Darsanam

taic[mf
Ani 2009

2009

SRAVANA SAMITHI , MUSCAT

Traditional Sri Vaishnavs families have long cherished their distinct “Pari Bhashai”
meaning the dialect which attributes everything that we do to Sriman Narayana in one
way or other. The words “Thiru Ullam” “Avan Sankalpam” “avan Niyamanam” are some
of the words that are most commonly used. Adiyen, Yellanam, Yezhundu Alura
Veendum, Saathikkalam, are part of our long tradition and the culture which
unfortunately is now giving place to a culture that is far removed from what our
forefathers had assiduously worked hard to preserve. “Adiyen” is such a great word in
its expressions of humility in expressing absolute servitude to the Lord that it by itself is
sufficient to declare “Namakku Nigar Yaar Naanilathe”. It might sound that Adiyen is
saying two opposing words in the same breath: one in humility and another in pride.
Yes, it is true. Adiyen is proud to be of absolute servitude to Sriman Narayanan and
Swami Desikan and Bhagavath Ramanuja, but that gives Adiyen the right to saatvika
Ahankaram” the “rightful pride”.

With such rich tradition and pari bhashai handed down over centuries, Adiyen finds a
disturbing trend among many who have forgotten the same. In many cases it is not
their fault as they been victims of the environment. Expressions such as the one
mentioned above are joked or thought of as archaic. Even expressions such as Thiru
Kannaan Amuthu have been disappeared from many homes which is a tragedy. Yes,
payasam is easily understood, but when it is offered to Lord, it is Thiru Kannan Amuthu.
What we eat after it is offered to Lord (Varadan) is His prasadam which is Thiru Kannan
Amuthu. Even the rice that is served was referred to as Prasadam and not Saadam as
we have now been used to these days.

Let us all try and re-establish to some limited extent by following our tradition at least
when we meet each other and spread the message that ours is a great tradition that
has been established by all our forefathers “enthai thanthai, thantha thanthaikkum
munthai” which needs to be preserved for posterity. We are custodians of this tradition
and if the future generations are denied the richness of this culture we will be
responsible. Lets us start this within our families and soon Adiyen is sure this will spread
to others who are similarly inclined.

Darsanam – Ani 2009

2
In this context adiyen was very disturbed to see the language in a recent hindi film
which was usually spared of the vulgarity of the Tamil films. Adiyen will not comment
on the language of Tamil films and TV serials which seem to have no other community
to target other than the Brahmins. The lust for money has become so intoxicating that
language of the dialogue and songs in the Hindi film was downright obscene. Alas, it is
in this environment that our children have to grow and therefore the enormity of the
task ahead cannot be underestimated. But it can be done if we are all committed as
We have the support of Swami Desikan

Vazga Pallandu Thoopul Pillai

Vazga pallandu yathi Chakravarthy
Vazga Pallandu Sadagopa paragusa Nayaki

Nangainallur Venkatesan

Desika Vandana
EaIvao=\kTaya-oNa kRt: p`banQaa:
saM#yaatumauvyaa-M ivabauQaOna- Xa@yaa: .
t~OkmaokM pirXaIlayantao
Qanyaa narasto QarNaIM punaint .. 153
!EvgfkEdSsJaiyaEl ;ybfbpfpdfd
pfrpnftgfk^q ;pfp<viyilf vitfva[fkqaLmf
k]kfkid ;ylaT. `nft kfrnftgfkqilf
ovfeva[fbak kbfB n[fK ~rayfpvafkqf ulAk
p<[itpfpDtfTki[fb[af.
Ecaqigfkp<rmf etadfdacaaiyaaf

