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Experiencing Swami Desika - 42

From the Bhakti List Archives

Praveena • October 25, 1999 


SrI:
Shrimate Shri Lakshmi Nrusimha Parabrahmane Namaha:
Shrimate Shri Seetha Ramachandra Parabrahmane Namaha:
Shrimate Shri Ramanujaya Namaha:
Shrimate Nigamantha Maha Desikaya Namaha:
Shrimate Shrivan Satagopa Shri Narayana Yateendra Mahadesikaya Namaha:

"SrimAn VenaktanAthArya: kavithArkika kEsarI!
VedAnthAchArya varyO mE sannidhatthAM sadhA hrudhi"!!

Shri Kumara Varadarya and Shri Prativadi Bhayankaram Annan
saw Swami Desika as an avataara of our Lord Shri Vishnu.
We saw this in our earlier postings. Shri Kumara Varadarya
sees our Swami as an avataara of Lord VenkatEsA and
addresses Swami as VenkatEsA vadArOyam. A Sloka in
Sankalpa Sooryodayam complements this thought.

Many learned scholars accept Swami Desika as
Lord Vishnu's Avataara. This can be seen in the
following Sloka:

"vidyAranyO vividam
venkatasoorai: vishotya vairAgyam
yam vishnOravatAram mene
seve tamAgamAntagurum"

-- vaibavaprakashika.

It is a fact that our Swami impressed one and all
during his time and after. Our Swami's contemporaries
and successors held our Swami in awe and were spell-
bound on realising Swami's superior knowledge and service
to humanity. They learnt from our Swami's works and
discourses in Sanskrit and Tamil and were sure that
our Swami was an avataara of either Lord VenkatEsA or
of Bhagavad Ramanuja.

There are other devotees who revere our Swami as our
Sriya:Pathi's sacred bell - the bell that brings in
the best and keeps up with Lord.

"Utpreksyate budha-janaih upapatti - bhuma
ghanto hareh samajanista yadat maneti"

-- Sankalpa Sooryodayam (Act 1. 14)

"It is considered by wise men that the bell of Hari
was born as Vedanta Desika. This is done on the
strength of abundant and appropriate reasons."

Shri Dindima Kavi, a junior contemporary of our Swami
Desika, pays his tribute to Swami as follows:

"vEdEsanjata-khede muni jana vacane prapta nityAvamAne
sankIrne sarva varne sati tadanugunNe nishpramaNe purANe !
mAyAvAde samOde kali kalusa vasat sunya vAde vivAde
Dharma trAnAya yo bhut sa jayati bhagavan Vishnu ghantavatAra:!!"


"There was confusion all around as a result of the
turbid nature of Kaliyuga;
the Vedas were in great distress
 (because of misinterpretation);
wise sayings of seers were completely ignored;
there was an unholy intermixture of all castes;
and quite in consonance with this sorry state,
all the sacred epics lost their validity;
the mAyAvAdA was in all glee;
and the school of nihilism was having undisputed
acceptance by all.

It was at this critical juncture that Sri Vedanta Desika
came into this world as an incarnation of the great
ringing bell of Lord Shri Vishnu for the establishment and
protection of Dharma. He shines all victorious".

The mahans during Swami's times state that Swami's
avataaram is vilakshanam. Swami himself points this
out as:

"Avataara rahasya jnannargal, padmAsanena
  parichaaravidhou prayuktA
utprekshyatE puta janai: upapattiboomnA kantA
  hare: samajanishta yatAtmanEti"

-- Sankalpa sooryodaya

Elders say that this Sloka from Sankalpa Sooryodaya
confirms that the Lord's bell - the bell that is used
for Sriya:Pathi's Thiruvaradana - has taken the birth
of our Swami. In line with this many mahans wish thus:

"Thirumalai mAl ThirumaniyAy sirakka vandOn vayiye"

Ofcourse, there are other Mahans who emphatically state
that it is Lord Shri VenkatEsA who has arrived as our
Swami Desikan.


"Kavi Taarkika Simhaaya Kalyaana guna SaalinE!
SrimatE VenkateshAya VedAnta Gurave nama !!"

...To be continued!


dEsikan tiruvaDigaLE SaraNam

Praveena nAmni Ramanuja dasi
25th Oct 1999