Achyuta Satakam of Swami Desikan

Sri N. Krishnamachari • July 1999

This stotram, like the one we covered last, Sri Devanayaka Panchasat, is on Devanayaka Perumal of Tiruvahindrapuram. The word "Satakam" in the title refers to the 100 sloka-s (actually there are 101 including the phala Sruti) in the stotram. The nÄ�ma acyuta means He who does not let His devotees slip: न चà¥�यावयति इति अचà¥�यà¥�तः.

Introduction

One special aspect of this stotram is that it is written in the Prakrit (/pr�kṛta/) language by Swami Desikan. Prakrit can be considered colloquial samskṛt, which seems to have been used in day-to-day communication in the olden days by those who did not use grammatical samskṛt in their conversations. In course of time, grammatical rules evolved for Prakrit as well, and it evolved as a language in its own right. It became common for female characters to use Prakrit in works such as drama etc. It is characterized by the natural sweetness like the talk of a child when it is spoken. Swami Desikan's anubhavam of the sweetness of this language is that it is the childhood language of goddess sarasvati (Slokam 2). Srirama Desikacharya Swami observes that தேவனாயகப�பெர�மாள� has the unique distinction that He is the only arc� mūrti who has been sung by Swami Desikan in three languages - samskṛt (Devanayaka pañc�sat), Prakrit (acyuta Satakam), and tamizh (ம�ம�மணிக�கோவை).

Srirama Desikacharya Swami has included the samskṛt version of the Sloka-s along with the Prakrit version in his LIFCO publication "śrī Desika stotra m�l�". Wherever quotes have been included from acyuta Satakam in the current write-up, the samskṛt version has been used because of the greater ignorance of a�iyēn with Prakrit. However, Srirama Desikacharya Swami has made the special point that those who chant the Slokam should use the Prakrit version. As has been done in the write-up for the previous stotra-s, instead of giving a literal translation of the Sloka-s, a�iyēn has presented a summary of the thoughts that registered in a�iyēn's mind when going through the meanings of the Sloka-s.

1.  Concepts

1.1  Ä�cÄ�rya is to be worshipped like bhagavÄ�n Himself

In ny�sa vimśati we saw that our �c�ryan is to be worshipped like bhagav�n Himself by us (Slokam 2). Swami Desikan reemphasizes this concept to us again in the current stotram. Bhagav�n is imparting knowledge to us to realize Him through the words of our �c�rya - He is seated in their tongue like being seated in a throne and instructing us through our �c�rya (Slokam 5).

1.2  Swami Desikan's Humility

Swami Desikan's humility again reveals itself in this work as in all other works. In Slokam 3 he says that his work can be flawed standing by itself (मम भाषितं मलिनमà¥� अपि ), but because it sings His praise it gets sanctified just as the street waters get sanctified when they mingle with the Ganges river. In Slokam 4 he refers to his work as बालिशा मम सà¥�तà¥�तिः - my stotram which is likes a child's blabbering.

1.3  Need for Purity in Thought, Word and Deed

Swami Desikan emphasizes the need for purity of thought, word, and deed for one who is interested in realizing Him. Those who are not pure in their thought and action cannot succeed in realizing Him. BhagavÄ�n won't stay in a polluted mind even for a moment, just as a hamsa won't go near muddied water even for a moment (Slokam 6). He keeps away from one who is not sincere in his/her devotion - दोलायमानानà¥� दूरं मà¥�ञà¥�चसि (Slokam 7). Only those who are pure in thought, word and deed can successfully meditate on Him. He thus becomes easy to access for the women of Ä�yarpÄ�á¸�i who have staunch devotion to Him - शà¥�रदà¥�धित हृदय सà¥�लभः(Slokam 7).

1.4  How Do We Know of the Existence of BhagavÄ�n

The question of what is the evidence for the existence of bhagav�n has been raised by many. The simple answer is provided in Slokam 7 - Agama m�tra pram�ṇ�h - Because the veda-s declare so. There is no other way to prove His existence. We can experience Him, but can't prove His existence to others through any means other than Veda.

