Swami as Kalyana Guna Salin

The 3rd reason why Swami Venkatanathan's memory is to be greatly
cherished by us on his 'tirunakshatram' is hinted in the phrase
"kalyANa-guNa-shAlinE...".

Desikan was a man of many rare and sublime qualities ("guNA-shAli"),
two of which were really outstanding.

He was (A) utterly fearless ("nirbhaya") and (B) a man of compassion
("kArunnyan"). Desikan achieved in life what ordinary men of the
world never do viz. he conquered Fear of both Life and Death. And
because he was utterly fearless he was also utterly compassionate
towards a world around him mired in Fear of every conceivable kind.

Conquest of the Fear of Life:
The fears and anxieties that beset ordinary men in life simply held
no terror for Desikan. Poverty, disease, old age, social approval...
none of these ever mattered to him. Throughout his life he held
steadfast to the age-old value of "simple living and high thinking".
He shunned wealth like the plague; he did not know the meaning of the
term "financial welfare"; the future, neither his own nor that of his
family, held any worry for him. All his life he was content living on
"unchavruthi" -- on whatever means of sustenance came his way by way
of day-to-day alms given by the community.

Although he considered austerity in life as value, Venkatanathan does
not seem to have for that reason imposed it on others. Nowhere in his
lifetime does Desikan appear to be grand-standing his simplicity or
humility. At all times he seems to have borne his poverty with a
quiet and natural dignity.

Desikan's fearlessness in life is amply demonstrated through a famous
'stOtrA' of his, the 'vairAgya-panchakam'. His good Advaitin friend
VidyAranya of the Vijayanagar Court once sent him an invitation to
serve as full-time royal poet-laureate. It meant a plum-post securing
for Swami Desikan a comfortable livelihood for the rest of his life,
not to speak of post-retirement benefits! Swami Desikan however
rejected the offer of what today would qualify as a fantastic
'career-break'. The only wealth, he wrote to his friend in
Vijayanagar, the only heirloom he coveted was always his for the
taking. "It is ever resident and awaiting me on the Hastigiri Hill in
Kanchi"... Desikan was meaning, of course, the Deity in the temple of
Lord Varadaraja.

Conquest of the Fear of Death:
Malik Kafur, the Mughal general of Alaudin Khilji's invading army in
south India, attacked and ransacked the SriRangam temple during
Desikan's days there. The poor citizens fled but some of them were
ruthlessly massacred. While on his flight from SriRangam to distant
Satyakaalam (now in Karnataka) where he took refuge, Venkatanathan
was first-hand witness to bloody death and carnage. Desikan lived
alone in exile in Satyakaalam for over a decade. The story of human
struggle to conquer the primal Fear of death became one of the
marvellous themes that Desikan dealt with in his famous and slightly
auto-biographical 'stOtrA', the "abhIti-stavam".

Compassion:
Desikan was a man of great compassion. Neither lofty scholarship nor
high birth seems to have insulated him from the pains and miseries of
the common man. Being a "kavi-kEsari" or a "tArkika-simham" did not
make him retire into some secluded 'ivory tower'. Desikan seems to
have been acutely aware of the social ills and problems of the world
around him and deeply empathized with the commonweal.

An example of Desikan's compassion for the commoner is the
"sudarshanAshtakam". This 'stOtra' was composed by Venkatanathan on
seeing the plight of the people of a village near Kanchi struck by a
devastating epidemic. In his times there was no such thing as public
health system, and when an epidemic struck, hundreds if not thousands
perished. Desikan's 'sudarshanAshtakam' became at once both a prayer
of hope and a therapy for relief at a time of great calamity for the
people of Kanchi. To this day, this 'stOtrA' is recited by the
faithful everywhere who believe it wards off illness and disease.

Swami Desikan was the first 'achArya' in the Vedantic tradition who
boldly went as far as to define God's quality of universal compassion
as being not merely theological necessity but philosophical axiom. A
God without compassion would be a contradiction in terms, he said.
Since we see that compassion does exist in this world, we have to
conclude that God too therefore must exist.

To the Upanishad definition of Brahman having 3 dimensions viz.
"satyam", "gnyAnam," and "anantham", Desikan made out a fitting case
for adding a 4th dimension -- "dayA" or "anukampA". It became the
central theme of his famous "dayA satakam", a "stOtrA" which, beyond
a shadow of doubt, only a man of great 'dayA' in his own right -- an
extraordinary "kalyANa-guNa-shAli", so to speak -- could have ever
composed.


One is reminded of Alavandhar?s sthOthra Rathna slOka ? 18th-
vaseevadhaanyO guNavaan ruju suchi: mrudhur dhayaaLu madhura sthiras sama: kruthee kruthagna:?.

