Prapatti

"bheeti" afflicts a true "vivEki" for not for a very long while.
Wisdom sooner or later prevails over Fear.

By patient effort and persistent faith, a "vivEki" journeying upon
the "vEdanta-mArga" shown by Swami Desikan, eventually crosses all
the hurdles of the "adhikAra-parvA" --- viz. "vivEkam", "nirvEdam",
"virakthi", "bheeti" --- and gradually but surely, as a flower ripens
into fruit, he becomes ready to embark on the second leg of the great
journey of the "parama-pada-sOpAnam" -- called the "upAya-parva".

The experiences of "nirvEdam", "virakthi", "vairAgyam" and "bheeti"
have all by now profoundly stirred his soul. But they have not shaken
or broken it. On the contrary, by the time he approaches the new
stage in life -- the stage of "prasAda-hetu" -- even the emotion of
Fear or "bheeti" has made him much stronger in spirit than he himself
is probably even aware of. The illumination of spiritual Wisdom
("vivEkam") and the long practice of renunciation ("vairAgyam")
together have enabled him to finally seal the victory of the
spiritual over the profane. He is ready now, once and for all, to
leave behind the mundane. He is eager to embrace the sublime?
absolutely.

How does the man emerge from the dark and terrible cave of "bheeti"
into the sunlit and cheery vale of "prasAdana-parva"? How is it
possible to make the magical transition from the painful and unruly
feelings of "virakthi" and "bheeti" to the relative calm of
"prasAda-hEtu"? How is one enabled to move from the holy terror of
"bheeti" to the hale self-confidence of this new phase in the journey
of the "parama-pada-sOpAnam?

The answer given by Swami Desikan is that it is made possible by the
Grace of God viz. His Compassion, his "dayA" for his creation.

The "bheeti"-filled "vivEki" is by now teetering at the very edge of
a deep moral precipice. A grave spiritual paralysis has seized him.
He is filled with despair. It is a moment of crisis. The man is
helpless and just does not know what next or else to do?.

This state of mind that the man of "bheeti" has reached is called in
Sanskrit "naicchyAnu santAnam". In Tamil they call it "avai-adakkam",
meaning an acute awareness of one's real spiritual helplessness born
out of the emotion of "bheeti". In the Mahabharatha, the welter of
feelings that sped through Draupadi's mind, as her modesty was being
outraged in the royal court of Hastinapur, are described as being
precisely those of "bheeti" mixed with "naicchyAnu santAnam". Desikan
once wrote of precisely such a complex despair in the poignant
"stOtra", the "abhIti-stavam" (Stanza 3):

"yadadhya mitha-buddhinA bahula-mOha-bhAjA mayA
gUNa-gratitha-kAya-vAngmanasa-vrutti-vaichithrayatha: I
atarkita-hitAhita-krama-visEsha-mAraBhyatE
tadapyuchita-marchanam parigruhANa rangEswara " II

Rangeswara! I am a person of small intellect. I am filled with "mOha"
-- Ignorance. My life has been nothing but an unending stream of
folly, indiscretions and sin. My mind, senses and speech do not obey
me. Each goes its own way? There is neither rhyme nor reason in the
way I lead my life today (in the lofty language of Vedanta, this is
called lack of "karaNatraya-sArupyam" or "sAmarasyam" in life)? O
Ranga! My Lord! I am utterly confused and fearful?I do not know what
to do, what steps or expedient, what "krama' or 'hitAhita" to adopt
to get myself out of this great moral morass into which I have
sunk?".

Vedanta teaches us that the mental state of mind called "naicchyAnu
santAnam" is the first ever tell-tale sign in a man that he has
become an 'adhikAri', that he has graduated to a certain ripe stage
in life where he is "qualified" at last to receive God's compassion
or "dayA". And it is in this state that Man begins his quest for the
second element known as "hita" in that famous Vedantic formulation of
the equation of life called "tattva-hita-purushArtham".

