Sri: SrimathE RamanujAya namah:
Dearest sisters and brothers, Subsequent to the article on
"saraNAgathi Gadhyam", let us get blessed by the bhakti and great
intense personal and emotional anubhavam of our achAryA in his
SriRanga Gadhyam.
1. svAdheenatrividhachEtanAchEtana-.....bhavAmi....
"Bhagawaan- the one who has and holds sway over the bhaktha,
mukhta and nitya varities of chEtanAs (sentinent) and their
existence and activities; and achEthanAs (insentinent); the one who
is not affected nor influenced by miseries and by sinful and
virtuous karmAs; the one who has excellent innumerable kalyANa guNAs
(as enumerated by AchAryA in "saraNAgathi Gadhyam" also)
namely.,JnAnam(true and perfect knowledge), Bhala (ability to
support the whole Universe), Aishwarya (incomparable wealth and
ruler ship of the Universe), veerya (untiring virility), shakthi
(power to act without extraneous help), tEjas(unmatched radiance),
souseelya(purest character), vAtsalya(pure unmitigated love),
Maardava(affectionate tenderness towards devotees/ bhagavathaaLs),
Aarjava(Honesty), Souhardha(Thinking of good only), Samya(equanimous
one), KaruNya(Merciful), Madhurya(sweet even to enemies),
Gambheerya(majesty and nobility), Audharya(giving out liberally-
vaLLal thanmai), Chathurya(ability to change even enemies into
friends), sthairya(determined to stay on chosen course),
dhairya(undaunted courage to bring succor to the bhakthAs),
sowrya(ablility to fight alone), parakrama(winning the battles
effortlessly), sathya kAma(having Thy will ever fulfilled), sathya
sankalpa(Having Thy deeds fully executed), krutithvam(carrying out
the duties of BhagavathaaLs), kruthangnathai(remembering with
gratitude even a little worship offered to Him), and repository and
ocean of all such innumerable kalyANa guNAs; He is parabrahmam and
PurushOtthaman (foremost); He is SriRanga saayi; the one who is
reclining on the serpent bed in Sri Rangam and He is my swamin;- I
am always subject to the command of Him, and have tasted the
sweetnesss of being in service to the Lord forever. I will always
consider Him as the subject of my Bhakti and GNAnam and will enjoy
Him only as my only aim with no gap or separation at all; with such
enjoyment, I will get tremendous happiness and bliss and pErAnandham
and will involve myself at all times and all circumstances, in
offering my service to the Lord and will be saoked and immersed in
such service."
2. svAtma niyAmya....prapadyE...
".I, the jivaathma, am always at Your beck and call; always at
Your disposal for carrying out service and having a thought of
service at all times; having love for enjoyment of limitless kalyANa
guNAs of the Lord; Arising out of that enjoyment, is the Bhakti
yoga, karma yoga and Gnana yoga, sAthveekam, Asthikam etc., - But
the above all are NOT in me; On the contrary, I possess vibhareetha
gnAnam and karma and am caught in deep waters of inescapable ocean
of sins; I am incapable of breaking myself free from this ocean
(crossing the ocean of sin) with my knowledge and bhakti since they
are covered with ego and are covered by my inevitable association
with prakritti. My unavoidable association with triguNAs is like oil
in the sesame seed (eLLil eNNAI pOl) and fire in
firewood(araNikkatayil neruppu pOl). I am bound by the rope of karma
in the form of virtue and sin accumulated over time immemorial over
the ages for so many births of mine out of ignorance; I am incapable
of finding the means to overcome this bondage of samsaara ; However
hard I try, it is not possible; Hence, the only refuge of all
beings! O Lord! Sriman NarayaNA!, the one who is ever associated
with Sri Lakshmi!, You are the only means of emancipation. I
surrender at Your Lotus feet. I seek Your protection.
(Sisters and brothers, Acharya, we all know, DOES NOT possess
such limitations but is speaking on OUR BEHALF and whatever he says
are only for us; Let us realise THAT and get blessed by AcharyA and
Divine Dampathis!)
3.Eva mavasthi thasyaapi...praarthayE.
"Even though I am in such a helpless state, just because I have
begged you, having that alone as the reason, the ever merciful Lord,
emperumaan, will grant me the favour of firm single-minded devotion
in everlasting service to Him; Oh Lord! Please grant me this boon
and I pray for it."
4.tavaanubhoothi sambhoota...gatimanyathA...
I do not have any other shelter and have no other means.
BhagavaanE! Please give me and grant me the service to You from the
joy of experiencing and enjoying You. Please enable me to please You
with my love for You and grant that out of Your limitless mercy."
(You all may notice that any love, bhakti for Sriman Narayana
arising in us is and can come only due to His mercy and NOTHING
else; Our begging Him to grant us that is all the simplest effort we
have to take- Simple- let us start begging Him now immedeiately!)
sarvaavathOchitasEsha....kurushva mAm...
5." SenthAmaraik kaNNA!..(Red Lotus eyed Lord!) I should always
be eager to render all forms and all kinds of service under all
conditions. Please bless me to possess this state of mind".
Evambhootha....kAraya
6." Even though I have no sincere wish to know the truth nor
desire; and I am not fit for Your grace to reach the goal, just
because I am doing lip service and am uttering such words (without
actually sincerely meaning them),- taking that as my request please
grant me the mind to concentrate on what I am going to tell and
consider my words as an excuse to fill my deficiencies" (What an
excellent reflection about our character and defects in our minds!
acharya is narrating in clear categorical terms the state of our
minds and their nature)
apArakanuNambhthE!...namOsthuthE..
7. "Oh Limitless infinite Ocean of Mercy!, the Ultimate Shelter
and Succour of all irrespective of differences!, the One who wipes
and removes the distress of all who take refuge in Him!, Great Ocean
of Love to Your Devotees!, The One, who knows all truths about all
beings that are created !, You who is filled with ENTIRETY!, the
One, who has His wishes always fulfilled!, The One who can do all
that He wishes!, Friend in my distress!, Oh kAkusthA (RaamA!), the
One, who is ever associated with Sri!, Sriman NararyaNA!, The One,
who is the Greatest among all!, Sri RanganAthA!, My NathA!, I
PROSTRATE BEFORE YOU!"
(Sisters and brothers, Acharya conveys us the saraNAgathi tatvam
and that the Lord is ever Merciful and showers His grace and mercy
on those who surrender to Him. He has used Sri Ram for His mercy on
the Bird, the Monkeys, the Old lady (sabhari), the stone(ahalyaa),
the enemy's brother(vibheeshaNa), the vEdan(Guhan), the asuran
(kAkAsuran) (and all of us!))
-- Narayana dasan Madavakkannan
