Thirumalerumcholai enthai!

I was randomizing my playlists on the ipod when suddenly sprang the words ,
"Unnai allal deivam illai, Thirumalerumcholai enthai".
Wow!!!

Prabhandam flowed out of the ipod springing goose pimples to my skin. "Senniongu than thiruvenkatamudaiyai, Ulagu thannai vaazha ninna Nambi..", "Paravai eru param puruda, nee ennaikk kaikkkondapin.." Aha! I wish I was able to recite and write each one of them a thousand and crores of times over.

Hearing it delivered by Sri. Venkatakrishanan swamigal of Thiruvallikeni(Adiyen originating in Thiruvallikeni) is really scintillating. This got me thinking about the beauty of the tamil in the lyrics and devotion of the Alwars. Nayanmars too wrote amazing and perfect tamil even making the layman wonder if Tamizh originated from this bhakti rasa or was it otherwise?

Tamizh. It is a divine language. So proclaimed by the Lord of the universe. He goes after the bhaktas who recite the Divya Prabhanda while sanskrit in the Vedic form runs behind Him to get His notice. The lingua franca of Bhakti of the kali yuga.

I must confess, when I was in school, I was exceptionally bad at thamizh and also hated the language. But when I got initiated to the temple and listened to the lyrics of the Prabhandam being recited over and over again..enough to decipher the words and much trips to the walking lexicographers : amma,appa and patti: I grew to be fiercely protective and defensive about the language. But that forms the basis for another discussion which we shall defer to Srishti and not here.

The names of the Lord, so charmingly formed after His attributes and His deeds. His creed, and His joy. Aha! It just melts the heart. I think it is the Nalaam pathu of the Mudhalayiram. Not sure. There is a set of hymns/poems that describe Krishna as a lovely little toddler who stumbling at His feet looks up at the sky and...discovers the moon. Beckons the Moon God to come His way, waving His chubby arms. Aha! Just that.

I think I can actually relate to Thiru Paanazhvar when He cries ,"aiyo, en nenju nilai kondathuve!" seeing the divine beauty of the Lord. (albeit in a much humbled and ignorant manner)

Or when in Thiruch Chanda Vrutham, Swami Thirumazhisai azhvar sings, "Nandatha Kallgal nonthavo? Nandu gnalam ennamai,
Idantha mei kulungavo, vilangu maal varaichuram
parantha kaal kidantha kavirikk karai kudanthaiyul
kidanthavarru ezhunthu erunthu pesu aazhikesane!
Or Shri Andaal in Her divine exposition,
"vallainai kondranai, mattrarai matraazhikka vallanai"

The appellations that the divine bears to please His. Sarangapani is named or called lovingly as "En appa, En Irudikesa." And the Moolavar's name in the divyadesam(Thirukkudanthai) is "Abari Aapthamrutham : Aravamudham" Saranga...

Arulmakkadal : Kripa samudra Perumal : Thiru Sirupuliyur. Thayar : Dhaya Nayagi.

Talking of Thayar thirunamams, I think it would be blasphemy not to mention Thiruninravoor : Her name is Ennaipetra Thayar. Amma.

What will I list? what to miss? One of my favorites is Paal Pandian from Thirumeyyam. :)) It sounds so rowdyish and so boyish.

And of course of my own Lord, Swami Varadarajan from Thiru Kacchi, PerAruLaLan. Sonna Vannam seitha perumal : Yathokthakari from Kanchi. Aha!

I think it was probably to say, repeat and savor the flavor of the tongue that utters the name, and the happiness that springs forth in the mind that "Vedam thamizh seitha vithagan" Swami Sadogopan translated the Vedas into thamizh as Divya Prabhandham.

"Ponnaikk kondu uraikal meethe
niramezha uraitharpol,
Unnaikk kondu en navagam paal
matrindri uraithukk konden,
Unnaikondu ennil itten,
ennaiyum unnil itten,
En appa! En Irudikesa,
en uyir kavalane!"

Like gold is scratched to insignificance
when tested for purity against the touchstone
So I wore my tongue down to utter nothing but Your name,
I cast Yourself in me
So did I throw myself into You(in belief and love)
My Father! My Lord of Hrishikesh,
He who protects my soul and life!

There is also another circumstance when (I guess) Thirumangai alwar writes "Nathazhambu erave nan uraipen, Narayana ennum Namam!"

Probably this is why Nama samkeerthana is the best way to please the Lord. It actually gets us to think about His deeds and His "Kalyana Gunas" which increase our belief in Him and also on the side gives some activity to the otherwise idle mind.

Adiyen Vedantha Desika Dasi.

thalathu unathu adiye!

