. How Alwar has established that the Divya Mangala Roopam is capable of destroying all sins in his thiruvaimozhi 3.10 (Sanmam Palapala…….Oru Nayagame.

Swamy Nammalwar’s Thiruvaimozhi starting from the first patthu (Uyarava Ra uyar nalam udaiyavan) to the last decadof the tenth patthu (MuniyE nanmukhanE MukkaNNappA) is involved with Sri Satakopan’s anubhavam of the anantha kalyanaguna. i.e. limitless auspicious attributes of the Lord Sriman Narayana. These Saarasvathams and their saram saves us from chasing perishable matter and engaging in useless persuits and brings Lord Sriman Narayana in front of us as pratyaksha Pramana.

Thiruvaimozhi produces absolute tranquility and bliss. It carries the people to the shore of paripoorna Brahmandam and saves them from sinking into the ocean of samsara. It then establishes firmly in our minds the Lord Sri Vaikuntanatha along with his consort and thus establishes the Prathyaksha Pramana.

In the moonram patthu, the lords extra ordinary enchanting form is described. There is nothing that can be compared to his enchanting form. The glory of the Lords thirumeni is the central theme of the third set of 100 hymns.

1. The Garuda riding Lord with conch and discuss, bow mace and dagger. Did appear through many births in this fair world. To rid the world benevolently of clannish asuras. I have the fortune of praising him and lack nothing. Meaning.

Emperuman takes lot of avathaarams to protect and save his bhakthas, He appears in many forms and in many births and enables us to see him with our eyes. He destroys the entire battalion of the asuras by coming on the divine garuda and with his strongest weapons of conch, chakra, sarangham, mase and sword. Such most auspicious emperuman, I praise him and his glories and hence I have no grievance.

2. The Lord of radiant gem hue, my Krishna does yoga on serpent bed in deep ocean with closed lotus eyes. Riding the red beaked Garuda he came and destroyed foes. I sing and dance his praise and freed am I from wants. Meaning.

Kannan the red lotus eyed Lord is having His Yoga Nidhra on adishesha in Thirupparkadal, the vast big milk ocean. He, as the most illustrious shining manickkam comes on garuda and destroys the asuras. For me there is no problem and hurdle for dancing and singing His glories.

3. The Lord of the three worlds sweet as a sugarcube. Milk and fruit and honey sugarcane ambrosia enjoys his creation endlessely at all times. I have become his devotee, and have not a care left. Sarveshwaran has got the most unbounded limitless infinite bliss and happiness He has no one equal to him. He is peerless. He is absolutely superior. He is the mixture of all excellent tastes of vellam, honey, amritham, milk, fruits,sugar cane etc., He is sarva rasa. I pay obeisance to him the one who wears the honey filled tulasi malai on his head. I have no sorrow and pains.

4. The Lord who rides the garuda wields the golden discus. Protecting the good he fought many wars on mighty bana, siva, Kumara and agni. Praising him O Achutha, hari, gopala I have no despair.

Sri Krishna once fought a battle against the vaanasuran who captured aniruddhan sivan and his son Murugan, and thereafter agni together came to support and save vanasuran. They were also won over by Sri Krishna and were made to run away by Sri Krishna.He the one who has the most strongest weapon, the divine chakra and comes on garuda. He always saves and protects his bhaktas. Since I have caught hold of him firmly I have no grievances absolutely.

5. With ease on the same day in the same moment, he drove the chariot with Arjuna and the Brahmin. Beyond all these and entered his glorious world, and gave the Brahmin his son. So end despair and praise him.

Once Sri Krishna took Arjuna and a Brahmin in a chariot to parama padha, within a day and in one muhurata neram. He drove the chariot to Sri Vaikunta and brought the Brahmins sons from there in their physical bodies back to the earth. Such sarva sakalan emperuman is sri Krishna. Since I have taken him as my refuge, I have become a no problem man.

6. Without the slightest blemish on his natural radiance, the lord appeared in mortal form on this wretched earth performing many mighty tasks and established his divinity. Praising the mountain of glory, Krishna, I am freed of despair.

Emperuman in Paramapadham is in his Suddha sattva, sorrowless, most illustrious, shining form. He also take the most painful manushya avataram, like sri Rama and blesses us the earthly people with his grace. He gives us pains and sorrows (by torturing and haunting our memories by showing his divine beauty at times) on earth and ensures the presence of his divine existence amoungst us. Such blemishless Kannapiran I have involved myself in his Kalyana gunas and hence there is no grievance for me now.

7. Through his many tricks of maya he made the karma of pleasure and pain, the worlds and countless souls. The lowly hell and the sweet heaven. All this is his cosmic leela, so end despair and praise him.

He is the chief of all worlds. He is the primordial chief. He is the chief of heaven and the hell as well. He stands as the antaryami of all beings. He is the leelavibhuthi and is playing in this world.He is mayan , such playfull lord, Since I have him with me now, I have no sorrow at all.

8. Pure delight beyond measure, beautiful radiance spreading, Krishna the doer of all, delights in the glances of lakshmi. Lord of boundless knowledge, he is self illumined. Praising his feet, I am freed of despair.

Bhagwan is the sorrowless, blissful emperuman. He exists every where with his most illustrious shinning most beautiful light. He is always happy with his goddess mahalakshmi in his chest. He does all actions like creation and is the most unbounded janavaan sarva yagnan, sarva vallabhan, the one who does limitless wonders and aacharyams. He is kannan. I have caught hold of his lotus feet firmly and so there is no sorrow for me.

9. The Lord of tulsi garland radiant form of total knowledge. By his wonderous glory appears in many famous spots and sports on earth. Then swallows in a thrice siva Brahma and all else. Praising his feet I have overcome despair.

Emperuman is the total personification of complete jnanam and is without any sorrow or grievance. He is the embodiment of total big shining light. Such emberuman shows himself with thirutthulaai maalai on his most beautiful divine body. He with his great powers and shakti takes various forms and avathaaras to bless us in our earthly lives. He takes in everything including shivan and Brahman and swallows at the end of cosmic cycle. Such most powerful sarva shakthan Sriman Narayana the sriyah pathih. I have been blessed to have him in me and hence I have no worries and let downs.

10. The first cause Lord of effulgent knowledge pervade of all, stands as a formless being unknown to the five senses. He is the radiant Krishna, effulgent icon, the orbs and the elements. I have attained him and overcome my pall.

Emperumaan always exists everywhere and he alone is the primordial chief. He has an unparalled knowledge / sarva vyapakam and sarva yagnan and is also incomprehensible, formless by five indriyas (sense organs) The lord is also of divine most illustrious shining light form and has the most beautiful divine thirumeni (body) He has the Panchaboothas and soorya chandras as his body. He is the mayan kannan. I have caught hold of his feet and hence there is no failure for me hereafter for ever.

11. This decad of a thousand songs are by kurungoor satakoopan on perfect kesava, who gives his glory praised by town and country and grants liberation and world sovereignty forever. About the most glorious most powerful Sri Krishnan, keshavan. Thirukkurungoor sadagopan has sung in praise 1000 pasurams. Out of those 1000 those who are able to read this 10 and its meaning will be blessed with wealth of sri vaishnavam, they will have fame and popularity in this earth. They will also be granted moksha bhavam by the lord. Emperuman will also grant them the position of being the chief of all three worlds.

