It is said that chaithanya mahAprabhu is an incarnation of rAdhA-krishNa in mahAbhAratham and some SrIvaishNava AchAryas also accept this. How to understand this?
SlOkams can be misinterpreted. Authentic SrIvaishNava AchAryas are not saying chaithanya mahAprabhu is an incarnation of rAdhA-krishNa. If some individuals promote other sampradhAya views – it’s on their own personal interest. It is not based on our sampradhAya principle.
Are Agamas from vEdham or are they written by maharishis? As a SrIvaishNava, what Agamas should we be familiar with for doing kainkaryam to perumAL? What is the difference between vaikAnasa and pAncharAthra Agama?
bhagavAn explained SrI pAncharAthra Agama to 5 sages who brought it forward. SrI vaikAnasa Agama was explained by bhagavAn to sage vikanasa and was further propagated by him. They are different ways to worship bhagavAn. Agamas are generally restricted to brAhmaNas and also its a hereditary process.
perumAL is guNapUrNan and we are blessed to cherish His qualities. Is there any such guNams for jIvAthma?
jIvAthmA also has many qualities – in SrI gIthA from https://githa.koyil.org/index.php/13-7/
in 4 slOkams, krishNa explains the qualities which are expected in karma yOga nishtas (the same qualties will be expected by prapannas too).
If a prapanna is mentally ill/ignorant who can’t control his actions and mind, will his moksham still be canceled in the case of vaishNava apachAram and bhagavath apachAram?
When vaishNava apachAram is done, one should seek sincere atonement/forgiveness from that vaishNava. If that is done, the mistake will be forgiven and will not be a blocking factor for mOksham. So, if something is done uncontrollably, when one comes back to senses, one should seek atonement/forgiveness.
In which book did SrI rAmAnujAchArya explain that “vaidhika himsa is not actually himsa”?
SrI bhAshyam – it is quoted in other granthams by other AchAryas also.
How can any jIvAthma choose kaivalyam once he is in full knowledge about SrI vaikuntham?
As Athma has free will, the goal is already chosen by the Athma while here in samsAram. bhagavAn is the means for him to attain the goal. Usually, gyAna yOgam is the means. bhagavAn is the one who has to grant the goal. He tries his best to convince the individual to choose kainkaryam. But if he still chooses kaivalyam – once chosen, he cannot change. This is the way it’s explained. Please see – https://divyaprabandham.koyil.org/index.php/2015/09/thiruvaimozhi-1-7-1-piravith-thuyar/
What is the meaning of ‘rAma’? Can you please explain?
rAma means one who is very beautiful.
Please explain why we cannot marry a person from another varNam?
Each varNam person should only marry in the same varNam. This is what is explained in SAsthram such as gItha, etc. Because the culture, traditions, etc., will match.
How to surrender to perumAL and thAyAr?
In our sampradhAyam, we surrender unto bhagavAn, through AchArya with the process named pancha samskAram.
Why did sItha pirAtti leave to paramapadham leaving SrI rAma alone although SrI rAma avathAram didn’t end yet?
The reason for 3 separations in her life is elaborated here –
For the question of leaving him alone in this avathAram, we have to see it as the desire of the divine couple. Her purpose was done in that avathAram, so she left, so that SrI rAma could conduct rAma rAjyam without any distraction.
Can adhvaithis be called kaivalyArthis?
In the commentary for 49th sUthram of piLLai lOkAchArya’s thathva thrayam, maNavALa mAmunigaL explains that those who claim that there is only one AthmA (we can equate them to adhvaithis) have misunderstood the equanimity of AthmAs shown in SAsthram. So, adhvaithis are not the same as kaivalyArthis. kaivalyArthis as per SAsthram, are those who perform gyAna yOgam, and pray to SrIman nArAyaNa for enjoying the self eternally.
How thenkalai AchAryas accept kaivalya mOksham as permanent isolation from perumAL enjoying the bliss of the individual jIvAthma only?
As far as adiyEn knows, kaivalyam is something the AthmA chooses. He chooses because it is a valid goal available for the Athma. Hence, it is permanent. In any case, in this day and age, there are not many kaivalyam seekers as per the process explained in SAsthram.
