Swami as Vedanta Guru And His Principle of Vedanta

The path of Vedanta, the "vEdAnta-mArga" of Swami Desikan, is
described in a short work of his called "parama-pada-sOpAnam". It is
one of the many 'rahasya-granthAm-s' he wrote to communicate lofty
themes of Vedanta to ordinary people of the world (i.e. those who are
neither "kavi-s" nor "tArkikA-s") in a simple and easy-to-understand
form. Swami Venkatanathan's works that simplify what is otherwise
extremely complex or esoteric in Vedanta ("rahasya") came to be
generally called "chillarai-rahasyam" ("chillarai" here meaning,
"simple"). Since out of kindness for the ignorant commoner Desikan
strove to create works that made VedAnta easy to follow, he came to
be known as "vEdAntAchArya" or "vEdAnta-guru".

The word 'parama-padam' means "highest state of existence". The word
"sOpAnam" is a little difficult to exactly translate. It is commonly
understood to mean a hymn that describes anything in graphic and slow
detail from "start" to "finish", from "head to toe"... (Many will
remember here Desikan's 'stOtrA' called "bhagavath-dhyAna-sOpAnam"
which is a hymn describing the beuteous form of the Lord of SriRangam
from the "feet to the crown"). "sOpAnam" can also mean a many-tiered
stairway... a sort of structure which climbs in height by means of
many tiers of stepping stones. These stepping-stones are called
"pariankam" in Sanskrit. Swami Desikan's "parama-pada-sOpAnam" thus
refers to a step-by-step "stairway" having many "parianka-s" that
lead, slowly but surely, from the bottom-most state of existence to
the "highest state of human existence".

What is this 'parama-padam'? It is said to be the abode of the
Supreme Brahman, called by the name of "nArAyaNa". It is otherwise
called "SriVaikuntam" -- the kingdom of God. This "parama-padam" is
however not so much a physical place as a spiritual one. It is a
state of existence in which there is unbounded, unceasing and
undiminishing Joy. Only those who have reached this state know this
Bliss; and having reached it they do not return to this world ever
again to describe it for us. Even the Vedas and Upanishads that know
of this Bliss and speak of it, become incoherent while describing
"parama-padam". The Taittiriya Upanishad, for example, (in the
Brghuvalli) while speaking of it is unable to say no more than this:
"haa...ooh-hA...ooh-hA..hoo...!".

>From Swami Desikan's "parama-pada-sOpAnam" we learn that all beings
on earth seek only one purpose -- and that is Joy, Bliss or 'ananda'.


Creatures like unicellular organisms like amoeba and bacteria, or,
other low-level creatures like insects and vermins, have extremely
short life-spans. They live from a few hours to a few days only.
Within that span of time they seek only one purpose in life i.e. mere
Survival. To survive they must eat. And their greatest joy or
'ananda' in life is feeding.

Then there are other creatures like vertebrates, ,mammals and
reptiles whose life-span extend from a few years to a decade or more.
For them, as in the case of rabbits, for example, the purpose in life
is not merely Survival but also Self-Perpetuation. Within their
life-spans they seek to also multiply their own species in the face
of harsh odds of Nature. The activity of perpetuating themselves i.e.
procreation gives them great joy or 'ananda'.

Amongst higher forms of living creatures, there are many species that
live for much longer life-spans. Elephants and large apes, for
example, are known to live for almost 100 years. These creatures not
only want to perpetuate themselves but they also seek Social
Proliferation. They build large communities and societies. They live
in and work for such social groups wanting acceptance, recognition or
domination within them. It is this pursuit of Social Proliferation
which gives them the greatest joy or 'ananda' in life.

Man, who as a species, is right at the top of the biological heap, is
a unique creture. For him, the greatest source of joy, is not merely
in Survival, Perpetuation or Proliferation. He seeks Bliss in
Self-Fulfillment. Through work, strife and human accomplishment of
many kinds that includes wealth, power and self-gratification, Man
constantly seeks the great joy or 'ananda' of self-fulfillment.