Alavandhar sang this in praise of the Lord Sriman Narayanan. And they fit so appropriately for our Acharya saarvabhouman as well. Let us enjoy how. [in the words of Sri Seva Swamy]

Vasee: He keeps everything under his spell. Captivating.. Swamy had his senses under his spell; control. vase hi yasya indhriyANi thasya pragnyA prathishtithA: - The Bhagawatha Ramanuja darshanam was saved by Swamy. He was the captivating one for all those who surrendered to the Lord?s lotus feet. Anban thannai adainthavarkkellAm anban- He was loving and reverential towards those who are devoted to the Lord and have surrendered to His lotus feet. Vayamhi haridAsAnAm paadha rakshA valampakaa:

Vadhaanya: Speaks sweetly; (priyam vadhaa) committed to giving? is the meaning of Vadhaanya. Not only the Lord is that- our Swamy too is the same. He was sweet to artthis. He calls the recipients of his teaching and granthas as Udhaarars (vaLLal). He gives them merrily and happily. Rejoices at giving and keeps giving more and more. Look at his granthas and the numbers for our sake. He is ready to even grant himself for the Bhagaawathas. Emmai viRkavum peruvaargaLE.. He grants whatever one asks for. Sarva phalapradhan was he. He granted the most invaluable gems i.e. his granthas for us. [who reads them and how many?- andhO!]

GuNavaan- Most virtuous- One with the most auspicious attributes; Should one talk about the kalyANa guNAs of Swamy! Even in heart of hearts, Swamy had committed no apachAram. He lived the entire life with that in mind. The way all eight Atma guNAs were housed in Swamy- one can not see anywhere else. There can be no second opinion about it. ANNan Swamy says so in RathnamaalikA. Rathnamalika is equal to only Rathna maalikA alone. Annan Swamy wonderfully mentions about Vedantha Desikan in his work as his obeisance to Acharyan. AchAryath vOpayukthA: munigaNa gadhithA: dESikaisvEna sOkthA: SarvE pathrA guNAsyu: samudhitha vibhavaa: sarvathanthra swathanthrE.. sishyath vOpayyukhthA: kooranAThE yadhAsyu:

Swamy guNAs are simply divine. They grant fruits to others. They inculcate others such qualities in them as well when they pay their obeisance to Swamy. For one query as to who is the most guNavaan! Vaalmeeki had to write 24000 slokas in and as Ramayana. Like that our Swamy?s GunAs as well. 1000?s will no be enough. One should never see ordinary guNAs (attributes) in Lord Sriman Narayanan- one should only visualize special eztraordinary kalyANa gunAs in Him- says Swamy with detailed commentaries for Gadyathrayam. One can only see the same in Swamy as well. Swamy?s vAk (speech) had maanam (PramaaNam- proof from saasthrAs); On Varadan (thEva perumAL) he had [abi]mAnam (affection and deeper devotion).. He had sammAnam on Acharyas. He had bahumAnam among Brahmins (praise); He was a PRAMAANAM for VaidIkas. But he stood with no upamaanam (comparison). He saw no disparity between prapannans; had same respect for them as detailed by him in Rahasyathraya saram..

Ruju: He had no kapatam.. (Deceit or cunning nature). He talked about kapata kEsari.. (the Lion faced Lord Sri Nrusimhan) or Kapata vaamanan (the deceitful Vaamanan) ; He describes about the one who came under the guise of human (AtmAnAm maanusham manyE rAmam dasarathAthmajam). But an avathaar with no kapatam is our Thoopul ThiruvEnakatamudaiyaan avatar.

Swamy had no Raja, thamO guNa sambandham. Swamy had no temptations (proof is VairAgya panchakam written to VidyAraNyar). uLLam urai seyal uLLa im mooNraiyum onRa vaitthavar.. (speech, thinking, and action are all the same..all on Sriman Narayanan and all on Ramanuja)

Suchi: apahathapaapmathvam- ability to have anything that he wills. Or having pristinely pure heart. Paavanathvam- is suchi: - Swamy Desikan comments. That which alleviates our paapam (sins). That which has the ability to remove our sins. Paavana: sarva bhUthAnAm? Govindha : pavuthram..; pavithrAnAm pavithram cha mangaLAnAm cha mangaLam.. Seeing KaNNan one becomes pure; and snAthan. Thinking of PuNdareekAkshan one becomes purer; All this on Lord Sriman Narayanan. Same applies to our Swamy as well. His son says:

Thoopul punithar punchi pugundhu porundhinar.. The purest Acharya of Thoopul.. is Swamy Desikan.

Mrudhu: soft; tender; saanthaswarUpi; easily accessible; - Even for one who commits acapcharm; easy to approach and seek forgiveness. Even if Swamy knows his greatness, he does not exhibit and shows humility; he mixes with everyone easily; such nErmai and neermai. (Arjavam; and sowlseelyam). When few jealous pranksters tied few old chappals [slippers of theirs] in the front ceiling of Swamy?s house [so that they hit Swamy?s head when he enters], Swamy said aloud that he had composed slokas on the Lord?s padhuka. It is the Lord who reminded him that Bhaagawatha padhukas are more valuable with this act.. such was Swamy?s quality and nature!

dhayALu: (compassionate)- Without looking for anything in return, he removes others? sorrows. He was so merciful and compassionate. He does not cry before the other starts to cry; instead, he attempts to wipe their tears. DayA is the queen on all guNAs- Swamy himself says. We have no enough jnAnam and qualifications to describe Swamy?s dayA. Paramatha nirasanam (ejecting other religions with saasthras and proof from Vedas) itself is dayA. Swamatha sthApanam also is Swamy?s dayA. Blessing us with such numerous granthas (works) at different degrees for all levels [from kinder garden right upto post doctoral programme) is also his dayA. Thirumala Srinivasan?s dayA personified is Swamy Desikan. Is it not?

