Fifth dip into the enjoyment of Udayavar!

From the Bhakti List Archives

• April 16, 1999


Sri:

Dearest Sisters and brothers,

Adding to our enjoyment is today's description of how the Lord was saved by YathirAjA. (as referred to in the last line of our fourth dip!)

Swami Desikan's excellent description of the greatness of YathirAjA and his Srisookthis can be felt in each of the 74 slOkAs of YathirAja Sapthathi. 

The 38th slOka says: (as per Sri VN Vedantha Desikan's translation in Sri Nrusimhapriya)

"Victory to Ramanuja- who saved the Para Brahman by giving a hand lift from being caught in the slough of Saiva religion, without getting hooked, also from the net of pure dreamy imagination that the Saankhyaas had cast, avoiding also the entanglement in the contrivance laid by the scheming Chaarvaaka and finally when Brahman was almost about to fall into the trap-mouth of Advaitins, the deceitful misguides"

Elaboration: (as heard from the lovely sweet upanyaasaam from Srimad Pundareekapuram Andavan Swami): 

The Lord (Brahmam) had started to look for the most accurate religion of philospophy and commenced His journey. On the way, He saw lots of muddy waters (i.e. Saivism sect, with various "odd" formalities and worships) and sensed danger of getting trapped. He avoided by going away from the track; but still, He was pulled by the current of the muddy waters (sERu) and He somehow managed to hold on to a nearby stick, saving Himself. 

The Lord further proceeded and was caught in the deep, dense bushes with no trace of way anywhere (Saankhyaas); He managed to get out of it somehow (getting lost here and there). He could escape similarly from the clasps of Chaarvaakam too!

Then, when He further proceeded, He saw an excellent philosophy that follows Vedas! Brahmam was quite excited! YES! There's at least one religion that refers and interprets Vedas! It shall be the right one! Let me get in! 

Alas! He fell down into the deep well with absolutely now water inside, full of bushes and thorns inside the well. The well was not at all visible from outside. There was huge covering of the well with leaves and flowers (Vedic statements and their (mis) interpretations). Brahmam was hooked like anyone else thinking that it is following Vedas! And He is deep down! No way to escape! 

Brahmam has now realised that at least other religions do not refer at all to Vedas and thus He could sense the danger. Here he has been completely swept by the outside sugar-coated logic covered by (wrong) arguments /logic.

Sri Ramanuja heard the Brahmam's lament and moans. He sensed something wrong. He spotted the danger. He saw the covers and traps, and also comprehended what could have taken place! He could understand that even Brahmam was trapped by the misinterpretations of advaitam. 

AchAryA, holding strongly and using his interpretations to Vedas, (with no ambiguities/ contradictions, in full accordance with BhOdhAyana's commentary for Brahma soothram,) as a support for himself, removed all the covers and bushes that hide the well, saw clearly the pitfalls- lent a hand to Brahmam and lifted Him out of danger. (Here, it should be noted that the one who lifts the other from the deep well, shall be strong enough and even stronger than the one who is in danger. He should know of his capacity that he will be able to get the other One out of danger without himself falling into the well! 

OUR SRI RAMANUJACHARYA, thus has emerged victorious and is stronger! Powerful! He lifted the Brahmam out of danger! So great are His Sri sookthis! (which AchAryA used as his support for himself)
(True! The Lord was claimed to be having no form, no guNam, no body; the world is false, the jIvan is false were all the statements as per advaitham, referring a portion of Vedic statements ignoring other Vedic statements completely, and understanding wrongly! It was Sri Ramanuja's VisishtAdvaitha siddhaantham, that gave the true picture of what is Truth of the Lord! Without ignoring any statement, without contradicting any statement, encompassing all Vedic truths, AchArya saarva bhoumar established the Brahman and His KalyANA guNAs, His SarIram (i.e. the jIvan and Prakriti)). Thus, he established Brahman's identity and saved His existence even! 

Swami Desikan and YathirAjar ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

Narayana Narayana

Narayana dAsan Madhavakkannan



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