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ashtAksharam & dvayam - 4

From the Bhakti List Archives

Anand K Karalapakkam • Tue Jul 14 1998 - 15:44:52 PDT 


                             Sri: 
        Srimate  Sri Lakshmi Nrusimha Para Brahmane Namaha
  Srimate Sri Lakshmi Nrusimha Divya pAdukA sevaka Srivan shatakopa -
           Sri  NArAyana Yateendra MahAdesikAya namaha  
   
  Dear Sri  Ram GopalswAmy &  other bhaktAs of  Sriman NArAyanA , 

   Namo NArAyanA . kindly accept adiyen's pranAmams .

  ---cont--

  Dvaya  mantram :   This mantram has two lines .  Both  these  lines
appear  in the  Katavalli   portion of  vedAs , but  separated  by  few
passages . Thus, these  two  lines  doesn^Ã’t  appear   together  in vedAs .
But it is  enjoined  as fit to be  meditated  on   with  the  two  lines  
together .  This  katavalli  portion  &  other   pramAnAs  glorifies
Dvayam  that a single   utterance  of  this mantrA  by a  believer
preceded  by  a  knowledge of   its  meanings as  a  whole  will  secure
moksham  .  The  imports  of  Dvayam  become  very  clear   in the  nyAsa  
vidyA  prescribed  by Upanishads .  The  illustrios   AchAryA  nadAdUr
ammAL  in Prapanna  pArijAtam ,  points  out  the Taittriya  Upanishad
mantram  starting  with  "vasuranya :"   which   enjoins  nyAsA (prapatti)
together  with   its  modulus  - operandi  .  Dvayam  & prapatti (  nyAsam
ie.  SaranAgati )   are  highly  inter related  &   is  evident  from  the
pramAnAs as  well   as  from the esoteric  meanings  arising  out of
Dvayam . 
 
 Sri  Prashna  SamhitA (  pAncarAtrA)    discusses   in  length  about
the  number  of  syllables in  Dvaya mantrA  etc (  number of letters ,
sentences , their order etc ) . Thus , Dvayam  is  a  tAntrIka  mantrA
based  on  sruthi   .  Ahirbudhnya samhitA  also  explains  about  Dvayam  
while  extensively  naratting about   prapatti ,  its  angAs ,  angI  ,how
it is to be performed ie. Its  modulus  operandi .   
 
    Sriman  NArAyanA  Himself  extols  the  glories of  Dvayam  , the
AchAryA  who  initiates   this  most  sacred  mantrA  &  prescribes
prapatti  to   all  the jIvAtmAs  in  the   SAtyaki tantram  : 

 "   After  prostrating  before  the guru , this sacred  mantrA (
literally : the king of  mantrAs )  should be learnt.  The  guru  is
himself  the  Supreme  Brahman ;  the  guru is  himself  the  great  upAyA
;  the  guru is himself  the  great  vidyA  ie.  Form  of  meditation ;  
 the  guru  is  himself  the  sacred  siddhopAyA ;  the  guru  is  himself
the  mokshA ;  the  guru  is  himself  the  great  wealth  of   jn~AnA
and  bhakti  because  he initiates  ( one )  into  the   mantrA , the guru
is  most  venerable .  This  mantrA  does  not  require  any  suitability  or  
any  auspicious  position of  the stars  for  its  initiation  nor  any
purity  attainable  from baths  in  holy  waters .  Nor  does  it  require
for  its  successful  initiation  any  japam ,  homam ,   daily
repetition  and  the like . First  , one  should  prostrate   in  full
before  the  guru  three times  and  touch his  feet  with  one^Ã’s  head
(*)   and  receive  the  mantra  like  a  poor  man   expecting  a hidden
treasure  Having  thus  received  the  mantrA , one   should   seek
refuge ( prapatti)   under  Me . ** By  this  mantrA  alone  should
one  surrender  one's  self  to me  **.   He  who  has  done  so  becomes
one  who  has  done  what  one  ought  to  do  " .

(*) :  One  can't  easily  touch  the lotus feet   of  a sadAchAryA .  One
should  have  great   qualification  first of  all . One  should  humbly
get  the  permission  from  the AchAryA  before   touching  his  feet. It
needs  lot  of  strict  anushtAnams & purity in body & mind   before  one  
can   even  possibly  think  of  requesting  AchAryA for this . 


