The rays from the padukais of Lord Ranganatha spread far and wide to reach even those people who stand very far away from Perumal and Bagawathas. It looks as if the rays encourage those bagawathas who are far away to come near Perumal. This is how Sri VS Mama was. He was very approachable to everyone. He always encouraged and guided anyone who approached him with doubts. He never looked down upon anyone as lacking in gnanam or anushtanam. Hence, to all of us, he was the incarnation of Sri Swami Nammazhwar himself and hence the above slokam aptly describes the divine quality that was present in Sri V.S Mama. Swami Nammazhwar gave us the thiruvaimozhi, thiruruviruttam, Tiruvaciriyam and Periya Tiruvandhadhi. Sri V.S Mama out of soulabhyam composed vyaakhyanams for Azhwar and Acharya Sri Sukthi mostly in English to reach a wider audience and in this manner was instrumental in spreading the divine message of azhwar and acharyas, especially to the younger generation. Is it a coincidence that Sri V.S.Mama and Swami Nammazhwar shared the same name?

He composed and hosted over 500 books on the Sadagopan.org website. He made these 500+ books available to everyone free of cost as part of his initiative towards Vidhya dhanam. In case people are not aware, one cannot host a domain like Sadagopan.org with free books free of cost. There are hefty monthly fees associated with maintaining such a website! Sri V.S. Mama is in ParamaPatham , but his guiding light continues to reach us through the treasure trove in the form of the 500+ books on Sadagopan.org.

When I started writing he used to take the time out of his busy schedule to review my articles and books. He encouraged me by giving me likitha kaimkaryams. He arranged for me and my brother to get samasrayanam and bharanyasam anugraham from HH Prakrutam Azhagiyasingar. He took the time and care to make all the arrangements for us to get samasrayanam and Bharanyasam Anugraham. He was the epitome of soulabhyam, vatsalyam and countless other auspicious attributes.

We were not in the period of acharyans like Swami Ramanuja or Swami Desikan, but we have had the baghyam to be in the period of Sri Sadagopan Mama. No one can take his place. His ascent to ParamaPatham is a great loss to all of us! This is a very big loss to all of us. It is said that at SriRangam after Azhwar Moksham , the devotees requested Sri NamPerumal to return their azhwar back to them and Perumal complied. If only we could get our V.S.Mama back!
Acharyan Thiruvadigale Saranam.

Namo Narayana. Kumari Swetha Please visit https://goo.gl/isALyd

Vijayaraghavan Chakravarthy:

It is too great a loss. Shri Vaishnavism took hold in North America mostly due to his pioneering efforts. His loss will be deeply felt by one and all. I still remember his glorious presence at the first SDDS conference held in Buffalo.

Raj Rengarajan:

Sriman Sadagopan mama was a beacon of Srivaishnavism, having contributed enormously through his creative essays and books on our sampradayam.
Personally, back in 1997 he prescribed Garuda Dhandakam to allay downturn and to this day I am indebted to him.

Sudarsanan:

Very sad to hear the bad news.
We will miss Sriman Sadagopan.
He will do the kainkaryam at Vaikuntam.
Adiyen
Sudarsanan

M K Sudarshan(unknownsrivaishnava.in):

Heartfelt Condolences: My tribute to Dr. V. Sadagopan , Sri Vaishnava scholar extraordinaire!

The Value of Archival material at Sadagopan.org

My association with Oppiliappan Sannidhi U.Ve. SrimanV.Sadagopan dates back to 1995 when he first invited me to contribute to and participate in his Sri Vaishnava cyber-satsanghwww.oppiliappan@yahoogroups.com. 

I was (and to a large extent still remain) a relative novice in the lofty subjects of Sri Vaishnava philosophy, theology, traditions, customs and literary heritage, being as I was then utterly unschooled in the ways of orthodox Sri Vaishnava “paramparavidya”.

I was then living and working as an expatriate corporate manager in the Arabian Gulf State of Bahrain, a wholly foreign clime and environment hardly conducive to serious study of Sri Vaishnavite scriptural literature. Further, my career preoccupations and responsibilities hardly allowed me time to engage in proper “svadhyaaya” or “saadhana” of the kind which is indeed required of anyone who is intent on acquiring a reasonable grasp and understanding of the whole gamut of Sri Vaishnava “saatvic” inquiry starting with the tenets of “sriramanuja darsanam” and moving on then to the theistic mysticism of “alwar prabhandha arulacheyyals” and the majesty of Swami Desikan’s poetic as well as philosophical “granthas”, not to mention those works of several other “achaaryas” in the great lineage of Sri Vaishnavite preceptors and saints.

