How to attain moksha/moksham/salvation

Sastras say that Lord Narayana is the end and that to reach this end He is the means. The Lord is like a bridge that helps us to get from one side to the other. He is a bridge, but also the destination.

In the Bhagavad Gita He Himself says He is the means, through the Charama sloka. Nammazhvar in his ‘Agalagillaen’ verse clearly offers Saranagati at His feet.

When we have such clear examples of Saranagati, how can it be that He is the means, we may wonder. So what is the means to reach moksha? The Lord, or Saranagati? If Saranagti is not the means, then what is it? If He is the means, then does that mean that Saranagati is not the means? A lot of questions arise, all of which can be answered, with the aid of the Srutis, Smritis and the works of our Alvars and Acharyas, said Adur Asuri Madhavachari.

The Divya Dampati constitute the Siddha Upayam. Saranagati is the Sadhyopaya. So Saranagati by itself is not what leads to moksha. The purpose of Saranagati is Bhagavat preethi, that is to please the Lord.

Because of our sins over many births, because of our violation of the Sastraic rules laid down by Him, He is angry with us. And our Saranagati is to seek His pardon, so that He will be pleased to show us His mercy(anugraha). Lord Narayana’s anugraha then leads to moksha. Thus Saranagati must be performed to turn the Lord’s anger against us into mercy for us. This mercy then results in His granting us moksha. Moksha is the reaching of Sri Vaikuntha, where the Jiva performs kainkaryam (service) to the Divya Dampati.

We should not think that we have, by our own efforts, done Prapatti. We must realize that the Lord has made it possible for us to perform Prapatti. And one should also realize that it is the infinite mercy of one’s Acharya that enables one to get moksha. Thus there can be no doubt that Saranagati is necessary. Without Saranagati, we cannot be the recipients of His grace, and without Lord Narayana’s mercy we cannot attain moksha. So while He is the means to moksha, the way to obtain His mercy is through Saranagati.

Thus the way to His anugraha is Saranagati, and because of His anugraha, moksha results.

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Importance of listening/Sravanam as a form of Bhakti

Sravanam, or listening to the name of God being uttered, is one of the nine types of bhakti. Listening is an art, and it has to be cultivated. Lord Krishna as Guruvayurappan has demonstrated the value of listening, said Damal Ramakrishnan in a discourse.

When Narayana Bhattathiri goes to Guruvayur to compose verses describing the Lord’s 10 avataras, he calls upon Lord Guruvayurappan to listen as he composes his verses. Guruvayurappan agrees. Bhattathiri says he will compose about 10 or 11 verses every day, and he will finish his work in 100 days. He is going to narrate the incidents in each avatara and ask Guruvayurappan if indeed these things happened. And Guruvayurappan must acknowledge that Bhattathiri is right by nodding His head. Guruvayurappan wonders if Bhattathiri is seeking to claim that even God nodded His head in appreciation of his (Bhattathiri’s) verses. But Bhattathiri says he is only seeking to spread Guruvayurappan’s fame, not his own.

He reminds Guruvayurappan that as Lord Rama He heard Lava and Kusa narrate the Ramayana. As He did so, He nodded His head in approval.

The Ramayana has 24,000 verses. So He nodded His head 24,000 times. The work Bhattathiri is proposing to write is going to have only thousand-odd verses. Can the Lord not nod a little over a 1,000 times, Bhattathiri asks.

Moreover, while He heard His story as Rama, He didn’t listen to the Srimad Bhagavatam that describes the Krishna avatara. And if He now does not listen to Bhattathiri’s work, will not the people say that the Krishna avatara is not as great as the Rama avatara, for the Lord listened to the Ramayana but did not listen to His exploits as Krishna? Guruvayurappan then agrees to nod His head for each of Bhattathiri’s verses.

Of the many ways of worshipping God, one of the best is sravanam. The Lord Himself, as Guruvayurappan, demonstrated the significance of listening as a form of bhakti.