In the "parama-pada-sOpAnam" the "hita" chosen by man are two in
number: either he chooses "bhakti", the Path of Devotion, which is a
relatively more difficult journey up the stairway to "parama-padam"
than the other one -- the route called "prappati-mArga", the Path of
Absolute Surrender. Both routes i.e. both "hitA-s" end at the same
destination en route the "prasAdana-parva". Both have the full
sanction of the Vedantic scriptures. And both "hita" are the perfect
and most effective antidote against "bheeti", the holy terror of Man.


The man who choses the path of 'bhakti' is attracted toward one or
more of the following "upAya":

"sravanam kirtanam vishnO: smaranam pAda sevanam I
archanam vandanam dAsyam, sakyam atma-nivEdanam II
(Srimadh-bhAgavatham)

In the above lines, 9 basic aspects of 'bhakti' are spelt out which
in turn characterize the typical behaviour of men who have taken to
the path of devotion on the "prasAdana-parva":

(1) sraVaNam : deriving immense joy out of listening to the accounts
and anecdotes of the 'avatAric' exploits of God as narrated by
'itihAsA-purANa'

(2) kirtanam : singing the glories of God
e.g."sankirtanam","bhajanam"

(3) smaraNam : being immersed in constant contemplation of the divine
e.g "japam", "mananam", "bhagavath-chintanam"

(4) pAda-sevanam: employed in the service of God and godly
institutions e.g. "kovil-kainkaryam", "bhAgavata-sishrusham"

(5) archanam : offering with utmost love little tokens of devotion to
God e.g. flower, fruit, water, leaf ("pushpam, phalam, jalam, tOyam")

(6) vandanam : ceaselessly prostrating to the divine
("sAshtAnga-dandasamarpaNam", "namaskaraNam")

(7) dAsyam: leading one's lifetime as if one were a mere servant of
God ("dAsatvam", divine subservience)

(8) sakyam: firmly believing that God is the sole and constant
companion in life

(9) atma-nivEdanam: offering up one's soul completely unto God

The man of bhakti overcomes "bheeti" easily through one or more of
the above "upAya". As he becomes more and more immersed in the above
activities, he gains more and more inner tranquility. And this in
turn makes him even more engrossed in "bhakti". In this state he
wishes for nothing else in the world but to be left alone to carry on
uninterrupted "dAsyam", "vandanam", "archanam" etc. He longs for
nothing else but to be close to sacred places of worship and
pilgrimage; he seeks the company of none but fellow passengers on the
path of bhakti; he has ears for nothing but the songs of God and the
stories of his 'avatAra-leelas'; he 'eats, drinks, sleeps and dreams'
of none but his chosen God, like Krishna, Rama or Govinda.

Kulasekhara AzhwAr in one of his very famous hymns in praise of the
Lord of Tiruvengadam, gives us a very graphic portrayal of the mental
state of such a man of 'bhakti' who has turned his back finally,
unconditionally and irrevocably upon the mundane. Such a man does not
look back ever. He has "burnt his bridges" completely with the earth.
He is willing now to pay any price, go to any lengths and use any
means ? if it will take him but a little nearer God, sing and dance
about Him:

"aanAtha selvatthu arampaiyargaL tar sUzha
vAnALUm selvamUm mann-arasUm yAn vEndane;
thEn Ar pUnjOlaith tiruvEnkata sunaiyil
meenAyp pirakkUm vidhi udaiyane aavEnE. (4.2 "perumal
tirumOzhi")

sediyAy valvinnaigaL theerkUm tirumAlE !
nediyAnE! vEngadavA! Nin kOyilin vAsal
adiyArUm vAnavarUm arampayarUm kiddanthu eyyangUm
padiyAyy kiddanthu Un pavazhavAyy kAnbEnE !" (ibid.
4.9)


"For but a fleeting glimpse of your lovely coral-hued lips, O God of
Venkatam, if you ask me, what would I not gladly give up in this
world, what can I say? I will give up a life of wealth, power and
glory! I will give up dancing belles decked in gold and best finery!
Why, I'd give up everything, my Lord, to live as mere fish in your
temple-tank? or, even as that mute slab of stone stretching across
your gilded doorstep!"

