Saranagati Deepika of Swami Desikan

  1. social {

margin-bottom: 8px; opacity:0.65; filter:alpha(opacity=65); /* For IE8 and earlier */ }

  1. social:hover

{

opacity:1.0;
filter:alpha(opacity=100); /* For IE8 and earlier */

} div .plusone, .twitter, .fb-like { font-size: 1px; display: inline-block; } div .fb_reset { display: inline; }

• TBF

Introduction

This stotram is in praise of Lord dÄ«pa-prakÄsha of tirut-taṇkÄ, the birthplace of svÄmi deshikan. SrI rÄmadeshikÄcÄrya svÄmi has translated the name “dÄ«pa-prakÄsha” in tamizh as விளகà¯à®•à¯Šà®³à®¿à®ªà¯-பெரà¯à®®à®¾à®©à¯ . “viḷakkoḷi” means the light from the lamp. “perumÄn” means Lord. Thus, the name can mean “One who is the Guiding Light” or “One who is the tejas behind all things that shine”, etc. SrI deshika has named this stotra as sharaṇÄgati dÄ«pika, or the “torch that shows the path for sharaṇÄgati”, instead of, for instance, SrI dÄ«pa-prakÄsha stotram. This is because the stotram enlightens or reveals the path of sharaṇÄgati. In fact, in the very first Slokam, svÄmi deshikan says that this stotram will reveal the path of sharaṇÄgati handed down to us from the yatÄ«shvara, SrI rÄmÄnuja.

The different concepts conveyed to us by svÄmi deshikan through this stotram cover a wealth of information. Following is a summary of these as I understand them. Not having been initiated by an ÄcÄrya, I am sure I am making many mistakes, but this is not going to keep me from going through the stotram-s of svÄmi deshikan with the objective of doing the best I can for now.

Concepts

  • BhagavÄn Sriman nÄrÄyaṇa is brimming with dayÄ towards us with no obvious act on our part to deserve this dayÄ from Him. All we have to do is re-visit our summary on dayÄ Satakam to see the innumerable instances of this. The key phrase in Slokam 2 of this stotram conveys this: निरà¥वà¥याज निरà¥भर दया भरितमॠ. nirvyÄja - natural and without any obvious reason, and nirbhara - absolute, full; dayÄ bharitam - filled with dayÄ.
  • Sriman nÄrÄyaṇa “surrenders” to those who surrender to Him - sharaṇokti vashyam -(Slokam 3). Again, each word of svÄmi deshikan conveys a ton of ideas. Just saying that we surrender to Him (ukti) suffices for Him to be pleased with us.
  • PirÄá¹­á¹­i and bhagavÄn are inseparable. BhagavÄn’s kÄnti is because of His association with PirÄá¹­á¹­i. PirÄá¹­á¹­i lives in His vaksha-sthalam, and His tejas or kÄnti (dÄ«pa sama avabhÄsam- Slokam 4) is because She is inseparably with Him.
  • BhagavÄn is the purushottama who is the Cause of the Universe, its Supporter, dwells in everything, Lord of everything, and in fact everything in this world is His body (Slokam 6).
  • All the beings and all the objects of this Universe constitute His body. All the praise and all the worship to all the gods are ultimately His praise. He is the antaryÄmi in everything (Slokam 7).
  • BhagavÄn is the foremost of all the deities (सरà¥व अधिकः तà¥वमॠ- Slokam 7, 19). BhagavÄn is the only one who can give moksha. Brahma, Siva and other gods can only give lesser benefits to those who worship them (Slokam 13).
  • BhagavÄn is the Abode of all the sad-guṇa-s or desired attributes such asj~nÄna, bala, aishvarya, vÄ«rya, Sakti, tejas, etc. in their perfection (Slokam 8).
  • Bhagavan is the one who created the Universe with Brahma as the first one, and taught us the veda-s out of His dayÄ (Slokam 9).
  • BhagavÄn is the prathama ÄcÄryan in the ÄcÄrya paramparÄ, and those who desire moksha become His followers and attain Him through sharaṇÄgati (Slokam 9). Nothing else is needed for attaining Him than just prapatti or sharaṇÄgati (Slokam 10, 13).
  • BhagavÄn is both the means and the end for His devotees. He just looks for the vyÄja (pretext) of simple sharaṇÄgati, and hurries to bestow moksham on the prapanna (Slokma 14).
  • Moksha is attained by one who observes either bhakti yoga or prapatti mÄrga, and in prapatti, through any one of the four paths - सà¥वनिषà¥ठा (acquiring the knowledge oneself and surrender to Him through this knowledge), उकà¥ति निषà¥ठा (uttering the words of prapatti as instructed by an ÄcÄrya), आचारà¥य निषà¥ठा (surrender to the ÄcÄrya and leave it to him to present you as a prapanna to Him), and भागवत निषà¥ठा (entrust this responsibility to a bhÄgavata who is not the ÄcÄrya) (Slokam 16).
  • In spite of His greatness, He mixes with even the lowliest of people in stature, which is His quality of saushÄ«lya. svÄmi deshikan observes that this is most astonishing (hanta! - Slokam 18).
  • The ÄcÄrya or guru is to be treated like BhagavÄn Himself. It is BhagavÄn’s dayÄ that He becomes accessible to us in the form of an ÄcÄrya in order to give us the instruction to do kaimkaryam to Him so that we can derive permanent happiness throughout our lifetime (Slokam 20).
  • Even living in a puṇya kshetram in the vicinity of BhagavÄn’s sacred temples will lead to bhagavÄn’s katÄksham (Slokam 47).