1.5  Why Should We Worship Him

We worship Him because He eliminates the feelings of desire, sins, false knowledge, etc. when we have Him in our thoughts - tṛsh�, mala, mohah kshapitah (Slokam 27). When we worship Him, we won't ever have the darkness of the night called aj~n�na (tesh�m moha triy�m� na khalu - Slokam 46). Our mind will not be distracted away from Him by anything (vik�ra jananairapi na vikriyam�ṇ�h), and we will become pure (p�van�h) and will experience the anubhavam of moksham even in this world (jīvanmukta sadṛśah) (Slokam 47).

1.6  Attributes of a True Devotee of BhagavÄ�n

A true devotee of bhagav�n will lose interest in the pursuit of trivial and transient pleasures (vishaya rase virakt�h - Slokam 47, svapna sadṛksh�ṇ�m śrīṇ�m na smarati - Slokam 48). For that matter the devotee of bhagav�n will not even be interested in positions such as that of Brahma; he will realize that even these so-called high positions are impermanent like water bubbles and will come to end ultimately, and are constantly under the threat of the asura-s. These positions are beautiful to look at like water bubbles, but are also impermanent like the water bubbles, nice to look at like mushrooms but also tasteless like mushrooms, beautiful to look at like cloud formations but also transient like them. The position of these other gods is like the banana stem, which looks strong but which can't support anything like a stone pillar can (i.e., they can't even assure protection to those who seek their protection, except when bhagav�n gives them that power) (Slokam 49).

Those who worship bhagav�n with devotion and who acquire true j~n�na of Him will also acquire the qualities such as sausīlya like Him, and mix with even those who have not advanced to the knowledge level like themselves. They forgive other's mistakes just as bhagav�n forgives His devotees' sins, and over a period of time they will help the other cetana-s towards the path of realizing Him (Slokam 50).

Those who are devoted to bhagav�n will also not have any of the negative attributes that are acquired by those who do not have clear thinking and who think of this body as the �tm�, or think that their soul is independent of the param�tm� (51). Negative qualities such as m�na madershy� matsara dambh� bhay� amarsha lobha etc., which are explained later, will not touch them. All the undesirable traits leave the devotees of bhagav�n, and they shine like stars in a well-lit sky on a clear cloud-free night (Slokam 54).

There is no question of yama lokam for His devotee - na khalu yama vishaye gatih (Slokam 55); even those who stray from the path of a prapanna after surrendering to Him get only minor punishment from Him as pr�yaścitta. So there is no question of one who has done prapatti to Him going to naraka. His devotees desist from worldly desires and enjoyments and thus keep themselves away from yama's wrath (Slokam 56). Even though they live in kali yuga, they feel like they are living in kṛta yuga (Slokam 52). They realize that everything - moving and non-moving - is part of bhagav�n, and so they do not develop any kind of animosity or hatred towards anyone or anything. Their only goal in life is moksha, and they only observe san�tana dharma which assists them in attaining that goal. They desist from any attachment to worldly pleasures since they have realized that these are transient and impermanent (59).

The worship offered by a paramaik�ntin (i.e., one who worships śrīman n�r�yaṇa exclusively and who does not perform this worship for any benefit for himself) is accepted by bhagav�n with a bowed head like one accepting a pariyaṭṭam, whereas the worship offered by the likes of brahma is only accepted at His feet (57).

1.7  The effects of not worshipping Him

Those who do not worship Him always find fault in bh�gavata-s (53), like faulting the Sun with having a hole in the centre; this kind is sowing the path for their self-destruction. Even if they live in kṛta yugam, they will feel miserable like those living in kali yugam (52). These who are immersed in worldly pleasures will not be able to realize Him even though He is very near them in His arc� form, just as the sky is near us but is beyond our grasp (60).

These non-devotees who think that their body is the �tm� or it belongs to them and not to param�tm�, develop many undesirable traits such as ahamk�ram (m�na - the feeling that they arre superior to others), pride arising from their wealth, appearance, birth, etc. (mada), jealousy (īrshy�), enmity (matsara), hot-headedness (dambha), finding fault with others (asūy�), fear (bhaya), anger (amarsha), desire to cling to wealth (lobha), etc. (Slokam 51).

