Srivaishnavism's long line of saints

CHENNAI, DEC. 9. Saints who had been deputed by the Supreme Being to deliver the message of faith and hope were manifestations of several parts of His Divine personality. These messengers have, in their outpourings and works, referred to God's several qualities, the most important being His concern for humanity, particularly His compassion to those who have strayed away from the directives given in the scriptures. His anxiety was to make them return to the path of disciplined life. The Azhwars and the Acharyas (religious guides) have assured men how God will come to their rescue and give protection when sought for.

Srivaishnavism prescribes a glorious way to reach God's kingdom and has a long line of saintly guides starting from the Lord Himself down to Sri Manavala Maamunigal. It was Nadamunigal who made the world know that a treasure in the form of ``Divyaprabhandam'' existed, bringing out the contents of the Vedas, in Tamil.

Tradition has it that the Lord in Vaikuntam caused Thiruvoimozhi to be sung by Nammazhwar. This and his three other works spell out in chaste Tamil the doctrines embedded in the four Vedas while the Paasurams of other Azhwars are considered as the Tamil version of the Vedangas and Upangas. Thirumangai Azhwar arranged for the conduct of the Thiruvoimozhi festival in Srirangam Ranganatha Temple. Nammazhwar is compared to Varaha (one of the 10 incarnations) as he saved the people from drowning in the ocean of grief, even as God rescued Mother Earth from the clutches of a powerful demon. Sri Vedanta Desika and other Acharyas have declared that Vedas and other scriptural works could be easily understood with the help of the 4000 psalms of the 12 Azhwars. These Acharyas have also demonstrated how the study of holy texts like Srivachanabhushanam, Tatva Thrayam and Acharya Hridhayam, written by them, would surely enable devotees cling to the feet of the Lord and receive His grace, whatever may be their status or merits.

Several scholars, who spoke at a seminar to highlight the sublime and sacred utterances of Srivaishnavism, Sri Vanamaamalai Jeeyar Swami presiding, mentioned the contribution of Nadamunigal who retrieved the hymns of the Azhwars and how Sri Manavala Maamunigal saw to their recitation in Srirangam and other temples as this practice had ceased during the period of alien domination. He collected the commentaries of various Acharyas for the 4000 verses of the Azhwars. ``Let us bathe in the spiritual reservoir into which flowed all the wisdom of the ancients'', the Jeeyar Swami concluded.

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