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Sri Sudarshan's contributions to understand Bhishma Sthuthi & its greatness .

From the Bhakti List Archives

V. Sadagopan • June 29, 1997 


Dear Fellow Members : 

I have indeed encouraged Sri Sudarshan to 
continue his welcome postings on his unique insights , 
analysis and personal remeniscences of what he has 
learned from his  illustrious  AchAryA and share it with us. 
It has  been a pleasure reading them and benefitting from 
the incisive analysis and the unique integrative skills of 
Sri Sudarshan in piecing together the references( gems)
scattered in the various places  of our sacred literature . 

I can fully understand his concerns about the lack of 
reader feedback , which leaves any writer or contributor 
some what in the dark and makes him or her wonder 
about the relevance and significance of their efforts.
I myself have gone thru these doubts. I am indeed 
convinced now that for whatever reasons , the Divya Dampathis
have " commanded" me to engage in this kaimkaryam and
go on . Few of our readers write to me and some times I hear from 
India and elsewhere form people , whom I did not even have the
privelege of meeting . on those occasions , I am reminded of 
Saint ThyagarAjA's Thodi Krithi , " Daasarathi ! Nee RuNamu 
Dheerpa naa taramA ? Parama Paavana Naama !,
aasadheera dhoora dEsamulanu prakAsimpa 
jEsina Rasika sirOmaNi ( Dasarathi ) . 
bhakthilEni kavijAla varENyulu bhava mEruga lErani 
kalilOna jani bhukthi mukthi galgunani keerthanamulu 
bhodimchina ThyagarAja KarArchitha ( Daasarathi ) .

Here Sri ThyagarAja Swami asks the Lord , whether it is ever 
possible to repay his debt to Him ? To my heart's content , 
You have made my glory as Your servant shine in far off countries. 
" Realizing that even great poets , being devoid of devotion,
are unable to grasp your real nature , You have come down 
to the world (AvathAra Rahasyam ) and inspired ThyagarAjA 
to compose divine songs that confer temporal and 
spiritual attainments " . 

The blessed bard of ThiruvaiAru continues to query 
about the avathAra Rahasyam dealt at length now by
our Sri Sudarshan  in yet another Krithi 
in MukhAri , " yElAvathAramEtthukOntivi yEmi 
kAraNamu ? Raamudai ". He questions his beloved
Sri RamA about the purpose of His incarnation as 
the son of Dsaratha chakravarthy . He asks : " Was it
to make war , Oh RaghavA , or to rule over AyOdhyA ?
Was it to enable Yogis to have your darsanam  or TO
SAVE PEOPLE WHO SUFFER FROM THE DISEASE 
OF SAMSARAA ? Was it to grant boon to ThyagarAjA , 
who had made for you a garland of gems of Krithis 
in various raagAs ( Satha raagarathna maalikalu
rachimchina ThyagarAjuku VARA 
MOSAGUDUNUTHAKAA) ?  

In yet another krithi in Rithigowlai raagam 
( Raagarathna MaalikachE ranjillunata Hari ,
satha ) , the Saint enjoys his handiwork 
this way : " Sri Hari is resplendently shining 
with the garland of songs in hundred gems of 
rAgAs , composed by ThyagarAjA for his SALVATION
FROM SAMSAARAA .  Come , we shall sing together 
well and ATTAIN ALL HIS BLESSINGS !  -----" 

The context for Our meager attempts to celebrate the Lord 
and His messengers (AachAryAs ) in the Bhakthi postings
has its resonance in yet another krithi of the Saint ThyagarAjA 
set appropriately in Sri Raagam : Naama kusumamulachE 
poojinchE NARAJANMAME JANMAMU -MANASA ,
Sriman Maanasa kanaka peetamuna chelaka 
jEsikOni varasivarAma ( Naama Kusuma ) ,
Naadhasvaramanu vara navarathnapu vEdikapai 
SAKALA LEELAAVINODHUNI , PARAMAATHMUNI ,
SRIRAAMUNI PAADAMULANU ,ThyagarAja Hrudh-
bhushaNuni ( Naama Kusuma ) . 

Here the Bard of the town of five rivers says : " Oh ,
my mind ! That human life is a really blessed life 
in which the Lord is installed on the golden throne
of thought  and worshipped with flowers of His holy 
names like SivA ( a great Rama BhakthA or 
the name for Auspiciousness ) and RaamA .

Place Him , the reveller in the sport of this universe ,
the ornament of ThyagarAjA's heart , on the gem-
bedecked seat of SvarAs born out of NaadhaA and 
worship His holy feet with the flowers of His names " .

One does not need the upahArams of the kind that we 
offer Him , when He comes on His bhavanis similar to
that described by Sri Sudarshan in the part 13 of Bhishma Sthuthi 
dealing with the allegorical conversation between the Lord 
of Venkatam and the surprised BhakthA , who offered to 
replace the heart of the Lord stolen by the Gopis . Our 
own Vaachika and likhitha ( written ) kaimkaryams 
in a spirit of " Parasparam Bhaodhyantha : ( Mutual
celebratory information exchanges on the Lord's glories ) and 
chinthanA about Him , wherever we are on the globe 
or whatever state we are blessed by Him to be . The 
sathsangam of like-monded people is what the efforts
of Sri Mani VaradarAjan is making it possible to reach out 
and stay together in the spirit of AandAL's Thiruppavai
( Koodi Irundhu kuLirndElOrempaavAi ) .

The above quotations from great souls and an
 incomparable Rama BhakthA are cited not to elevate 
ourselves to their levels of spiritual atainment , but to suggest that 
in the Lord's scheme of things , there are many blessings 
that we do not understand , but have to thank Him for nudging us 
towards Him . There are much in His mysterious actions 
and Sothanais The sincere effort in this journey (Deha YaatrA )
accompanied by Saatvika Thyaagam has its own purifying effect 
inspite of the many limitations that we have and the dhoshams  that
we are heir to . So , Sri Sudarshan ! Please keep on writing !

Sri KrishNArpaNamasthu .

V.Sadagopan