1.8  avatÄ�ra rahasyam

(Slokam 31): Why did bhagavÄ�n take so many incarnations among us? Swami Desikan reminds us of Lord ká¹›shṇa's declaration in the gÄ«tÄ� (4.8) - परितà¥�राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दà¥�शà¥�कà¥�रà¥�तामà¥�, धरà¥�म समà¥�सà¥�थापनारà¥�थाय समà¥�भवामि यà¥�गे यà¥�गे - through his Slokam 31. vipaksha nikshapita - for the destruction of the enemies of His devotees, samsthÄ�pia parama dharmÄ�h - establishment of the best of dharma-s, and sÄ�dhu paritrÄ�ṇa - for the protection of the good. Srirama Desikacharya Swami observes that while bhagavÄ�n could have done all this while being in Å›rÄ« vaikuṇṭham itself, He really wanted to be with us in form, and show us how to be a good son, a good husband, a good friend, etc., and it is His sauśīlyam that made Him take all these incarnations - just for the sake of His devotees.

1.9  The Importance of worshipping the arcÄ� mÅ«rti in Temples

The question can be asked - why should we worship the form of bhagav�n in the temples - the arc� mūrti? Swami Desikan gives a simple analogy. When a treasure is hidden underground, people walk on it without knowing its location. There are those who are called siddha-s, who can provide a dark collerium which can be applied in the eyes and which will then help identify the location of the treasures. Bhagav�n's true nature - His divya Atma svarūpam - is not realizable except through His own Grace, and is like the treasure hidden from our reach. But if we keep worshipping the dark arc�mūrti of bhagav�n with devotion uninterruptedly, this will serve like the dark collerium that will help in ultimately realizing the divya Atma svarūpam of bhagav�n over time. (Slokam 45).

The bhakta-s are so moved by having the sev� of bhagav�n's tirumeni in temples that they shed tears of joy and their whole body experiences extreme excitement (kadamba goḷa nibha kaṇṭak�yam�na nij�gn�n - with mayirk-kucci - hairs standing erect on the body like budding kadamba flowers (58).

1.10  BhagavÄ�n's tirumeni

Swami Desikan briefly describes devar�jap Perumal's tirumeni through 10 Sloka-s (34 to 43) in this stotra. We have seen the similar anubhavam of Swami Desikan in a few of his stotra-s before e.g., through 11 Sloka-s in śrī bhagavad dhy�na sop�nam and through 30 Sloka-s in śrī Devanayaka pañc�sat.

Bhagav�n's tiru mukham resembles the moon, His kirīṭam is like the Sun, and His beautiful dark hair resembles the darkness of the night. How is it possible for the Sun, the moon, and the darkness to co-exist simultaneously? Swami Desikan's beautiful anubhavam - bhagav�n is the aghaṭitaghaṭan� Saktan - He is One who can make impossible things happen (Slokam 34).

Bhagav�n's beautiful face far exceeds the beauty of the full moon, and His eyes resemble the just-blossomed lotus flowers. Meditating on His divine face will remove even the sins committed knowingly, and serve as the pr�yaścitta (remedy) for these sins (Slokam 35). The sight of His divine shoulders reminds Swami Desikan of the might of these shoulders under which the different gods including brahma (vidhi pramukha deva janah) have sought refuge (Slokam 37). Having the darśanam of bhagav�n's tiru udaram (belly) reminds Swami Desikan of His saving all the brahm�ṇ�a-s in His stomach during the pralaya. His navel reminds him of the creation of brahma in a lotus flower from the n�bhīkamalam (Slokam 38).

Looking at bhagav�n's deep red pīt�mbaram, Swami Desikan meditates on bhagav�n's acts of crushing the asura-s madhu and kaiṭabha, and the resulting profuse stream of blood soaking into bhagav�n's pīt�mbaram and thus imparting this deep red color (Slokam 40). The mekhal� (waist-band) kindles memories of the great chain that has been put around bhagav�n, the manmathan like a chain around a mad elephant (the rasam here is that those who meditate on this mekhal� of bhagav�n will be relieved of the pursuit of trivial pleasures in this world - Srirama Desikacharya Swami).

In śrī Devanayaka pañc�sat Swami Desikan's anubhavam of the darśanam of bhagav�n's Divine thighs was that they were the death-bed for the cruel asura-s such as hiraṇyakaśipu. In the current Slokam his anubhavam is that they are like the strong pillars that support the mansion where the three worlds are stored (reference to bhagav�n's stomach being the heavy mansion where all the worlds rest at the time of pralaya) (Slokam 41).