Thus Namalwar in this decad as in all the others leads us by example of him undergoing the various difficult situations in life is relieved by simply and strongly holding on to the feet of god and experiencing the wholesome bliss unexpressable of course but with a view of sharing his joy with whosoever wishes to experience that bliss by simply surrendering to the lord. That joy might be so great that wonderful poetry in the form of Thiruvaimozli is cast.

Nammazhwar is considered the best among the alwars. And thiruvaimozhli is considerd the bset among the prabandhas.

Whatever is found elsewhere is found in the Mahabaratha is the saying. It is also said that what is not found in the Mahabaratha is not found any where. That applies to thiruvaimozhli also and that is the greatness of this prabhanda. Arthapanchaka which is the essence of all shastras is lavishly seen in this prabhandha and many commentators have extensively annalysed and offered comments profusely.

The alwar has explained the paratva (transcendental) nature of the lord and says that the lord cannot be apprehended by direct or anumaana pramanaas, but can only be understood by veda shastras. As the lord is beyond the grasp of sensce perceptions and logic. Vedas reveal the resplendent maha Vishnu including his transcendental nature. This is well established by the alwar in this prabandha. All the commentaries on the thiruvaimozli gracefully bequeathed to us by Nammalzwar are collectively known as Bhagavad Vishayam.

Nammalwar by example has shown how easy it is to wash off all our worries and sins by simply surrendering at the lotus feet with devotion.

Simply putting it we don’t know the use of learning the alphabets at a young age, but later in life we use the same knowledge to read words and understand the meaning that is simply because we learnt the alphabets. Similarly we all have within us the Lord. We have to only awaken that light by constantly reading and praising all noble works and deeds handed down to us by stalwarts of the great sri Vaishnavism. It all looks so simple even an aiota of the magnanimous work can do wonders to souls like us. Can we then want to refute or find any questions anything but to adhere to what sri nammalwar has proved to us. That the mangala divya roopa which is all around us is capable of destroying all sins. By being aware by seeing his maya in everything and by constantly experiencing his wonderful presence we can achieve moksha peace etc.

Extra reference.

Nammazhwars thiruvaimozhi and vedam.

“Vedam Tamizh seytha maaran”. Is one of the salutations to swamy nammazhwar. Thiruvaimozhi which deals with bhagvath prapthi (attainment of the lord) is considerd as the gift of this alwar to us on quintessence of saama vedam, a saying in Gita that amoung the four Vedas he is the saamavedam, is the glory of sama vedam and by extrapolation tamizh derivative thiruvaimozhi.

The four purusharthas ( goals of life)

The four goals of life identified by the Vedas are Dharma, Artha, Kaama and Moksha. The ultimate and the most precious purushartham in life is moksha, release from the cycle of birth and death and ascent to the supreme abode of the lord. Srivaikuntam, to engage in blemishless kainkaryam there to the divya dampathis the bliss aandham arising from bhagavath kramam enjoyed by the muktha jeevan is equal to that of the parama padha naathan and is gained through successful execution of bhakti or prapathi yogam. This is the message of saama vedam and the paasurams of thiruvaimozhi rooted in the saama vedha. The supreme Brahman, sriman narayana of vasistha dvaitham, his kalyana gun are the objects of meditation salutation and singing of both samavedams and thiruvaimozhi. In every one of the prabhandham of swamy namahwar one can find the distilled essence of the four vedams Upanishads and the Brahma soothrams..

The essence of the Upanishads are thoroughly mapped in the first 22 – 27 paaurams of thiruvaimozhi by swamy satakopan or nammalwar.

The third patthu:- the lord who is the means and the goal has subhasraya thirumeni and is present in archaa roopams for our worship. He has the divya mangala vigraham. There are scholarly vyakhyanams to map the ten patthus of Thiruvaimozhi to ashtaksharam as well as dvayam. Thiruvaimozhi is celebrated as dheerga saranagathi, all these analysis have vedic roots.

Q Give an account of Sri Andals life history and the inner meaning of Thirupavai.?

Legend has it that Sri Andal and her father Periyalwar belonged to Srivilliputhoor in the Pandya Kingdom during the 9^th century. Andal was the foster child of Vishnuchitta or perialwar who found her as a child beneath a tulsi (Basil) plant in his garden. The father bought up the girl with great care and love. His own overwhelming devotion to Lord Vishnu known in the shrine of Srivilliputhoor as Vatapathrasayee led to perialwars encouragement of Andal in her participation in the worship of the lord. Andal thus grew up in a religious ambience and soon began to show a rapturous devotion to Lord Krishna. She decided that only Lord Narayana was good enough for her as husband. She liked to see her reflection in a well, to see if she was pretty enough for the Lord. She would always wear the garland her father had prepared to adorn the Lord in the temple. The garland was always put back and her unsuspecting father would take it to the temple. One day he did discover this and was filled with remorse and decided not to offer the garland to god. God Vatapatrasayee appeared in Perialwars dream that night and told him that he would be delighted to wear the garland that andal had worn. Perialwar was thrilled that the lord himself had attested to the great devotion of Andal.

In course of time Andals bhakti knew no bounds and she took to pavai nombu austerities to have none other that Lord Krishna as her husband. It is said that Lord Ranganatha of Sri Rangam appeared in a dream and asked perialwar to bring andal to his abode. It was there that Andal the saint poetess merged with the divine form of Lord Ranganatha.

There is no better means to describe Andals life than understanding her two most outstanding works Thirupaavai and Nachiyar Thirumozhi.

Thirupavai is a lyrical poetry of thirty stanzas of exquisite beauty and devotional excastacy. The hymn which constitutes the thirupavai are as imaginative in the literary sense as they are vivid portrails of the life style of the aayarpadi, members of the cowheard community.

Thirupavai can be classified into six groups. Hymn 1 – 5 provides the overview, it refers to the five essential requisites by way of knowledge for jeevan mukti, Nature of the Paramatma, of Jiva the individual soul, mukti sadhana or means of redemption of which bhakti is the most accessible means. The god of attainment and the obstacles to redemption. Thirupaavai is also equaled to the Vedas. So much has been written of the thirupavai that it seems no other work has got so many people giving their views and explanation as understood by them. One more such attempt is made here.

1. The festive month Margazhis full moon is here. Lovely young ornamented maidens of the cowherds colony which is flourishing in wealth! Don’t you want to bathe in the Yamuna? Please come along! Take part in the festival (Paavai Nombu) Naarayana the son of King Nandagopa who is a terror of his enemies, what with his sharp spear. Naarayana the young lion cub of Yashoda, of charming eyes. Lord Naarayana with his dark cloud like complexion and eyes of crimson lotus hue, with his lustrous face shining like the sun and cool like the full moon. He will surely grant us all our desires. Come let us bathe and celebrate the festival for which the world will praise us.

2. People of this earth listen to the austerities we shall follow during the Paavai Nombu. We shall sing the praise of Naarayana who sleeps gently on the milky ocean. We shall abstain from ghee and milk. We shall bathe before day break. We shall not indulge in gossip nor perform actions which are taboo of alms and gifts. We shall give liberally. We shall follow the path to a life of contentment and happiness.

3. When we sing the glory of the Lord Trivikrama who took his cosmic form and measured the three worlds in two gigantic strides and put his foot for the third stride on the head of the arrogant emperor mahabali. When we perform the Paavai nombu the whole country will be rid of all evils. It will then rain three times every month. Fishes will gleam and leap amidst the rich paddy plants. Spotted bees will fall asleep among the water lilies. Cows milked tirelessly will yield copious bounties enough to fill pots and pots. Prosperity will thus pervade the land.

