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Re: Sri saranagathi deepikai

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mani2 • September 6, 2002 


--- In bhakti-list@y..., RAJI SRIDHAR  wrote:
> I was reading Desikar's Saranagathi Deepikai. In 8th
> sloka, he says, "ghyanam balam......te gunashatka
> maadhyam".(please forgive me for the spelling)
> 
> The meaning written was "Though you have many kalyana
> gunas, gyanam,shakti, balam,aishwaryam,veeryam, tejas
> these six are the important gunas. All the other gunas
> are inside these gunas".  
> 
> I have heard from many bhagavathas about Lord's gunams
> viz. Souseelyam, soulabyam, madhuryam, karunyam. I
> don't know why Sri Desikan is particularly mentioning
> these six gunams.

Raji,

Briefly, Sri Desika lists these six qualities because,
as you yourself have mentioned, they are the basis
or foundation for the others.

The kalyana-gunas of Bhagavan cascade as follows. 
The Upanishads describe the svarUpa or essential
nature or Bhagavan as having the five following
fundamental attributes:

svarUpa nirUpaka
----------------
1. satya -- unconditional existence (reality), without any 
            limitation of any sort
2. jnAna -- unconstrained knowledge, omniscience if you will
3. ananta -- infinitude. There is no limitation to Bhagavan's
             essential nature, either qualitative or quantitative
4. Ananda -- unconditioned blissfulness
5. amala -- bereft of any blemish

Because these gunas reveal (nirUpaNa) the essential
nature (svarUpa), they are known as svarUpa nirUpaka
dharma-s. The word 'dharma' here means attribute or
quality.

These five attributes are based on several Vedanta vAkyas,
primarily from the second chapter of the Taittiriya Upanishad,
which mentions with great fanfare the first four of these.

Building upon this we have the next set of attributes,
which Bhagavan makes manifest for the sake of universal
creation, sustenance, and dissolution, and for the delight
of His devotees. Principal among these are the six Swami
Desika mentions above:

1. jnAna -- knowledge (once again!)
2. bala -- strength
3. aiSvarya -- rulership
4. vIrya -- uncompromising prowess
5. Sakti -- energy
6. tejas -- splendor

There are esoteric components to these six qualities that
I am not qualified to detail, but my understanding is that
these qualities are the basis for advanced meditation. They
are mentioned again and again in the Pancaratra shastras
and repeatedly by Sri Ramanuja himself in his works. 
In the introduction to his commentary on the Gita, 
Sri Sankara also describes Lord Narayana as 'eternally endowed
with jnAna, bala, aiSvarya, vIrya, Sakti, tejas' 
/jnAna-balaiSvarya-vIrya-Sakti-tejaH sadA sampannaH/.

Because these qualities are made manifest by the Lord
out of his essential nature, they are known as 'nirUpita
svarUpa dharma-s'. 

All the other kalyana-gunas are derived from these six
attributes.

Others who know more detail are invited to clarify further.

aDiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan,
Mani




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