The avatÄra rahasya (The Principle Behind His Incarnations)

BhagavÄn has taken different incarnations out of His sheer Mercy in order to be accessible to us in many ways. The six rahasya-s behind His incarnations (avatÄra rahasyam), are (Slokam 17):

  1. नाना-विधिः - The incarnations are of different forms, including matsya, kÅ«rma, rÄma, kr*shṇa, etc.;
  2. आतà¥मीय रकà¥षण, विपकà¥ष विनाशनारà¥थैः - The incarnations are taken by Him for the protection of His devotees and for the destruction of their enemies;
  3. अकपटैः - These incarnations are real, and not a display of trickery or magic;
  4. अजहत-सà¥वभावैः - In these incarnations He retains all His qualities intact;
  5. अपà¥à¤°à¤¾कृतैः - He is not made of the pa~nca bhÅ«ta-s as we are; they are pure Suddha-satva and not contaminated by rajas, tamas etc. and
  6. निज विहार वशेन सिदà¥धैः - His ‘births’ or incarnations are not a result of pÅ«rva karma-s but are taken because of His samkalpa or lÄ«lÄ (leelÄ).

Bhakti mÄrga vs. prapatti mÄrga

Bhagavan can be realized by bhakti yoga, which has the following eight a~nga-s (Slokam 21):

  1. yama - Leading a life of ahimsÄ, truthfulness, brahmacarya, etc.
  2. niyama - Purity in mind, being satisfied with what one has, observing vrata, tapas, etc.
  3. Asana - Performing yogic exercises such as padmÄsana, bhadrÄsana, etc.
  4. prÄṇÄyÄma - Practicing breath control
  5. pratyÄhÄra - Control of the five senses
  6. sthira dhÄraá¹‡Ä - Steadfast diversion of one’s mind on Him
  7. dhyÄna - Uninterrupted meditation
  8. samÄdhi - Ultimately accomplishing His nearness through the above seven steps
  • With a pure mind, if one meditates on BhagavÄn’s tirumeni, with His lotus face and eyes, His beautiful form with His divya Ayudha-s and divya Äbharaṇa-s, this is one way to realize Him and derive unending peace of mind. This is called sÄlambana yoga, and is simple to follow. All sins are removed from such meditation (Slokam 22).
  • Those who practice bhakti yoga meditate on His svarÅ«pa or True Nature instead of meditating on His tirumeni. His divya svarÅ«pa is unlimited by the constraints of location, time, and shape or object (tri-sÄ«ma rahite - Slokam 23). In other words, He is mediated on as one who is everywhere, in everything, and at all times (bhÅ«ta, bhavya, bhavan- nÄthah). Meditation on bhagavÄn’s divya svarÅ«pa is called nirÄlambana yoga. Those who meditate on His divya svarÅ«pa are relieved from the three types of tÄpa or torment (tÄpa trayeṇa vihatim na bhajanti - Slokam 23). SrI rÄmadeshikÄcÄrya svÄmi points out that these three tÄpa-s are associated with samsÄra or being born in this world. These are: 1) bodily and mental afflictions such as diseases, desire, anger etc.; 2) those that are caused by birds, beasts, men etc.; and 3) those that are caused as a result of nature, such as weather, wind, rain, etc. Since those who adopt this meditation overcome the miseries associated with samsÄra, they attain moksha.
  • SrI rÄmadeshikÄcÄrya svÄmi gives the following additional interpretation. karma yoga consists of acts such as sacrificial offerings or yÄga-s, tapas, dhÄnam, etc. which are done with the clear realization that all these are done as a part of His worship, and are done because of His will. Performing karma yoga with this state of mind and without expecting anything in return leads to the development of the ability to perform j~nÄna yoga, which involves control of the mind and meditation on the soul with a clear recognition of the difference between body and soul. The result of observing j~nÄna yoga is the realization of the true nature of the self and the development of the mind that will be conducive to observing the rigors of bhakti yoga (whose a~nga-s were outlined previously). Selfless bhagavat-kaimkaryam (i.e., kainkaryam done without expecting any benefit to oneself in return) such as construction of temples, helping in keeping temples clean, decorating the temples, establishing nandavanam in the temple, helping in other aspects of devotional worship in the temple, etc. will all lead to further realization of the bhakti mÄrga.