Madhura: sweet- he spent his entire life sweetly reading, teaching Bhagawad Ramanuja?s works. neethA sujam vaasaraa: He felt proud of the same. He did not wish to even go to Paramapadham; as long as he can enjoy darshan of Kanchi Varadan. His name ? Desikan- itself is sweetening to us; mere utterance of Desikan is enough- Thirumallukku Thitthikkum (not just us). He is our nectar. Dhushyanthi cha ramanthi cha.. He spent his time enjoying the Lord all the time.

With his sweet vAk (speech, compositions), he was Madhurakavi himself. Vaachikam- Mathuryam; Kaayikam- Mathuryam. (both speech and action were sweetening to others).

Sthira: steady- firm and determined. He was firm and stuck to Ramanuja darsanam. Acharyan should have sthira quality. He should be firm in his belief and thoughts. Our Swamy fitted very well. Every grantha of his reverberates with scuh firm belief on Ramanua?s philosophy and teaching. If Ramanuja represents the wholeness of Vision, Vedantha Desikan with His sthiram on Ramanuja siddhAntham, has funished all its technical details with matchless insight and precision. Had Desika not come after Ramanuja, the system would not have gained unassailability. Desika guarded the boundaries of this Darshanam by defending, elaborating and consolidating the teaching of Ramanuja.

Sama: -one who sees everyone equal ? does not have partiality on anyone; with due respect to saasthras, in accordance with saasthrAs, he considers all prapannas equal; anthaNar anthiyar ellaiyil ninRa anaitthulagum nondhavarE mudhal? He saw everyone above caste, creed, sex.. and felt for upliftment of all ? wrote various granthas- in various degrees for all levels, feeling pity for everyone- making sure everyone understands Ramanuja darsanam.

kruthI- One who has done what needs to be done. The Lord ?once protects the devotees- has done what is to be done. What is prescribed in saasthRAs- if one has done- he is a kruthI.. Swamy in both respects is thus a kruthI. He established in abhayapradAna sAram- the doctrine of VibheeshaNa Saranagathi. Rama thus taking pledge to protect VisbhIshaNan on his performance of Saranagtahi- is a kruthakruthyan- [Rama is- having done ?protected- pledged to protect- what is to be done]. Establishing thus, Swamy is kruthI- having done what is to be done..

Swamy himself composes one sloka ? a golden sloka declaring his kruthI..

nirvishtam yathisArvabhoumavachasAm Avrutthibhiryowvanam
nirdhUthEthara paarathanthrya nirayagathaa sukham vaasaraa:
angIkruthya sadhAm prasaddhim asathAm garvOpi nirvApitha:
sEshAyushyapi sEshidhampathi dayA dhIkshAm udhIkshAmahE..
[Please forgive me for transliteration errors]
One can not see such a sloka anywhere else..
Meaning: I [have been blessed to] have fulfilled the command of great mahaans. aDiyEn has tamed and controlled the false pride of asatthus.. (avaidikas); The avathAra kaaryam is completed. What else needs to be done as per Dhivya Dampathis?s command and sankaplam. I am just waiting for their will.

Can there be any other pooraNathvam than this declaration! Krutham means upakAram- help.. Swamy?s upakAram is phenomenal. Swamy mentioned: arulAZhi perumAL seyyum anthamilA udhaviyelAm ALAPPAAR ARE.. Who can measure all the help [upakAram] rendered by PeraruLALan (Varadharaja of Kanchi?- swamy enjoys. We can say: Who can measure all the help [upakAram] of Swamy Desikan?s? None at all.

Kruthagna: [one who never ever forgets the good others do].- being grateful. Swamy not only never forgot what was left and taught by preceptors like NamMAzhwAr, Nathamuni, Yamunamuni, Sri Bhashyakarar, Sri Nandhoor AmmAL and Sri AppuLLAr.. ; he also composed so many granthas that the world too could never forget Swamy.

pAronRac chonna pazhamozhiyuL OronRuthaanE amaiyAdhO dhaaraNiyil vaazhvaarkku VAANERAP POMALAVUM VAAZHVU.

How can we show our gratitude to him! What are we going to do to pay him back for what our Acharya saarvabhouman has done! No answers.

Thus, enlisting all kalyANa gunAS of the Lord ALavandhAr says: samastha kalyANa guNOmruthOdhadhi: resository of all KalyANa GuNAs; the same applies to Swamy as well.