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

From the Bhakti List Archives

Krishna Kalale • June 29, 1997 


Dear Devotees,

I fully agree with Sadagopan and encourage Sudarshan to write further.
This is a kainkaryam and will pay off in Srimannarayana's view if not as
personal satisfaction.  This will be a way for Sudarshan and such
bhagawathas on the net to go throught he texts for self satisfaction and
derive knowledge and happiness.  I used to be active on the net two years
back.  This year has been bad stress wise and in fact just getting ready to
leave to India for a few days on business.  

Even if one person on the net reads these articles and gets benefitted, it
is worth it as kainkaryam, even though that person may not write back with
comments.  I read Bhisma stuti about a few of them and did I guess post an
article on antimasmrti a while back. I will soon catch up reading other
articles on Bhismastuti soon.

With the little time I have, Recently, after finishing helping SMS chari on
his book on Brahmasutras, I am helping him with two papers : on Ramanuja
and Vedanta Desika, which are to appear on an international journal. These
two papers are very interesting work for me. I feel that the other papers
on this subject, seem to leave out some important ideas in this paper.
Unfortunately, I cannot release these papers to public since it has
copyright problems. I will send fax copies to some folks for review if SMS
Chari permits,

Krishna




At 10:52 AM 6/29/97 EDT, V. Sadagopan wrote:
>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 
>   
>
>
>