As I noticed in my annotation M. Narasimhachary in his research #"SRI VEDANTA DESIKA"# not only summarizes Tenkalai/Vadakalai Siddhantas, but also makes attempts to reconcile them.
The following excerpt reconciles 2 opinions regarding "Doshabhogyatva" of Bhagavan Shree Narayana.
"Doshabhogyatva" = "enjoying sins of prapanna by Bhagavan Shree Narayana due to the sins being an incentive for help and forgiveness from the side of Bhagavan Shree Narayana". [in Sanskrit "dosha = defect" and "bhogya = something to be enjoyed"]
According to Doshabhogyatva-Siddhanta Bhagavan Shree Narayana is akin to a cow who licks all the dirt off her child-calf instead of punishing her disobedient and silly offspring!
For this reasong Doshabhogyatva is closely connected with Vatsalya-Bhava of Bhagavan Shree Narayana!
"Doshabhogyatva" is the crucial part of Tenkalai Siddhanta (Shree Pillai LokAcharya, the Southern Branch of Shree Ramanuja-Sampradaya).
If you are interested in Tenkalai (Shree Pillai LokAcharya) opinion regarding "Doshabhogyatva" please refer to #"Shree Vachana-Bhushanam"# - not to separate Shlokas dedicated to "Doshabhogyatva", but to overall complex logical chains which Shree Pillai LokAcharya constructs.
If you study just separate Shlokas out of "Shree Vachana-Bhushanam" entire context and its integral unity, you are at risk of conceiving the Doshabhogyatva-idea in a wrong way!
M. NARASIMHACHARY - "NATURE OF BHAGAVAN SHREE NARAYANA VATSALYA" (FROM #"SRI VEDANTA DESIKA"#): "Differences arise between the two sects (Tenkalai and Vadakalai) as to the nature of Bhagavan Shree Narayana's Vatsalya (the love that a parent has for a child).
The Southern school believes that God’s Love for His children is so wonderful that He not only winks at their faults but also actually enjoys them.
The dirtier the child is, the dearer he becomes to the doting mother. It is to the sinners and erring beings that Bhagavan Shree Vishnu can pour out His Love and Grace in full and render real help.
A highly meritorious person will automatically become acceptable to the Lord. But what glory is there in such acceptability?
Just as a poor man alone is in real need of money and a sick person alone requires medicine, only one who is utterly worthless and defective requires God’s love and help.
Shree YamunAcharya in "Shree Stotra-Ratnam" (Verse 51) says:
तदहं त्वदृते न नाथवान् मदृते त्वं दयनीयवान् न च ।
विधिनिर्मितमेतमन्वयं भगवन् पालय मा स्म जीहपः । । ५१ । ।
tadahaM tvadRRite na nAthavAn madRRite tvaM dayanIyavAn na cha |
vidhinirmitametamanvayaM bhagavan pAlaya mA sma jIhapaH | | 51 | |
Translation: "O Lord! Therefore it all means this: without You I am utterly without a Master. Without me, You will not have a proper recipient for Your Grace. This is our relation brought about by Fate. Kindly honour it! Don’t break it!".
Alternative translation: "Lord, without You, I am lost and without me, You lose a worthy recipient for Your Compassion. This relationship of Your Lordship and my (state of) pitiableness, needs to be preserved. This has been ordained by fate". [alternative translation is from #"Sri Yamunacharya's Stotra Ratna" rendering in English by Dr. MS Rajajee#]
This particular taste that the erring human invokes or generates in the Lord is called "Dosabhogyatva".
The Northern school (Shree Vedanta Desika, Vadakalai), however, argues that this is a horrible doctrine because it encourages one who is already a sinner to become a horrendous criminal since he would then become more acceptable to God.
But God, being a strict disciplinarian, will not ignore the sins and faults of the living beings. He is the dharma-adhyaksha (the one who supervises and ensures the proper function of the Law of Justice without any fear or favour).
Does He not declare in the Gita that He is equanimous towards all the living beings and that there is none who is either detestable or dear to Him?
The Brahma-sutra (2.1.34) also states the same truth: vaisamya-nairghrnye na sapeksatvat - "The Lord is neither partial to some nor cruel to others. The suffering of the living beings is dependent on their past deeds (karma)".
Ignoring the faults and sins of living beings means ignoring moral values and sacrificing justice and faith. According to this school Bhagavan Shree Narayana may be said to wink at the faults of the devotee (doshadarshitva). He may be said to pardon the sins of the devotee.
This implies that the Lord takes note of the sins but will not punish them as a consequence. The concept of non-observance of the sins exalts the uniqueness of Bhagavan Shree Narayana's Love more than the doctrine of pardon without at the same time discounting moral values or making sin respectful and acceptable.
So is there any controversy in this matter? Seemingly yes, but really no.
The defects of the devotee will be enjoyable to Bhagavan Shree Vishnu provided the devotee is genuine, believing in none but the Lord Shree Vishnu as his Saviour, Father and Mother.
In his childlike innocence, even if a mistake or two is committed, the Lord would not mind. He feels happy that the mistakes really speak about the absolute abandon of the devotee.
The devotee is in such a state of total absorption that he is unaware of the mistakes committed, and with that free and innocent state of mind, he approaches Bhagavan Shree Narayana!
But the real position is that such a devotee will not normally go wrong. If a mistake or two should creep in, he will atone for them in the prescribed way.
So even on this issue there need be no controversy.
In fact, the following verse from Shree Vedanta Desika’s Dayashataka (v. 97) seems to come closer to the view of the Southern school:
औत्सुक्य पुर्वमुपहृत्य महापराधान् मातः प्रसादयितुमिच्छति मे मनस्त्वाम् ।
आलिह्य तान् निरवशेषमलब्ध तृप्तिः ताम्यस्यहो वृषगिरीश धृता दये त्वम् । । ९७ । ।
autsukya purvamupahRRitya mahAparAdhAn mAtaH prasAdayitumichChati me manastvAm |
Alihya tAn niravasheShamalabdha tRRiptiH tAmyasyaho vRRiShagirIsha dhRRitA daye tvam | | 97 | |
Translation: "O Mother Daya! My mind, with great enthusiasm, wishes to please you by offering all my horrible sins [as a present to you]. But being supported by the Lord of the Vrishagiri and even after having licked clean all of them without any leftovers, You are not satiated at all. What a wonder!"
Cited from
(pages 52-54)
OCR by Vishnudut1926, January 2018, Moscow