Darsanam – Ani 2009

3
 (continued from Part 4)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The path of Vedanta, the "vEdAnta-mArga" of Swami Desikan, is described in a short
work of his called "parama-pada-sOpAnam". It is one of the many 'rahasya-granthAm-s'
he wrote to communicate lofty themes of Vedanta to ordinary people of the world (i.e.
those who are neither "kavi-s" nor "tArkikA-s") in a simple and easy-to-understand
form. Swami Venkatanathan's works that simplify what is otherwise extremely complex
or esoteric in Vedanta ("rahasya") came to be generally called "chillarai-rahasyam"
("chillarai" here meaning, "simple"). Since out of kindness for the ignorant commoner
Desikan strove to create works that made VedAnta easy to follow, he came to be
known as "vEdAntAchArya" or "vEdAnta-guru".
The word 'parama-padam' means "highest
state of existence". The word "sOpAnam" is a little
difficult to exactly translate. It is commonly
understood to mean a hymn that describes
anything in graphic and slow detail from "start" to
"finish", from "head to toe"... (Many will
remember here Desikan's 'stOtrA' called
"bhagavath-dhyAna-sOpAnam" which is a hymn
describing the beuteous form of the Lord of
SriRangam from the "feet to the crown").
"sOpAnam" can also mean a many-tiered
stairway... a sort of structure which climbs in
Swami Desikan, Tiruvallur
height by means of many tiers of stepping stones.
These stepping-stones are called "pariankam" in
Sanskrit. Swami Desikan's "parama-pada-sOpAnam" thus refers to a step-by-step
"stairway" having many "parianka-s" that lead, slowly but surely, from the bottom-most
state of existence to the "highest state of human existence".
What is this 'parama-padam'? It is said to be the abode of the Supreme
Brahman, called by the name of "nArAyaNa". It is otherwise called "SriVaikuntam" -- the
kingdom of God. This "parama-padam" is however not so much a physical place as a
spiritual one. It is a state of existence in which there is unbounded, unceasing and
undiminishing Joy. Only those who have reached this state know this Bliss; and having
reached it they do not return to this world ever again to describe it for us. Even the
Vedas and Upanishads that know of this Bliss and speak of it, become incoherent while

Darsanam – Ani 2009

4
describing "parama-padam". The Taittiriya Upanishad, for example, (in the Brghuvalli)
while speaking of it is unable to say no more than this: "haa...ooh-hA...ooh-hA..hoo...!".
From Swami Desikan's "parama-pada-sOpAnam" we learn that all beings on
earth seek only one purpose -- and that is Joy, Bliss or 'ananda'.
Creatures like unicellular organisms like amoeba and
bacteria, or, other low-level creatures like
insects and vermins, have extremely short
life-spans. They live from a few hours to
a few days only. Within that span of
time they seek only one purpose in life
i.e. mere Survival. To survive they must
eat. And their greatest joy or 'ananda'
in life is feeding.

Then there are other creatures like

vertebrates, mammals and reptiles
whose life-span extend from a few
years to a decade or more. For
them, as in the case of rabbits, for
example, the purpose in life is not
merely Survival but also Self-
Perpetuation. Within their life-
spans they seek to also multiply
their own species in the face of
The principle of Paramapadam
harsh odds of Nature. The
activity of perpetuating themselves i.e. procreation gives
them great joy or 'ananda'.
Amongst higher forms of living creatures, there are many species that live for
much longer life-spans. Elephants and large apes, for example, are known to live for
almost 100 years. These creatures not only want to perpetuate themselves but they
also seek Social Proliferation. They build large communities and societies. They live in
and work for such social groups wanting acceptance, recognition or domination within
them. It is this pursuit of Social Proliferation which gives them the greatest joy or
'ananda' in life.
Man, who as a species, is right at the top of the biological heap, is a unique
creture. For him, the greatest source of joy, is not merely in Survival, Perpetuation or
Proliferation. He seeks Bliss in Self-Fulfillment. Through work, strife and human

Darsanam – Ani 2009

5
accomplishment of many kinds that includes wealth, power and self-gratification, Man
constantly seeks the great joy or 'ananda' of self-fulfillment.
Now, unfortunately, all sources of joy or 'anandA' in this world, whether they
are Survival, Perpetuation, Proliferation or Fulfillment.. all these sources of Bliss are
temporal. They
are there to
enjoy and
experience only
as long as a
creature
remains in its
state of worldly
existence.
Furthermore,
the joys of the
world are not
always of the
same
pleasurable
intensity...
these Rare photo – Madurantakam Raman and Karunakaran joys wax and wane with the tide
in Sayana Tirukkolam, durig Samprokshanam 2005
and vicissitudes of life. (In the heat
of summer, for example, an ice-cream is a source of delicious pleasure whereas; one
would not even touch it in the freezing temperatures of winter... The pleasures of youth
are not available in old age etc).
Hence, we learn from the "parama-pada-sOpAnam" that this state of worldly
existence in which Man lives, with its severely limited means of affording 'ananda' to
him, is the actually the lowest state of existence. From this state of limited, uncertain
and erratic Joy, Man would gladly seek to attain another state of existence where
'ananda' is unlimited, eternal and undiminishing. Such a state of existence is called
"parama-padam"... and it is that state of existence to which Swami Desikan -- the
"vEdAnta-guru" -- provides a simple road-map for all and sundry in this world to follow.
This 'road-map' to "parama-padam" is described by Swami Desikam to be a
"stairway" of 9 stepping-stones or 'parianka-s'. The 9 steps are:
1) vivekam
2) nirvedam
3) virakti
4) bheeti

