upadhEsa raththina mAlai – Simple Explanation – pAsuram 67 to 69

SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:

upadhEsa raththina mAlai

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pAsuram 67

Sixty seventh pAsuram. He responds to his heart as if it is asking him “You are saying that one should live as if AchAryan is everything for one while some others say that one should live as if emperumAn is everything. Which out of these two is correct?”

AchAriyargaL anaivarum mun Asariththa
AchAram thannai aRiyAdhAr – pEsuginRa
vArththaigaLaik kEttu maruLAdhE pUruvargaL
sIrththa nilai thannai nenjE sEr

Oh heart! Our pUrvAchAryas (preceptors) staring with SrI madhurakavi, SrIman nAthamuni et al were fully engaged with devotion towards Acharyan. Do not get bewildered by the instructions of those who do not understand the actions of those preceptors. Attain the eminent state of our pUrvAchAryas.

First stage in devotion is being subservient to emperumAn. The ultimate stage is being subservient to AchAryan. Our AchAryas much liked and practised this ultimate stage only.

pAsuram 68

Sixty eighth pAsuram. mAmunigaL mercifully states as to who should be followed and who should not be followed.

nAththigarum naRkalaiyin nanneRi sEr Aththigarum
Aththiga nAththigarumAm ivarai – Orththu nenjE
munnavarum pinnavarum mUrkkar ena vittu naduch
chonnavarai nALum thodar

Oh heart! Analyse the three types of people – the atheists, who do not believe in SAsthram, the theists (believers) who accept the esteemed paths given in SAsthram and live as per those, and the believers-disbelievers who superficially accept SAsthram, who do not have firm belief in it and who do not live as per that. Of these three types, discard the first (atheists) and the third (believers-disbelievers) as fools and follow the second type of people (believers) always.

pAsuram 69

Sixty ninth pAsuram. He explains through an example, the benefit accrued through favourable people.

nalla maNam uLLadhonRai naNNiyiruppadhaRku
nalla maNam uNdAm nalam adhu pOl – nalla
guNam udaiyOr thangaLudan kUdi iruppARku
guNam adhuvEyAm sErththi koNdu

Just as an article gets the quality of fragrance when taken near another article which is fragrant, one would get good qualities when one is together with those who have sathva guNam (purely good qualities).

Good qualities are those such as knowledge about servitude, devotion towards emperumAn and other followers of emperumAn, detachment from worldly matters etc. Just as when a field is filled with water, it will overflow into neighbouring fields, when we are together with people who have eminent qualities, we too would get those qualities. One of the important principles of our sampradhAyam is that “We should approach a devotee [of emperumAn] and live under the shadow of his divine feet”.

Sources: https://divyaprabandham.koyil.org/index.php/2019/12/upadhesa-raththina-malai-tamil-67/, https://divyaprabandham.koyil.org/index.php/2019/12/upadhesa-raththina-malai-tamil-68/, https://divyaprabandham.koyil.org/index.php/2019/12/upadhesa-raththina-malai-tamil-69/

adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan

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