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Book Review
Desika’s compositions
NEDUNTHERU S. KANNAN
RAGHUVIRAGADYA; SARANAGATIDIPIKA: Edited by V. N.Vedanta Desikan; Pub. by Sri Poundarikapuram Swami Ashramam, 43-A/13 Ashramam Road, Srirangam-620006. Rs. 100 each.
The story of the Lord’s descent into this world as the dutiful son of an emperor to dispel the sufferings of the gods, His resolve to protect those who surrender to Him, vanquishing the enemies, His coronation and grant of salvation to everyone are all related in Vedanta Desika’s Raghuviragadya, a prose-poem with majestic strokes, modelled on the Saranagatigadyam, in 94 direct addresses to the hero Rama. Taunting Sita sharply after His victory and testing Her t
hrough fire, rejecting Her under His righteous reign despite Valmiki’s entreaty and grim farewell are all held back only to be understood from the crisp 69th address hailing Him as one executing a mutually agreed divine drama.
Doctrine of surrender
Saranagatidipika composed by Desika at the behest of the esteemed elders of his day in praise of the Divine couple at Tiruthanka is a delineation of the supreme doctrine of surrender with its accessories of absolute confidence in His saving grace, total helplessness and a resolve to do only his bidding and nothing else.
This doctrine central to the Upanishads proclaimed by Krishna on the battlefield is fervently acclaimed by Ramanuja as a sure means to the highest bliss available to the devout pining for release from bondage.
The devotional process is incessant contemplation through arduous practice lasting even more than one lifetime, the main requirements being knowledge, exacting discipline and patience. Scriptures in their concern for the weak prescribe release through total surrender, declares Desika, following Ramanuja who set this tradition rolling through his trusted disciples.
Service
Redemption is thus assured by faith and not so much by practice. The divine command of “renounce duty and surrender unto me” is not to reject duty here but to dismantle the ego in motivated or ordained action.
Desika dismisses the notion of assured realisation without any effort on the part of the seeker, whom He has endowed with the ability to act and win His grace. All that He asks is a gesture from the aspirant so that there is no arbitrariness in the dispensation of His grace which, at the desired or destined moment during this life escorts the released soul through the “path of light” to Vaikunta. He is thus verily both the means and the end. The post-surrender period here as well is going to be one of poise and quiet service to the Lord.
The central 13th verse is the quintessence of Srivaishnavism, describing the wedlock of the soul and the Lord conducted by the preceptor, while service to the Lord is represented by the auspicious thread round the bride’s neck here and hereafter. The editor’s effort in presenting the essence and the diverse interpretations in the light of the almost forgotten old precious Sanskrit and Tamil texts with fresh glimpses from commentators like Srivatsankacharya is commendable.
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