When we do aradhana to Lord Narayana, our Acharyas are pleased. So, service to God gets converted into service to Acharyas. Kainkarya is a word that has deep significance in the Visishtadvaitic tradition. It goes beyond service to Bhagavan on this earth alone. It extends to Sri Vaikuntha too. For Sri Vaishnavas, serving the Lord is not just a means to moksha, but continues in Sri Vaikuntha. The kainkarya that we do for Him is parama purushartha, said Kazhiyur B. Devarajan in a discourse. It is our preceptor who leads us to the Lord. That is why serving Acharyas is important.
A classic example of devotion to his Acharya is seen in the case of Madhurakavi Azhvar. In his Kanninun Siruthambu, he praises only his Acharya — Nammazhvar. He does not praise God. A similar devotion to his preceptor is seen in the case of Vaduga Nambi. Once when Lord Ranganatha was out on a procession, Vaduga Nambi was busy boiling milk for Ramanujacharya. He said caring for his God, namely Ramanujacharya, was more important than having darshan of Lord Ranganatha. On another occasion, Ramanujacharya was leaving for a pilgrim centre. He asked Vaduga Nambi to pack the deities that he (Ramanuja) worshipped every day. When they arrived at the destination, Ramanuja discovered that Vaduga Nambi had packed Ramanuja’s sandals along with the deities. A shocked Ramanuja questioned him about why he had committed such a grave offence. Vaduga Nambi replied that his deities, meaning Ramanuja’s sandals, were in no way inferior to Ramanuja’s deities! So great was Nambi’s devotion to Ramanuja.
Published – October 10, 2024 05:00 am IST