ValLal Aruthuchchudinum maruthuvaN paal
MalLatha kathal NoYalan pol
mayaththal MeelLa thuyar tharinum
VithuvakoTammane,
Thalathu unathadiye parpen adiyene!

Though he, the medicine man, brandishing a fire and sword,
cauterizes my wounds so one lives,loving forever the
hand that puts us through pain..
Like that My Lord,
even though put me through countless and endless travails,
You will, with your maya,
I shall not give up your Lotus Feet nor the devotion

Thiruvadipoorathil Jagathudhithaall Vaazhiye!

This day, A few hundred centuries back, maybe even many hundred centuries back, was born Godha under a Thiruthuzhai(Thulasi) tree. She was found by Shri Vishnuchittar in the temple town of ShriVilliputhur. As she grew into a beautiful maiden, she was consumed by the love of the Lord.

I guess all of us would be familiar with the story of the garlands she wove for the Lord. Before sending it through Her father to the temple, she used to adorn it Herself. When Her father discovered this practice, he put an end to it immediately. What a blow! The Lord Himself refuse to wear the pristine unadorned garland the next morning. Such was Her love and devotion to the Lord.

Is it such a surprise? Wasn't She the Mother incarnate? Born to bless mortals with Her devotion and consequent acceptance by the Lord, Her life stands example to the fact even one janma is too short to be accepted by the Lord. Only love matters.

Her name itself was designed to set free sins. An interesting side note :

In the Ramavatar, the Lord bereft of His consort,Sita, ran over panchavati crying Her name aloud and asking animals, trees, the sky and rivers about Her whereabouts. Of all those, the river Godavari, which knew Her direction as Ravana had flown over her, hid the fact and remained silent, afraid of Ravana's wrath. She was cursed by truth for hiding it. Her waters ran accursed for a long time. But taking pity on her, rishis assuaged her anguish by promising her that a time would come when the Mother Herself would be reborn on the earth. At that time, She would be named Godha, and then the waters shall run pure again.

So it happened and the curse was lifted.

Thus even with Her very birth, She sanctified those around Her.

As she grew older, Her love for the Lord manifested itself in poems and hymns composed with the love of a young woman towards Her Lord and Master. The bhakti rasa stands out in the beautiful songs. The compositions are the Thirupaavai and Nacchiyar Thirumozhi(143 lyrics) which literally means The words of the Goddess. Of these the Thirupaavai and Varanamayiram are very famous. My favorite is :

Karpooram Narumo? kamala poo narumo?
Thirupavazha sevvaithan thithuthu erukumo?
Marupusitha Madhavan than
Vaai chuvaiyum natramum viruputtrukk ketkiren,
sollaazhi ven sange!


Does the camphor smell divine? or does the lotus?
Is the beautiful read coral lips taste sweet?
The sweet taste and the divine aroma of the
mouth of the Lord,
is what I need of you, white conch of His(of Paanchasanniyam)

The thought that struck me was, I knew, the world knows of the fact that the conch was blown by Him during the war. I never imagined it the angle that it was the only one which had seen the insides of the Lord's mouth. It is not about visualizing the Lord as being flesh and blood. But even the most mundane stuff misses out when we don't really observe at all.


When asked, learned elders speak of the Thirupaavai as the Vedas themselves. The sara of the Vedas is the Mahabharata, the sara of the Mahabharata is the Gita. That of the Bhagavad gita is the Sahasranama, of that is the Thirupaavai, of the Thirupaavaai, the name "Govinda". The beautiful lyric immortalized by The Mother herself, "kurai ondrum illatha Govinda" has been struck into Hindu hearts all over with the simple song "kurai ondrum illai.." by the brilliant stateman and Man of India, Shri Rajaji.

Another interesting side note, Once the Lord was listening to His bhaktas speaking about Him. Suddenly one of them mentioned,"Couldnt He have been more merciful towards the Pandavas? Did He have to kill all of Draupadi's kids after the war? Did He have to..? Did He have to..?" without really understand His deeds. But the Lord for once took it to His heart. He fell silent and grew melancholic. All the devotees were now worried. What happened to the cherubic young handsome dashing Krishna? Then She who knows decided to take it into Her able hands. She said,"kurai ondrum illatha Govinda..." , which mean,"You who have no faults..". The Lord became happy again.

So if we go to a temple, we must always pray to the Lord as, "You have given me everything. I have no wants, no worries and no regrets. Thanks My Lord." Whatever be our personal sorrows, there are people who are suffering more but bearing it happily.("He who bears it best, serves Him best.."Milton Paradise Lost) Then, go to the Mother and explain your situation. Not as a complaint but as a counselor. She will at the right time alleviate our sorrows.

