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Sampath Rengarajan's visit to Divya Desams

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Jaganath.Bharadwaj • June 20, 1997 


--------------------------( Forwarded letter 1 follows )---------------------
Date: Thursday, 19 June 1997  5:43pm
From: jramalin@ford.com (Jai Ramalin)
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 17:42:24 -0400
X-Mailer: Z-Mail (3.2.1 15feb95)
To: Jaganath.Bharadwaj@nrecatao.nreca.org
Subject: My visit to Divya Desams
Cc: srengara@ford.com
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Reply-To: jramalin@ford.com


Hi, Can you please post this article by Sampath Rengarajan in
    Bakhti group?
Thanks.
Jai



Dear bAgawathALs,

  I am just back from a trip to India. My trip was
sudden and less planned for, as I had to come back in time for starting
a new project.  There were two captivating notes earlier in this forum
from respected bAgawathALs (Srimans KalAlE and Jagan about their
discussion and stay with achAryAL). Continuing in the same tradition I
will try to present some useful notes about my trip for those who are
looking forward to hear from me after my trip. I had some meaningful
discussion with our achAryAL about the needs of ahObila muth in India.
I also had lengthy discussions both in shAsthram and on the needs of
other institutions with the swamis like Ponudrikapuram Srimad aNdavan,
Sri thAthtAtchAr of thiruppathi periyasramam, Sri Sudarsanam Iyengar
Puththur Krishnaswamy, Srirangam Ramanuja ratham organizer Sri
KrishnaswamigaL, Sri Anantha NarasimhAchAr and Sri VN GopalaDesikan and
many Battars of various temples I visited. Most of my discussions were
questions from me to clear my doubts and their answers on the
followings.
1. Some pAsurams (on the inner meanings that I conceived)
2. Some important aspects of some kshEthrams
3. Vaibavams of our Azhwaars
4. Some important history in our gurupArampariyam especially
about our three past Jeers from their poorvAsramam family members and
muth followers.

I also spent a lot of time seeking information on the
two ANdavan muths (periyasramam and poundrikapuram) and their heirarchy.
These discussions triggered me with more interest in our sampradAyam.
They blessed me to do more kaimkaryams and also encouraged me to
complete my intended one pAsuram per kshEthram project with perumAl's
aruL.

My Visit to divya dEsams:

 I began my visits to divya dEsams by dashing to
Srirangam straight from  Madras Airport (after a brief stop
at my in-laws place at Trichy) and worshipping Lord Arangan by chanting
amalan aathi piraan and Sri RanganAtha prapaththi slogam from Sri
pAthugA sahasram.  By coincidence, Kauveri water was brought to me for
my consumption when I arrived. The thirumuga maNdalam of Arangan was
glorious, quite brilliant and my experience was unique this time
as I had the darshan after realising the complete inner meanings
of amalan aathi pirAn. I was presented with the prasAdams (selvarappam)
and the "vasthram" from periya perumAl. Then I visited udayavar sannithi
and to my pleasant surprise that day was also the udayavar
thirunakshaththiram day.

  I had the special darshan of udayavar's thirumEni
ITself (for being the ubayakkArAL of periya perumal) seated as
the moolavar of that sannithi. Lord Namperumal Ranganathar
(ie. ursavar of Ranganathar) visits this sannithi
this day to be with udayavar and when HE returns to the abode
it is said that they do prOkshNam on the Lord HIMslef as HE visited the
sannithi where the thirumENi of udayavar is kept. I didn't see
this event as this account is narrated to me by of one of the Battars.
On paNguni uththiram day udayavar's ursavar visits Arangan's  moolavar
sannithi in return).