Prapatti mÄrga Introduced

  • BhagavÄn blesses those who worship Him through whichever path they choose with whatever fruit they aspire for - be it through karma yoga, j~nÄna yoga, or bhakti yoga, or through any other means whatsoever (Slokam 24). However, when one considers the rigors required for bhakti-yoga, and remembers the length of time it may take to attain moksha through bhakti yoga, even the great mahÄns resort to the easier path of prapatti (Slokam 28).
  • Prapatti mÄrga or sharaṇÄgati is the means available to those of us who cannot observe the rigors needed for realizing Him through karma yoga, j~nÄna yoga or bhakti yoga (Slokam 25). svÄmi deshikan refers to the prapatti mÄrga as the “shada~nga yoga” - the path with the six a~nga-s. He points out that this path is fit for even the ever-lazy (nitya-Alasa arham), with no need to fear about the consequences of not observing any rules or strictures (abhayam), not requiring the help of other objects or people to guide (anyaih nirapeksham), vishva adhikÄram (fit to be observed by any one without distinction of caste, creed or sex), can be easily learned and practised (shikshÄ vishesha subhagam), and is capable of bestowing anything that is desired, including moksham (akhila abhimata prsÅ«tim) (Slokam 26). Thus in one single Slokam svÄmi deshikan introduces us to the ease and greatness of praptti at the same time.

The anga-s of prapatti

The following aspects of prapatti are outlined in Slokam 27 -

  • Giving up whatever is antagonistic to any of His creations or to Him (tvat prÄtikÅ«lya vimukhÄh) - पà¥à¤°à¤¾तिकूलà¥य वरà¥जनमà¥
  • The resolve to do good to all beings. The realization that all beings are in actuality the body of God, and the resolve to live in accordance with the will of God (sphurat ÄnukÅ«lyÄh) - आनà¥कूलà¥य सङà¥कलà¥पमà¥
  • Absolute humility bordering on lowliness and honest awareness of one’s own natural ignorance, impotence and impurity partly because of stains acquired through countless births (ká¹›paṇatÄm ká¹›tvÄ) - कारà¥पणà¥यमà¥
  • Irrepressible and great faith in Godhead. Involves the understanding that God is the benefactor of all beings, and His compassion is always and readily available. The firm conviction that He will not fail to protect us (vigata atishankhÄh) - महा विशà¥वासमà¥
  • The conscious and mindful selection of Him as our Sole Protector, and the realization that He and only He can protect us - (svayam upÄyah bhava iti ) - गोपà¥तृतà¥व वरणमà¥
  • Giving up independent ownership in matters of actions or fruits thereof, and placing oneself completely and directly under His care. This is sharaṇÄgati, but is traditionally included as the sixth a~nga of prapatti and is called Atma-nikshepa or nyÄsa - (tavayi nija-bhÄram arpayanti) - आतà¥म-निकà¥षेपणमà¥