Getting back to the topic, Godha was beckoned by Her Lord to come to SriRangam and was wedding to Him in pomp and glory. You can see the small house She stayed in Srirangam for a night at the end of the Chithira veethi in Srirangam. Also is well preserved at the temple of ShriVilliputhur is the house that She abided in. You can also see the well in whose waters She saw Herself after dressing Herself in the temple. Shri Villiputhur Raja Gopuram held the feat of being the tallest gopura in Asia for a number of years. Also it adds pride to every government insignia in Tamilnadu by decorating the seal of the TN Govt.

Also almost as famous is the Paal gova that is sold by the stalls by the temple. :))

Shrivilliputhur is a shrine of extreme importance and prominence. Do take time by visiting the temple and worshiping to the girl who ruled the Lord. Aandal.

Sarathi

This time when I was in THiruvallikeni, I had the honour of making a movie that starred the Lord Himself. It came out so perfectly that I was thinking of a premier and here it is :

http://locker.uky.edu/~gsamp2/Porvai Kalaithal.MOV

For some reason, it refused to be loaded on to the link page and hence this inconvenient attachment. Also if your browser is slow, you might have a waiting :(. Sorry. But I hope it is worth waiting for.

The occasion being the ninth day of the Chithirai Brahmotsavam of Thiruvallikeni Shri Parthasarathy Perumal Kovil.

This particular shot is on the morning of the ninth day and is called "Porvai Kallaithal". The video itself explains the naming. Significance in next post.

Adiyen.

Mahalakshmisthu Devatha

This is after a long hiatus. I was walking by the temple in Thiruvallikeni the other day when I was in Madras. It was as vibrant as ever. Brahmotsavam was in full progress. We were waiting for the thirai to be removed to behold the Lord. Jasmine and 'Shenbagam' strands vied with one another for the favor of the Lord's feet. The strong scents of the temple, if you what I mean, were just sending my head spinning.
Mama in panchagajams and Mamis in madisaars and diamonds. Man!! There were two of these specimens standing right next to me and talking loudly like they were discussing an arms deal between India and USA. I stood shell shocked listening to them discuss the wealth of the populace around them. If there is one statement that irk me to no end, it is this :

" Ellam pana thimiru!! panam vanthuduthuna manushan eppdi ellam panran!!"
leading to,"Lakshmi vantha thimiru vanthidum. Saraswati on the other hand brings calm and peaceful".!!!!!!!!!!!!

This statement I will excuse attributing sheer ignorance.

Money never never never can be attributed to Lakshmi Kadaksham. If somebody is merely rich, he is not endowed with the benovelence of the Mother Goddess.

Even if somebody is well studied, it doesn't mean that he is endowed with the same of Mata Saraswati.Lakshmi Kadaksham can be found in a simple hut while it may not be even if searched for high and low in a mansion.

The true benovelence of the Goddess lies not in bestowing wealth but in the quality of mind that goes with it.The gaze of the Lady who adorns The Chest is given away by Her qualities themselves.

Humbleness, generosity, contentment, well being, well wishing, ego less existence, wishing well for all, prayers, belief, auspiciousness, faith, amicable to all, taking genuine interest in the well being of all His creations,
above all : Goodness to relatives and unfortunate souls. People whose hands overflow when giving to somebody :

Now that is Lakshmi Kadaksham.
If somebody utters these in your presence, do take the time to correct it.. Thiruvarul can be attained in getting just what you need. Not more.

The wealth accrued may be just result of a punya committed in the previous janma and may be wiped out in the next one. But Lakshmi Kadaksham that comes from goodness retains itself in long janmas; For it is the
goodness of the soul that is indestructible!!!

Thayar thiruvadigale saranam

A moment of doubt

In my present state of mind, I guess both my blogs will probably pointing to the same issues. My indecision. My loss. My course.

If for a small situation as this, we feel deprived, depressed and incomplete. Most of us do have a lot of issues. Issues whose magnitude we tend to grossly exaggerate or underestimate.

Yesterday while I was walking down the lane to my house, I could the house, the balcony, my roommate happily chatting away. The sparrows warbling. The sun bright and the sky blue. The whole universe seemed to be unaware of what was ripping my heart apart. It was only my mind that was in turbulence. All around. It was peace. Calm and Happy. I decided to think that in the grander scheme of things, my sufferings as I choose to name them are really nothing. I am in Lexington, KY, USA, Earth, Solar system, Milky way, the Universe as we know it, The Universe as we dont know yet, The Universe we shall never know about.

Isnt it really laughable? Man! I am puny. If I am so, about the troubles that are racking me? Only in my mind? Arent they smaller still?

