26)sarvaaya namah! All encompassing power

sarvaprANigala swAmi sarvane namO ninage

sarva shrishTa paata atta niyAmakanu

sarvanendenisuviyoO sarvadali vyApta nInu

sarvashabdagalali mukya vrittiyali vaachyanu

prANi- who are able to engage in action .pra- meaningful, ana- cheshta-action

You are the master and controller of all the prAni’s.I bow down to You in humble surrender. You are the creator, sustainer,one who is the cause of dissolution and also the controller of every being or thing . He who exists with immense power, pervades everywhere being the cause of the existence of others. He is the only entity  ultimately revealed by all the words and syllables.

Every prANi or living thing on earth owes its identity and existence to the infinitely intelligent power”sarva”. He with His infinite knowledge associate each soul with a body and gives it the feeling of ownership in thought, word and deed. He makes the soul experience and aquire knowledge. He creates not just the body, but every new moment of existence, of experience, of knowledge and every situation is His design and well executed plan. No one can think of doing anything unless He wills it. The very thought is an off shoot of His will. Those thoughts which are to be fulfilled are also His will and those that should not be fulfilled plunging the soul into despair etc are also His relevant meting out of experience.

Humans have not begun to understand even a little of the complex and vast universe that is home to us. Imagine the infnite abilities of the Lord Sarva who is the designer, creator, sustainer and one who dissolutes it too at the appropriate times. For starters to set your thinking going here is a picture for you to contemplate on.

Imagine the infiniteness of the Lord Sarva as every sound in nature, every alphabet and syllable, every word and phrase are all an attempt to describe Him. The aspirant contemplates on this infiniteness and surrenders to His might in awe and devotion. Such a surrender is the true path to bliss as it causes no upheavels of the mind and syncs the body with the mind making existence a journey of bliss.

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Shri Jagannatha dasara keerthane

shriramaNikara kamala pUjita padAmbhoja

sarasijAsana shivAdyamara vinuta

urugurNArnava jagadjanmAdi karta

naraharige priya jagannAtadAsArya sharaNu

Shri Prasanna Shrinivasa dasaru has composed many long works of literature revealing the magnificeint glory to be gleaned from the life and teachings of Madhwa saints and Haridasarus. His work on Shri JAgannatha Dasaru encompasses many aspects of philosophy, of the grace of Hari and Guru and of the abilities of those who are the recepients of such grace. The above verse is the pallavi of this keerthana. The actual work spans around 9 sandhis and is very detailed in expression and profound in meaning. On the occassion of the aradhana of Jagannatha Dasaru 2016, let us contemplate on this verse a little.

As obvious from the verse, it begins in almost the same note as the Harikathamrutasaara with the first word being, “shriramaNikarakamala”. Here the first three lines describe Narahari with the last line only referring to Dasaru, revealing that this work is about the greatness of a soul who has been tremendously fortunate to obtain the grace of the infinitely powerful Narahari.

He says ,” I surrender to that Jagannatha dasaru who is highly worthy of worship as he is dear to Narahari. What is so important about this address? The shrutis declare that one cannot obtain the grace of Hari by just efforts, the ingredient of grace is extremely important and that is the one which qualifies Dasaru as Arya -worshippable. He has secured the dasatva of Hari in a very special way. Narahari is the most important entity in the universe and it His grace that we need to secure. So what’s so special about Narahari? To that Dasaru explains in the first three line of the padya. The very fact that he has devoted three line for such description clearly highlight the enormous weight it carries. Narahari is one who is worshipped always by Lakshmi devi, whose glory is sung by Brahma,Shiva and others in complete wonder and awe at Hari’s unique capabilities. And what may be those capabilities? Dasaru answers ,”uruguNarnava jagatjanmaadikaaraNa”

Narahari is the ocean of boundless infnite auspicious attributes qualifying Him as the only one capable of the design,creation,sustenance and dissolution of the universe.

Shri Madhwacharyaru has clearly stated this in the dwadasha stotra.

shR^iNutAmalasatyavachaH paramaM shapatheritaM uchChritabAhuyugaM | na hareH paramo na hareH sadR^ishaH paramaH sa tu sarva chidAtmagaNAt.h || 4|| yadi nAma paro na bhaveta (bhavetsa) hariH kathamasya vashe jagadetadabhUt.h | yadi nAma na tasya vashe sakalaM kathameva tu nityasukhaM na bhavet.h || 5||

He declares, “With my hands raised,I take an oath and proclaim that this is the ultimate truth . There is no one equal to Hari, there is none superior obviously. If you think it is not so, why don’t you investigate ..”How is it that the world is in the control of one Supreme entity? How is it that one is not always in bliss even though one desires to be so?”

He is sole Supreme personality who controls the knowledge, ignorance, bondage and freedom of each soul. Such is His Supreme sway on the entire universe and beyond.

Jagannatha dasaru who is the chosen devotee of such a preeminent Narahari is the composer of Harikathamruthasaara . It is his magnum opus where he describes in details the great beauty of the various conceptual designs of Hari within the body, within the universe and beyond. He also highlights the method of sadhana, the need to recognize the benevolence of other great entities like Mahalakshmi, Brahma,Mukyaprana and all other dieties by discussing their special capabilities and the portfolios alloted to them by the Supreme. They serve Him and at the same time show compassion on the souls in the world as they form the important connection between the soul and the body, the soul and the outer world and the soul and the Supreme.

I bow down to this great Haridasa saint and seek his grace in the continued study of his great works.

In the words of Shreeda vittala dasaru ,”entu pogalali jagannAtha dAsarana…”