Darsanam – Ani 2009

6
 5) prasAda-hetu
6) utkramanam
7) archirAdri
8) divya-desa-prApti
9) prApti
(to be continued)

dAsan,
Sudarshan

SrI:
SrImathE Nigamantha Mahadesikaya namah:
SrImAn venkatanAthAryaH kavitArkika kesarI |
vedAntAcArya-varyo me sannidhattAm sadA hRdi ||

May the glorious Venkatanatha, the greatest of teachers of Vedanta, and the lion
among poets and debaters, reside forever in my heart.

Dearest Srivaishnavas,
Even to read the list of Swamy’s granthas will take
so much time. Swamy alone can compose so many
works in one lifetime. When we see / enjoy later
these works individually later, we will realize that
what sweetness, depths, literary values, rhythms,
grammars, variety of meanings they contain! How
true are those words and fully in accordance with
Sri Ramanuja’s works and Vedas and saasthrAs!
We will have to read to believe it!
Sri Ramanuja is reputed to have authored
Srimad Bhashyakarar, Delhi
nine works- Sri Bhashyam, Sri Gita Bhashyam,

Darsanam – Ani 2009

7
VedArttha Sangraham, Vedanta Deepam, Vedanta Saram, Sharanagati Gadyam, Sri
Vaikunta Gadyam, Sriranga Gadyam and Nityam. Sri Bhashyam, Vedartha Sangraham,
Deepam and Saram are aimed at elucidating the purport of the Brahma Sutras and
select Veda Vedanta passages, and are, as such, polemical works aimed at
establishment of the VisishtAdvaita Darsanam on a sound pedestal after demolishing
the faulty structures put up by other schools of philosophy Swamy’s aim in writing is
more than one.
1. The system of Visishtadvaita should be kept on very strong basis.
2. Sriman Nathamuni was the earliest scholar to write the nyAya tattva. The systems of
Jaimini, Gautama were in vogue during Nathamuni period. These were not written on
the basis of Vedas. The nyAya tattva of Sriman Nathamuni deals with the topics of
nyAya, VaishEshika, meemaamsa, and
treated in a manner to interpret the
Vedanthic system.
3. Ramanuja’s concepts [expounded
from Nathamuni, Yamunacharya’s
works] and theories were attacked by
the opponents and the refutations had
to be answered and dismissed as they
were baseless [as they are non-vedic]
and where Vedic, they violate some of
other vedic statements [even if they
claim that it is based on Vedas]. Counter
arguments had to be framed in defence
strongly as well.
Swami Desikan, Delhi
4. The writers who came after Ramanuja,
were not in a position to evolve the
metaphysical and logical theories consistent with the teachings of Ramanuja. These all
were required to be given a shape in the light of Ramanuja’s teaching. NONE BUT
Vedantha Desika achieved this professional success-though he never claimed or
declared the same- due to his utter humility.
5. Some of the Acharyas who came after Ramanmuja did good service to the cause of
Srivaishnavam by their expositions in Tamil hymns of the AzhwArs, but could not
establish their position in unshakeable foundation in an unparalleled and unambiguous
manner.
6. Finally, it is only Desika that repulsed the attacks on the importance of the Tamil
hymns of AzhwArs and placed them on a string basis on par with Vedas if not more; as
the fountain source of Vedantha system. He himself wrote some wonderful tamil hymns
on par with azhwAr’s works.

