squandered his days on mundane pursuits. He ends each of the ten verses with a celebration of the divine name Narayana, These verses will bring emotional tears of longing for the lotus feet of Lord Narayana in the eyes of any Vaishnava.
Thirumangai Alwar visited various Divya Desams and offered his Mangalasaasanam. In particular he offered his Mangalasaasanam before Lord Sri Lakshmi Nrisimha at Sri Ahobilam.
History of Srivaishnavism
Swamy Nammalwar’s Thirunakshatram falls on 19.5.08 and Sri Ramanuja Jayanthi falls on May 9, 2008. On this auspicious occasion we need know that Swamy Nammalwar is the Kootasthar, i.e. Head of Sri Vaishnavism and Sri Ramanuja was the Sthapaka of our Srivaishnava Siddhantam. In this article let us learn about the History of Sri Srivaishnava Siddhantam.
Swamy Nammalwar was born on the 42nd day of Kaliyuga, just missing Sri Krishna by 42 days. He did penance, had the Darshan of Vishwaksena, gifted us with his Pasurams in praise of Lord and conveyed to us the Glory of Sriman Narayana.
Swami Nammalwar was followed by other Alwars who also sang in praise of Lord. But then all these treasures were being passed on from one generation to another by word of mouth and through palm leaves. And over centuries most of these were lost.
824 AD: In this Scenario, our Poorvacharya, Sri Nathamuni went on a long pilgrimage. In one Divya Desam he met some Sri Vaishnavas who were reciting some Paasurams composed by Swamy Nammazhvar. He heard the 11th paasuram ending with "orayirathhul ippathum….". This meant "these ten poems out of the one thousand composed by Sadakopan of Kurugoor” Then Sri Nathamuni asked those Srivaishnavas whether they knew the rest of the thousand paasurams. They answered with a "No". In search of the remaining poems, Sri Nathamuni went to Kurugoor and enquired about the remaining Poems. Not able to make much headway, he did severe Tapasya praying Swamy Nammalwar. As a result of this Tapasya, Sri Nathamuni not only got the 1000 verses composed by Sri Nammalwar, but also received the entire Divya Prabandham composed by other Alwars. Sri Nathamuni then compiled all these Prabandhams together and made arrangements for these hymns to be sung in the temples as Tamil Veda.
This Srivaishnavite treasure passed hands from Sriman Nathamunigal to his Sishya, Shri Uyyakondar. Then to his Sishya, Sri Manakkal Nambi. Then it was passed on to Sri Nathamuni’s Grand son, Sri Alavandar. Sri Alavandar was teaching these to his Sishyas Peria Nambi and others at Srirangam.
1017 AD -- Sri Ramanuja was born. He was born during a time when Sankara's Advaita was the dominant philosophical force. Sri Ramanuja received his primary education from the Advaita teacher, Sri Yadava Prakasa. During the course of Education, Sri Ramanuja was more influenced by Sri Vaishnava Siddhantam and often disagreed with his Advaita Teacher Sri Yadava Prakasa over interpretation of various principles. The differences between them became so intense that both parted ways.
During this period, Sri Alavandar visited Kanchi and was impressed by the Sri Ramanuja’s knowledge, eminence and his daily service to Lord Sri Varadaraja. Later, in Srirangam, when Alavandar fell ill and he asked Periyanambi to go to Kancheepuram and bring Ramanuja to pass on his heritage.
Perianambi met Sri Ramanuja at Madhurantakam on way to Kancheepuram. At Madurantakam the two learned men met and had discussions. Sri Ramanuja was impressed with the erudite knowledge of Sri Peria Nambi and requested him to do Samasrayanam to him. Thereafter, both reached Srirangam. But as fate would have it, Sri Alavandar died before Ramanuja could reach Srirangam.
Sri Ramanuja promised to the departed soul that he would fulfill his wishes of carrying forward the Srivaishnava Philosophy.
This point in Ramanuja's life is really the beginning of his long life as a philosopher and preacher within the school of Sri Vaisnavism. He was now 40 years old and he decided to spend the remaining years of his life studying, writing and preaching Sri Vaisnava philosophy.
Sri Ramanuja settled in Srirangam and started writing and preaching. Daily hundreds of people flocked to him to hear his lectures. Slowly he had a following of thousands of followers, who revered him as their Guru. Ramanuja's fame quickly spread far and wide. He had converted thousands of people to the path of devotion. And he was now seventy years old.
