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More on Bhakthi and Prapatt

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M Srinivasan • October 24, 1995 


  REGARDING           More on Bhakthi and Prapatthi

A succinct statement from the 'Vaartthaamaalai' gives the classical Tenkalai
position on the subject. The Tamil work, Vaartthaamaalai, the Garland of
Statements, is an anthology of statements (vaartthaa) collected by
Pinpazhakiya PerumaaL Jeeyar. The statement, a loose translation of the
explanation given by Puthur Sri. U. V. Krishnaswamy Iyangar Swami, and a 
glossory per my understanding are given below:

The Statement:
paRRiRRellaam paRRi avanaiyum paRRukai bhakthi; vituvathu ellaam vittuth
thannaiyum vitukai prapatthi. 

The Explanation:
To hold on to karma yoga and jnana yoga which are angas to bhakthi, to hold on
to bhakthi (which is the angi) as the phalakaraNasaadhana, and to hold on to
Emperumaan as the phalapradasaadhana is the upaayaanthara known as bhakthi; to
abandon all self-effort, deeming them as upaayaantharas, and to abandon even
svagatha sveekaara of the Lord as a upaaya is prapatthi. i.e bhagavad
ekopaayathva adhyavasaayam.

Glossory:
[bhagavad + eka +upaayathva + adhyavasaayam = the conviction that the Lord
alone is the means; anga = ancillary, angi = that which has ancillaries,
phalakaraNasaadhana = device for effecting the results or the fruits;
phalapradasaadhana = device for granting the fruits; upaaya =  means;
upaayaanthara = what seems like means; svagatha sveekaara = to adopt the Lord
through one's self-effort]