If the Lord Himself listened to Narayaneeyam and acknowledged each verse, the significance of bhaktas listening to the Narayaneeyam being recited or explained can be seen easily.

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Having Devotion/bhakti is far more important than being a scholar!

One night, Pandya king Vallabhadeva goes out incognito. One of his citizens tells him that for a peaceful sleep at night, one must work hard during the day; for a peaceful old age, one must work hard when he is young; and for remaining peaceful in the rainy season, one must work hard during the dry months.

But what should one do to attain moksha, the man asks. The king is in a state of confusion, for he does not know how to attain salvation. He consults his minister Selva Nambi, who suggests that the king organise a debate among scholars to establish the way to salvation. One who gives the most convincing answer will be given a bag of gold coins. The king follows suit.

Vishnu Chitta(perialwar/periazhvar/periazhwar), with no inkling of all this, is immersed in his pushpa kainkaryam to the Lord at Srivilliputtur. The Lord appears in his dream and asks him to go to Madurai to establish that Lord Narayana is the Supreme One. Vishnu Chitta wonders how he can do this, when all the people gathered there are scholars.

The Lord says He Himself will speak through him. Vishnu Chitta then goes to Madurai and establishes Lord Narayana’s ‘Paratva,’ using Vedic statements. The king, pleased with Vishnu Chitta’s arguments, places him on an elephant and takes him out on a procession through the streets of Madurai.

The Lord appears with His consort on Garuda, and Vishnu Chitta sings ‘Thirupallandu.’ Vishnu Chitta is not a scholar, yet the Lord chooses him to establish His Supremacy. This shows that bhakti is of far greater importance to the Lord than scholarship.

Moreover, it also is a lesson to everyone that we ourselves do not really do anything. In Santhi Parva in the Mahabharata, Yudhishtra is unhappy that he is responsible for the death of so many.

Bheeshma points out that those killed were only facing the result of their karma. We do things only at God’s will. If we remember that it is the Lord who is in charge of things and that He decides what we shall face in this life, in accordance with our karma, there is no room for us to be proud of our successes or to be sorrowful for our failures, said Kidambi Narayanan.

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Power/potency of Lord Narayana's names

Lord Narayana’s name has the power to save us, even if we utter His name with no bhakti in our heart, for such is the potency of the name.

The story of Ajamila bears witness to this, M.A. Venkatakrishnan said in a lecture.

Ajamila was a wicked man, whose last and favourite son was named Narayana.

When Ajamila was on the deathbed, he called out his favourite son by his name. Though he was not thinking of Lord Narayana or calling out to Him, he was calling the name of his last son, and this conferred on him the boon of moksha.

Hence it is advised that children be given God’s names, for will not a person utter the Lord’s name several times a day when he calls out the child?

Narayana has many names, and one is Hari. The word Hari means to remove evil or sin. Thus reciting the name ‘Hari’ will rid us of sins.

It is recommended that one say ‘Harirhari’ seven times in the morning.

Whether one understands the significance of uttering the Lord’s names or not, the very nature of His name is such that it offers protection and salvation.

Read the importance/merit/speciality of gOvinda nAma here

Suppose there are pieces of coal in a fire. The red hot coal is covered with greyish ash that hides the glow of the coal. Suppose someone touches a piece of coal, thinking that since they don’t glow they are not hot, will the person not feel the heat?

He will, regardless of whether the coal glows or not because it is in the nature of the coal to retain heat.

Likewise, whether one knows the potency of Narayana’s names or not, uttering them will result in one’s salvation.

The Sastras lay down many rules for worship.

For example, there is a mantra with 1,000 aksharas that must be recited 1,008 times without a pause in breathing. This will be difficult for most people.

But reciting the Lord’s names needs no such effort. When it is so easy to say ‘Narayana’ and be liberated, why should one seek more difficult means of attaining Him?

If a person bears a name of the Lord or the name of one of His devotees, even Yama will be afraid of approaching him.