The darśanam of bhagav�n's Lotus Feet reminds Swami Desikan of the sacred gang� flowing from His Feet during the time of His trivikrama incarnation and sanctifying all the three worlds, and their offering protection to anyone who surrenders to them (Slokam 43).

1.11  We Always Belong to Him and Are Never Independent

We have to realize that we are His possession and belonging and are not independent, and are always subservient to Him who is the Supreme Lord. We are like a wooden doll which has been tied by the ropes of the three guṇa-s, sattva, rajas, and tamas, and bhagav�n alone can release us from this bondage (82). We came across this same concept in śrī Devanayaka pañc�sat earlier (Slokam 8 - sūtr�nubaddha Sakuni kramatah).

1.12  The Life of a prapanna

The main purpose to which a prapanna should devote his life in this world is to do two things: a) to serve Him without any desire for benefit; and b) to help other cetana-s by guiding them towards realizing Him. In a sense, this second item is one way of serving Him, and He keeps the prapanna in this world without taking him right away to śrīvaikuṇṭham just so the prapanna can devote his time to this purpose in this world (61). This service of the prapanna serves as the bridge which the cetana-s can use to cross the ocean of sams�ra (62).

The prapanna is assured of moksham at the end of his/her life. In the interim, the prapanna accepts the pains and pleasures in the rest of this life as an expiation of the accumulated karma-s. Because of this, the prapanna does not have any fear of death, and looks at death as a bosom-friend visiting his home and welcomes death when it arrives, whole-heartedly (63).

Seeing the aj~n�na or darkness in this world, the prapanna does service to the Lord and to this world by lighting the torch of brahmaj~n�na and passing it on to deserving Sishya-s. When this service is performed by the prapanna, bhagav�n considers the prapanna's life's objective to have been accomplished, and takes the prapanna to His abode of śrīvaikuṇṭham (64). Here the prapanna joins the goshṭi of garu�a, �diśesha, and vishvaksena, and has uninterrupted bhagavad-anubhavam while having all the bhoga-s equivalent to bhagav�n Himself (65).

1.13  The Greatness of prapatti and prapanna-s

Bhakti and prapatti are the two means to attain moksham. Of these, bhakti yoga requires the j~n�na and the Sakti to perform the j~n�na yoga and the karma yoga, practicing which alone one will get the maturity to undertake the bhakti yoga. Knowing the uncertainty and the delay associated with this means for attaining moksha, people who probably had the required j~n�na and Sakti to undertake bhakti m�rgam, still discard this as their preferred means for seeking moksham, and instead perform prapatti at bhagav�n's Feet and attain moksham without delay and with certainty (66).

The veda-s declare that human life-form is subservient to the deva-s, and is meant to toil to please the deva-s. But while the human being who performs prapatti is assured of attaining moksham, the likes of indra who are superior to the human life-form by their position are still accumulating karma-phalam and are thus going to go through the cycle of birth and re-birth. These deva-s who had this human being as their servant, all of a sudden come and prostrate in front of this prapanna and worship him. The prapanna thus becomes the object of worship of the deva-s not only after they reach śrīvaikuṇṭham but in this world as well (67).

1.14  The a'nga-s of prapatti

These have been covered a few times before (śaraṇ�gati dīpik� Slokam 27; ny�sa vimśati 18; ny�sa daśakam 2, 10; etc.). The prapanna in Swami Desikan finds expression in Sloka-s 74 to 84. He submits to Lord Devanayaka that he is realizing that all the y�ga-s and other k�mya karma-s that he has undertaken and continues to undertake are powerless to yield the ultimate benefit, and that His Mercy alone can retrieve him from the heaps of sins that he is committing all his life (74 to 80). He submits to the Lord the complete responsibility for his protection (81).

1.15  The Importance of practices such as nÄ�ma samkÄ«rtanam

The most important first step for the darkness in our mind to disappear and for us to turn to Him for surrender, is bhagav�n's kaṭaksham and anugraham itself (68). Simple practices such as n�ma samkīrtanam (chanting bhagav�n's name sincerely) will lead to deep-rooted devotion to Him over time. These practices will remove the darkness in our mind, will rejuvenate the soul so that we devote ourselves to His service, and with His kaṭaksham we will attain moksham. Thus the n�ma samkīrtanam will serve as the strong root on which the tree of moksham will grow and rest. The nectar of n�ma samkīrtanam has untold other benefits (69).