4. Oh Lord Varuna god of rain. Please do not hold back your gift of rains for the sake of prosperity of the world and for our sake, so that we can gleefully bathe in the river during this sacred month. Plunge into the sea gather as much water as there is make thunder and rise into the sky in the form of a cloud mass which would resemble in its black colour the body of our primordial Lord Vishnu. May you then pour down your bountifull showers. You will then become resplendent with lightening like the discuss held by Lord Padamanabha. Your thunderous roar will reverberate like the conch called panchajanya held by our lord.in his left hand. May you bring forth rain in abundance without a pause in the manner of the flow of arrows from the bow of Sri Rama called Sarangam.

5. Our mysteries Lord born at north Mathura who sports in the pure deep waters of the great river Yamuna, and who is the variatable jewel light of the race of cowherds. Glories his mother Devaki of being born of her and transported hi9s foster mother Yasodha into the world of joy by showing her his little belly with the imprint of the tiny ropes, with which she had bound him to put out of mischief. If only we approach him with a pure mind and body and worship him with fragrant flowers, singing his praise and meditating on him we can be certain that our sins of the past births and that which ensued without our intentions will be extinguished, the way cotton is reduced to ashes in a fire.

6. Young girls don’t you hear the chirp of the early birds, the beconing sounds of the white conch from the temple of Vishnu, who rides on the king of birds Garuda. Wake up innocent girl the sages and ascetics with their mind ever focused on the great Lord who sleeps on the serpant couch in the ocean of milk have risen. These sages have started chanting the name of Hari over and over again in a rising crescendo. While they chant his name they are re enacting in their own minds the deeds of the child god, who sucked the poison from the breast of the demoness putana and who kicked to death with his little toe the demon who came to destroy him in the guise of a cart. Don’t you hear all the loud chanting which enters our hearts and makes them rejoice.

7. You deluded girl, don’t you hear the screeching chatter of the king crows, and the sounds of the cowheard women wearing fragrant flowers in their locks of hair churning the curd in their urns, using both their hands with their bracelets and other ornaments clashing against each other. Oh prominent how can you keep on sleeping even after you have heard our singing of our lord Narayana ( Who is also called Kesava for having killed the demon kesi in his incarnation of Sri Krishna) Dear girl of radiant presence come on open the door. Girls calling their friends to awake from their sleep to join the procession for the pavai nombu use a variety of verbal tactics friendly persuation, cajoling, admonition, sarcasam and remonstration all as a part of their mission.)

8. Wake up you vivacious young girl the eastern sky has already brightened. The buffaloes have already set out to feed themselves on the dewy grass. We have even kept the other girls from moving ahead for your sake and here we are at your door step. Come let us march singing the praise of our Lord of lords who killed the demon kesi who came in the quise of a horse by cleaving his mouth and who slew the wrestlers sent by Kamsa. Our lord will surely bestow his grace on us after due consideration for our devotion.

9. Dear meternal cousin how long are you going to sleep in your luxurious bed in the gem studed mansion, surrounded by lights all round and bathed in the fragrance of incence. Open the lever lock of that ornamental door. Aunty wont you wake her up, please, what is wrong with her. Is she gone dumb or deaf, or is she just exhausted, or has she fallen into a deep trance as a result of some magical incantation. Shall we chant the thousand and odd names of our lord, god of the great mystic power, the spouse of goddess Mahalakshmi, the supreme lord of Vaikunta and so on and on and get her to wake up.

10. Oh dear you striving to enter heaven through practicing austerities. If you cant open the door, cant you atleast respond to our call? Have you by any chance taken the habit of Kumbakarna of virtually interminable slumber, the rakshasa who was felled by Narayana in the incarnation of Sri Rama. Our lord the protector and benefactor of all living beings who is bedecked with fragrant tulsi leaves on his head. Come on our precious gem shake off your inertia and come with a clear head. Do open the door.

11. Oh beautiful damsel the pride of the guiless cowheard community our men folk are justly famed for their energy for milking ever so many milch cows at a stretch and for the valour in going all out to destroy powerful foes. You charming peacock like darling with your waist resembling the hood of a snake, is it proper for you to lie motionless and without response to so many of us your relations and friends who have gathered in the courtyard of your house where we sing the praise of our Lord Narayana in chorus.

12. Oh younger sister of the prosperous cowherd. The mansion is filled with mud and slush with the buffaloes poring forth milk from their udder in their yearning to suckle their young calves. Here we are at your door step unmindful of the due falling on our heads singing the glory of our beloved lord Rama, who destroyed out of righteous indignation the king of lanka in the south. What about you not a word in response to our call. All the residents are awake and about. What is all this deep slumber. At least now get up and get going.

13. You dainty girl with those red lotus like eyes. Don’t you see. All the girls have arrived at the river bed for the worship singing the glory of our lord who killed the demon bakasura in disguise as a bird. By breaking up the mouth, and who just plucked away the ten heads of the wicked Ravana and slew him. It is time you got up. Venus has risen Jupiter has gone to sleep. Cant you hear the chirping of the birds in flight. Don’t you pretend to be asleep. Come join us get to the river for a refreshing bath on this auspicious day.

14. You boastful chatter box you promised to wake us all up. All talk talk get up fast Already if you care to look at the pond in your back garden the red lotus has blossomed and the night lilies have closed up. Ascetics in ochre robes with their sparkling teeth are striding towards the temple to blow the conch. Are you not ashamed . Get up come let us sing in the praise of our lord the lotus eyed Kannan who holds the conch called panchajanya and the discuss called sudarshana in his broad powerful hands.

15. The group:- What are you still sleeping you beautiful girl. The girl:- Don’t you scream my good friend I shall come presently. Group:- Yes indeed, don’t we know you full of eloquent promises. Girl:-Oh yes I agree you are the ones gifted with eloquence. Or let it be myself if you insist. Group:- enough of all this banter, come along don’t you be thinking of this and that. Girl:- have all the girls come. Group:- sure you can come count them if you choose. Girl:- pardon me what is the programme. Group;- as we move down to the river we shall keep on singing the glories of our mysterious lord sri Krishna who killed the mighty elephant Kyvalya peetham sent by Kamsa abd who vanquished many other foes as well.

16. You the sentry guarding the temple of our lord Nandagopa , and you sentinel at the inner gate ornamented with flags and festoons. Please open the latch of the gem studded door, for us the cowherd girls. Our mysterious and radiant lord Krishna promised yesterday itself to give us the heralding drum. We have all come here with a pure mind to wake him up with songs. Please therefore open the heavy doors and let us in.

17. Our lord King Nandagopa. You who are reputed for your magnanimity in presenting clothes water and food to the needy. Kindly wake up Oh. Queen Yashoda the foremost among noble men, the beacon light of our race. Do wake up. Our Lord Krishna You who pierced the sky with your full stature visvaroopa and measured the entire universe with your feet. The Lord of Lord. May you please wake up. Oh the strong and powerful balrama may your brother and you please do wake up.

18. Your fingers so dexterous with the ball. Red lotus hands with jingling bangles. Let them joyously open the door. That we may hymn your cousins praise. Oh Nappinnai. The daughter in law of Nandagopalan who has the strength of a furious elephant and who will never run away from the battle. You Nappinnai in your fragrant tresses Kindly open the door. The shrill clarion of the cocks fills the air, cuckoos perched on the bower of jasmine plant have been singing away with their shrill notes, you young lady kindly unlock the door. The jingling sound of your bangles we will hear and rejoice.