As the emotion of 'bhakti' completely overtakes the man, all
previously predominant emotions of "nirvEdam", "virakthi" and
"bheeti" gradually begin to fade away. In their place, the man of
"bhakti" experiences nothing but tranquility and immense peace within
himself. There are no more dark nights for the soul? Constant
'bhagavath-smaraNam' ("para-bhakti") brings in its wake clear
knowledge ("para-gnyAnam"), a ceaseless sense of sweet contentment in
life and most important of all, an intense and overpowering sense of
communion with God ("parama-bhakti") throughout one's living moments.


Such tranquility and contentment brought about by "bhakti" is
described in two extremely moving 'pAsuram-s' by Peria-AzhwAr in the
decad titled "senniyOngu":

"paravai Eru param-purudA! nee ennaik kaikOnda pin
piravi ennUm kadalUm vattrip perUmpadam aaginradAl;
iravu seyyUm pAvakk kAdu theekkOLi vEginradAl;
arivai ennUm amuda aaru talaipattri vAyykOndathE !"
(peria-azhwAr tirumOzhi - 5.4.2)

"Ever since You took me into your service and contemplation, My God,
the ocean of my earthly misery has dried up completely! It serves me
now only as sacred space. The dark forests of 'karma', with the
treacherous death traps of sin they had laid for me, are now all
burning like raging forest fires. Now, pure Knowledge, like a sweet
stream of 'amuda' (ambrosia), has gripped me in a tide of bliss to
ride me away on wave unto eternity!"

"ananthanpAlUm garudanpAlUm aiythu nOyythAga vaitthu
en manatthUllEy vandhu vaigI vAzhacheyythAy, empirAn!
Ninnaindhu ennUllE ninru nekkuk-kaNgaL asumbu Ozhuga
Ninnaindhu-irundhE siramam teerndhEn nEMi nEdiyavanE !
(ibid. 5.4.8)

"Now that You have entered into my soul, my loving God, You have
given me a new life! My throbbing heart melts at every moment that it
dwells upon You! My eyes are awash with tears of Joy! My Lord, I tell
You, I have ended all my miseries by mere thought of You!"

This is the stage in life when man becomes deeply attracted by and
commits himself wholly to 2 scriptural "upAyA-s" --- viz.
"bhakti-upAya" or "prappati-upAya". The first is the Way of Devotion;
the second, The Way of Surrender.

Thus cured of the terror of "bheeti", the man of bhakti happily lives
out his life until the very end exactly as the AzhwAr says ? "
Ninnaindhu-irundhE siramam teerndhEn nEMi nEdiyavanE !

Next, we ask: How does the man who chooses the easier path of
"prappati" overcome his Fear, and begin also to live life as happily
ever after as the man of "bhakti"?

The man who chooses "prappati" sees himself too in a truly helpless
situation. His "naicchyAnu santAnam" is no less than that of the man
who has chosen "bhakti". But unlike the latter, this man knows he is
simply incapable of the discipline of mind and body that the practice
of life-long 'bhakti' requires. The 9 articles of 'bhakti' viz.

"sravanam kirtanam vishnO: smaranam pAda sevanam I
archanam vandanam dAsyam, sakyam atma-nivEdanam II

?the above 9 "upAya" of Bhakti are far too daunting for an ordinary
man. They involve unceasing, unrelenting and the most intense
"upAsana" (practice and perseverance) far beyond the capacity of mere
mortals. So what then does such a man who leaves the path of bhakti
to take up the route of "prappati" do?

He is said to perform the act of absolute self-surrender,
'saranAgati'.

Invariably, this process is hastened, or catalyzed, by the man's
encounter with a mentor, a 'sadAchAryA' or 'guru' who appears in his
life and enlightens him about the proper way a 'prappanna' (he who
has formally performed 'prappati' or surrender) should lead life
during the rest of the days destined upon earth. Madhura-kavi AzhwAr
in his "kanninun-siru-tAmbu" spoke of the good fortune that befalls
such a man who encounters a 'guru' or 'achAryA' who, like a boat-man
ferrying one across the river, takes upon himself the responsibility
to lead the man of 'bheeti' from darkness to light, from ignorance to
knowledge, from fear to fearlessness and from the misery of 'samsAra'
to the endless 'ananda' of God.