Now, unfortunately, all sources of joy or 'anandA' in this world,
whether they are Survival, Perpetuation, Proliferation or
Fulfillment.. all these sources of Bliss are temporal. They are there
to enjoy and experience only as long as a creature remains in its
state of worldly existence. Furthermore, the joys of the world are
not always of the same pleasurable intensity... these joys wax and
wane with the tide and vicissitudes of life. (In the heat of summer,
for example, an ice-cream is a source of delicious pleasure whereas,
one would not even touch it in the freezing temperatures of winter...
The pleasures of youth are not available in old age etc.).

Hence, we learn from the "parama-pada-sOpAnam" that this state of
worldly existence in which Man lives, with its severely limited means
of affording 'ananda' to him, is the actually the lowest state of
existence. From this state of limited, uncertain and erratic Joy, Man
would gladly seek to attain another state of existence where 'ananda'
is unlimited, eternal and undiminishing. Such a state of existence is
called "parama-padam"... and it is that state of existence to which
Swami Desikan -- the "vEdAnta-guru" -- provides a simple road-map for
all and sundry in this world to follow.

This 'road-map' to "parama-padam" is described by Swami Desikam to be
a "stairway" of 9 stepping-stones or 'parianka-s'. The 9 steps are:

1) vivekam
2) nirvedam
3) virakti
4) bheeti
5) prasAda-hetu
6) utkramanam
7) archirAdri
8) divya-desa-prApti
9) prApti




In the 'parama-pada-sOpAnam', Swami Desikan put forward a Vedantic
thesis in a very scientific and modern way. It is a thesis that shows
Man a pathway to personal development from lower to the highest state
of existence and experience. It is a "vEdAnta-mArga" which shows us
how to enrich our lives in an easy-to-follow 9-step program.

The 9-step program begins at the first stepping-stone as surely as it
ends with the last. There are no alternate routes on this journey ---
just as there are none on a stairway. The "parama-pada-sOpAnam" is a
journey which leads only one way: upwards, straight from the low
plains of worldly experience towards "paramapada", the very summit of
human experience in the kingdom of God.

Swami Desikan described 9 "steps" or 'parianka-s' which a man
aspiring to reach the pinnacle of Joy in 'parama-padam' must have to
tread:

1) vivekam
2) nirvedam
3) virakti
4) bheeti

The first 4 steps from 'vivEkam' to 'bheethi' are collectively termed
by Swami Desikan as "adhikAra-parva" and this is what we would be discussing here. These deal with the the various processes by which a man acquires the requisite "adhikAra", or qualifications or eligibility, that will enable him to proceed along the pathway to the next 5 steps.

The stepping-stone described as "prasAdana-hetu", next, is termed by
Swami Desikan as "UpAya-parva". It is the program that deals with the
various "practical means" a qualified spiritual aspirant employs in
order to get ahead further on the journey to 'parama-padam'.

The last 4 stepping-stones viz. "ut-kramaNam", "archirAdi",
"divya-dEsa-prApti" and "prApti" are all collectively put together by
Swami Desikan in one program called "phala-parvA". It deals with the
aftermath of the journey man has already undertaken along the path of
the first step through the 5th 'parianka'.

It is interesting to note that out of the 9 steps above, a man is
expected to take the trouble to scale only the first 4.

Steps #5to #9 are easily traversed by an aspirant with the aid and Grace of God
himself. While a little of strenuous effort is required of Man to
climb onto Step #5, none is required thereafter. The Lord Himself
assumes the burden and responsibility of "lifting" the soul of man
from Step #6 through Step #9. The first 5 'parianka-s' in the
'parama-pada-sOpAnam' are thus so many steps on a stairway; but the
last 4 may be said to be a bit like a modern escalator. One merely
needs to step on it to be conveyed forward effortlessly.

While sometimes one can attempt to hop-step & jump over ordinary
stairways in order to accelerate one's way up, it is not possible to
do so on Swami Desikan's 'parama-pada-sOpAnam'. Here one has to scale
the height in proper "krama" (methodically) and there are no
short-cuts or slip-throughs. You cannot arrive at any given
stepping-stone without first having landed on the immediately
preceding one.