Darsanam – Ani 2009

8
 Let us enjoy his avathAra vaibhavam, life history first and then his sthOthras in
brief summaries. Also, it is my intent to let us pay our obeisance to our ThUppul PiLLai
through his son?s works.. and then come back to Acharya’s works. Glorifying our
Acharya and his works pleases the Lord and all Acharyas as well. So let us begin. [with
the blessings of Divya Dampathi and Acharyas]. May They pardon me for my daring
venture with no qualifications at all? except being under the shadow of Their lotus feet-
for any errors and omissions caused unintentionally.]
The life history of our Acharyas and Alwars in an enigma. There is no historical
record or evidence by which we may definitely say how many years they lived in a
particular place, what miracles they had performed therein, when and in which city they
wrote several works and in what serial order were their compositions were etc? They

Acharya Goshti – Ranganathan to Bhagavad Bhashyakarar, Thanjai Mamani Koil

had not chosen to write about these things for they lived, moved and had their devotion
fully on the Lord. Their aim in life was jnAnam, vairAgyam (detachment) and devotion
(bhakthi). They spent their whole life all hours in the service of the Lord and the godly
and in doing things for the enlightenment and redemption of humanity. They had
absolutely no desire for a biography or an autobiography. If at all there is any reference
to their life in their works, it will be only to their pilgrimage to the divya desams-
temples, to their Acahryas under whom they studied. The only source from which we
are able to know the life history of Acharyas is the Guru parampara which has been
written by those who were not their contemporaries and they have written what they
have heard by tradition- first one probably written within few years after the
disappearance of Acharyas.
There are several Guruparamparas which narrate the life and works of Acharyas.
Though they agree in some cases, they also differ at few places because the authors

Darsanam – Ani 2009

9
had written the portion of the Acharya?s life that had appealed to them. There are
contradictions as well sometimes. This is equally true in the life of Vedantha Desika; but
Swamy’s drama Sankalpa Sooryodhaya gives us some sort of evidence.
Let us enjoy his avatara vaibhavam first in next few posts.
Swamy Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam
Regards
Namo narayana
dAsan

SrI Desika stotra-s - 17.

(Concluding part)

16. BhagavAn's unlimited guNa-s:

A beautiful, simple, and high-level description of bhagavAn's infinite kalyAna-guNa-s is
given by Swami Desikan through a few Sloka-s in this stotram.
In the opening Slokam, Swami Desikan showers praise on bhagavAn's following
guNa-s - sthira jyotih, acyutam, dAsAnAm satyam, tridaSAnAm nAtham - 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.
BhagavAn is sarva-
guNa-sampannan. These
guNa-s are flawless (nirmala),
countless (vigaNitam na
Saknuvanti), and cannot be
found in any other god (ananya
sulabhAni). He is also the limit
of perfection for these guNa-s
(Slokam 27).
Hundreds of upanishad-s
(upanishdAm SatAni) describe Him
as kshapita sakala heyam - devoid of any negative attribute of any kind, satya j~nAna

Darsanam – Ani 2009

10
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 - ananya kriyah nidhilam
karoshi, kenApi na kriyase; sthApayasi na
samsthApsyase; harasi na hriyase
(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 bhagavAn
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 AtmA of
everything, and everything is His Body.
As the AtmA of everything, He causes
Devanathan, Moolavar, Tiruvahindrapuram
them to function, and since everything is
His Body, He is the one who is really
functioning also. The vedas declare Him as sarvah – Everything (Slokam 11).
Because He is both the prakRti and the jIva from which everything is created,
He is the material cause of this Universe - upAdAna kAraNa; because He is the Creator
of everything, He is also the instrumental cause of everything - nimitta kAraNa. 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 as causes for their existence, and
these two are never the same. BhagavAn is the only exception and wonder who
happens to be both the upAdAna kAraNam and nimitta kAraNam simultaneoulsy for
creating a given object or being (Slokam 12).

Darsanam – Ani 2009

11
 While BhagavAn 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 rAjasic,
sAttvic, and tamo guNa-s in each being, and these results in their being different from
each other (Slokam 13).
BhagavAn 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 pANDava-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
bhIshma, and appeared in the pillar in a very unnatural form of half-man and half-lion
to keep the word of prahlAda.

17. 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 antaryAmi. This is analogous to the offering in the SrAddha,
where a brAhmaNa is given the bhojanam, but it is meant for the pitR-s (Slokam 17).
BhagavAn is the siddha-upAya, 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-kAruNikan.
Except for Him, no one else can bestow moksham. Just as even a thousand
suns which are drawn on paper cannot remove darkenss, 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).