1.16  The Importance of karma (Actions) Done Without Desire For Fruits

Swami Desikan has emphasized the essence of karma yoga in Slokam 70, as described in śrīmad bhagavad gīt� (2.40 and 6.40). Any work that is done with the ultimate benefit dedicated to Him and with no expectation of benefit from this action, will always lead to ultimate release from the bondage of sams�ra. It is immaterial how small this effort is, or how incomplete it is. There is no sin or other negative effect even if this act is discontinued in the middle for any reason. This is conveyed to us by Lord kṛshṇa through Sloka 2.40 in the gīt� -

and also in Slokam 6.40:

1.17  Swami Desikan on anya-devatÄ� worship

Swami Desikan reiterates the simple reason why anya-devat� worship is unnecessary for those who seek any benefit at all in life, and why it does not make sense for one who is interested in moksha and nothing else, in Sloka-s 71 and 72. All the other gods get their power to bestow their devotee's wishes only by the Grace of śrīman n�r�yaṇa, through the power that He bestows on them. They can smile on their devotees only if He smiles on them. Without His Will, they don't have any power. And then at best they can bestow some small benefits compared to the ultimate benefit that He alone can give, viz. moksha. This being the case, one can worship bhagav�n directly and get anything one desires, instead of worshiping all the itara-devat�-s who are in between Him and us.

There is an even more important reason why one who is interested in moksha and nothing else should only worship śrīman n�r�yaṇa and no one else. This has to do with a prapanna not even desiring any of the benefits that the anya-devat�-s can bestow on them. So the anya-devat�-s have nothing to give to the prapanna even if they are extremely pleased (itara tridaś�h prasann�h kim hitam karishyanti? - 72). Given that the only benefit that is sought by a prapanna is moksha and no other benefit, the only logical conclusion is that there is no other worship except that of śrīman n�r�yaṇa that makes any sense.

There are two gems that we have come across before, where Swami Desikan has conveyed the same idea, viz. nothing moves without His Will, through beautiful rhyming poetry. These are: 1. in kÄ�mÄ�sikÄ�shá¹­akam Slokam 8 - तà¥�वयि रकà¥�षति रकà¥�षकैः किमनà¥�यैः, तà¥�वयि चारकà¥�षति रकà¥�षकैः किमनà¥�यैः; and 2. तà¥�वयि पà¥�रवृतà¥�ते मम किं पà¥�रयासैः, तà¥�वयà¥�यपà¥�रवृतà¥�ते मं किं पà¥�रयासैः. Similar rhythmic poetry is what we see in the current Slokam also - अपà¥�रसादे अपà¥�रसनà¥�नाहà¥�, तव पà¥�रसादे दाससतà¥�य पà¥�रसनà¥�नाः (71).

1.18  BhagavÄ�n's unlimited guṇa-s

A beautiful, simple, and high-level description of bhagav�n's infinite kaly�na-guṇa-s is given by Swami Desikan through a few Sloka-s in this stotram.