  Adiyen  feels  that  the  above  declaration by   Sriman  NArAyanA  is
the  pinnacle  of  all   His  merciful  deeds .  Anyway ,  He  has  been
telling  this  in His varAha  , RAmA & Krishna  avatArams  apart  from
revealing vedAs  etc .The  path  is  prescribed .  The most  merciful  
AchAryAs  are  ever  waiting   to  uplift  & save  us.   Only  thing  left
is our  desire  in the right   direction . 

    Dvayam  is  considered  to   be  even  superior  to  ashtAksharam  in
the sense  that   UpAyA &  UpeyA  are  made  amply  clear , with distinct
lines  by  Dvayam  whereas in  ashtAksharam  it  is  present  in  a
concise  form .  
  
   The  glories  of  ashtAksharam  & dvayam  are  boundless .  Their
esoteric  meanings  mark   the   topmost  knowledge  &  whomsoever
understands  them by  the  mercy  of  a  sadAchAryA  is  the  most
fortunate  one .  It  is  adiyen's  humble  request  to  bhaktAs  that  
whenever  they  go  to  India ,  they   should  certainly  get  the  most
invaluable  upadesam  on   the  meanings  of  these  sacred mantrams
along  with  the  charama  slokam  from a  sadAchAryA   apart  from
getting  samAsrayanam &  prapatti  performed  .   

     All  the pramAnams  quoted  in this   posting  are  invariably  taken
from the  grantha far   supreme  - the unparalleled   one , containing
the   ocean of   insatiable  nectar  delineating  all  the things a
mumukshu   needs  to  know  ( tattvA , hitA & purushArthA ) ,  presented
in  such   a  commanding  authority   through pramAnAs &  logic ,  which
once  heard  would  vanish  all  the sufferings  & turmoils  undergone  by
a jIvAtmA  & make  it  have  the  unshakable  faith  on the  saving  grace
of  the  most merciful  Lord  Sriman  NArAyanA  , thereby  perform   
prapatti & attain  prapatti  nishtA  with   the  impeccable jn`Anam 
obtained from this  granthA    completely  controlling  all  its  actions
, thereby  engaging  completely  in  Bhagavad &   BhAgavatha kainkaryam
for  the pleasure  of  Divya  Dampati  with  no  more  burdens  to  be   
worried about .  The  grantha  is  none  other  than  "Srimad  Rahasya
Traya sAram "  the    magnum  opus  of  the  most  illustrious  AchAryA  -
kavitArkika  simha  ubhaya   vedAntAchArya  sarvatantra svatantra
thoopul  piLLai  alias  VenkatanAthA  ( SwAmi   VedAnta Desikan )  , the
ghantA avatArA  of  ThiruvengadamudayAn.   
    
     Adiyen would  like  to  conclude   this  posting  with  due
salutations  of  Sri   NayanAchAryA  (  KumAra vadarAchAryA ) to  our
dearmost  SwAmi  Desikan  , as in  PiLLai  andAdhi  : 

      " The  Lotus  Feet  of  the  Thooppul  chief , 
        Will they  adorn  our  heads  and  bend  them  ? 
        Will  our  eyes  be  ever  moistened                                  
        With droplets of joyous  tears  ? 
        Ye  men  of  this  wide  open  world  ?  
        Will  our  future  hells  be  quashed  ? 
        Will  we  ever  hope  to  taste  
        The  bliss  of  Sri  Vaikuntam  in this  life ? "  (2) 

       " My  sins ! Off  you  go and  lodge  elsewhere
         No  more  can  you  tarry  at  my  place .
         No  more  will  I  bear  your  overtures
         And  succumb  to  your  temptations .
         For  my  mind  and  heart  are  ever  filled                  
         With thoughts  of  Thooppul^Ã’s  purest  soul
         Who  followed  the  teachings  of  RAmAnujA
         No  fear  have  I in  this  transient  world  "   (7)  

       " Help  me  please  to shake  off the  inevitable
         Twin - fruits  of  good and  evil  deeds .                 
         O shinning chief  of  Thooppul  race !
         Bereft of support  I  stand  before  you                       
         And I  know  not  about  my  morrows .
         Help  me  then  to  grasp  the  meaning  
         Of  the  Most  Sacred  Eight - Syllable  Word
         Which  leads  to  steady  &  intense  devotion " (15) 

          Srimate   NigamAntha  MahA  DesikAya  Namaha                                    

 Namo  NArAyanA
  adiyen
  anantha padmanAbha dAsan 
                              sarva  sri  krishnArpanamastu