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How to realise/reach Lord Narayana

What are the factors that keep us from realising Lord Narayana, the Supreme One? The first one is our confusion of the atma with the body. We think that both are one and the same. The second factor that keeps us from Him is the confusion over who the Lord is.

We confuse ourselves and think of ourselves as God. How do we get rid of these confusions? To be rid of such thoughts, we must know what atma means. We should know what its lakshanas are, said Adur Asuri Madhavachari in a discourse.

A look at what the Upanishads say in this regard becomes imperative. The Upanishads talk of Bhokta, Bhogyam and Prerita. The Jiva is indicated by the word ‘bhokta.’ In other words, the individual soul is the bhokta. Bhogyam is achetana, non-sentient. The bhokta is the one who enjoys the bhogyam. The bhogyam is, therefore, that which is enjoyed. Prerita is Lord Narayana, according to whose will the bhokta enjoys whatever is to be enjoyed.

These three -- bhokta, bhogyam and Prerita -- are known as Tattva Trayam. Unless we understand what is meant by Tattva Trayam, we cannot proceed further on the path that leads us to Narayana.

When the Lord took the Trivikrama avatara He showed that all the worlds were His, by encompassing the entire span of all the worlds with His giant steps. The Lord is not partial in His apportionment of benefits. When the milky ocean was churned, and the nectar was obtained, He gave nectar to the Devas and not to the Asuras. So then it may be objected that He was partial in this instance. But the answer to this objection would be that the Lord has always made it clear that He shall always protect the sadhus and vanquish those who cause harm to the sadhus. The asuras were out to harm sages and those who did penance. And so the Lord had justification for giving the nectar to the Devas and not to the Asuras.

How do we stop arriving at fallacious conclusions and how do we tread the right path to reach Him? We have to be free from anyathaa gnana and vipareetha gnana. Only through instruction from Acharyas can we acquire the required knowledge.

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Greatness of Perialwar/Periazhvar/Periazhwar

Periazhvar was born in Srivilliputtur, as the fifth son of Mukunda Bhattar and Padmavathi Ammangar, in the star Swathi, and was called Vishnu Chitta. He is considered an amsa of Garuda. Even when young, Vishnu Chitta was seized with a desire to serve the Lord.

There are many types of services (kainkaryam) one can do for God, said Kidambi Narayanan. One way is through Nama Sankeerthanam. Another is by cleaning temples. God welcomes any kainkaryam of His devotees. Vishnu Chitta decides to string garlands for Lord Vatapatrasayee, the presiding deity in Srivilliputtur temple. He sets up a garden with all kinds of fragrant flowers, which he plucks everyday and makes garlands for the Lord. This Pushpa Kainkaryam is especially dear to the Lord. In His Krishna avatara, He and Balarama, on their way to meet Kamsa, first visit the house of a flower seller. The flower seller, who is moved, offers Krishna a garland of flowers, and the Lord says that this Pushpa Kainkaryam is the one he likes best among all the ways of serving Him.

Later Vishnu Chitta becomes the foster father of Andal, and unknowingly he adorns the Lord with garlands that his daughter has tried out on herself. Swami Desika says Vishnu Chitta later came to be known as Periazhvar because the Lord liked the garlands worn by Andal very much, and Periazhvar was instrumental in bringing them to Him.

One of the thaniyans for Periazhvar salutes him as the one, who, though he had not formally learnt the scriptures from an Acharya, established the supremacy of Lord Narayana. He is the father-in-law of Lord Ranganatha. The next thaniyan says we should bear on our heads the feet of those who say the word ‘Srivilliputtur’, for, it is the birthplace of Periazhvar and Andal. The third thaniyan says Periazhvar’s feet are our refuge.

An instance of Acharyas showing the same motherly concern for the Lord as Periazhvar showed is seen in the case of Mudaliandan and Koorathazvar. When the Adhyayana utsavam comes to a close in Srirangam, they embrace each other in relief that the Lord has emerged unscathed by evil eyes.

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