Prapatti further elaborated

  • Once a person has surrendered to Him, He takes the responsibility to embrace the jÄ«van when it leaves the body, and guide the jÄ«vÄtmÄ to SrI vaikuṇṭham to the accompaniment of all the deva-s (Sloka-s 37 - 39). In fact, He has given His word in SrI rÄma incarnation that it is His dharma to protect those who have surrendered to Him (Slokam 45). Irrespective of the enormous sins committed, He protects those who surrender to Him without fail, as evidenced by the incident of kÄkÄsura (Slokam 46). Even if one just pretends to be a prapanna, this is sufficient for Him to offer His protection (Slokam 50). Among His guṇa-s that corroborate the above are: He is the svÄmi - One who owns everyone and everything; dayÄ jala nidhih - The Ocean of dayÄ or Infinite Mercy; madhurah - Sweet like nectar; kshamÄvÄn - Infinitely forgiving; SIla adikhah - Possessed of Infinite good character; Srita vashah - One who willingly becomes subject to the wishes of His devotees; Sucih - Pure; atyudhÄrah - Infinitely generous; anaghah - Flawless (Slokam 52).
  • A prapanna reaches equality (sÄmyam) with BhagavÄn in SrI vaikuṇṭham by being able to enjoy the same paramÄnanda anubhavam that He enjoys, by just being able to do kaimkaryam to Him uninterruptedly (Slokam 40).

Different Types of prapatti

  • There are three types of prapatti that are described. These are - sva-nishá¹­hÄ, ukti-nishá¹­hÄ, and ÄcÄrya nishá¹­hÄ. sva nishá¹­hÄ involves gaining the requisite knowledge for this through one’s own learning from an ÄcÄrya etc. prior to performing this upÄya. ukti nishá¹­hÄ involves one’s use of one’s general knowledge in the absence of specialized knowledge of the first type. One way of practicing this is for a disciple to repeat the prapatti mantra after an ÄcÄrya. Unlike the other two, if an ÄcÄrya undertakes to present us to BhagavÄn, this is ÄcÄrya nishá¹­hÄ. This is by far the easiest mÄrga for prapatti.

The Practice of prapatti

  • A brief outline of how a sharaṇÄgatan leads his/her life is given in Slokam 36. They consider themselves the dÄsa-s of those who have surrendered to Him (dÄsÄnudÄsan) - ÄnukÅ«lya sankalpam; they avoid, like snakes, those who indulge in acts that are counter to His worship - prÄtikÅ«lya varjanam; they consider worship of other devatÄ-s as not worthy of their time - goptá¹›tva varaṇam; and they spend their life in bhagavad and bhÄgavata kainkaryam.
  • BhÄgavata kainkaryam during their brief life in this world is an important aspect of those prapanna-s who have thus surrendered to Him (Slokam 30). svÄmi deshikan compares this aspect of a prapanna’s life to the zeal with which a married woman cherishes her mÄngalya-sÅ«tra (kinkaratvam mÄngalya sÅ«tramiva bibhrati). In fact, the prapanna is not just satisfied by being His dÄsa, but derives great pleasure in being the dÄsa of His dÄsa-s - aá¸iyÄrkku aá¸iyan, dÄsÄnudÄsan (Slokam 35).
  • One who performs His worship with devotion while following one’s own Agama (pÄñcarÄtra or vaikhÄnasa), sÅ«tra (Apastamba, bodhÄyana etc.), varṇa (brÄhmaṇa, kshatriya etc.), and ASrama (brahmacarya etc.), pleases Him in the process since BhagavÄn accepts these different offerings as a garland of flowers strewn with different flowers (Slokam 33).
  • A prapanna’s trust in shrÄ«man nÄrÄyaṇa is that of a pativratÄ towards her husband. Thus they do not resort to worship of other gods such as Brahma, Siva etc. This is because they have realized that shrÄ«man nÄrÄyaṇa is the only one who can give moksha, while the other deva-s can give only lesser benefits which will still get us back to the ocean of samsÄra after this benefit is enjoyed (Slokam 34).