19. Oh Lord resting as you are on a couch supported by elephant tusks on a bed which is soft cool, white beautiful and fragrant with bright lit lamps all around with your broad chest on the bosom of your consort, Nappinnai wearing bunches of flowers fragrant on her tresses, please open your mouth and speak to us. You Nappinnai with your eyes darkened with collirium. You never would let your lord get up. You can’t bear the separation from him even for a minute. Oh this is hardly in tune with your nature and temperament, preventing him from granting us his grace.

20. Oh Lord you who always rushes to the aid of all the thirty three crores of gods. Do wake up. You the perfect union of thought word and deed. You who have the matchless valour to subjugate your foes. Blemisheless Lord, you make life miserable for those who challenge your might. Please get up. Oh the incarnate of goddesses lakshmi. You with your exquisite beauty soft and lovely breasts, coral lips and slender waist. Please wake up and give us the fan and the mirror which we need for the rites. And get our lord to join us. Help us to get bathed at once.

21. Awake the son of Nandagopala who has reared those large cows, which yield plentiful milk which overflows the receptacles. Your zeal towards your devotee is so well renowed. Your glory defies comprehension. You are the great light of the universe. It is time you got up. Just as your enemies with their valour and pride exhausted in battle surrender to you at your door steps. We have come to you singing your praise and unburdening our ego.

22. Oh lord we have sort refuge at your feet in just the same way as rulers from all over the world shorn of their pride gather under your throne seeking your patronage. Wont you favour us with just a glance with your gentle eyes resembling partially opened lotus buds like kinkini (bells that adorn the dancers feet) If only you cast a glance at us with your eyes shining like the sun and the moon, all our sins will be washed / wiped out.

23. Our lord of eternal enchanting bluish hue, the colour of the kaayambu flowers. Just as like the lion wakes up from its winter hibernation in the mountain cave, opening its fiery flashy eyes shaking all the limbs vigorously ruffling its mane in the action – standing up right and stepping out with a mighty roar. You may please proceed from your bed chamber to your lofty ornamental throne. Won’t you please grant us your gracious audience and pray listen to our entieaties.

24. Time was when you measured the three worlds with your two feet. Glory to you oh lord. You strode into Lanka and killed the evil rakshasha Ravana. Glory to you oh lord. As child Krishna you kicked the cart with your tender feet and destroyed the deamon Sakatsaaura (indisguise) Glory to you oh Lord. Did you not use the deamon Vatsaasura who came as a calf, as a missile to destroy deamon Kapithathsura as well who had taken the form of a wood apple tree. Glory to you the matchless lord. Who can forget your great deed of lifting the govardhana hill and holding it as an umberalla for saving the cowheards from the deluge caused by the irate Indra. Hail to you oh Lord.For your compassion glory to the spear in your hand which works the destruction of your foes. We are at your service at all times bless our nombu, shower your grace on us.

25. Oh lord of the three worlds. Born of the matchless queen devaki, you were taken on the same night in concealment to Gokulam to be bought up by another peerless noble woman Yashoda. The evil king kamsa who would not bear the thought of your growing up tried many strategies to harm you, but you foiled all his wily schemes, virtually tormenting him like fire in his stomach. We have come to beseech you for favours. If only you could condescend to give us the drum. We would sing extolling your great prosperity befitting your consort Mahalakshmi and your valorous deeds, and then we will rejoice with all our pinning coming to an end.

26. God you are the embodiment of pure love for your devotees. Oh lord with the fascinating blue colour of sapphire please listen to us as we prepare ourselves for the sacred river bath in the serene month of marghzali. Keeping with the tradition set up by our great forbearers. We require for our austerities conches similar to your panchajanya, shining white like milk and which produces sound that threatens to shatter the entire universe. Also big drums, a group of musicians who would sing your glory, decorating lamps flags and canopies. Lord the light of the race of cowheards. You who recline on the banyan leaf as a child at the time of the great deluge. Please grant our request.

27. Oh lord the protector of cows. You overwhelm your enemies with your valour and virtues. The rewards we get by singing your praise and getting the drum for spreading your word are no less than thosewhich the whole country commends us for. Now thast our austerities have born fruit. We shll bedeck ourselves with sparkling jewellery , bangles, armlets, ancklets and earrings. We shall dress ourselves in lovely robes. And then with nappinai and yourself we shall sit down for a gorgeous meal of rice cooked in milk and suffused with ghee. That will be our bliss.

28. Oh blemishless lord. What a great blessing for us that you are one with us. After all we are the unlettered clan of cowheards, who tend cattle, sing carelessly and eat food in the open. The bond between you and us can never be dissolved. If ever in our ignorance and out of our love for you have caused you hurt by calling you by names which belittle your unbounded magnificence, please do not take offence. Oh caompassionate lord grant us the drum and eternal devotion to you.

29. Oh lord govinda we have come so early at dawn to worship you and adore your lotus feet. You have taken birth in our cowheard community and you live amidst us who tend cattle for a living. It is only proper that you permit us to render our humble service to you. It is not only today that we seek your grace but in all our births to come. You and you alone we shall be committed to in servitude. Every thing else is on no concern to us.

30. This garland of thirty verses in classical chaste tamil celebrating the devotional favour of the beautiful cowherd women who worshipped Narayana variously, incarnating himself as madhava and Keshava has been strung together by gothai the daughter of Periaalwar who belongs to the lovely place called Srivilliputthur. All those who recite these hymns with passion and sincerity are bound to receive the favour of Narayana, the lord of the four mighty arms, and resplendent face with crimson eyes. Theirs will be joy eternal and bliss boundless.

Sri Aandals devotional outpourings in the form of thirty hymns are an incredible synthesis of literary brilliance, lyrical elegance, philosophical intuition and anecdotal richness.

They are evocative of idyllic pastoral scenes of rare charm, eg. Birds shriek at dawn, women doing the morning chore of churning curds, buffaloes leisurely moves towards the dew covered meadows and the front passages of houses filled with slush and slime, with young buffaloes rushing to feed their calves, all these are vividly brought to mind through phrases which are very grammar of compressed verse.

At one level sri andal depicts the paavai nombu. Tis ceremonial features and the manner in which the aayar padis seek the blessings of lord Krishna. At another spiritual level Sri aandal is invoking the grace of the eternal god for her own liberation or mukti, that the jeevathma should minister to the paramathma and not drift in the voyage of life is the inner meaning of the beautiful hymns composed by sri aandal.

Bhakti devotion pure and noble involves the subordination of the ego of immersion of self in the exhilaration of singing the infinite glory of the god.

The lord and his consort are inseparable and for the true devotee there is no salvation except through the grace of sridevi which is the real key to mukti.

Tirupavai is an exemplification of visistaadvaita which holds that the devotee and the lord are the same cosmic spiritual unity and the best means of god realization is intense obedience and devotion.

Naachiyar tirumozhi is yet another work of Sri aandal which also throws light on her upbringing and devotion. The brief headings can be given to the sets of verses of the works as under.

1. The god of love invoked (10)

2. Don’t rain our sand castles (10)

3. Give us our clothes (10)

4. Reveal my luck (11)

5. O Koel coo him to me (11)

6. A dream wedding (11)

7. Tell me white conch (10)

8. The cloud message (10)

9. The lord of Tirumalas groove (10)

10. The shamelessness of love (10)

11. The heart lost to Srirangams lord (10)

12. Take me away (10)

13. Bring me his things (10)

14. In the woods of Brindavan (10)

Total 143 verses.