I thought of Arjuna. He was standing with the Lord. He was standing beside the Lord of the Universe. He who is everything. Vishwa. So the enormity of his situation was so huge. He had the world in two opposing ends. His loved ones on his side. His loved ones on the other side. How could he quantify his love? Could he say, "Look, the sum total of the loved ones on this side are more than those on the other?" Bhisma? His mentor? Drona? His Acharya? He could not.

But he had the Lord on his side. The Lord who was the avenging Almighty then. As he quavered, laid down his weapons and was ready to leave everything and be deemed a coward, Lord took him and made him fight. The Gita.

"If you win, you will rule over this world,

If you die, you shall be in Heaven,

Be Resolute, O son of Kunti

Arise and fight."

-The Lord in His Infinite mercy

I am Apasmara

(photo courtesy : Internet. No plagiarism intended)

I was just pondering over the Soundarya Lahari which seems to have captured my mind for the past few days. I studied the image of The Mother trying to recapture the feelings that went through the muni who captured Her in his lyrics. Of Adi Sankarar who later completed it. I went through Her beautiful form, Her face, neck, body, legs, feet and ended up feeling that if I was a dust in the ashes of the dust that cling to her toe, I would consider myself the most blessed.

As I was studying Her image as humans seem to portray, I pictured Her as Durga, the Mother. She has always prevailed on me as The Mother Goddess. As Gayathri, as Parvathi, as Durga. As the Mother personified in the Soundarya Lahari. I saw her raise Her weapon, look with pity at the asura standing in ignorance in front of Her, Strike into his thoughts Her consciousness. As she dances on him, the ultimate realization brought home.

At that moment I wanted to be him. To have the pleasure of being brought to divinity, immortalized by Her. By Her.

It was then it struck me that Jaya and Vijaya, the divine doorkeepers at Shri Vaikuntam had also wanted the same blessing. When asked whether they would be born as devotees for 10000 births or be born as villains to be cast down by the Lord for three janmas, they sought the latter. As the quickest way back home and also to enjoy the pleasure that the Lord's Hand would itself touch them.

The train of thought continued to Mahabali, the great-grandson of the asura Hiranyakashippu slayed by Swami Nrisimhar. I suddenly realized that Bali's head was pressed to the soil by the Lord's feet in the Vamana Avatar.

Then the third instance is that of Lord Nataraja. He dances the cosmic dance on Apasmara, the little demon of ignorance, ego and sin : in short man personified.

The similarity between the three struck me. The Mother, Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva. The personifications are different but the ideologies are just the same.

The dance of good over evil. The dance of realization. The destruction of ego, ignorance and injustice. The restoration of balance. The path.

I drew the inference that whatever the Lord may be. In whatever form He is personified, it is just the realization that the world is a virtual reality. It exists solely for realizing that it does not exist at all.

The attributes that we attach so much importance that we notice it prominently in others but conveniently turn our backs on ourselves, like ego, jealousy, anger, sorrow why, even the physical states of hunger, lust and enervation are only in the mind.

When we realize, there is no other feeling or sense left. Only the mind or the soul, and the universe which is now empty and full at the same time.

I am Apasmara. None but he!!!

Udanga and Krishna

Sages wander. They usually do not stay at a place. So when they move back and forth, they have to cross deserts and rivers and mountains alike. They are put to extreme discomfort and pain. They suffer themselves to bear it all as they have renounced the "physicality" of the world.

Udanga was no exception to this rule. But, he, by his constant prayers, love and devotion to Lord Krishna, won the boon that he would find water whenever his throat was parched. He just had to think of water and Lo! Behold! He would have it.

Krishna was extremely proud of a devotee like Udanga. He was of the opinion that Udanga was one of a kind : No ego, extremly pleasant, no racial prejudices and all renouncing.

Once Indra, the king of the devas, had called on Krishna. The discussion came to rest on Udanga. As Krishna was extolling the virtues of the sage, Indra sneered and said nothing. Krishna stung, asked Indra why he did not hold the sage so high.

Indra replied that Udanga was a racist. He did not think much of lower castes and considered it a sin to be associated in any way with them.

Now this was a serious insult and slur. No sage would ever ever do this, as to him, the world, universe, man and animal are the same.

Krishna wanted to clear the slur on His favorite and so said, "Ok. Now you have cast the blame. Prove it to me. For my part, I hold Udanga to be blameless."

Indra replied calmly," Since you hold so much belief on him, I would think him to be worthy of anything. As you are the Lord himself. Even Amirtha which you know is not for anyone other than the devas. I will offer him even that. But in the guise of a tribal man. Not just a common tribal but a tribal leader. Let's see what happens."