I shuddered thus to think that I could make bold to join with any degree of self-confidence that august satsangh of scholars headed by Sri Sadagopan. I therefore baulked at the idea and it was only with great trepidation, however, that after much initial hesitation, and thanks to the gentle encouragement and prodding of Sri Sadagopan, I began to contribute in bits and pieces via blogs to Sri Sadagopan’s cyber-group and also began to take part in its daily round of online discussions. 

Looking back now after 2 decades of association with Sri Sadagopan and his cyber-satsangh, I realize that it was perhaps the first step I took towards one of the most rewarding personal learning experiences for me in life.

The time I spent on the Oppiliappan group was truly informal, easy-going, pleasant and highly interactive e-learning about Sri Vaishnavism — an experience I could never have imagined would have been possible for me in life given that I was a resident outside India continuously for well over two decades, and cut off, as it were, from my native soil, its spiritual milieu, religious environs and cultural moorings.

All through the years since 1995, when my cyber-Satsangh association with Sri Sadagopan first began, he went out of his way to encourage and enrich my e-learning by constantly educating youngsters (then) like me through his daily blogs and postings about a mind-boggling array and variety of themes and subjects on Sri Vaishnavism.

Through interactive discourses through the Oppiliappan group-site, where along with Sri Sadagopan a host of other young and elderly scholars of Sri Vaishnavism too posted essays, views, thoughts, reports and treatises, people like me in the far-flung corners of the world were enabled to study and savor the rich treasures of Ubhaya-Vedantic literature abounding in the ancient tradition called Sri Vaishnavam.

As a student myself, any time I needed to refer a particular subject on Sri Vaishnavism, or else anytime I felt I had a doubt or question regarding Sri Sampradaya, I found myself almost reflexively reaching into the archives of the Oppiliappan group-list just to access a posting or a series of postings made earlier on precisely on that very subject or theme by Sri Sadagopan. So wide and comprehensive in coverage were Sri Sadagopan’s erudite blogs that soon his archival material assumed the dimensions and quality of a veritable world-class e-library, nay, treasure-trove of Sri Vaishnavite knowledge-base.

Over the last two decades, such archives of Sri Sadgopan, thanks to his own herculean efforts and that of his team of fans and admirers the world over, have come to be digitized and housed today at his own web-site “www.Sadagopan.org”.

When any Sri Vaishnava anywhere in the world today, seeking to know anything worth knowing about Sri Vaishnavite literature, searches (or rather Googles) the worldwide Web, the first site he is almost certain to hit is Sri Sadagopan’s website of archives. The archival material housed here is a cornucopia of Sri Vaishnava scripture all so beautifully and easily rendered into the English Language from the difficult and formidable texts of ancient Sanskrit, Tamil and Mani-pravaalam vernacular. By the stroke of a keyboard or the click of a mouse-button today, anyone who is keen to enjoy the treasures of Sri Vaishnavite spiritual literature can find it easily housed at http://www.Sadagopan.org.

This digital archive thus has indeed grown and evolved into a precious knowledge-resource for the entire community of Sri Vaishnavas worldwide. In a way one can say it bridges the ancient world of palm-leaf, stone-inscription and copper-plate media — in which our ancient scriptures were both recorded and treasured long centuries ago — with the modern day digital world when “meta-data”, “meta-information” and “meta-knowledge” are all being stored in hard-disk, CD or Cloud media. 

Thanks to the efforts of persons like Sri Sadagopan, we can say the literary masterpieces of the Sri Vaishnava past are today safe, cherished and readily available to the modern “digital generation” in a form and format that serves the purposes and fashion of the modern time. For this great service rendered to present and future generations of Sri Vaishnavas, Sri Sadagopanand www.Sadagopan.org deserve both kudos and unstinted,whole-hearted community support.

www.sadaopan.org continues to serve an enduring and monumental cyber-treasure house of Sri Vaishnavite scriptural literature, history and anthologies.

Dr. Sadagopan was a scholar and deeply spiritual person ! I had the privilege of corresponding with him on many matters of Sath vishayam over the email since 1996! He wrote a brilliant Preface for the first edition of my very first book published in 2016 “Unusual Essays of an Unknown Sri Vaishnava “. He always had an encouraging word to me as for everyone . His kainkaryams for our sampradaayam is legendary and invaluable !

We have lost a Sri Vaishnava in America of exemplary stature. He has ascended to the Abode of Sriman Naaraayana where he will be welcomed !