 Next I visited the brindAvan of Thiru Mazhisai AzhwAr (HIS
"jeeva" samAthi) at thiruk kudanthai and prayed for all of us who had
recently discussed about HIS Vaibavam at length in this forum.  I then
proceeded to visit Sri Komalavalli samEtha Sri ArAvamuthan of Thiruk
kudanthai, and HIS twin Sri ChakrapANi perumAL. I also visited
Oppiliappan koil several times and sought the blessings from Lord Oppiliappan
(because of whom I was born on thai sravaNam) for the success of the
intended kaimkaryam for BoomAdevi thAyar on behalf of Sri Sadagopan.
He had requested me to do so when I left. The darshan of thirumuga
maNdalam  of than oPPArillppan was also quite unique this time
after realising the inner meanings "vAmanan adiyiNai maruvuvarE". I
visited the first temple of srisampradAyam "thiruk kaNNa mangai". There
was so much for me to learn from there this time. I will attempt to write
the thalapurANam later when I complete the current tasks. I then visited
Thiruch ChErai and had special blessings from the thAyAr SAranAyaki through
"archagar vAkku" !  I visited thiru NaRaiyoor and had the darshan of
all the 108 Divya Desams there itself by worshipping the 108 Divya
MangaLa Vigrahams that our Lord Nambi HIMself had offered to an ailing
bakththAL who could not go to all the kshEthrams. (See my thaala purANam
for thiru NaRaiyoor). I had the aNyOnya darsaNam of periya thiruvadi,
Kal Garudan Sri Pakshi RAjan and prayed for all those who joined me last
year to donate for the kaimkaryams of the ursavams in NAchchiyAr kOil.
I also prayed for those who discussed about HIS Vaibavam in this
forum recently. The thirumuga maNdala darsanam of this Lord was also
unique in realising certain inner meanings and chanting from the
"madal" of thiru mangai.


My BaranyAsam or Prapatti:

 I had my baranyAsm (prapatti) at the holy feet of 45th Jeer at
DasAvathAra Sannithi in Srirangam. Though the place of undertaking
prapatti does not matter philosophically speaking,  I had always wanted
to do my CharaNagathi in Srirangam. To do so, I had to wait for my
AchAryAL's visit to this particular place during his busy schedule on
his way to Thiruppathi for the inauguration of ahObila muth complex
there. As per the plan Jeer arrived on 24th evening and stayed until
25th afternoon providing me a window of opportunity to have my
BaranyAsam. On that day, Reporters (Media persons) from HINDU, Express,
and Tamil Journals Kumudam and Dinamani etc. were there for an hour
interviewing Jeer about the complex inauguration by the President of
India. As per shAstram a Jivan has to wait several years in a birth to
realise the need for undertaking prapatti and actually undertaking it
as well by God's grace. However, for me the waiting time for
confirmation of Jeer's itinerary and hence my intention of underetaking
BaraNyAsam *seemed* to have taken 1 week only.

 I felt I was in SrivaikuNdam itself when I got into the hall
of DasAvathAram sannithi after bathing in thiruk Kauveri.
There were 150 (one hundred fifty) Srivaishnvas packed in the
sannithi loudly chanting thirup pallAndu and sAththu muRai. Subsequently,
I had the unique opportunity of having my SamAsrayEnam followed by BaranyAsam.
Perhaps it was Arangan's blessings that Srimad ANdavan of Poundrika Puram
had also paid a visit then and worshipped Sri MAlOlan. This was a very special
moment as I had the blessings from both the swamis at the same time after
my prapatti. The personal discussions I had with Jeer  cleared many of
my annYAnams. As he was rendering his upadEsam he looked at me eye to eye
all the time and that experience was exhilarating. It was indeed then
I realised many meanings of prapatti and
that bakthi mArgam is the only way (upAyam) to attain mOksham.
However since it is so difficult for tainted souls like many of us to follow
this mArgam strictly, we undertake to surrender at the feet of Lord
through our achAryAL. We request the Lord HIMself to be the upAyam by
replacing bakthi mArgam and offer us the ultimate status for the soul.
This is done by realising that even our soul belongs to HIM and that
the souls have no control over anything at anytime. The souls are only waiting
with mahAviswAsam from then on for HIS deliverance at the end of this birth.
The most important realisation for us at this juncture is that
even our soul belongs to HIM and that from now on we are not to
undertake anymore intellectual play especially for obtaining mOksham.
There were disussions in this forum earlier on, "are we to ask for mOksham ?"
and that such discussions brought many views.
The Vadakalai SampradAyam and their observations derived from
Srimad Bagwath Geetha were explained to me by Jeer prior to going deeper
into prapatti. Such explanations were answering some of these questions.