What would have been the end of a long career for most people was just the beginning for Sri Ramanuja. He was destined to live for many more years.
Sri Ramanuja completed is famous Sri Bhashya and established the Vishishtadvaita principles of Sri Vaisnavism. He proclaimed to the people the doctrines of devotion and surrender, Bhakti and Prapatti to God.
Sri Ramanuja continued his work for many more years and made several religious works. His works include Vedanta Sangraha; · Sri Bashyam ; · Gita Bashyam ; · Vedanata Dipa ; Vedanta Sara ; Saranagathi Gadya ; Sriranga Gadya ‘ · Srivaikunta Gadya ; and Nitya Granta .
At his advanced age, he traveled far and wide up to Kashmir and appointed 74 Simhasanadhipatis to propagate the principles of Vishishtadvaita. He finally closed his long career after attaining the remarkable age of 120 years.
The story of Ramanujacharya is actually the story Sri Vaisnavism. The Sri Vaishnavite world is very much indebted to Sri Ramanuja. And in our Temple, we are celebrating the Annual Thirunakshatram of Sri Ramanuja over a period of 5 days starting from 5.5.08. There would be Sevakalam every day in honour of our Acharya.
In reverence to our Great Acharya, please make it a point to associate yourself in this Great Celebration of Thirunakshatram of our Greatest Acharya on 9.5.2008.
And in another 9 years, we would be celebrating the 1000th Thirunakshatram of Sri Ramanuja. And with the Blessings of Sri Prahlada Varada, Sri Mahalakshmi, Sri Ramanuja and Srimad Azhagiyasingar, we all are sure to be participating in the Grand 1000th Thirunakshatram Festival of Sri Ramanuja in the year 2017.
Swamy Nammalwar was born on the 43rd day of kali yuga, on Vaikasi Visakam in Thiru kurugoor. Since the current year is 5108th year of Kaliyuga, Swamy Nammalwar was born 5108 years before. The new born child was totally different from general human nature. It did not open its eyes, did not cry and did not eat. The distressed parents took the child to the Temple and surrendered to God. The child grew in years but did not speak to any one and sat motion– less under a Tamarind Tree in the Temple.
All these 16 years, Swamy Nammalwar was doing penance and finally Vishwaksenar from Sri Vaikuntam appeared before him and initiated him through Pancha Samskaram and gifted him with Sacred Mantras.
Swamy Nammalwar then made his profound writings and composed the following:
1.Thiruviruttam— as the essence of Rig Veda
2.ThiruvAsiriyam— as the essence of Yajur Veda
3.Periya ThiruvandhAdhi as the essence of Atharva Veda
4.ThiruvAimozhi— as the essence of Sama Veda
Swamy Nammalwar is also known as Satagopa. Sata is said to be the Maya that engulfs every human being immediately after one’s birth. Sri Nammalwar resisted the Sata and hence is called Satagopa.
After living for 35 years, Swamy Nammalwar wished to reach the Abode of Sriman Narayana and before the eyes of his discipline, Sri Madhurakavi, he became one with God.
From the History, we know that new religions were born and Emperors like Ashoka propagated these new religions and Sanatana Dharma was not patronized. Later with foreign invasions taking place, many of our Granthas were lost to us and even the 4000 Divya Prabandhams were lost to us. In 9th Century AD, Sri Nathamunigal did penance invoking Swami Nammalwar and Swami Nammalwar appeared before him and gave Upadesam of all the 4000 Divya Prabandhams. Thus for the Tamil Vedam we have today, we have to be very grateful to Swamy Nammalwar and Sri Nathamunigal.
The Thirunakshatram of Sri Nammalwar is celebrated on the day of Visakam in every Vaikasi Month. A grand 10 day festival is celebrated in Alwar Thirunagari which every Srivaishna must attend at least once in a life time. The speciality of this festival is :
Alwar Thirunagari is surrounded by Nava Thiruppathis, i.e. Nine Divya Desams. On the fifth day of this Festival, Emperumans from all the 9 Thiruppathis arrive at Alwar Thirunagar and are received by Swami Nammalwar. And on that day, every Emperumal is seen on Garuda Vahana and you will have the rare Darshan of 9 Garuda Sevai with Swami Nammalwar in Hamsa Vahanam and Sri Madhurakavi Alwar in Pallakku. A rare event for any Sri Vaishnava, indeed.