Krishna,seemingly sure, of the reaction of Udanga accepted the challenge.

Now the scene shifts to a desert. Extremely hot and dry. Udanga is walking slowly on the sifting sands. He feels extremely thirst and crys out, "Krishna".

Lo! There appears Indra himself holding the pot of nectar disguised as a sand pitcher in the garb of a tribal king. Udanga is scandalized. He refuses to take the water and cries, "Krishna! What sin have I committed to have water forced upon me by this tribal? Answer me my Lord. I would die of thirst than to accept this water!"

Indra vanishes and his place is taken by Krishna. Extremely angry and mortified, He shouts at Udanga, "Oh Sage! Till date I had thought of you as one equivalent to the greatest of the illumined. But you,in this issue, have brought shame on yourselves. What is the sin committed by the tribal that the water offered by him be unpalatable to you? Was it poisoned by his touch?
You have a very long path to traverse. You have not yet even been qualified to see the hallowed halls of the truly devote.
And as a punishment you shall know what you missed. You rejected the amirtha which Lord Indra himself freely offered to you. Now go! Repent."

So saying, He left Udanga to repent over his attitude.

Udanga proceeds further. To reach what now seems unattainable to him.

So. Here we come atlast. The point behind such a drama. Did not the Lord know the true capability of His devotee? Did He not know the outcome of the wager? He did. But He wanted to give Udanga a chance to see his error and correct himself.

Mistake or a wise decision. Every man attains the fruit of his deeds. He might or might not in his present janma. So many a time the consequence of a deed does not strike us at all. But when it does so all at once, we are either elevated to a position never so glorified or brought to our knees crumbling before the world.

Here Udanga sees his mistake come back to hit him so hard that his years and years of penance reduce to naught.

Also the equality of the caste which seems to be the "strike out" moral of the story is re-emphasized. After all, the Lord himself has chosen to be a Brahmin in only 2 of His avatars. In one of which he publicly renounces all dharma attached to it.

Hari Om:

Udanga

It is said that everything in this world will happen in its own sweet time and in a predetermined manner. (Evolutionists: dont argue at this spot) Whatever is happening is for the good and happy is he who realises it.

This morning for no reason at all I was reminded of Udanga Maharishi and his devotion to the Lord. This character is one that is publicly trounced for all his devotion.

Udanga as a young sage was the disciple of Sage Vishwamitra. Now, who hasn't heard of the legendary anger of him? As soon as Udanga completed his education, Vishwamitra extremely pleased with him told him that he did not have to pay Guru Dakshina. But Udanga argued and counter argued to a point that the sage completely went berserk and asked him to bring 48 horses of a given Sabhurikha lakshana.

Now these horses are extremely rare and were owned by a king who lived eons away. And also there were only 48 horses in the entire world. The king also had 48 beautiful daughters of a lakshana found nowhere else.

Udanga was dismayed and pleaded with Vishwamitra. But now, the sage would hear nothing of it. Udanga set out and reached the king after a long and wearying journey.

The king refuses to part with even one of his horses. But as Udanga pleads, begs and points the wrath of Vishwamitra if he returns without the horses, he finally yields.

But as fate would have it, Udanga gets caught in a storm near a river on his way back with the 48 horses. Three of them go wild and jump into the river to be swallowed forever. The storm stops and Udanga is disconsolate. He rushes back to the king and begs with him.

But now there is nothing that even he can do. So he offers 3 of his daughters in place of the horses. Shaking with fear and trembling as a leaf, Udanga reaches Vishwamitra. He narrates the issue and seeks forgiveness. But to his surprise and mortification, the sage bursts out laughing.

He says,"Udanga, If you had any real brains, you would have got the 48 daughters of the king than the horses."

Udanga leaves the ashram ashamed and chastised.

So what do we have here? Is it that Vishwamitra is a womanizer? Or is the lesson that Udanga learnt was that women are better than horses?

Not at all. The lesson is that blind obediance to the Guru is required. He definitely knows what is going to come. If Udanga had only listened to his guru instead of thinking himself to be capable of much more than what the Guru could ask, he would not have been subject to such discomforts and humiliation.

Either he must have got all the 48 horses or the 48 daughters. Now he has got an incomplete number of both. The application of the knowledge imparted is not present. It is not to be assumed here that Vishwamitra prefers the 48 daughters. He is a sage who has won the senses.

So Udanga is left to no doubt about the incompleteness of his knowledge: application to practical issues and the inferiority to his guru.

He sets out to seek the permanence that exists beyond all and the knowledge that he craves for.

We shall see more of Udanga in the coming days