Pure devotion and love for the lord can be seen as exemplified from the works and a simple lifestyle deep in devotion and surrender at the Lotus feet of the lord has been brought about. That too through an acharya like Vishnuchitta.

Whatever is said of the works of aandal is and cannot be justified as this is it. As there is so much more to understand. Every time we read or render it new and beautiful meanings are understood. Its like depicting life itself on the universe.

May I offer my obeisance again and again to goddess Aandal.

Q. Describe how Bhagwan is the 1st Acarya and the reasons brought forth as to why he is considered to be the 1st acarya. Please also describe how a si

A. “Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu, Guru Devo Maheswara, Guru Sakshaat Parabrahama Tasmay Sri Guru vai namaha”.

God the preceptor wants all his children to do well and we can give upteen no of examples to prove.

The Lord is the 1^st preceptor, he taught the Vedas to brahama, then instructed the mind born sons of Brahama . got sages like Narada, Parsara Vyasa and others to spread true knowledge. Took various incarnations with the aim of helping the masses. He led by example Sri Rama avatar and Sri Krishna avtar where through Bhagwad gita gave to the world means to dispel darkness and ignorance.

It is also said that the preceptor should be venerated and worshiped like the Lord himself because both

Dispel the darkness of ignorance.

Wipe out our sins.

Make us similar to them in qualities.

Confer a new life after permanently eradicating the present life.

Bestow their powerful glances.

Direct the flow of compassion towards us.

Are ever sweet and loving.

Are eternally our masters.

The doctrine of knowledge lit by the preceptor can never be compensated by any student. Thus the preceptor has to be worshiped like the lord himself. He removes the sins and sorrows of those who resort to him.He elevates and uplifts the disciple to his own level. Infact He (every master) wants his disciple to excel over him.

The Alwars have also shown by way of life they led and the works they have left behind that the Lord alone is the preceptor who we should all worship with devotion. Sri Desika compares these alwars to clouds. Just as clouds draw water from the salty ocean but give back sweet rain water, so also these alwars have absorbed the vedic texts which are difficult to understand and have given their essence to the world in the form of hyms in simple tamil which can be easily followed by all sections of the people who read it. It seems the lord himself has given these hyms through the medium of the alwars. Sri desika mentions two of thes alwars Nammalwar referred to as Parankusha who has written 1296 hyms and Tirumangai Alwar as Parakala who has written 1253 hyms. They have shown their deep attachment to the Lord.

It is said that every one should clearly grasp the Artha Panchaka i.e. the five truths to be known.

1. Nature of the supreme.

2. Nature of the individual soul.

3. Means to attain the Supreme.

4. Nature of attainment and

5. Obstacles in the way of attainment.

These are the five truths hidden in the Vedas. The Alwars have beautifully bought them out in their 4000 songs, for the common man to understand.

Some great acaryas who have lived their lives in such a manner that whatever they have done even the slightest deed has set an example for all to follow.

Anjaneya as Acarya.

Sri Vedanta Desika in his allegorical play, Sankalpa Suryodaya refers to Anjaneya as Hanumat samena Guruna. The very essence of Ramayana lies in the verse.

“ darpodagradasendriyaa navamanah naktan charaadhidhishthite.

Dehesmin bhavasindhunaa parigate deenaam dasamaasthitah

Adyatve hanumatsamena gurunaa prakhyaapitaarthah pumaan

Lankaaruddhavideha raajatanayaa nyaayena laalapyatte.”

The ten headed Ravana ruled the iland of Lanka rooted in unrighteousness he abducted sita devi, the wife of Lord Rama, the later sent his confidante Hanuman to lanka to find sita Devi and console her in distress. She in turn sent a jewel as a memento and prayed that the lord Rama save her. The Lord crossed over to lanka defeated Ravana and took back Sita Devi. This as we know is the story of Ramayana. A deeper insight into it will reveal the vedantic meaning, there is not one Lanka and not one Ravana. This can be compared to the mind within every living being with ten heads. 5 senses of knowledge Janamendriyas and five senses of action Karmendriyas. The mind with its ten heads is swollen with pride. The Jivatma resides in the body engulfed by the ocean of samsara. Jivatma has become a slave to the senses ruled by the mind. Lord Rama Sends a guru of the caliber of Hanuman to console Sitadevi and wants to be united with her in the end. So too the emissary in the form of acaryas saves the jivatma from the ocean of samsara and be finally liberated and united with the Lord. Thusm the most important part is played by the guru. Hence the guru should be treated like God.

As the famous saying goes:

Mathru devo bhava;

Pitru devo bhava;

Guru devo bhava:

The status of the guru is as important os the status given to matha and pitha.

There are also rules for the acharya, the vices every acharya should be devoid of are desire, anger, avarice, delusion or pride and envy or jealousy namely kaama, krodha, lobha, moha and mada maatsarya. One who has conquered all these vices is a great person and fit to be an acharaya. How we know of Hanuman being a great Acharaya is by the fact that he had four obstacles In his path .

1. The mainaka mountains.

2. Surasa the naaga matha.

3. Simhika the Asura woman.

Lanka devi the guardian at the gates of Lanka.

Mainaka tempeted Hanuman by offering him fruits and aromatic roots and the option of resting for a while on his way. But he was so steadfast to achieve what he had set out to do that he denied and conquered Kama. The Naagamata swore to gobble him up he conquered her thus conquering krodha, Simhika pulled anjaneyas shadow by conquering her he was rid of lobha and lanka devi attacked her like an acharya he removed her delusion of ignorance and thus showed that he had no moha nor did he have any pride. He told Sita devi on meeting her and to assure her that the vanara army had great individuals, he was but a mear little monkey, so we can see that he had no pride either. He had no jealously too as he was proud of the fact that he was a servant of Rama Lakshmana and Sugriva. Thus Anjaneya Sri Vedanta Desika says stands as a shining example of an Acharaya.

Duties of Disciples.

Sri Vedanta Desika lists out in Srimad Rahasyatnayasana the six ways in which the disciples should express their gratitude to their preceptors.

1. Unswearving devotion to their preceptor.

2. Expounding his greatness.

3. Taking care of the preceptors property and possessions.

4. Preserving the tradition and transferring them to a worthy disciple.

5. Remaining indebted to him.

6. Leading a spotless life, having the highest devotion to the preceptor.

The Vedas and other spiritual texts enjoin that the preceptor should be treated as God. Acharaya devo bhava. As towards god so towards acharaya. Also yathaa devo tathaa guruhu.

The disciple in private conversation or public display should show the greatest regard and devotion to the acharaya and should also take steps to spread the acharaya name and fame. He should also take care of the acharaya property and possessions. He should project the teachings and view of his preceptor and transfer them to worthy disciples in his turn. He should always remain greatful to the preceptor at all times. Swamy Desika further declares that even the omniscient and omnipotent lord cannot compensate the preceptor who dispelled the darkness in the pupils mind by lighting the bright lamp of wisdom in him.