"nannmayyAl mikka nAn-maraiyAlargaL
punmai aaga karuthuvar aadalin
annaiyAyy atthanAyy ennai aandidUm
thannmaiyAn sadagOpan en nambiyE. (stanza 4)

"Worthy scholars full of grace
Had me found worthless in my ways?
But father, mother both in one,
Is Sadagopan, who now rules my days.

"mikka vEdiyar vEdathinn utpOrUL
nirka pAdi en nenjUkkUL niruthinnAn;
takka seer sadagOpan en nambikku
aatpukka kAdhal adimai payananrE." (stanza 9)

The deepest sense of Vedic thought
He sang in song and taught it to my heart
SadagOpan, my Lord and my Love --
He is my purpose, and I his slave.

Such a man who has found a "guru", and thanks to whose grace he has
also found the proper means to perform and observe "prappati" ? such
man lives his life swearing eternally by the 5 cardinal principles of
'saranagati':

(1) "anukulasya sankalpah" : resolve in life to do only those deeds
that are pleasing to God
(2) "pratikulasya varjana" : resolve to abjure deeds unfavorable to
God
(3) "mahA visvAsam" : be unwavering in faith in God
(4) "karpannyOkthi" : be constantly aware of one's spiritual
helplessness
(5) "atma-nikshEpa" : submit the burden of protecting one's
soul into the Hands of God



When a 'prappana' strictly carries out the above 5 "prescriptions" he
lives a life totally devoid of "bheeti". Peace, tranquility, joy and
contentment flow to him in exactly the same fashion as we saw it did
above in the case of the man of "bhakti". The 'prapanna', after
attaining this stage of the 'paramapada-sOpAnam',
lives a carefree life merrily carrying on with the rest of his days
on earth, faithfully and cheerfully. He has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to
fear ('a-bheethi') -- much like Swami Desikan was himself in his own
time.

In a short hymn called 'ashtabhUjAshtakam', Swami Desikan, echoed
this fearless state of mind of the 'prapanna' in the words:

"bhayam kUtasyAt tvayi sAnukampE; raksha kuthasyAt tvayi jAtharOshE"
!

meaning: Where is the need to FEAR anything when I am Your protégé,
My God? And if I am not Your protege, is there anything on earth that
will not cause perennial FEAR to me?

In the 'nyAsa-dasakam', too, in Verse #5 and Verse #6 of that hymn,
Swami Desikan, pretty much expresses the same feelings of 'FEARLESS
SELF-ASSURANCE" enjoyed by the man who has chosen the path of
"prappati" in life:

tvachhE-shathvE sthira-dhiyam tvatprAptyEka prayOjanam I
nishidha kAmyarahitam kUrUmAm nityakinkaram II

swAmi svashEsham sva-vasham sva-bharathvEna nirbharam I
sva-datha-svadhiyA svArtham svasmin nyas-yathi mAm svayam II

"The Lord, of His Own accord, will take me unto Him; and he will do
so for His Own Sake; I am CERTAIN of this! I am but a willing servant
under His reign; I have no responsibility even unto myself; that
Great Burden is all His Own. I have no Fear!"

Thus, indeed, do both the man of "bhakti' and the man of "prappati"
conquer Fear, the holy terror of "bheeti", and live out their time on
earth as happy and fearless souls





It is well known that Swamy Desikan is an incarnate of the Lord Thirumalai Srinivasan- ThiruvEnkatamudaiyaan?s GhaNTa- the divine Bell of the Thirumala sannidhi. The divine incarnate of the Lord?s sanctum sanctorum divine Bell rings again and again composing 120 works? . It is not an ordinary bell which is kept in sannidhis. This was the Bell used by chauthurmukha brahmA when he was performing ArAddhanam to the Lord. So divine was it and thus the works unparalleled.

Thirumalaimaal ThirumaNiyaay siRakka vandhOn vaazhiyE..