Daasoham
M K Sudarshan

SrI Raghuvir Rajagopalan, Canada (Grandson of SrI Desika darsana durantarar, MahavidvAn SrI U.Ve.A Srinivasaraghavachar, Pudukkottai)

Sriman Narayana. It is such a sad news to lose a great stalwart of our sampradayam who has done so many kainkaryams. Adiyen will pray to our divya dhampathis to give all strength to Sri Sadagopan Mamas near and dear ones to tide through these tough times.

 

SrI Diwakar Kannan SvAmi, Bengaluru

Oh , a geat loss to the Srivaishnava cyber community. He has taken lead in various kainkaryams and he will rightfully find a place in Sri Vaikuntam.  We all will miss his writings.

 

SrI M.S.Vijayaraghavan SvAmi, SrI Ahobila Mutt, Mysore

Dr. Sadagopan graduated from MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts with a Doctor Of Science  Degree in material Science and has worked for IBM for 26 Years in addition to an year at the UN in geneva and Newyork in the staff of the Secretary General. At IBM Research , where he spent most of his career, he was the University Relations Executive responsible for IBM Research"s interface with the Outside R&D world.

He retired from IBM in 1994 to pursue other interests in Telecommunication, Multimedia and Educational Delivery Systems thru distance learning .  

Dr. Sadagopan hails from Thiruvinagar (Oppiliappan Koil ) and have been a student of Ubhaya Vedanta. He belongs to the Ahobila Mutt tradition and takes active part in the Ranganatha Seva Samithi activities in US. A prolific writer in both science and sampradayic literature, he has authored countless books on Swami Desikan’s works many of which are considered very authoritative works. He together with others were primarily responsible for serving the religious needs of Srimadam’s sishyas in US.

Sri matam has lost a great sishya with the demise of Dr. Sadagopan.

 

Dr. S.Sundar Rajan, Ortho, Trichy:

What a great loss for us...

He will happily continue his tireless kainkariyams in Parama padam along with the nithyas and muktas...

 

SrI Raghuveeradayal SvAmi, Thiruppullani

Just now learnt the news. I am unable to express myself.  Irrepairable loss to every srivaishnavan. But for him I would not have learnt any thing on our samprathayam.

 

SrI Veeravalli Raghunathan SvAmi: 

Adiyen. 

Praying acharyan to bless all with the needed strength to endure this irreparable loss. 

🙏🙏

 

SrI Muralidhar Rangaswami, Ohio:

This is devastating news. Adiyen is shocked beyond belief. This is an irreplaceable loss for the Srivaishnava community worldwide. Adiyen cannot find the right words to express his gratitude for the numerous Upakarma’s rendered by Swamin. Therefore, this news is extremely hard for Adiyen to come to terms with.

 

R.Chitralekha, Chennai

As I sit to pen down my thoughts, my heart is filled with a deep sense of reverence and an overwhelming gratitude for having known a soul as enlightened and compassionate as Sri Oppillikovil Varadachari Sagagopan, whom I had the privilege to affectionately address as Maama. Our paths crossed in 2005, marking the beginning of an enriching journey when I joined the Likitha Kainkaryam Goshti as an illustrator. From the very onset, Maama's meticulous guidance in providing detailed descriptions for each sketch and his thoughtful approach in explaining how I should proceed was a testament to the profound knowledge and understanding he possessed. It was an honor to learn and create under his watchful eye, and every piece of artwork I embarked upon was imbued with his wisdom. 

Maama's feedback was not just a critique but a beacon that guided my efforts, encouraging me always to strive for excellence. His insights were invaluable, and the dedication he showed in nurturing my skills has left an indelible mark on my artistic journey. Each interaction was a lesson, not just in the fine nuances of art, but in life itself. 

Throughout my years of association with Sri VS Maama, what stood out the most was his innate ability to blend kindness with wisdom. He was a caring, gentle, and understanding Guru, whose patience and approachability made him a cherished figure among all who knew him. Whether it was a doubt regarding an artwork or an inquiry about our sampradayam, he was always there, ready with a solution, a word of encouragement, or a piece of advice that seemed to illuminate the path ahead. 

Learning of his journey to the other dimension, to serve alongside the Divya Dampathi in their eternal abode, brings a sense of solace amidst the sorrow. It is a comforting thought that he is now in a place where his soul has always belonged, continuing his service in the divine presence. 

Reflecting on the years gone by, I consider myself immensely blessed to have met Maama and to have had the opportunity to interact with him. His influence has been a guiding light in my life, shaping not only my artistic endeavors but also my personal growth. This note is but a humble attempt to honor his memory, a token of my unending respect and admiration for a true mentor and a benevolent soul. 

