nArAyaneeyam

From the Bhakti List Archives

• November 4, 1999


SrI:
SrI Lakshminrusimha ParabrahmaNE namaha
SrI Lakshminrusimha divya pAdukA sEvaka SrIvaN-
SatakOpa SrI nArAyaNa yateendra mahAdESIkAya namaha

 Dear devotees,
 namO nArAyaNA.

 SrI Kristijan wanted adiyEn to reply to the questions 
 he posed sometime back. It was regarding nArAyaNa bhattAdri/
  nArAyaneeyam and on vibhava lOkas. Since adiyEn was not 
 in touch with the bhakti list for few weeks, adiyEn is 
 answering them now. Sorry for the belated reply.

  SrI NArAyaNa BhattAdri (NB), the author of nArAyaneeyam is
  not a viSishtAdvaitin. He was following the doctrine 
  of advaita. He was a vidvAn of those times and has
  written works in sAmAnya sAstrAs like mImAmsa. The 
  glorification of Lord SrI GuruvAyurappan by him is 
  in accordance with the "SaguNa Brahma upAsana" theory of
  the advaitins. For an advaitin, all the three tattvas
   viz. God, matter and jIvAtmA are finally unreal and the
   only real substance is the "attributeless Brahman". For
   them, one has to meditate upon God (SaguNa Brahman) till
   one attains the "advaita jn~Ana" that only attributeless 
   Brahman exists and all else are false. Thus, though 
   guruvAyurappan is not at all a reality for NB, he glorifies 
   Lord in accordance with their (absurd ?) philosophy. This 
   was verified with a SrI Vaishnava vidvAn in Chennai.
 

SrI Sadagopan wrote :

> SLOKAM 9:
> *********
>
> YATTHU THRIALOKHYA ROOPAM DHADHAPI CHA TATHO NIRGATHO ANANTHA SUDDHA-
> JN~AATHMAA VARTHASE THVAM TAVA KHALU MAHIMAA SOPI THAAVAAN KIMANYATH ?
> STHOKASTHE BHAAGA YEVAAKHILA  BHUVANATHAYAA DHRUSYATHE THRAYAMSA KALPAM
> BHUYISHTAM SANDHRA MODHAATHMAKAM UPARI TATHO BHAATHI TASMAI NAMASTHE II
>
> (meaning ): Oh GuruvAyUrappA !You bear the three worlds as
> a part of Your SarIram ( VisishtAdhvaithic concept of SarIra-
                        ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  
> SaarIra mode);even then , You transcend these worlds and stay as
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Suddha satthva svarUpan in Your Parama Padham with indescribable
> glories.

  NArAyaNa BhattAdri never advocated ViSishtAdvaita as a 
  philosophy in his works, ie. never advocated SarIra-
  SarIri bhAva between Brahman and cit/acit in his works. 
  The SarIra-SarIri bhAva, though rooted in vEdAs/Upanishads 
  is "pradhAna pratitantra" (*) of ViSishtAdvaita as explained 
  by SwAmi dESIkan in His SrImad Rahasyatraya sAram. Archives 
  have some postings on SarIra- SarIri bhAvam. 

   
  (*): pratitantram refers to a doctrine, which is unique
       to a certain school of thought ie. that doctrine 
       does not belong to any other school of thought.
       pradAnam means "most important". The SarIra-SarIri
       bhAvam is the most important doctrine, which is
       exclusive to the ViSishtAdvaitins.   
       

>
> SlOkam 10:
> **********
>
> AVYAKTHAM thE SVAROOPAM DHURADHIGAMATAMAM TATTHU SUDDHAIKA SATTVAM
> VYAKTHAM CHAPYETHADHEVA SPUTAMAMRUTHA RASAAMBHODHI KALLOLA THULYAM
> SARVOTHKRUSHTAAM ABHEESHTAAM TADHIHA GUNARASENAIVA CHITTHAM HARANTHIM
> MOORTHIM thE SAMSRAYOHAM BHUVANAPURAPATHE PAAHI MAAM KRISHNA RHOGAATH
>
> (MEANING):This is a prayer to Sri KrishNan at the end of this
> dasakam .Oh Lord ! Your attributeless form is difficult to
                    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> comprehend and meditate upon . Your Suddha sattva-svarUpa archA form
> is very distinctly visible to my human eye here in Your Sannidhi.
> This shining archA form of Yours constituted entirely by Suddha sattvam
> and is like the waves of the ocean of nectar.Therefore , I have
> taken refuge at Your superior archA form , which is the abode of
> anantha kalyANa guNams and is the most effective in attracting
> my mind.Oh Lord of GuruvAyUr ! please save me from all the samsAric
> and physical diseases !

   The translation clearly explains the stand of nArAyaNa
   bhattAdri (NB) as an advaitin (reference to "attributeless
   Brahman"), though adiyEn is not sure as to whether NB refers 
   to the attributeless Brahman (nirvisEsha Brahman) in this 
   verse. 

   nArAyaneeyam can't be recognized as the essence of SrImad 
   BhAgavatham, because of the presence of advaita as the 
   fundamental doctrine in it. But, the devotional beauty
   (towards the SaguNa Brahman) of many a verses makes some
   scholars quote it for just taking the bhagavad anubhavam 
   aspect of it. 
-----------------------

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 adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan
 ananthapadmanAbha dAsan  (Anand Karalapakkam)
 krishNArpaNam