• In the opening Slokam, Swami Desikan showers praise on bhagavÄ�n's following guṇa-s - sthira jyotih, acyutam, dÄ�sÄ�nÄ�m satyam, tridaÅ›Ä�nÄ�m nÄ�tham - The jyoti that never diminishes, He who will never forsake His devotees, He who always bestows His devotees' wishes, and He who is the God of all gods.
• BhagavÄ�n is sarva-guṇa-sampannan. These guṇa-s are flawless (nirmala), countless (vigaṇitam na Saknuvanti), and cannot be found in any other god (ananya sulabhÄ�ni). He is also the limit of perfection for these guṇa-s (Slokam 27).
• Hundreds of upanishad-s (upanishdÄ�m Å›atÄ�ni) describe Him as kshapita sakala heyam - devoid of any negative attribute of any kind, satya j~nÄ�na Anandam - He who is not subject to change or mutation, Omniscient, and Supreme Bliss, and ulla'ngita trividha antam - unlimited by the three constraints - space, Time, and shape. Thus He is not constrained by where He is at any given time and in what form He exists (Slokam 8).
• Unsupported by anything else He creates everything while He Himself is not created by anything else. He supports everything while He is not supported by anything else. He also destroys everything at the time of pralaya while He cannot be destroyed by anything else - अननà¥�य कà¥�रियः निधिलं करोषि, केनापि न कà¥�रियसे; सà¥�थापयसि न समà¥�सà¥�थापà¥�सà¥�यसे; हरसि न हà¥�रियसे (Slokam 9).
• He is everywhere and also inside everything that exists, including the minutest atom. Even when He is in the tiniest of things, His Power is in no way diminished, and it is the same Absolute Power that controls and governs everything. This is the basis for the declaration in the veda-s that bhagavÄ�n is present in everything, completely and absolutely (Slokam 10).
• He is the Creator of everything, He is the Supporter of everything, He is the Lord of everything, He is the Ä�tmÄ� of everything, and everything is His Body. As the Ä�tmÄ� of everything, He causes them to function, and since everything is His Body, He is the one who is really functioning also. The veda-s declare Him as sarvah - Everything (Slokam 11).
• Because He is both the praká¹›ti and the jÄ«va from which everything is created, He is the material cause of this Universe - upÄ�dÄ�na kÄ�raṇa; because He is the Creator of everything, He is also the instrumental cause of everything - nimitta kÄ�raṇa. He is like both the clay that is used to make the pot and the pot maker that makes the pot. Everything that exists e.g., the pot, has two such causes for their existence, and these two are never the same. BhagavÄ�n is the only exception and wonder who happens to be both the upÄ�dÄ�na kÄ�raṇam and nimitta kÄ�raṇam simultaneoulsy for creating a given object or being (Slokam 12).
• While BhagavÄ�n is the common cause for the creation of everything, still everything that is created is unique and different from everything else. This is not because of any bias or partiality on His part. The beings are what they are because of the result of their karma - which in turn results in a different combination of rÄ�jasic, sÄ�ttvic, and tamo guṇa-s in each being, and this results in them being different from each other (Slokam 13).
• BhagavÄ�n is impartial to everyone, and bestows the karma phalam to everyone impartially. He never breaks His promise to anyone. But when it comes to a devotee who has unconditionally surrendered to Him, then He becomes the servant of this devotee, and will do whatever it takes to protect the interests and welfare of the devotee. This is how He willingly performed the duty of a chariot-driver to arjuna, and went as a messenger to the pÄ�ṇá¸�ava-s (Slokam 21). This is also why He broke His own promise not to take to weapons in the war against the kaurava-s, viz. just to protect the promise of His devotee bhÄ«shma, and appeared in the pillar in a very unnatural form of half-man and half-lion to keep the word of prahlÄ�da.

1.19  The Ultimate Knowledge

There is only one thing that needs to be understood from the study of all the veda-s and SAstra-s - that there is nothing comparable to Him or better than Him, that He is the One who protects everything, and that He is the Only One to whom we have to surrender in order to attain relief from all sorrows (Slokam 15).

His Greatness is such that even brahma cannot disobey His Will (Slokam 16). The different gods for whom homa-s are prescribed in the veda-s are ultimately directed to Him as their antary�mi. This is analogous to the offering in the śr�ddha, where a br�hmaṇa is given the bhojanam, but it is meant for the pitṛ-s (Slokam 17).

Bhagav�n is the siddha-up�ya, or the means that exists already without any effort needed on our part, for attaining Him (Slokam 23). This is because He is sarva-Saktan, sarvaj~nan, and above all, He is the parama-k�ruṇikan.

Except for Him, no one else can bestow moksham. Just as even a thousand suns which are drawn on paper cannot remove darkness, the thousands of gods together can't bestow moksham, and only He, out of His own Mercy, can bestow this on His devotee (Slokam 25).

1.20  The Role of pirÄ�á¹­á¹­i

The roles of pir�ṭṭi and bhagav�n in bestowing their karuṇ� on the devotee-s is nicely explained by Swami Desikan through a simple example. Lots of beautiful creepers have grown on the trunk of the kalpaka vṛksham and surround it tightly. While the kalpaka vṛksham bestows anything the devotee asks for, the creepers provide the cool and comforting shade for those that sit under it. Similarly, pir�ṭṭi is seated on the vaksha-sthalam of bhagav�n like the creeper surrounding the kalpaka vṛksham and provides the purushak�ratvam to the devotee while bhagav�n bestows all the wishes of the devotee (Slokam 19).