As I cherish the memories and the wisdom imparted by Sri VS Maama, I pray for his peaceful journey and for his legacy to continue inspiring many more lives. May his soul rest in eternal peace, in the blissful service of the Divya Dampathi. 

With heartfelt respects and a deep sense of loss, 

R Chitralekha

 

From Smt.Kala Lakshminarayanan, NJ

Such a loss for the world but what an amazing acharyan and what a blessing we got to be in touch with Mama. His immensely kind ways and just the authenticity of his life was such an inspiration for me..

 

Smt. Malavika Muralidharan, Arizona 

So sorry to hear the news of Mama being no more with us. He has more than fulfilled what the Divya Dampathis sent him down to do for us.

 

Dr. Shoba Char, Bengaluru

SrI Oppiliappan Kovil U Ve Dr Varadachari Sadagopan Swami (Sri VS Mama) attained Acharyan Thiruvadi on 15 March 2024. - A fortnight before his thirunakshatram. 

Very devastating to hear although I had been preparing myself for the inevitable and it took me a day to let the news set in. There are very few people like 'VS Maama' as he let many of us address him. He truly was family to me. His emails to me and many others I can imagine had that ingredient of 'family' and I looked forward to his email 'letter' like I did for letters from my parents or sister. He was generous with his appreciation and could enjoy every detail- a rasika to the core. I miss his uplifting emails that could set any parched throat in order. Although I 'knew' him for the past few years only he has been a major influencer in my life. 

It all started when my Guru began teaching us Sri Vedanta Desikars works: Gopala vimshathi, Desikars prabandhams, Hamsa Sandesha, Paduka sahasra..there are always some blanks when you zone out or don't understand somethings in an upanyAsam. Every time I searched the net to fill up the blanks sadagopan.org mercifully had an English ebook free to download and the commentary style of Swamy VS Maama was so appealing to read. One thing would lead to the other and soon I became a permanent visitor of the site spending hours enjoying reading English commentaries. When I did my illustrated book of gopala vimshathi my gratitude had reached overflowing point. So I wrote to Swamy and after a few glitches it reached him. I was stunned and overwhelmed by his uplifting email and cherish it to this day. He took me into the Hayagriva likhitha kainkaryam ghoshti.  He became my unofficial mentor encouraging me to work on varanam ayiram, Goda Stuthi, Hamsa Sandesha and under his kind and motivating guidance these books found a place in sadagopan.Org.  No words can describe his loftiness in giving his time to a nobody like me in his late octagenerian days. Our email exchanges brought us closer as I learnt about incidents in his life and his high regard and love for his talented sister Padma. He too learnt about my family and rejoiced when adiyEn took bharanyasam in Parakala mutt last year. We spoke over the phone a few times and I imagined I would visit him some day but that didn't happen. Truly I must have done something good to have had the bhAgyam of his brief but very fulfilling association. 

On his 89th birthday I wrote an English vimshathi of sorts letting loose my feelings in a way I would to a family member. He was so sweet to not make me feel foolish and appreciated it whilst tempering it with – 

“Sri:

Dear Shobha : What a lovely Vimsati! Although I do not have the Yogyathai to be NityasUri or our revered AchAryaas, I accept Your moving greetings and tribute with Humility as a servant of Sri VaishNavAs.” 

ParamabhAgyam to have experienced the 'company' of VS Maama.  The story of a molehill and a mountain. Blessed.🙏🙏

 

SrI Mukund Srinivasan SvAmi, Singapore

An unforgettable episode in adiyongal’s dehayathra!

Leader of us guiding to Archiradi yathra!

From the late 1990-s until Mama’s 90-s, Oppiliappankoil Sri VS mama transformed adiyongal and made suitable for Ramalolan’s anugraham!!

With Great ruchi for eternal seva to Sri Nrusimhan, Sri VS mama left us with no ruchi for further yathra here!

