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Re: Ashtaaksharam on Thirukkoviloor Gopuram

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Sampath Rengarajan • January 27, 1999 


On Jan 26,  3:43am, Madhavakkannan V wrote:

>
> I fully understand that the book that talks about
> Rahasyathrayasaaram or SillaRai rahasyangaL has to print ahstaaksharam
> and that does not at all make the esoteric manthras less sacred, of
> course.

On the same token, Sri nrusimha priyA is serving the intiated
ones as a forum for long. It carries AchAryAs aruL mozhigaL for
his shishyAs. There is nothing wrong in the
Sri AshtAkshra mantram appearing in it, in any page. Sri NP is not
similar to a public street in thirukOviloor.


> Your comment on that vendor- Whatever he may be- Whatever may be his
> intention, or lifestyle- or sins- or sufferings- he DID stun me with his
> spontaneous prostration on the muddy street, where even dog's shit was
> there. I am not blessed with that attitude, dear rengi. I pray to Divya
> dampatis to bless me with Thier grace for getting that bent of mind.
>

The vendor may have stunned you. But he will not stun me
if he has to chant Sri AshtAkshara mantram in public street
loudly. No doubt one has to respect adiyArs in Srivaishnavam
but as per our AchAryA if an adiyAr violates the norm of
our AchAryA we need not take him as the best example to follow
no matter what humility one expresses in a public place.

If adiyEn has to select between the teachings of Our AchAryA
and an adiyAr who on one hand display humility and on
the other hand violates the protocols of our AchAryA, I will
choose to avoid taking such adiyAr as an example. I will not
hate him but according to the teachings i received
from seers i have to identify him as
"vENdAr" ie follow paNNa vEdAthavar. If I have to admire him
for his humility and accept his other acts as well, then
I will be violating the norms set by our AchAryA to me and
I may be straying from the path of the AchAryA.
So I would rather not take him as an example and follow
my AchArya to the best of my ability.

> he
> reads this ashtaaksharam loud; Is it wrong? Do you think,
> Sriman Narayanan will NOT be pleased? Do
> you think He will get angry and punish for going against AchAryAs'
> words?
>
> Narayana dAsan Madhavakkannan

This comes to the question of where do you draw a line
when you have AchARya bhakthi and emotionally open minded.
Our 45 th jeer mentioned in  a tele upanyasam
recently as to how one will have to have
AchArya and perumAL bahkti and follow the teachings of the
AchArya. HH compared Sri Sanjayan and DridarAshtran both of whom
had the same AchARyA but only Sri Sanjayan had the nyAna drishti.
The vendor whether he knows my AchAryA or not, didnot follow
my AchAryAs directions in keeping the Sri AshtAkshrama mantram
secret. So I would rather follow Sri Sanjayan and not the other.

Reg being adiyArs adiyArs,
If i have to pick an example on "adiyAr",
i will rather pick from those
kaimkarya pArAL who serve the AchAryA day in and day out
and toil in all conditions. I would pick that bAgawthA
who was carrying the umbrella for Sri PP ANDAVAN from
Sri dasavAthAra sannithi to the ashramam on that sunny
scorchy day in the month of May in Srirangam. He was
barefootted and and was carrying the umbrella for
HIS AchARyA in 110 deg F. I thought i must do it next time.

In a public debate, mixing emotions (getting thrilled by
someone prostrating in a muddy street) and protocols (the
same person violating the norms by chanting Sri AshtAkshram
mantram in public plcaes loudly) cannot justify chanting
the holy mantra in public. Such will only send a confused
message to many.

If one is in doubt please read the abudant examples in sillarai
rashyam publications by Sri PP Ashram on these type of
conflicting behaviors of adiyArs in virOdha parihAram and other
chapters.

Best Regards
Sampath Rengarajan