Lightening examples of living a sishyas life to its full can be seen in Bharata. The devotion he had for Sri Rama was immense. He lived the life of a sishya in every aspect. Another great example of how one should conduct onself acceptable and one with the lord is the shining example of Sri Andal. Her love and devotion to the lord her gathering her friends to serve the lord and every thing she did was only with one aim in life to reach the ultimate. Pages can be written on what a shining example of dasa bakthi. The whole play of the universe is the ultimate goal of being one with the lord. Let us make ourselves worthy of reaching an iota of that bhakti. We can only hope to conduct ourselves in such a manner that it should please the almighty. So consciously let us all live our lives with only that motive in life.

To summise.

The Acharya reveals to the jivas the intimate relation existing between the later and Narayana . The lord of Lakshmi who is the lord and ruler of the entire universe. They try earnestly to help the jivas attain the lord and feel that the attainment of the glory of moksha by the jivas would give them as much delight as the soverenity of vaikunta and the whole earth. With the help of words, neither excessive nor defective the acharya desire to remove the ignorance doubts and erroneous notions of the jivas. They teach them the true nature of God, soul and Body.

For such a guru or acharya should not we or students not show the utmost respect and consideration. Can any one pay back such an acharaya? What ever we do for such a guru is not repayable for the great deed he has done to the sishya.

How did Swamy Desikar explain the independence of Paramatma and the dependence of Jivatma in Thiruchinnamalai and Nyasa Dasakam?

A. The author of both the works is Swami Desikar.

Thirucchinnams is a ceremonial mangala Vaadhyam used to announce Lord Varadarajas Porappadu for the utsavam and his progression through the routes of travel assigned for the utsavams. Swamy desikar spent his youth in teepul Kanchi and attended many utsavams of sri vardaraj perumal. He was thrilled to hear the naadam generated by the pair of Thirucchinams which served as an important purpose in the utsavam of the lord of Kanchi.

At one time Swamy desikar was pained to witness a dispute at Kanchi. The dispute cantered around the appropriateness of reciting the Divya Prabandham of the Alwars in front of Lord Vardaraja during his utsavams. The protesting groups objected to the non sacredness of the compositions of the alwars since a number of them were not born as Brahmins and averted that the Tamil Prabandhams did not have the same level of sacredness as that of Sanskrit Vedas.

Swamy Desikar volunteered to debate the protestors and won debating that the vedic doctrines, are the central topic of the works of the alwars. He quoted chapters and Vedas form the Sanskrit Vedas and Upanishads and related them to the works of the alwars. Lord Vardaraja was very pleased with the devotion and ordered through the acharyas that one of the thiruchinnams used in the utsavam should be presented to Swamy Desikar as sambhavanam reward for the service rendered.

When one hears the sound of the thirucchinnams at the temple utsavams one cannot help admire the majesty and the sacredness of the mangala vadhyam. When Swamy Desikar heard the naadam of the Thirucchinams at the vahana mantapams and the Raja veedhis of the Lord Vardaraja he was overcome with the sound and what it symbolized. That vaadhyaams through its high pitched notes announced the porapaadu and sancharam of the lord who is the object of description of the Ashtaksharam, Dhvayam and Charma Slokas. The naadyam of thiruchinnams reminded him of the arrival of the Lord, who is also the object of celebration by the arya Vedas and the tamil Vedas. It was a type of Hecheerikai to alert the Vardaraja Bhaktas to get ready to greet the Lord, the veda paathipaadhyam and to receive blessings. The association of the Naadams of thirucchinams with these blessed thoughts made Swamy Desikar compose a Tamil Prabhandam called thirucchinamalai. He thanked Lord vardaraja for honouring him with one of the two Thirucchinams and placed the new composition at the lotus feet of the lord of Hastigiri who is known for his affection for the sruthis of the alwars.

The first six paasurams of the prabhandam deal with the essence of Thirumantharam the seventh covers the meaning of dvaya and the 8^th and 9^th instruct us on the quintessence of Charma slokas. The 10^th paasuram pays tribute to the vaibhavam of Lord Vardaraja. The final paasurams reveals that only those who discard carnal desires in favour of uninterrupted bhagvath bhakti can enjoy this delectable prabhandham.

Lord Vardaraja is the one who creates all the sentient and insentients through the power of his sankalpam alone. He is the one who created the Brahma Deva in the lotus that arose out of his naval. He is the one who transformed into the Panchabhutams, Bhumi , Jalam, agani, vaayu and aakasham and yet is not touched by their doshams. He is forever pure, one who accepts the kainkaryam offered by the nityasuris who are at his supreme abode, he is the one with exceptional beauty who churned the milky ocean and distributed the nectar to the devas. He is the one who protects the earth with his grace. He is the matchless vardaraja who grants all the boons that his devout bhaktas seek. This magnificent Vardaraja has now arrived in our midst, as indicated by the thirucchinam vadyams, so that we could enjoy him with our eyes here at Kanchipuram.

Lord Vardaraja is the supreme being, who protected the Vedas during the time of Maha Pralaya from destruction and performed upadesaham on them for Brahma deva during the time of Nimithika Srushti. He is the one who protected the Dharma Marga from destruction and took many avatarams to provide protection. He is never separated from Thayaar and stands as arthaswaroopa while his divine consort stays as sabda swaroopa. He is the Lord who blessed the Maharishis to create dharma sasthrams. Ithihasams and puranas as upabrahama nama to elaborate on the meaning and clarity of the Vedas. He is the benevolent krupa sagara who revealed bhakti yoga and prapathi yoga as a means of moksham through his shastrams Sharanagathi etc. Our lord of such Vaibhavam as a protector of veda dharma marga vaidhika has now arrived amidst us as inferred from the vadhams of the thirucchinams.

The third pasuram gives upanishadhic and sampradayam that has to be followed.

The fourth pasuram captures the meaning of nama shabdam in the astakshara mantram.

The fifth pasuram deals with the significance of Narayana shabdam Ulahallum ulle vaithu umizhandhar vandar.

The sixth pasuram deals with the naarayanaa shabdam.

The seventh pasuram deals with the glorious dwaya manthram which is like a staff during our wandering on the earth prior to reaching the supreme abode.

The eighth pasuram deals with charma sloka. The ninth pasuram is a glorious tribute to the lords avatarams as sri Krishna. The tenth pasuram expresses the gratitude to swamy desikar on the darshnam of Lord Vardaraja embodying the three srivaishnava rahasyas, moola manthram, dvaya mantram and charma sloka.

The eleventh paasuram is the phala shruti. Swamy desikar states that our poorva acharyas were intensely familiar with the essence of the meaning of the three rahasyas. He sang about those meanings in Thirucchinamalai and pronounced that the verses when sung would be like nectar in the samsara.

Nyasa Dasakam

This Hymn in 10 verses summarises the things to be done by one who surrenders himself to God. The word Nyasa is synonymous with prapati, sharanagati, nikshapa and tyaga, bharasamarpana etc. whole hearted surrender at the feet of the Lord is said to be more efficacious than bhakti (loving Devotion) One has to entrust his entire responsibility with the Lord through ones preceptor. This act is also figuratively described as the marriage between the individual soul and god. Effected by the preceptor.

Vedanta Desika brings out the important aspects of prapathi in this short hymn such as the five accessories of prapathi , the three types of tyaga called sattvika tyaga, Kartavikta tyaga ascribing all agency to god, mamta tyaga dedicating the act to the Lord alone and phala tyaga ascribing the fruit of the act also to the Lord etc. This hymn too was composed by Sri Desika reflecting his own surrender to Lord Vardaraja of Kanchi.