The Ultimate Choice - Temporary Pleasures vs. Eternal Pleasure

The choice between the lesser worldly pleasures (including svargam), and the alternative of devoting ourselves to His service, is very clear (Slokam 56):

  1. The pleasure from the first category is trivial (अलà¥प ) compared to that derived from the anubhavam of BhagavÄn
  2. They are impermanent (असà¥थिरैः )
  3. One has to strain one’s body and indriya-s in attaining these (असà¥खजैः )
  4. In the end they lead to sorrows (such as re-birth) (असà¥ख अवसानैः )
  5. Even while enjoying them, there is no peace of mind because of the worry of what will follow after this temprary enjoyment is over (दà¥ःख अनà¥वितैः )
  6. These are not the kinds of experiences that are desired by those who want His anubhavam to start with (अनà¥चितैः )
  7. They give the false feeling that we are enjoying these for our own sake (अभिमान मूलैः )

Svami Desikan - The Ultimate Example of an Ideal Prapanna

svÄmi deshikan’s humility (kÄrpaṇyam) starts ringing out loud even from the first Slokam. He starts with feeling that the work will be meritorious (because it expounds SrI rÄmÄnuja’s sampradÄyam), in spite of it being communicated by him (meaning he considers himself too low in qualification to expound this great siddhÄnta) - mad-vÄkya samvalitamapi. In Slokam 3, he refers to himself as a “jantu” - which generally refers to a living organism of the lowest organization.

His kÄrpaṇya svabhÄvam (absolute humility bordering on lowliness), which is an a~nga of sharaṇÄgati, finds expression again in Sloka-s 41 to 47. Words are inadequate to describe the extent of humility and simplicity that runs through svÄmi deshikan’s life as a prapanna. He asks BhagavÄn’s forgiveness for aspiring the great bhÄgyam to do kaimkaryam to Him and considers it an aprÄdham or apacÄram for someone as ‘low’ as himself to even desire such a thing. He feels his desire to enjoy Him who is enjoyed by shrÄ«devi and BhÅ«devi as comparable to the desire of a dog which wants to quench its thirst by drinking the waters of Ganges which is held in high esteem by Siva and Brahma. He feels that all the anushá¹­Änam and the prapatti that he has done is inadequate and may be blemished and may not be all sincere, and prays to BhagavÄn to accept whatever he is doing even as a put-on and a show, but be pleased with it anyway. He prays to BhagavÄn to not use His vÄ«rya and Sakti to ‘reward’ (i.e., punish) him for all his acts which can be abundantly counter to SAstra-s, but instead use His quality or guṇa of dayÄ and forgive all his mistakes. His humility is so absolute that he feels he knows nothing about karma yoga, j~nÄna yoga, or bhakti yoga, and asks for BhagavÄn’s Mercy nonetheless (Slokam 47).

In Sloka-s 53 and 54, we see svÄmi deshikan’s mahÄ-vishvÄsam that BhagavÄn will protect those who surrender to Him - period. No if’s and but’s. The ÄcÄrya submits to Lord dÄ«pa-prakÄsha that his sins are infinitely more than that of 100 rÄvaṇa-s combined - dashÄnana shatÄn adhika Agaso’pi , but so what? He did not surrender to BhagavÄn earlier (apÅ«rvÄn) and waited for so long - so what? Even now, he may not be sincere in his surrender but may be doing so half-heartedly (ahá¹›dayÄnapi)- so what? A prapanna is assured of moksham because BhagavÄn has repeatedly assured us that once we surrender to Him, it is His dharma, His duty, His responsibility, His business, to protect us. He has said as much in the gÄ«tÄ, during vibhÄ«shaṇa sharaṇÄgati, etc., and demonstrated as such during the abhayam to kÄkÄsura and many others.

Summary

In Slokam 57, svÄmi deshikan summarizes the step for a prapanna to follow: A prapanna should seek an ÄcÄrya to get instructions so that the right kind of knowledge is obtained. This will result in His Grace which will lead the prapanna to the path of prÄtikÅ«lya varjana (turning oneself from doing anything that is not in His service), ÄnukÅ«lya samkalpa (devoting oneself to His kaimkaryam in thought, word, and deed), and mahÄ viishvÄsa (the firm conviction that shrÄ«man nÄrÄyaṇa is the only one who can give us moksham). Given BhagavÄn’s Infinite Mercy, an infinitely small act of kaimkaryam to Him is sufficient for His protection and Grace (Slokam 58).

— dÄsan ká¹›shṇamÄcÄryan