In thirumala malayappa swAmy has 7 vAhana puRappAdu on ratha sapthami. What is the significance of ratha sapthami for SrI vaishNavas at homes?
As per Agama, it is celebrated in certain temples – in different ways. At homes, there is no specific celebration.
The awareness of existence general awareness is dharmi gyAnam whereas dharma bhUtha gyAnam means we have the understanding of our svarUpam and servitude to bhagavAn. Is the understanding correct?
Yes – reasonable understanding. dharmi gyAnam is the consciousness – the constant realization of self (“I”). dharma bhUtha gyAnam works through the karmEndhriyas and mind to grasp about everything else.
Is SrI hayagrIva swAmy pUrNa or amSa avathAram?
Not much discussion is available regarding this in our pUrvAchArya granthams. But my understanding is – hayagrIva is pUrNAvathAram only.
In nAchiyAr thirumozhi it’s said that nAchiyAr observed nOmbu and she prayed for kAma dhEva in first padhigam first pAsuram. So, do we have the vyAkhyAnam of periyavAchAn piLLai for this? This seems to encourage us to worship dhEvathAntharams.
Due to overwhelming devotion towards bhagavAn, in separation, ANdAL becomes bewildered and prays to manmatha. It is something for us to cherish, not to follow. A crude example in materialistic terms – A man may be in deep love with a woman and may commit suicide if that woman rejects him. In such case, people will be amazed at his love for that woman, but no one will suggest to follow in his way, because it is not good to take one’s life like that.
When the body of a soul perishes, do the same indhriyams carry on to paramapadham? In paramapadham, there are no feelings except for joy. However, to experience joy we need to have manam (mind). But it would not be logical to only have manam.
Except for AthmA, nothing else from this samsAram enters paramapadham. While gross body is left behind during death, the AthmA travels with mind and senses up to virajA river. While bathing in virajA river, mind and senses also get washed away. AthmA then gets a new divine form and serves bhagavAn with that new spiritual form.
Quoting swAmy AlavandhAr’s sthOthra rathnam, it is mentioned that vishvaksEnar controls ubhaya vibhUthi. At the same time, in our sampradhAyam it is also said that udayavar SrI rAmAnujar gets control of both. How should we view the above two things that appears to contradict each other?
sEnai mudhaliyAr is the commander-in-chief – hence manages administrative tasks at the behest of emperumAn.
For udaiyavar, it was an honorary position given by periya perumAL. This way, udaiyavar can choose who can be granted mOksham. This is not specific to administrative tasks.
Isn’t it emphasized in many places in our tradition that pirAtti sambandham is required during surrender? Many pUrvAchArya SrIsUkthis cite the kAkAsura/rAvaNa example as proof for this. But then, pirAtti does not appear to be present at the time of vibhIshanAzhwAn’s surrender, but the surrender was still accepted. How is this possible?
pirAtti’s presence in lankA is said to have given him her blessings. The fact that vibhIshaNAzhwAn spoke for her sake towards rAvaNa, implies his acceptance of her as purushakAram.
As per the vadakalai sampradhAyam view of kaivalyam, they believe kaivalyam to be within the leela vibhUthi only, and that is therefore only a temporary and not a permanent destination. Please clarify how they can classify kaivalyam as mOksham, if they do not believe it is permanent (following the vEdhAntha sUthram: no return, no return) and not leading to paramapadham?
The kaivalyam debate is quite complicated. I am not quite capable of explaining the different viewpoints. adiyEn feels it is not much relevant for this time and age. There are various other practical aspects which we need to learn and practice in our day to day life in our sampradhAyam.
From reading parASara smrithi we find that it does not contain any direct details of pancha samskAram. From the general understanding, pancha samskAram is a pAncharAthric ritual and should find its origin in pAnchaAthric sources only. Is this understanding correct?
adiyEn have a book published by puthUr swAmy in thamizh (it is a portion of vishNu chiththa vijayam). It is known as parASara viSishta parama dharma SAsthram. In the preface, it is stated that, this grantham is an appendix (uththara bhAgam) for parASara smrithi. puthur swamy identifies that it is not in wide circulation, but was published by a reputed SrIvaishNava printer in the year 1901 CE. This talks about pancha samskAram in detail.