Myself, the responsibility of taking care of me and similarly the fruit of protecting me do not belong to me. They are all of the Lord of sri. Thinking in this manner the wise man should place himself at the feet of the Lord. Or sriman Narayana. I the helpless one am doing things favourable to you and avoiding others which are unfavourable to you. I am placing the burden of my protection with you. Preceded by prayer and great faith

The master of his own accord will place me in himself for his own sake through the awareness about him granted by himself. Me who am subservient under his control and free from all responsibility being his own burden.

O Consort of sri, gran tor of desired boons, I have surrendered to you. At the end of this body you yourself should lead me to your feet.

Make me your eternal servant with mind firm in being your subordinate with the sole purpose of attaining you and as devoid of doing acts which are forbidden and which are calculated to yield desired results.

O bhagavan please engage me always in flawless services to you who are always accompanied by consort, ornaments and weapons.

O varada you yourself accept me and all that belongs to me. Consisting of the sentient and non sentient as tools of your own service.

O abode of compassion I am to be protected by you alone so you yourself should wipe out my past sins and prevent me from committing further sins.

O Divine Lord remover of the distress of those who bow down forgiving every thing, my doing things forbidden and not doing things ought to be done.

The consort of sri has himself made me entrust the responsibility of protecting me to himself with the five prescribed accessories and there fore here in this world I am absolutely free from all burden.

The Nyasa dasakam is the only work of Sri Vedanta Desikam where he has not put a signature in the work. This clearly goes to prove that he has surrendered himself to the lord and what benefit or name should he call his own work. This magnificent surrender is proof enough that this great work can belong to sri Vedanta desikar.

Both the Thirucchinamalai and Nyasa Dasakam clearly spell out the independence of the Paramathma and the dependence of the Jivathma.

It is by the grace of the Paramathma that one i.e. Jivathma attains the lotus feet of the Paramathma.

Both the works are as if Sri Vedanta Desikar is in constant dialogue with Lord Vardaraja and both clearly go to prove the immense love and affection Sri Vedanta Desikar has to LordVardaraja.

Truly marvellous works he seems to enjoy every thing connected with the Lord. And his love for the lord goes to such extent that he ultimately surrenders at the lotus feet giving up every thing with no thought of what has to happen to him. Yes he has surrendered completely that there is no need for thought any more. Blessed are we who are able to even read these works.

Q. How Visishtadvaita Sidhantha is explained in Vedarta Sangraha? And how the concept of Shankara Bhaskara and Yadava Prakasha religion are rejected?

A. Sri Ramanuja wrote nine works in Sanskrit on the philosophy of Visishtadvaita of these the “Vedartha Sangraha” occupies a unique place. This work mirrors a total vision of the Upanishads, discussing all the controvercial texts in a relevant and coherent manner. It is said to be an independent exposition of the philosophy of the Upanishads. This work was expounded in the form of a lecture before Lord Srinivasa at Tirumala. This is the first work of Sri Ramanuja. This is also called summary of the Vedas, as the Vedas themselves aim at conveying the meaning of the Upanishads (Vedanta). This work is titled Vedartha Sangraha meaning the summary of the Vedas.

Vedartha Sangraha has two parts. The first part is called “Mathaautara Khandana and the second part is “Swamatha Vistaara”. In the first part Sri Ramanuja refutes and rejects the advaitha matha of Adi Shankara, the beda – abhedamatha of Bhaskara and that of Yadava Prakasa. In the second part the preceptor in detail explains and establishes Visista dvaita the Sri Vaishnava philosophy and practice.

It is well established in this grantham beyond doubt that the Vedas purport is only is visistadvaita, sri vaishnavam and nothing other than that.

Sri Ramanuja has composed two mangala Slokams in the beginning of this grantha. The first Mangala sloka of Vedartha Sangraha:-

“Asesha Chitachit Vastu Seshine Sesha Saayine!

Nirmalaananta Kalyaana Nidhaye Vishnave Namaha”.

This is the essence of our Visistadvaita SriVaishnava Philosophy and practice. The Tatva Hita Purusharthas are beautifully conveyed by this verse.

The Vedartha Sangraha is written in a lucid, vigorous prose without the usual divisions of chapters, but the structure of the thesis is developed in a scientific manner. Sri Ramanuja refers in this work to ancient teachers of theistic tradition, Bodhayana, Tanaka, Dramida, Guhadeva, Kapardin and Bharuci besides Sri Yamunacharaya. Tanaka and dramida are quoted profusely to support his interpretations. He also refers to or takes abundant help from the Brahma Sutras, The epicks The Ramayana and Mahabaratha, Vishnu Puranas the ManuSmrithi etc. in exposition of his philosophy.

At the outset Sri Ramanuja states that the Upanishads which lay down the welfare of the whole world move around three fundamental notions:

1. A seeker must acquire a true knowledge of the individual self and the Supreme.

2. He must devote himself to meditation worship and the adoration of the Supreme.

3. This knowledge with discipline leads him to the realization of the Supreme.

Thus the first affirms the tattva or the nature of the reality, the second declares the hita or the means and the third states the purushartha or the ideal of human endavour.

The chief difficulty in understanding the meaning of the Upanishad arises in determining the relation of Brahman to the individual self on the one hand and and the non sentient world on the other. There are some texts which declare that the world is only an appearance in the ultimate analysis. There are other texts which affirm that the world is not an appearance but real and distinct.

Bharata Prapanca who was anterior to Sri Sankara held that the self and the universe are identical with and different from Brahman, the triad constituting the unity in variety, that is to say that the reality is at once one as Brahman and many as the self and the world.

For example an ocean consists of water foam waves etc. As water is real so also the foam waves etc. The world which is the part and parcel of Brahman, is necessarily real. The import of all this is that according to this view the Upanishads teach the external difference and identity between Brahman on the one hand and the self and the world on the other.

Sri Sankara rejects the view of bhatraprapanch because mutually contradictory attributes cannot be predicated of one and the same thing. According to Sri Sankara the passages which affirm manifoldness and reality of the world do not embody the essential teachings of the Upanishads, it is a concession made to the empirical view that demands a real world having casual connections with time space. Since variety is but an appearance having no foundation in the ultimate reality. The true essential doctrine of the Upanishads according to him is only pure unity. The individual self is nothing but Brahman itself appearing as finite due to limiting adjuncts which are superimposed on it.

Sri Ramanuja also attempts to systamatise the philosophy of the Upanishads taking the cue from the ancient theistic philosophers. He recognizes three lines of thought in the Upanishads concerning the relation between Brahman, the self and the world:

1. Passages which declare difference of nature between the world,the self and Brahman. Here the World is the non sentient matter (achit) which is the object of experience, the self is the experiencing conscious subject (cit) and Brahman is the absolute rulling principal these may be named analytical texts.

2. Passages which teach that Brahman is the inner self of all entities which constitute his body. For instance “He who dwels in the earth and within the earth, whom the earth does not know, whose body the earth is and who rules the earth within he is thyself. The ruler within the immortal” etc.

These are called Ghataka Srutis or mediating texts.

3. Passages which proclaim the unity of Brahman with the world in its casual as well as effected aspect. These may be termed synthetic passages.

Sri Ramanuja lays down that the interpretations of the various passagesmust be such that they are not made to contradict each other, and not a single passage should be so interpreted as to be divested of its primary significance.