Sri Peria Alwar
King Vallabha deva was the Pandian king who was ruling the country with headquarters at Madurai. He used to take inspection rounds in the night. During one of his rounds, he saw a Brahmin sitting in a Mandap. He enquired who he was and wherefrom he had come, etc. When he came to know that he was a scholar, the king asked him to share with him a worthy philosophy. The scholar said :
To be comfortable in the night we earn during the day. To be comfortable in the old age, we earn during youth. To be comfortable in the future, we earn during the present. To be comfortable in the other world what are we doing in this world?
This question made the king to ponder. He shared his thoughts with his ministers. During discussions, the subject matter shifted to the question as to whom we should worship now to give us everlasting happiness in Moksha. One of his counsellers, Selva Nambi, suggested to the King to congregate Scholars from all philosophies and determine as to who is the Supreme God. The king agreed to the suggestion and ordered that due announcements may be made inviting learned people to attend the congregation and participate in the debate. The king also offered a bag containing gold coins as reward to the winner.
Vishnu Chitta was the fifth son of his parents – Mukunda and Padma. He was leading a simple life in Srivilliputhur plucking flowers and making garlands for the daily worship of Sri Vatapatra sayee, the presiding deity of the Temple. One day, he had a dream in which Sri Vatapatra sayee appeared and ordered him to proceed to Madurai to participate in the debate announced by the King Vallabha Deva.
Obeying the divine orders, Vishnu Chitta proceeded to Madurai and participated in the debate. The debate began, As Vishnu Chitta started speaking, the fundamental vedantic philosophy floated out of his lips due to the divine inspiration. Vishnu Chitta explained to the august assembly that Vishnu is Narayana and that He is the Parabrahma, the beginning and end of all creation, He proved to the satisfaction of every one in the assembly that one can attain Moksha only with the Krupa / Blessing of Sriman Narayana. Right at that time, the bag containing the gold coins which was hung atop the Hall, fell on the lap of Vishnu Chitta signifying the correctness of the statement made by him in the congregation. This miracle occurred to prove that Vishnu Chitta was the undoubted victor. The entire assembly stood up in reverential devotion and threw themselves at the feet of Vishnu Chitta.
The King celebrated this event by taking a procession in the streets of Madurai with Perialwar on the Royal elephant. Lord Sriman Narayana wanted to witness this event personally and so He appeared on the skies with His Consorts, on Garuda. Just as a mother would like to protect her beautiful child from the Dhrushti of people around, Perialwar, was afraid that all people's Dhrushti might affect the Lord appearing brilliantly on the skies, He immediately burst out singing Pallandu, Pallandu.., using the bells on the elephant for metre, blessing the Lord. This is the famous Thiruppallandu.
Vishnu Chitta was the only Alwar who sang blessing the God Himself. Because of his Parental affection on God, Lord chose him to be His father in law, by marrying his daughter Andal. Hence among all Alwars, he is known as Peria Alwar.
Sri Andal
Though most of us know the Andal Vaibhavam, may be it is time to make the young people know about Sri Andal. Here is a brief narrative about Sri Andal for their information.
As Sita was found by king Janaka while tilling the land for doing yagna, Vishnuchitha found the divine girl child under a Tulasi plant while he was tending his nandavana(garden) in Srivilliputhur. Sri Vishnuchitha, a great vedic scholar, poet, a Vishnu devotee and also known as Periyazhvar brought her up in simple and godly surroundings natural to a pious, vedic Brahmin. The child prodigy thus fostered lovingly grew into a beautiful maiden and became an embodiment of love for Sri Krishna.
Being a devotee of Lord Vishnu, Vishnuchitha would weave a garland of tulasi leaves daily and keep it sacredly rolled in a flower basket so that he may, after attending to his other course, take the garland later to the temple for offering to the lord. The child Andal in her profound innocence would take out the garland daily without her father's knowledge, adorn herself and look into the mirror to satisfy herself whether she was suitable bride to the lord and then would remove the garland and place it in the basket in its original form. This was going on for days and without actually knowing that his daughter had adorned the garland around herself, Vishnuchitha would offer this to the deity who wore it beatifically.
One day to his surprise, Vishnucitha saw the child wearing the garland before he could take it to the temple. He was shocked for he considered this as a great defilement. He remonstrated her for this act. He fasted that day and did not offer the garland to the Lord and remained all repentant.
