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UbhayaVedanta Sabha

Bhaktamrutam

Intoduction to Vaishnavism

     The supreme Lord who has all the Divinity auspicious qualities and has fulfilled all the desires, the Lord of the Sri, took pity and with compassion gave a body and other limbs to the jivas.This is what Sri parasara Bhatta has said in the Sri Guna Ratna Kosa.

" Achita viseshitaan pralayaseema nisamsaratah
karanakalebaraih ghatatoyitum dayaamaana manaah"
  For the sake of using these limbs, he gave saastras, which were like the lamps spreading light. This has been put very nicely in Sriranga(raja) Stava as follows:
"maanampradeepamiva kaarunikodadaati"

To uplift the beings who are having repeated births, who are taking up repeated residences in the wombs and to help the beings who are getting born again and again because they were worshiping they were worshiping gods who are capable only of giving petty and ephemeral fruits , the Lord, in His compassion took pity and manifested as lord Rama And Lord Krishna. Nammalvar, in his Thiruviomizhi 4-6-8 has said: " Maari maari pala pirappu pirandhu". However, the lord bemoaned the fact that the foolish people did not recognise the fact that He was the suprime Lord or sarveswara. This is what has been indicated in Bhagavad Gita at verse 11 of chapter IX.
"avajaanatimaam moodaah maanusheem tanumaasritam"

it is to uplift us that the lord sent divine beings in the human form. To capture anyone, one will have to assume the form of that particular being, for example to capture an animal another animal of the same family is required. Because of this, the Lord , in His supreme Grace deputed his accompanying beings to the earth as Azwars and Acharyars. These are all persons who have obtained the infinite Grace of the Lord even without seeking it and they are persons who hava divine knowledge. That is why they are called Divyasuris. The great works written by them are the Divya Prabandas.The religious places places which have been descrided & sung by them are the Divya Kshetras. To know about the lord who is devoidog deficiencies, who is pure ,who is Eternal and who is taintless is to have Jnana or Knowledge.TheVishnu Puraana(6-5-87) says as follows:
"tat jnaanam ajnaanam atonyaduktam "

Any knowledge which does not pertain to the Suopreme Lord is equal to ignorance. The Telugu poet Potana has said that learning is hymning of the Lord who has the Chakra in His hand . That which is not the cause for being bound is Karma. The Vishnu Puraana says this as follows(1-19-41)
"Tat karmayannabandhaaya saavidyayaa vimuktaye"

That which is the instrument or cause for obtaining liberation (Moksha) is Vidya(the science of education).those who have this knowledge alone are the real Jnaanis or knowledgeable people.Those who have this Tattva Jnaana or (the knowledge of the Reality) are the Azhvars. Since these persons bathed at all the places, at all times and in all conditions, in the nectar of the divinely auspicious qualities of the Suprime Lord they got the name Azhvars. Tradition has it that they are ten in number. Some Traditionalists hold that they are twelve in number including also the names of Madhurakavi, the disiple of Nammazvar and Bhagvan Ramanuja. Another tradition regard them as 12 in number including the names of Madhura Kavi and Goda Devi. Sri Manavaala Maamuni, the Princilpe proponant of the Southern school recognizes only ten Azwars and hymned as follows in the great work Upasana Ratnamaala(pasuram 4)
"Poygaiyaar, Bhootattaar, Peyaar,Pigazh Mazhisai ayyan, arul Maaran, Cheralarkone, thuyya bhatta- nathan, anbarthaall dhiili, Narpaanan, Narkaliyan Eedhivar thottrathadaivaam ingu"

The meaning is that the ten Azwars manifested in the following Order: Poygaiyaazhvar, bhoothattaazhvar, peyaazhvar,Thirumanzhisai azhvar, Nammazhvar, Kulasekhara azhwar, Periyaazhvar, Thondarappodi Azhvar, Thiruppanaazhwar, and Thirumangai Azhvar.

to be contd...

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