The first group of texts distinguishes Brahman from the world and the individual selves. In a way it emphasizes the transcendent character of the Brahman. The second group of texts declare Brahman to be the innerself of all entities. Neither the individual self nor the world can exist by itself, they are inseparabaly connected with Brahman as his body and thus are controlled by him. These texts teach duality in so far as distinction is made between body and self and unity in so far as the self, the substantive element predominates over and controls the body, its attributes. The last group of texts aim at proclaiming the non dual character of Brahman who alone constitutes the ultimate reality. The self and the world though distinct from each other and real have a different value. They only exist as a mode or attribute of Brahman, they are comprehended in the reality of Brahman. They exist because Brahman exists.

On this principal of interpretation Sri Ramanuja recognizes that the passages declaring distinction between Brahman, the world and the self and those affirming Brahman to be the same as the casual as well as the affected aspects do not in any way contradict the mediating passages which declare the individual selves and the world form the body of the Brahman and thay in their casual states do not admit the distinction of names and forms, while in the effected state they possess distinct characters.

The notion of unity may be illustrated by the example ‘the Purple robe”. Here purpleness is quiet different from robe. The latter is the substance but the former is an attribute. This integral and essential relation is not found in the case of a man wearing a wrist watch. The former relation is inseperable, but the later is seperable and external. A word signifying attribute does not stop after denoting the usual meaning but extends till it reaches the substantive , this is the true significance of an attribute. The individual selves and the world constitute the body of Brahman who is their inner self. Brahman is the integral principal without whom neither the self nor the world can exist. Hence all names finally denote him.

The way in which Sri Ramanuja interprets the famous text “ THAT THOU ART” [ TAT TVAM ASI] is unique. This is done by means of co-ordinate predication or Samanadhikaranya.

The significance of the identical entity by several terms which are applied to that entity on different grounds is co-ordinate predications. In such a proposition the attributes not onlyshould be distinct from each other but also different from the substance, though inseperable from it. In the illustration of a purple robe the basic substance is one and the same, though purpleness and robeness are different from it as well as from each other. That is how the unity of the purple robe is established in the co-ordinate predication asserting identity between “That and Thou” Brahman himself with the self as his mode, having the self as his body is pointed out.

The term Thou which usually stands for the self here stands for Brahman That who is the indweller of the self and of whom the self is the mode as a constituent of his body. The term thou does not mean the physical body or the individual self. Since Brahman has interpreted all matter and self “Thou” signifies Brahman in the ultimate analysis. The term “That” signifies Brahman himself as the ground of the universe and the soul of all individual selves.. Hence in the identity of “THAT” and “THOU” there is no rejection of the specific connotation of the co-ordinate terms. The upshot of the dictum is that the individual selves and the world which are distinct and real attributes are comprehended in Brahman. Brahman as the inner self of the jiva and Brahman is the ground of the universe are one. The central principle is that whatever exists as an attribute of a substance that being inseperable from the substance is one with that substance.

Thus Sri Ramanuja upholds all the three streams of thoughts in the Upanishads namely unity plurality and both thus clinching the argument as.

We uphold unity because Brahman alone exists with all other entities as his modes. We uphold both unity and plurality as the one Brahman himself has all the physical and spiritual entities as his modes and thus exists qualified by a plurality. We uphold plurality as the three entities. The individual selves, The World, and The Supreme Lord are mutually distinct in their substantive nature and attributes and there is no mutual transposition of their characteristics.

The vision of the Supreme person known as Brahman or Sriman Narayana. The chief obstacle in the path towards perfection s the accumulator of evil tendencies. These can be destroyed only by the cultivation of good tendencies. This is followed by self surrender which generates an inclination towards life divine. Then one has to acquire the knowledge of the reality from the scriptures aided by the holy teachers then the practice of virtues like the control of the mind and senses, austerity, purity, nonviolence, compassion etc.becomes easy. Nitya and namitika duties are to be performed. And prohibited actions are to be avoided. The whole conduct being conceived as the worship of the God. God the embodiment of love and compassion, showers his grace on the aspiarant, which puts an end to all his obstacles. Finally bhakti rises which is an enjoyment of bliss in itself. Bhakti is but meditation which has assumed the character of the most vivid and direct perception of the Supreme.

Yamunacharaya declares that bhakti succeeds the two fold training of the mind by karma and janana. Karma yoga is performance of duties of ones station in life with no thought of reaping any personal benefits in the spirit of the Gitas teachings. Karma that is performed in this manner clenses the heart. Janana yoga which immediately follows the previous discipline is meditation upon the individual self as distinct from body like body mind etc. with which it is associated. It helps the aspiarant to determine the true nature of ones self in relation to the supreme. He realizes that he is subservient to the lord.

The discipline does not stop with the knowledge of ones self alone. It is incomplete without the knowledge of god. Here the word Bhakti does not connote the popular sense in which it is understood. Bhakti yoga is loving meditation upon god. When the meditation attains the form of firm rememberence [druva anusmrith] characterized by intense love the vision of the supreme is attained. It must be mentioned here the final release is attained after the dissolution of the body. One endowed with such bhakti and self surrender attains the fitness to earn the grace of the lord. This bhakti is the upasana or knowledge mentioned in the Upanishads. It is the same as the knowledge spoken in the sruthis. One who knows Brahman attains the supreme. He who knows him becomes immortal here. And he who knows Brahman becomes Brahman. As the vision of the supreme is not possible through ordinary means of perception. He can be seen only through bhakti which is a unique form of knowledge. Thus it is in consonance with the gita declaration “ I am attainable only through undivided bhakti.

The ideal to be realized is the vision of the supreme.It is an experience of absolute peace perfection, bliss and freedom untouched by the cosmic limitations of space and time.

Sri Ramanuja is accused of having given a picturesque description of the ideal realm, but a little insight reveals that the ideal is not such a farry land that it is made out to be. The domain he points out is of the nature of pure immutable sattava, it is transedent without the traits of the material gunas of sattava rajas and tamas. Similarly the individual self also in the state of moksha gives up its material body and assumes a trancedent form. The substance of shuddha sattava is common to god. The self and the realm of the ideal known as nitya vibhuti.

The individual self is the essence of knowledge. This knowledge in its attributive aspect gets more or less contracted in samsara. But it expands infinitely in the state of moksha. It becomes all knowing and enjoys perfect bliss and love in divine communion. It is an ineffable enjoyment. In its natural state it yields its spirit to the will glory and adoration of god. Sri Ramanuja characterizes this state as Ananya prayojana having no other end except itself. In this ideal state there is no break in the enjoyment of divine communion.

Sri Ramanuja is not unaware of the criticism that there is sub servience to and dependence upon god in his conception of moksha. The critics say that subordination in any form cannot conduce to the joy of self, the divine fetters are not less strong to bind. Further manu says that servitude is dogs life. Sri Ramanuja effectively meets this criticism in his characteristic way. He enunciates a principle that what an individual persues different and mutually conflicting values. Hence the notion that independence is happiness proceeds from the misconception that one is identical with body mind etc. This attachment to the body is a sort of dependence itself. Instead of dependence on God it is dependence of matter. The mata physical fact is that he is not the body and consequently there must be something else with which his self is related. There cannot be a relation of the principal entity and the subsidiary between any finite objects. The only object with which such a relation can exist is God. Hence dependence on anything other than god is painful, and subservience to god is joy and freedom. Similarly bondage is indeed a dogs life when ones serves those who are unworthy of service. The only entity which is worthy of love adoration and service is GOD.

Sri Ramanuja clinches the issue by quoting a text.

He is to be served by all. The emancipation consists in service of god. And true bondage is independence of god and service to body.