1.21  A prapanna jÄ«va's Ascent to Å›rÄ«vaikuṇṭham

Swami Desikan gives his anubhavam of how a prapanna is taken from this world to śrīvaikuṇṭham at the end of his life in this world in Sloka-s 82 to 90. The prapanna is released from the effects of both his good deeds and bad deeds as a consequence of prapatti (83). Note that the good karma-s, when not performed with surrendering the benefit or phala to Him, are as binding of the jīva to this world as the bad karma-s are.

At the end of this life, the jīva undergoes severe stress as a result of the separation of jīva from the body (maraṇa vedanai in tamizh), and bhagav�n who is the antary�mi in the prapanna is there ready and waiting to embrace the jīva and comfort and relieve the strain of the jīva. There are 101 different worlds to which a jīva can be taken, depending on the karma-s that have accumulated. A prapanna's jīva is not led in any of the 100 paths (n�di's) that lead to loka-s other than śrīvaikuṇṭham, but instead through the 101st n��i which is called the brahma n��i which leads the prapanna to śrīvaikuṇṭham. This path is beautifully lit by the Sun's rays, and bhagav�n is anticipating the arrival of this jīva like a parent looking at a child who is coming towards him (84). The prapanna is led in this path by the gods such as agni, v�yu, sūrya, candra etc. Each of these escort the jīva of the prapanna up to the borders or spheres of their influence (85). The jīv�tm� then crosses the viraj� river, and is bestowed with a divine body that is of the nature of pure sattva guṇa, and no r�jasic or t�masic qualities. This divine body is then decorated with garllands, beautiful clothes, fragrances, etc. worthy of a servant of bhagav�n in śrīvaikuṇṭham (86). Bhagav�n welcomes and embraces the prapanna to His heart just as He holds periya pir�ṭṭi dear to His heart (87). This jīv�tm� then is engaged in nitya kaimkaryam to emperum�n in śrīvaikuṇṭham just like the nitya sūri-s (89). There is no rebirth for this jīv�tm� in the sense of the jīva-s bound by karma; they will appear in this world along with bhagav�n whenever He takes an incarnation, just to serve Him while He is in here, and will return with Him back to śrīvaikuṇṭham (90).

2.  What We Can and Should Do

Our relief from the eternal bondage of sams�ra occurs because of His samkalpam, and cannot happen without His samkalpam. What is left for us is to

1. pray to Him for His samkalpam (91),
2. seek His forgiveness for all the apac�ram-s that we keep committing knowingly and unknowingly (92),
3. desist from going after the pleasures of this world and instead seek His Grace for relief from the bondage of sams�ra (93, 94, 96),
4. practice the a'nga-s of prapatti such as desisting from association with those who are who are non-devotees (whose association is like the poison that pours out at sight from a venomous serpent) and associating ourselves with His devotees whose sight and talk are like a shower of nectar pouring forth at us (95),
5. seek the protection of His Feet which alone will relieve us from all our sufferings (97), and
6. seek the guidance of an �c�rya and perform the Ultimate Surrender or prapatti to Him (99) with the full faith that He has taken a vow to protect those who have sought His protection (98) and with the full realization that we are His belonging and He seeks to accept us and protect us just as much as we seek His protection (100).

3.  Concluding Summary

Thus has this composition with the title of acyuta Satakam been composed by the kavi t�rkika kesari ved�nt�c�rya ve'nkatan�tha Swami Desikan for our benefit (101). Needless to add that here is another gem of collections of the fundamentals of the great Visishtadvaita philosophy summarized in simple form by Swami Desikan for even the simplest of minds to grasp and understand. Every one of the stotra-s that we have gone through so far has been an independent exposition of the essentials of our great philosophy by Swami Desikan in simple terms. He has composed these and given them to us because of his infinite mercy towards us, and is aimed at our redemption from the bondage of sams�ra, and for uniting us with Bhagav�n. May we benefit by His Grace.

-- d�san kṛshṇam�c�ryan

Tiruvahindrapuram