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Sriman NaarAyaNA's parathvam

From the Bhakti List Archives

Sadagopan • March 23, 1999 


Dear BhakthAs :

I have been sitting this out until my name has
been specifically mentioned by more than one of
the members. The encouragement that I have given
to the talented essayist , Sriman Sudarshan is
to write about Sri Lakshmi Nrusimha KarAvalampana 
Sthothram and not about Soundarya Lahari in the Bhakthi
forum . There should not be any confusion on
this point .For the record ,I am pretty familiar with 
Soundharya Lahari and the brilliant commentary by 
the Sri VidyA UpAsakar , late TEthiyUr SaasthrigaL 
covering NavAvaraNam and other Taantric mode of 
worships .

In SaakthA literature as well as in others ,
there are passages that are painful to a SrivaishNavan ,
since it is disrespectful of the views of all of our 
purvAchAryAs . For example , one of the LalithA
Sahasra Naamam describes the dasaavathAra mUrthys
as arising from the ten finger nails of Sri LalithA .
This is a case of  poetic fancy landing the composer of 
this sthuthi into the land of absurdity .

In the paradEvathA-paaramArthyadhikAram of Srimadh 
Rahasya thrya Saaram , Swami Desikan has clearly 
established Sriman NaarAyaNa parathvam and the futility
of anya-devathA worship at many levels . 

ThiryvAimozhi Paasuram ( 10.10.3 ) is the beacon light 
for us , whenever we get into doubt :

aavikkOr paRRuk Kompu NINNALAAL aRihinRilEn 
yaan mEvit Thozhum Biraman Sivan IndiranAdhikkellAm
naavik Kamala MudaRk kizhankE umparanthathuvE 

What we have to grasp and what we have to abandon
are clearly stated here.

The first line of the Paasuram categorically 
states that there is no support ( leaning stick )
to the soul (jeevan) other than Sriman NaarAyanan .

NammAzhwAr's aruLiccheyalkaL are our kalankarai
ViLakku (light house). Here is one to formulate 
our code of conduct :

veevil Inbham miha yellainihazhantha namm Acchuthan
*************
veevil seeran malark KaNNan ViNNOr perumAn
--Thiruvaimozhi :4.5.2

Our Lord Achyuthan is the very boundary of BrahmAnandham
that Upanishads talk about. Limitless are His auspicious
qualities , also His charm and His reputation as the 
Sarva lOka SaraNyan .He is the unparalleled master of 
the NithyasUris and Brahma SivAdhis.I sing about Him
all the time without let.This joy of singing Thiruvaimozhi
about Him has brought me close to Him .Now , my joy too 
has become vast and limitless ,as He is said to be . 

NammAzhwAr's uplifting message to us is that
Sriman NaarAyaNan is the one and only Refuge
for us , He is the UpAyam , He is the UpEyam ,
Phalan .He is Praapyam and he is the Parama-
PurushArtham . None else ! 

Thirumangai in his Paasuram on ThirukkaNNapuratthu-
EmperumAn elaborates on this important topic further
and ends the discussion :

maRRum Ohr dhaivam uLathu  yenRiruppArOdu
uRRilEn; uRRathum unnadiyArkku adimai
maRRellAm pEsilum ninn Thiru Yettezhutthum
kaRRu naan KaNNapuratthuRaiammAnE 
--Periya Thirumozhi: 8.10.3 

(Meaning): Oh Lord who resides permanently in
ThirukkaNNapuram ! I have learnt thoroughly 
the Sacred ashtAkshara manthram that celebrates
Your glories.I have now learnt that the parama 
purushArtham is all about being the servitor( Sesha
BhUthan ) of Your BhagavathAs . After comprehending
this fundamental doctrine , I have detatched myself 
thoroughly from anyone , who considers that there 
is a Supreme God equal or greater than You.All of this
bhAgyam came my way by learning Thirumanthiram that 
celebrates You directly ,from You as my AchAryan .

All our Ajn~Anam , AnyathA Jn~Anam and ViparItha 
Jn~Anam will be destroyed to its root , once we
reflect on the AzhwAr's paasurams , AchArya Sri Sookthis
and keep repeating Swami Desikan's Statement :

Sriman NaarAyaNO na: pathi: akhila tanu: 
mikthidhO mukthabhOgya: 

I conclude this clarificatory note with 
some mula pramANams about the parathvam
of our Lord , which I believe in :

Na VaasudEvAth paramasthi MangaLam
Na VaasudEvAth paramasthi Paavanam
Na VaasudEvAth paramasthi Dhaivatham 

NaarAyaNa , NaarAyaNa , NaarAyaNa 
Daasan ,Sadagopan