Darsanam – Ani 2009

12
18. The Role of pirATTi:
The roles of pirATTi and bhagavAn in bestowing their karuNA 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 vRksham and surround it tightly. While the kalpaka
vRksham bestows anything the devotee asks for, the creepers provide the cool and
comforting shade for those that sit under it. Similarly, pirATTi is seated on the vaksha-
sthalam of bhagavAn like the creeper surrounding the kapaka vRksham and provides
the purushakAratvam to the devotee while bhagavAn bestows all the wishes of the
devotee (Slokam 19).

19. A prapanna jIva's Ascend to SrIvaikunTham:

Swami Desikan gives his anubhavam of how a prapanna is taken from this world to
SrIvaikunTham 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 jIva to this world as the bad karma-s are.
At the end of this life, the jIva undergoes severe stress as a result of the
Perumal Tiruvadi, Behind Saranatha Perumal Sannidhi, Tirucherai
separation of jIva from the body
(maraNa vedanai in tamizh),
and bhagavAn who is the
antaryAmi in the prapanna is
there ready and waiting to
embrace the jIva and comfort
and relieve the strain of the
jIva. There are 101 different
worlds to which a jIva can be
taken, depending on the karma-s that have accumulated. A prapanna's jIva is not led
in any of the 100 paths (nAdi's) that lead to loka-s other than SrIvaikunTham, but
instead through the 101st nADi which is called the brahma nADi which leads the
prapanna to SrIvaikunTham. This path is beautifully lit by the Sun's rays, and
bhagavAn is anticipating the arrival of this jIva 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,
vAyu, sUrya, candra etc. Each of these escorts the jIva of the prapanna up to the
borders or spheres of their influence (85). The jIvAtmA then crosses the virajA river,
and is bestowed with a divine body that is of the nature of pure sattva guNa, and no
rAjasic or tAmasic qualities. This divine body is then decorated with garllands, beautiful
clothes, fragrances, etc. worthy of a servant of bhagavAn in SrIvaikunTham (86).
BhagavAn welcomes and embraces the prapanna to His heart just as He holds periya

Darsanam – Ani 2009

13
pirATTi dear to His heart (87). This jIvAtmA then is engaged in nitya kaimkaryam to
emperumAn in SrIvaikunTham just like the nitya sUri-s (89). There is no rebirth for this
jIvAtmA in the sense of the jIva-s bound by karma; they will appear in this world along
with bhagavAn whenever He takes an incarnation, just to serve Him while He is in here,
and will return with Him back to SrIvaikunTham (90).

20. What We Can and Should Do:

Our relief from the eternal bondage of samsAra occurs because of His samkalpam, and
cannot happen without His samkalpam. What is left for us is to -pray to Him for His
samkalpam (91), -seek His forgiveness for all the apacAram-s that we keep committing
knowingly and unknowingly (92), -desist from going after the pleasures of this world
and instead seek His Grace for relief from the
bondage of samsAra (93, 94, 96), -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), seek the protection of His Feet
which alone will relieve us from all our sufferings
(97), and seek the guidance of an AcArya 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).

21. Conclusion:
Thus has this composition with the title of acyuta Satakam been composed by the kavi
tArkika kesari vedAnatAcArya ve'nkatanAtha 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 samsAra, and for uniting us with BhagavAn. May we benefit by His Grace.
-dasan kr*shNamAcAryan

Darsanam – Ani 2009

14
Respected Desika Bhaktas, It was a wonderful commentary on Achyuta Satakam. Sri.
U.Ve. Krishnamacharya Swami enjoyed this stotra and made us to enjoy this great work
of Swami Desikan. It is looking like a thesis for M.Phil Degree. On behalf of Sri Desika
devotees Adiyen would like to convey anantha pranam to Sri. U.Ve. Krishnamacharya
Swamin.
Stotras will continue……..

HH 46th Srimad Azhagiya Sinagar

Sri Ranganatha Satakopa Yatindra Mahadesikan Tirunakshatram in Muscat

HH 46th Srimad Azhagiya Singar Sri Ranganatha Satakopa Yatindra Mahadesikan

Tirunakshatram was celebrated in Muscat by the Srivaishnavas. The tradition in
Parayanam and Acharya sambhavanai of Srimad Ahobila Math was observed. We pray
our pranam on the lotus feet of HH 45th and 46th Srimad Azhagiya Singars.

Darsanam – Ani 2009

15