Mama - we will see you There with all Acharya Azhwar goshti in Vaikuntha Nrisimhan sannidhi 🙏🙏

 

Today (17-March-24) adiyongal are visiting Oppiliappan and will ask Divyadampati how you’re doing There, enjoying Them as oppiliappan, nruhari, Veeraraghavan, arangan …. 🙏🙏

 

SrI Srinivasan Narayanan SvAmi, Boston

The shocking news of Sri VS Mama attaining Acharyan thiruvadi is quite devastating to hear. adiyen still under shock. adiyen came into acquaintance with Sri VS Mama when adiyen was in Bridgewater, NJ, in 1999 or 2000. When Sri VS Mama came to know that adiyen’s maternal grandmother was from Mangudi village, he expressed his happiness and said that he used to cycle down from Oppliappan kovil to Mangudi (about 5 miles) to visit his Chinna thatha, who was the Aradhakar in the Sri Ramar kovil at Mangudi. After adiyen’s introduction to Mama, adiyen was the blessed to develop an affectionate bond with him and by his kindness adiyen also gained some wisdom. Until then, adiyen was a gnAna soonyam. When SrI VS Mama started the Sundarasimham eBooks series, adiyen started helping Sri VS Mama in the formatting of the books. He was adiyen’s mentor and guru. adiyen learnt so much from him. He was very prompt in responding to adiyen’s questions and cleared doubts on many things. His style of commentary on many Stotrams and Prabandhams conveyed all the deeper meanings in a very simple and easy to understand manner. He always was a source of encouragement and support for adiyen’s kaimkaryams and unstintingly appreciated adiyen’s editing, formatting and addition of Sanskrit/Tamil verses to the ebooks. It is indeed a great loss to all of us in astika community to hereafter not have SrI VS Mama’s gentle and wise guidance.

 

Smt.Kalyani Krishnamachari, New Jersey 

A hotel room in Los Angeles in 1990; Tiruvadippuram day; a young man wrote a letter by hand, in Tamizh, to his dear sister.  The topic was ‘Naacchiyaar tirumozhi’ and the sister was none other than kainkaryasri Smt. Padma Veeraraghavan who had composed kriti-s in 72 melakarta-ragas on Lord Oppiliappan. 

Who else would have written this but the one and only Sri Oppiliappan Varadachari Sadagopan svami, known to all as “VS Mama”, very dear to all! 

VS mama, a personification of compassion, kindly motivated adiyen to translate his “letter” into English, starting a meaningful writing journey for adiyen. After the completion of the work, he happily published the translation in sadagopan.org, which is a monumental storehouse of books on srivaishnava sampradayam. The translation of prabandham-s related to the 108 divya desam-s was VS mama’s favorite dream and he made adiyen part of the team that worked on making his dream come true. 

Adiyen is finding it hard to pen down the memories that arise about the interaction with VS mama, adiyen’s mentor; words are failing, eyes are tearing, heart is aching, and mind refuses to function when the reality now is VS mama is no more to guide and encourage adiyen to write more and more; signing off with a heavy heart – Kalyani Krishnamachari.

From “Sat sampradaya prachara vichakshanar”, “Acharya kaimkarya ratna choodamani” SrI U Ve Anbil Ramaswamy SvAmi, SrIRangaSrI eGroup Founder, USA

Dear  Suhrids

Just heard the shocking news about Sri Oppiliappan Koil Sadagopan Swamin attaining Achaaryan's ThiruvaDi.

He was a friend, philosopher, guide and mentor not only to me but to the entire Astika Community all the world over.

His erudition and achievements are matched only by his humility.

He has endeared himself to become a household name in every Astika home.

He has been honest in his approbation of others' merits but also lavish in his praising them.

His demise is an irreparable loss for all of us.

May his soul rest in peace at the feet of Divya Dhampatis

Dasoham

Anbil Ramaswamy

From SrI U Ve Thayyar Aachi Madhavakkannan SvAmi, Srirangam

Sri:

It is indeed shocking to realise that our dear Sadagopan mama is no more. He had been encouraging adiyen's rambling twenty five plus years ago ever since adiyen starteed posting crude english translations of Azhwar pasurams and Azhwars' dviya charithams. Whenever I posted - whatever it is- immediately Sri Sadagopan mama would supplement - first with an appreciation and encouragement note and then add lots of information on the topic to make it more palatable to adiyen's posts. Sadagopan mama affectionately called adiyen's daily posts on Periya Thirumozhi as 'Kaliyan express'. Because I didnt dwell deep into each of the pasuram; its nuances and covered ten pasurams a day providing translations, mama said it so endearingly as Kaliyan express. . 

I recall when Sadagopan mama visited adiyen's residence in Singapore late nineties for about a few hours in transit, mama's sowlabhyam was seen to be believed. Mama's elder sister Smt Padma through his words- gave a few hours singing programme in our Singapore NAMA event wherein she sang any pasuram and any raga sought by us. It was memorable. Mama's works are a treasure for eternity. adiyen always refers to his works for any of my talks even today. We miss you mama.. terribly.

Vaikuntam petra PaeRu.. our loss. 

adiyen