However, Sri Nainacharya declares in PiLLai anthAthi:


anRu ivvulaginaiaakki arum poruL nool viritthu
ninRu than neeL pugazh vENkatamaamalai mEvippinnum
venRi pugazh THIRUVENKATANATHAN enRum Guruvaay
ninRu nigazhndhu maN mEl ninRa nOygaL thavirtthananE?

In times of yore, That day- The Lord ? Bhagawaan- had created the worlds; Then, He taught the essence of Vedas as GitAchAryan [declaring the essence of gitA in the last chapter as rahasyam- the doctrine of Saranagathi]; Then, He stands resplendently on the Thirumala mountain as Srinivasan- to the delight of everyone; [similar to the farmer who wants his field to be watered well and nurtured to a large extent and be saved- the Lord stand here ensuring the avatars of Acharyas to teach Saranagathi doctrine- showing his Hand towards His lotus feet. In spite of His standing, sending various Acharyas, teaching the doctrine of Saranagathi and following the same as well in their lives, the Lord did not get much response from the masses. So, in order to ensure the people take the right path as declared in saashthars and get saved, He Himself came as an Acharya in this Kaliyuga in his own name- Venkata Nathan- and alleviated all our diseases existing on the earth by reinforcing and concretising the then existing Saranagathi maargam from the times of AzhwArs.

Thus with Vedantha Desika avatars, the Lord willed to let everyone realize the greatness of Saranagathi and be saved from the samsaaric ocean of births and deaths. There is no barrier for any jeevathma as long as that jeevan performs Saranagathi at the lotus feet of the Lord. Hence, Vedantha Desika avatar becomes the greatest avatar made by Venkatamudaiyaan Himself.

Also Lord Sri Hayagrivan shows Himself with the vyAkhyAmudrA in one hand, and the book (or leaves) on the other; Desika archA avatars also have this same form, proving that Lord Hayavadhanan has taken anupravESa avatar in this mahAchAryan. Even in DevaperumAL Sannidhi [in Kanchi] EmeprumAnAr Sri Ramanujacharya also shows Himself with upadEsa mudrA [or vyAkhyA mudrA]. Swamy Desikan mentions the same in YathirAja sapthathi as well: [Ramanuja with His jnAna mudrA ? the resplendent nails dispel the darkness in his heart..]

Swamy Desikan is addressed is as Bhagawaan by Sri PrathivAdhi Bhayankaram aNNan Swamy : yammEnE vishNO avathAram- [in Vaibhava prakAsikA]..

Sri NainAchryar also says: [in his Desika mangalaasaasanam]


vEnkatESAvathArO(S)yam thadhgaNTAmSOThavaa bhavEth |
yatheendhrAm SO(S)thavEthyEvam vitharkyAyAsthu mangaLam ||

May all auspiciousness be with Sri Vedantha Desika about whom different views were held that he was an incarnation of Lord Venkatesa or he was His divine gantA (Bell) or the divine incarnate of Acharya Ramanuja Himself.

Dindima Kavi (in 14th century) who was a junior contemporary of Vedanta Desika pays tribute to Swamy?s greatness as follows:

There was confusion all around as a result of turbid nature of Kaliyuga; the Vedas were in great distress; (because of misinterpretation); wise saying of the seers were completely ignored; there was an unholy intermixture of all castes; and quite in consonance with this sorry state, all sacred epics and puranas lost their validity; the maayaavaada was in all glee; and the school of nihilism (soonya vada) was having undisputed acceptance by all. It was at this critical juncture that Sri Vedanta Desika came into this world as an incarnation of the great rining divine bell of VishNu for the establishment of Dharma and its protection. He shines all victorious.

vEdhE sancAthakEthE? vishNu gaNTAvathaara:

PrathivAdhi Bhayankaram Annan (1300 to 1400 CE) was a junior contemporary of Vedantha Desika and also a disciple of Sri Nainacharya (son of Vedantha Desika). He gives a nutshell about Swamy in his Sapthapathi Rathnamaalika- which we will see when we enjoy Swamy?s life.

