[sri ramanuja] Iraamaanusa nooRRanthAthi- 67th verse-It is Acharya’s greatest dayA for taking pity on us!

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SrI:

SrImathE Ramanujaya namah:

 

Dearest all,

 

People either do not know or fear that they would not

be capable of and be able to perform bhakti yogam and

end up dying in these samsaaric ills to be born again

and again. To those- Amudhanaar says: even if your

sareeram and the limbs are not capable of supporting

you to perform bhakti yogam, the Lord has granted this

sareeram and the organs not to get entrapped into this

Samsaaric afflictions ad be glued to it forever. They

are granted to us for prostrating at his feet; and to

have the determination to perform Saranagathi at His

Lotus Feet with unflinching unconditional faith. That

would enable to get rid of this. Like the Lord blesses

Dharma puthrar [Yudhishtirar], Sriya: Pathi would

bless everyone through Saranagati at His Feet-

EmperumAnAr thus advises everyone: says Amudhanaar.

 

 

charaNam ataintha tharumanuk kaap,paNdu nooRRuarai

maraNam ataiviththa maayavan thannai vaNangavaiththa

karaNam ivaiyumak kanRenRi raamaa Nnuchanuyir_kat

karaNaNG kamaiththila NnEl,ara NaarmaRRiv vaaruyirkkE?

67

 

For the sake of Yudhishtirar -Dharma puthrar- The one

whose only thought was to serve Emperumaan alone and

surrendered to Him, SarvEshwaran performed most

wonderful acts and deeds during KuruskshEthra battle

and destroyed effortlessly and excellently the 100

Kauravaas, the personification of ahamkarams.

Emperumaanaar Sri Ramanujacharya blesses us saying

these bodies of ours, mind and AthmA are for Him and

it is our natural duty only for performing eternal

service to Emperumaan- Sriya:Pathi Sriman Narayanan,

and nothing and none else. And had he not advised us

(those who were running amuck after other things

materialistic) with such a grace, what would have

happened to us? Who could have saved our AthmA? (None

else)

 

paNdu SaraNam adaindha- That day [during

KrishNAvathAram] for the sake [of YudhishtrA] who had

performed Saranagathi to KrishNa [requesting Him to be

with him and save him]

dharumanukku aa- for the sake of Dharma puthrar

nooRRuvarai maraNam adaivittha – ensured that the

hundred kauravas are killed in the KurukshEthra battle

maayavan thannai- for a smallest deed of Saranagathi,

granting the biggest such fruits by this most wondrous

Lord Maayavan – Ascharya bhoothan – SaraNAgatha

vathsalan;

vaNanga vaittha karuvigaLAm ivai- these hand, legs and

other limbs are the instruments only for performing

Saranagathi to such dayaaLu Bhagawaan;

unakku anRu- these organs are not for you; and for

your enjoyment;

enRu – thus advised and instructed

uyirgatku- all jeevathmas

angu araN- placed the rakshA [protection of

themselves] at the Lotus Feet of Sriya: Pathi Sriman

Narayanan through the performance of bharanyAsam [on

their behalf] for them

Iraamaanusan amaitthilanEl- had Ramanuja not done that

ee aa uyirkku maRRu araN aar- for these dearest

jeevans, [athmAs] who else is the rakshakan? [none

else- It is only the most merciful EmperumAnAr.]

 

This verse is the result of people unable to

understand the purport of earlier verse [66] and

asking a question: When Sriya: Pathi Sriman Narayanan

preaches and advises people to perform Karma, jnana

and then bhakti yogam for them to attain mOksham or

surrender at His Feet instead completely, how can

Ramanujacharya effortlessly grant anyone moKsham who

takes refuge at his [Ramanujacharya’s] feet without

these performances? He may be parama dhayALu; but is

he qualified to grant mOksham. Mukundan alone can

grant mOksham. How can EmperumAnAr grant? Amudhanaar

explains here in this verse how.

 

The answer: the Lord does not grant the human life

like he does to animals or birds, plants. That is to

enjoy and experience the karma phalan. While the birth

of human beings is the Lord’s extreme dayA and

infinite mercy on the jeevathma by giving them a

chance to get saved by utilizing the body parts to

sevicchufy Him; to enjoy seeing Him; to go to His

temple; to perform Saranagathi at His Feet; to talk in

praise of Him; etc..

 

mahathA puNyapaNyEna kreethEyam kaayanousthvayA |

prApthum du:khPdaDhE : pAram tvara yaavanna BhidhyathE

||

 

The human body is only for serving Him and to cross

the samsaaric ocean. It is not just to spend eating,

sleeping and mating like animals for our own selfish

desires and satisfactions. They are not for such

utilities. The Lord keeps waiting for us to make use

of them for what they are meant for [in human births]

and keep on expecting us to look at Him; sing Him and

go to Him; They are to be used for getting the mnost

enjoyable Goal of serving Him forever and ever at

SrivaikuNtam. He enables us to perform bhakti yogam

uninterruptedly by enjoying His form, His name and His

guNAs and makes us utilize these body, mind and buddhi

towards that. If the person is knowledgeable about the

difficulty of this bhakti yogam or is not able to wait

for the karmas to get dissolved after few births, and

he desires to serve Him immediately at the end of this

birth itself, with a complete distaste towards any

more future births in this samsaaric world knowing

fully well of its pains and sufferings and the karma

accruals, then He grants us an easier method of

attaining Him.

 

That is the performance of Saranagthi in lieu of and

hence, you hold onto His Lotus Feet with an

unflinching and unconditional faith. But do not think

that these body limbs can not be utilized then for

serving Him and there is no need while and after

performing Saranagthi. One can sing in praise of Him;

clean His sannidhi; serve Him in very many ways in

this life itself completely.

 

This is what Ramanuja kept advising and instructing

all his sishyas. This can not be considered equivalent

to Sage Viswamithras sending Thirsankhu and leave him

there in the lurch in between. Sri Ramanuja does as

per His command. He has got His permission and

acceptance for this granting. It is Acharya’s dayA on

us for taking pity on us to perform Saranagathi on our

behalf through Acharya nishtai and enables us to grant

mOksham- says Amudhanaar.

 

Had Ramanuja not done the bharanyAsam at the feet of

the Lord for these jeevathmas, what would have

happened to them? Where is the protection for us? Who

else will save them?

EmperumAnAr ThiruvaDigaLE SaraNam

Regards

Namo Narayana

dAsan