Sometimes if one does not have a proper understanding of the philosophical implications of a statement, one is apt to become confused. That is why it is important to study scriptural texts through an Acharya, said Valayapet Ramachariar in a discourse.
Tirukacchi Nambi used to have conversations with Lord Varadaraja of Kanchipuram, and one of the instructions the Lord conveyed to Ramanuja through Tirukacchi Nambi was that antima smrti of the Lord was not necessary for a prapanna. In other words, a man on his death bed did not have to think of the Lord if he had surrendered. The saranagati he had resorted to would ensure that he got moksha.
But we find Vedanta Desika putting what seems a strange request before the Lord. Desika says that he wants his last thoughts to be of Krishna with His peacock feather and flute. Now Desika had resorted to Saranagati. So why did he want his last thoughts to be of Him when the Lord had said that was unnecessary? Why would Desika do something contrary to divine instruction?
Once a person has surrendered, the Lord will ensure that that person’s last thoughts are of Him. Desika knows this. All that he is therefore asking is that the vision of the Lord that is guaranteed to him as he draws his last breath should be of the Lord as Krishna. He is asking for a vision of a particular manifestation of the Lord, since anyway antima smrti is assured for one who has surrendered.
A person who has surrendered does not have to make an effort to keep his last thoughts on the Lord. It will automatically happen that way. Surrender, therefore, ensures not only moskha, but also ensures that the last thoughts of the person who surrenders will be of the Supreme One, and not of anything else or anyone else.