Vedas and saasthras declare that EmperumAn has the five Dhivya rUpams, namely, Param, vyUham, vibahavm, archai and Hardham [or antharyami roopam]. The vibhava, archA avathAra roopam is grander than Param- as opined by scholars and Azhwars. [yErAr muyal vittu kaakkai pin pOvadhEn..] Avatars have solwseelyam, sowlbahyam guNam to the fullest extent and thus facilitates becoming grander and more enjoyable. AzhwArs were also deemed as abhinava dasAavathAr. The Lord dwells in the greatest NithyasUri, muktha jeevathmAs when they take AzhwAr AchArya avathars thus making their births as well deemed avathArs of the Lord so- to say. PoorvAchAryas call this avathars as ?anupravESa avathars?.

Swamy Desikan himself says at the end of his magnum opus Srimath Rahasyathraya saram?- veLLai parimukar dEsikarAy viragAl aDiyOm uLLatthu yezhudhiyadhu Olaiittu yezhudhinam? yam udhaRkku yen.. [The white horse faced- Lord Hayagrivan had written in our heart; and [I] only wrote what He had written inside ? merely reproducing what is written inside.. In the line of Acharyas, Nathamuni, Yamuna, Ramanuja, through upadEsam, they had written also [the lineage that starts from the Lord Himself- as PrathamAchAryan]. What They wrote inside my heart- aDiyEn wrote on the leaves; Thus Acharya avathar is Hayavadhanan?s (Lord Hayagrivan?s] anupravESa avathar himself.

Sriya: Pathi Sarveswaran found that His message rendered for the benefit of humanity, in His incarnations as Sri VarAha and Sri RAma did not get well publicized. So, He reiterated the same more
elaborately in His incarnation as Sri KrishNa under the pretext of advising Arjuna, explaining clearly the difficulties involved in other means like Karma, JnAna and BhaktiyOgas and rounding it up with the
grand finale that Prapatti which he had earlier instructed was THE BEST means for humanity to reach Him. To reinforce this message, He appeared as ThiruvEnkatamudaiyAn.

Despite the message being so loud and clear, people were found ignorant of the full import thereof. So, He deputed Srimad NAthamuni, Srimad YAmuna muni and Sri RamAnuja muni to expound the content of the SAstras through SribhAshya, GitAbhAshya etc. as also the means to practice (anushTAnam) Prapatti through "SaraNAgathi Gadhyam". During the days of UDaiyavar, the message did sink deep into the minds of people as seen in the affirmation- "SrI RamAnuja DivyAjnA prathivAsaram ujjwalA, dighantha vyApinee bhooyAth sA hi lOka hithaishiNee". Therefore, the doctrine came to be
known as "Sri RAmAnuja Darsanam".

But, due to the mushrooming of votaries of heretic religions frantically trying to spread their faith, due to our Scriptures lying scattered in different works without being uniformly codified and also due to the loss of the works of Sri NAthamuni hailed as the crest jewel of SAstras (Grantha rathnam), ordinary folk were misled by the spurious arguments of charlatans.

Feeling that if this were allowed to corrupt people anymore, the whole world would come to a naught, "Thirumalai ThiruvEnkaTamuDaiyAn" Himself, out of infinite compassion came down as "Thooppul ThiruvEnkaTamuDaiyAn" [As also addressed reventially by Sri Piilailokacharya]. For over 100 years, as Thoopul Desika, He revealed in Himself the aspects of IlayaperumAL of RAmAvatara,
BalarAma of KrishNAvatAra, and "Apara Hayagriva"- all in one.

He spent his whole life in giving kAlakshEpams in SriBhAshya, GitAbhAshya, proving the hollowness of the arguments of opponents in lively debates, creating works on our Darsanam for the benefit of
posterity, writing commentaries on Bhagavad RAmanuja's BhAshyams, erecting impregnable fortresses to protect our SiddhAntam from alien creeds through works.

[The above is compiled from extracts of Articles written (1) by Sri U Ve Navalpakkam Varadhachar Swamin in Thiruvaheendrapuram release souvenir and (2) by Sri U Ve Abhinavadesika Uttamur Swami-Courtesy: "Seva Malar" 1957. Translation: Anbil Ramaswamy]