  Another important aspect of undertaking prapatti is such that
MOksham has to be sought ONLY ONCE and not anymore after the assurances
delivered in this moment (while undertaking prapatti) by the Lord
through achAryAL. We have to even leave the feeling that we did
prapatti and that we are assured of moKsham. ie. We also have to leave
"this feeling" at the feet of the Lord.  This may seem trivial but only
a mind with "pakkuvam" (a rough translation for "pakkuvam" here is
"spiritual maturity") can right away understand and realise this
concept at this moment.  And this is the very reason why many elders
belonging to the early part of the century (in vadakalai sampradAyam)
waited in their life for undertaking prapatti.

Some Misconceptions in the Current Society:

 On contrary to what was discussed above, there seems to be some
thoughts in our vadakalai community that tends one to shy away
and delay their undertaking of BaranyAsam.  The main reason quoted is the
difficulty in observing AhAra niyamanam in their lowkeeka routines.
It is misconceived that this difficulty can be overcome by
undertaking BaraNyAsam at an older age. It is said that this misconception
arises due to karmic influence and the anAynam one has in their mind. However
there are only two strict observations that are mandatory after BaraNyAsam.
They are avoiding aNya dEvatha aRadana and bAgawatha apachAram. Thus, not
undertaking baraNyAsam in the early age due to the difficulties in strictly
observing ahAra niyamanam may not be right.

 BaranyAsam can also be done for sisu in the womb, animals,
birds, fishes, plants, tress and stones (mountains). There is no limit
for this.  The only prerequisite I can think of is to have the "nYanam"
or knowledge  to do prapatti. This nyAnam itself is due to the grace of Lord
and one has to realise that.

 It is often said that the requirement of anthimasruthi is waived
once baraNyAsam is done and it is no more mandatory as per Srimad bagwath
geetha'a charma slOkam.  In baraNyAsam there is a slOkam by which we
request the Lord to come to our side during the anthima nEram and
take us through the archirArtha mArgam whether we are able and can think of
HIM or not. It is debatable whether the anthima nyAnam is required or not.
However, as per Swami DEsikan, anthima nyAnam will prevail only for those
who are living their life observing the required anushtAnam.
As per poorvAchchAryAL, if one commits bAgawatha apachAram
and doesnot repent, then for such souls anthima nyAnam will never
prevail. As per Sri SAranAtha perumaL,those who simply put their feet
on the sAru or sands of thirch chErai, are forgiven for their sins and are
blessed with the anthima nyAnam irrespective of their caste and deeds.

 What transpired between me and achAryAL during this moment of
prapatti is personal and confidential and hence I cannot go much deeper
into that.

My Visit to Thirumalai:

I visited thiruk KOviloor and chanted the first pAsuram of 4000 "vaiyamE
thagaLiyA" in thiru UlagaLanthaan sannithi. I visited Thiruch ChAnoor
PadmAsanith ThAyAr and Sri GOvindarajan. Then my wife and I climbed the
seven hills by bare foot, chanting the slOkam of swami dEsikan, from
amirtha Ranjani "kaNNan adiyinai emakkuk kaattidum veRppu,...vEngada
veRpana viLangum vEda veRpE!" (veRpu - means malai or mountain in tamil).
I worshipped "kulasEkarap padi" and had nEtra darshan of ThiruvEngada
mudaiyAn of thirumalai.

Prior to leaving for US, I once again had the darshan of Lord Arangan
and Para VAsudEvan in Srirangam. This time I was allowed to stay in
the sannithi for a longer time as I did arachana through archagar
and as well by my mAnaseeka arAdanai for Moolavar SriRanganathar.

While visiting these temples I chanted the corresponding pAsurams
of the Lord. My Grand Father used to tell us that the best sEvai
of divya dampathis is the "OOnchal sEvai" in any divya dEsam.
Luckily in 4 of the divya dEsams I had the opportunity to see the
"oonchal sEvai".

Overall, I had good darshan of divya dampathis. One of the elder
achAryAL commented to me that it is due to the realisation of the
true meanings of some of the corresponding pAsurams of the Lord that
one will be able to have an unique experience while having the darshan of
thirmuga maNdalam.

adiyEn
Sampath Rengarajan