But lo! What a surprise? At night, the Lord appearing in dreams asked Vishnuchitha, why he did not offer the Tulasi Garland at the Temple that day? The Lord said to Vishnuchitha that he was ever eager to have the Garland touched by His devotee. He said “Think not Andal to be a mere mortal.” To his wonder Vishnuchitha found that the Tulasi mala worn on the previous day by Andal had not faded, but was fresher than a freshly made garland. Thereafter, he offered the garland to the deity after being worn by Andal. And this is the reason why Sri Andal is also respectfully remembered as Soodi Kodutha Nachiar. Sri Andal is also called “Kodai” in Tamil, meaning, “Sweet Garland”.
Thirumangai Alwar
The star Krittikai in the month of Kaarttikai is an auspicious day for all Sri Vaishnavas for it is the birth star of one of their most revered saints, Tirumangai Alvar. He is the second most prolific author among the 12 Alvars, next only to Nammalvar.
In his early days Thirumangai Mannan, a small king himself, was a man of the sword, At that time Lord Narayana was far from his thoughts. His spiritual journey started with a commitment he made to his sweetheart Kumudavalli in exchange for her hand in marriage. While most women may have asked for her lover’s everlasting love, or a diamond ring, or a gold bangle, all that lady Kumudavalli sought from Tirumangai was that he must wear the marks of Sri Vaishnava and serve food for 1,000 Vaishnavas everyday for a period of one year. This service, initiated as a price for love, turned into a divine love towards the devotees of Lord Narayana. Days rolled by. Tirumangai spent all his wealth in the service of Vaishnavas. With his coffers empty, Tirumangai could not continue the service. That made him take to robbery.
Now Lord Narayana decided to intervene and turn Tirumangai away from the evil ways of robbery. He and Mahalakshmi appeared before Tirumangai as a newly wed couple bedecked with priceless ornaments. Tirumangai stopped the couple and forcibly relieved them of all the jewelry. But, there was one piece on our Lord's toe that wouldn't come off however much Tirumangai tried. In frustration Tirumangai put his head on the lotus feet of our Lord with the intention of biting the ring off. At that moment Tirumangai was drawn in by the beauty of the lotus feet and realized the true nature of the couple standing in front of him. The Lord then taught him the meaning of "Tirumanthram". Thus Tirumangai Mannan had his Acharya in Lord Narayana Himself!
Tirumangai immediately went on to sing the poem ``Periya Tirumozhi'' consisting of 1,084 verses. In these Pasurams, our Alwar declares that he was free from all the sins and felt assured of the ever lasting bliss at the lotus feet of Sriman Narayana. The first ten of these verses are dedicated to the name ``Narayana''. These first 10 emotional verses even today have the power of those who strayed in their youth. Tirumangai in his Pasurams comes down hard on himself with intense self criticism for the violence he had caused and for having squandered his days on mundane pursuits. He ends each of the ten verses with a celebration of the divine name Narayana, These verses will bring emotional tears of longing for the lotus feet of Lord Narayana in the eyes of any Vaishnava.
Thirumangai Alwar visited various Divya Desams and offered his Mangalasaasanam. In particular he offered his Mangalasaasanam before Lord Sri Lakshmi Nrisimha at Sri Ahobilam.
History of Srivaishnavism
Swamy Nammalwar’s Thirunakshatram falls on 19.5.08 and Sri Ramanuja Jayanthi falls on May 9, 2008. On this auspicious occasion we need know that Swamy Nammalwar is the Kootasthar, i.e. Head of Sri Vaishnavism and Sri Ramanuja was the Sthapaka of our Srivaishnava Siddhantam. In this article let us learn about the History of Sri Srivaishnava Siddhantam.
Swamy Nammalwar was born on the 42nd day of Kaliyuga, just missing Sri Krishna by 42 days. He did penance, had the Darshan of Vishwaksena, gifted us with his Pasurams in praise of Lord and conveyed to us the Glory of Sriman Narayana.
Swami Nammalwar was followed by other Alwars who also sang in praise of Lord. But then all these treasures were being passed on from one generation to another by word of mouth and through palm leaves. And over centuries most of these were lost.
