Letters from Sri Ramanasramam, by Suri Nagamma

I used to ask them, ‘Show me even one person who has gone
to Vaikuntam with his body.’ According to their traditions,
they do not accept Sayujyam (absorption into the deity). They
say, ‘Sri Maha Vishnu is in heaven, Vaikuntam. Released souls
sit around him and serve him.’ How will all find
accommodation there? Perhaps they sit close together
shoulder to shoulder? They alone should know. Not only
that. It seems there is a mantra which declares that they
surrender their all to their Guru at the time they receive
Samasrayanam. It is enough if the mantra is recited and a
dakshina (offering or donation) is given to the Guru. The
surrender is over, and it does not matter whatever is done
afterwards; a seat is reserved for them in Vaikuntam. What
more is needed? That is the opinion of some of them. It is
mere delusion to think of arpana (offering), so lightly. Arpana
means that the mind gets merged in the self and becomes
one with it. It means that it should become devoid of all
vasanas. And that will not come about unless there is self-
effort and God’s Grace. God’s force cannot get hold of you
and drag you into itself unless you surrender completely.

But where is the question of our surrendering? The self itself
is to be surrendered. Until one can accomplish that, one
should go on struggling unceasingly. It is only after trying
again and again that one may, finally, succeed in the effort.

Once you succeed, there is no going back. That is the proper
course. What is the use of merely repeating the word arpana,
arpana? Except that you give some money while repeating
the word arpana, what is the effect on the mind? In this
Thiruvaimozhi itself there are some songs in the Advaitic
cult sung by some devotees after attaining Self-realisation.

Nammalwar is one such devotee. He sang that a mother
praised her daughter who attained Self-realisation in a form
that looked like condemnation. The gist of those songs is,
‘This child says, I am Siva, I am Vishnu, I am Brahma, I
am Indra, I am the sun, I am the five elements and I am
everything! It is that Vishnu who sits on her head and makes
her talk thus; otherwise she would not have these
aberrations. It is that Vishnu who has changed her thus.’
That is the purport of these songs.” Those songs were read
out and Bhagavan explained the meaning.

After that, he explained to us about Visishtadvaita:
“When some devotees sang in terms of Advaita, some
commentators twisted the meaning, interpreting it in terms
of Visishtadvaita. That is all; it is nothing else. That is also
the opinion of all the ancients. After all, what exactly is meant
by Visishtadvaita? That which is Visishta (distinguished) and
best is Vishnu. That is Ishwara, Sadasiva, Brahma and all.

That which is, is only One. Some Vaishnavaites give it a name
and a shape and do not admit that there could be any
Sayujyam (absorption in the Supreme Being) except by way
of living in the same world (Salokyam), in the same vicinity
(Sameepyam), and the same form (Sarupyam) as the Supreme
Being. They say, arpana, arpana (offering, offering). How can
there be arpana unless there is a thing called ‘I’? Complete
surrender cannot come about unless one knows who one is.

If you come to know that, you will realise that what remains
is only one thing. The mind which is the ‘I’ submits of its
own accord. And that is the real arpana (surrender),” said
Bhagavan.