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RANGASWAMY • January 10, 1997 


Dear Members of the Bhakti List,

I am overwhelmed by the affection, encouragement and support offered to 
me by several members of the list for disseminating Bhagavad Vishayam. 
It is impossible for me to say no to the appeals of Srimans Rengarajan, 
Sadagopan, Mani, and Sudarshan to stay on this forum and in accordance 
with their request, I shall continue to participate in Bhagavad and 
Bhagavata Kainkaryams and also to share with all of you my limited 
knowledge about Lord Narayana. I shall continue to write about Bhagavad 
Vishayam according to the dictates of my Acharyan, Srimad Andavan 
Swamigal of Srimad Paundarikapuram Ashramam. 

I am amazed by Sri Rengarajan's insights into Kumbhakonam and its 
related significance to the Sudarshana Chakram of our Lord. His 
summaries on the Bhaskara Kshetram and Chakrapani and Charanga Pani 
Perumal were brilliant. It brought great joy to me to read his posts. 
I request him to continue writing such articles which provide hard-to-
come-by information. The term "Desika" means one who is extremely 
familiar with a place. It would be an understatement to say that Sriman 
Rengarajan is KumbhakoNam Desikan. There is nothing like seeing a place 
with the help of a local guide (Desikan). In this respect, Sriman Rengarajan 
has provided us with extremely useful information in his posts on Srirangam
and KumbhakoNam. 

The term Desikan brings to mind two outstanding Acharyas, i.e., Sri Ramanuja 
Maha Desika and Swami Vedanta Desika of Thuppul. As stated above, Desika
means one who is very familiar with a place. Sri Ramanujacharya was extremely 
familiar with the path leading to Lord Vishnu as evidenced by his Gadya 
Trayam compositions on Panguni Uttaram day. Deeply moved by the sight of 
Lord Ranganatha and his consort in Utsavam in the Royal court, the Acharya 
burst out in an intensely personal and highly emotional SharaNagati in the 
SharaNagati Gadyam. The concluding part of the Gadyam is especially touching
where the Acharyan states "Make my life, my all thine" and in response, the 
Lord of Srirangam broke his Archa Samadhi and declared "Remain in Srirangam
practising the Dvaya Mantram until Thy body falls to the earth". Overjoyed
by this Anubhavam of the Lord, Ramanujacharya longs for more of the same 
and pours out his feelings in another intensely personal SharaNagati in the 
Ranganatha Gadyam where he declares that he would like to be distinguished 
service to the Lord in all forms at all times under all conditions. In 
response, he was blessed with a brilliant vision of Sri Vaikuntam which 
he exquisitely described in the Sri Vaikunta Gadyam. The beauty and majesty 
of Sri Vaikunta Gadyam defy translation.

One can spend an entire lifetime reading the works of Swami Vedanta Desikan and 
discover that one has merely scratched the surface of this genius' colossus.
A great deal can be said about the brilliance of the Ghanta Natha Swaroopi of 
Tiruvenkatan. I shall very briefly refer to his mastery through titles showered 
on him. Sri Ranganayaki Thayar conferred upon him the title of Sarva Tantra 
Swatantarar in recognition of his mastery over all skills. Periya Perumal 
conferred upon him the title of Vedanta Acharya due to his brilliant 
explanations of Vedas and Ubhaya Vedanta Siddhantam. The noted critic 
Sri Appiah Dikshitar gave him the title of Kavi Tarkika Simham. There is a 
great deal to be learnt from his numerous works.

Sriman Sadagopan beautifully summarized that each one of us has a unique 
point-of-view to offer about Bhagavad Vishayam based on our different
backgrounds. In keeping with this spirit, I shall humbly remain in your 
service. Thanks again to all of you for your support.

Namo Narayana,

Muralidhar Rangaswamy