824 AD: In this Scenario, our Poorvacharya, Sri Nathamuni went on a long pilgrimage. In one Divya Desam he met some Sri Vaishnavas who were reciting some Paasurams composed by Swamy Nammazhvar. He heard the 11th paasuram ending with "orayirathhul ippathum….". This meant "these ten poems out of the one thousand composed by Sadakopan of Kurugoor” Then Sri Nathamuni asked those Srivaishnavas whether they knew the rest of the thousand paasurams. They answered with a "No". In search of the remaining poems, Sri Nathamuni went to Kurugoor and enquired about the remaining Poems. Not able to make much headway, he did severe Tapasya praying Swamy Nammalwar. As a result of this Tapasya, Sri Nathamuni not only got the 1000 verses composed by Sri Nammalwar, but also received the entire Divya Prabandham composed by other Alwars. Sri Nathamuni then compiled all these Prabandhams together and made arrangements for these hymns to be sung in the temples as Tamil Veda.
This Srivaishnavite treasure passed hands from Sriman Nathamunigal to his Sishya, Shri Uyyakondar. Then to his Sishya, Sri Manakkal Nambi. Then it was passed on to Sri Nathamuni’s Grand son, Sri Alavandar. Sri Alavandar was teaching these to his Sishyas Peria Nambi and others at Srirangam.
1017 AD -- Sri Ramanuja was born. He was born during a time when Sankara's Advaita was the dominant philosophical force. Sri Ramanuja received his primary education from the Advaita teacher, Sri Yadava Prakasa. During the course of Education, Sri Ramanuja was more influenced by Sri Vaishnava Siddhantam and often disagreed with his Advaita Teacher Sri Yadava Prakasa over interpretation of various principles. The differences between them became so intense that both parted ways.
During this period, Sri Alavandar visited Kanchi and was impressed by the Sri Ramanuja’s knowledge, eminence and his daily service to Lord Sri Varadaraja. Later, in Srirangam, when Alavandar fell ill and he asked Periyanambi to go to Kancheepuram and bring Ramanuja to pass on his heritage.
Perianambi met Sri Ramanuja at Madhurantakam on way to Kancheepuram. At Madurantakam the two learned men met and had discussions. Sri Ramanuja was impressed with the erudite knowledge of Sri Peria Nambi and requested him to do Samasrayanam to him. Thereafter, both reached Srirangam. But as fate would have it, Sri Alavandar died before Ramanuja could reach Srirangam.
Sri Ramanuja promised to the departed soul that he would fulfill his wishes of carrying forward the Srivaishnava Philosophy.
This point in Ramanuja's life is really the beginning of his long life as a philosopher and preacher within the school of Sri Vaisnavism. He was now 40 years old and he decided to spend the remaining years of his life studying, writing and preaching Sri Vaisnava philosophy.
Sri Ramanuja settled in Srirangam and started writing and preaching. Daily hundreds of people flocked to him to hear his lectures. Slowly he had a following of thousands of followers, who revered him as their Guru. Ramanuja's fame quickly spread far and wide. He had converted thousands of people to the path of devotion. And he was now seventy years old.
What would have been the end of a long career for most people was just the beginning for Sri Ramanuja. He was destined to live for many more years.
Sri Ramanuja completed is famous Sri Bhashya and established the Vishishtadvaita principles of Sri Vaisnavism. He proclaimed to the people the doctrines of devotion and surrender, Bhakti and Prapatti to God.
Sri Ramanuja continued his work for many more years and made several religious works. His works include Vedanta Sangraha; · Sri Bashyam ; · Gita Bashyam ; · Vedanata Dipa ; Vedanta Sara ; Saranagathi Gadya ; Sriranga Gadya ‘ · Srivaikunta Gadya ; and Nitya Granta .
At his advanced age, he traveled far and wide up to Kashmir and appointed 74 Simhasanadhipatis to propagate the principles of Vishishtadvaita. He finally closed his long career after attaining the remarkable age of 120 years.
The story of Ramanujacharya is actually the story Sri Vaisnavism. The Sri Vaishnavite world is very much indebted to Sri Ramanuja. And in our Temple, we are celebrating the Annual Thirunakshatram of Sri Ramanuja over a period of 5 days starting from 5.5.08. There would be Sevakalam every day in honour of our Acharya.
In reverence to our Great Acharya, please make it a point to associate yourself in this Great Celebration of Thirunakshatram of our Greatest Acharya on 9.5.2008.
And in another 9 years, we would be celebrating the 1000th Thirunakshatram of Sri Ramanuja. And with the Blessings of Sri Prahlada Varada, Sri Mahalakshmi, Sri Ramanuja and Srimad Azhagiyasingar, we all are sure to be participating in the Grand 1000th Thirunakshatram Festival of Sri Ramanuja in the year 2017.
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