amalan aadhi piraan & thiru vaay mozhi

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Vijay Triplicane writes:

>In his very first paasuram, aazhwaar says perumaaL's sacred feet

> "came" towards him. (He didn't go for it.) It is perumaaL's wish and

> His happiness and thats why HE sent his thiruvadigaL to the

> aazhwaar. Upon receiving it only did aazhwaar's thoughts "Go"

> towards him. By this our poorvaachaaryars explain that perumaaL is

> the one who initiates this devotion in us. He is more interested in

> coming to us and getting us to Him!!

>

> In thiruvaaymozhi 8.8.3, nammaazhwaar says

> uNarvi lumpa roruvanai

> avana tharuLaa luRalporuttu,en

> uNarvi NnuLLE yiruththinEn

> athuvum avana thinnaruLE,

>

>

> aazhwaar says in the last two lines from above

> uNarvin uLLE iruththiNnENn

> => i held Him in my heart/soul

> Then quickly aazhwaar points out that it is not as if he (aazhwaar)

> out of his effort did this ... and says

> adhuvum avaNnadhu iNnNnaruLE

> => That is also because of HIS grace.

> HE (the perumaaL) is the one who wants to be in the heart of His

> bhakthaas..

>

 

Mohan writes

>> It is interesting to note how this very verse is cited in Mumuksupatti's

>> discussion on the Lord's exclusivity as the Upaya("ekam" in "...mam ekam

>> saranam vraja...") Manalavamamunigal elaborates on how our simple acceptance

>> through prapatti becomes insignificant when compared to the Lord's "labors"

>> to bring us to Him. For it is the Lord Who, out of His Boundless

>> Compassion, provides us with the gifts of life and conscience, and Who

>> reveals His Kalyana Gunas through His Avatharas and as the Archa,

>> cultivating in us such devotion as to guide us to Him.

>> Because of this, the Srirangam Acharyas state, prapatti cannot be considered

>> to be an act, i.e. an upaya. For in actuality, the realization of Him as

>> the Upaya and Upeya "is also because of His Grace."

>> Daasanu Daasan,

>> Mohan

 

I enjoyed reading the posting on the last line of the beautiful first verse of

thirup paanaazh waar and interpretaions of Sri manavaLa maamunigaL as written

by

Sri Viji Triplicane and Sri Mohan Sagar. It is a very valid argument as far

as the senthamizh patham (ie meanings of this tamil paasuram) goes to take that

the thirup paathanGaL came to his *mind*, prior to his seeking it. Thrip

paanaazhwaar being the amsam of Lord Ranganatha, the thirup paatham of Lord

Ranganatha and thirp paanaazhwaar are in union all the time prior to this

amalanaathi piraan and while singing this and after that.

 

This was indicated to the swami Loka saaranga muni in a dramatic way by Lord

Arangan, when he committed the apachaaram to aazhwaar. It is also contended

that these verses also convey few other *higher* levels sidhdhaantham to

adiyaars who dwell in (seeking) HIS union all the time. First the line

 

thiruk kamalap patham vanthu en kaNNilulla vokkinRathE

 

is also meant that this lotus feet of Lord Ranganatha comes to my *mind* (agak

kaN) all the time or it is seen by my eyes as I meditate on HIM. Nammaazwaar in

his thirvaay mozhi on Lord than oppaar illappan, conludes that decad by

starting,

"kAnmin ulageer ! enak kaN mugappE nimirntha thaaL" ie "It seems Lord's feet

*said* to bolooga vaasis during vaamana avathaaram, that "Hi folks of this

boolOgam, watch this" and while saying it seems the holy feet also grew and

rose to reach beyond the vaan ulagam. (Thiru mangai continues this sentiment in

his first paasruam on Lord oppiliappan that "paNdai nam vinai keda enRu

thoNdarum amaraarum" ie the devass anticipating this holy feet waited to

cleanse their sins as this holy feet was placed on their lOgam). Coming back to

this verse by nammaazhwaar, he equates himself to this holy feet in this verse

saying "kan mugappE nimirntha thaal iNaiyan" ie if you chant these 10 verses

delivered by me who is the equal (me) to such Holy feet of Lord thiru

viNNagaraan that rose in front og the eyes of bolloga vaasis .... When

Nammaazhwaar equates this holy feet of Lord thiruvikrama, can it be said that

such feet was visible to him at that *instant* he delivered these verses ?. No.

He is an amsam of the Lord and HE had always seen this holy feet of Lord

Oppiliappan in his eyes. This can be said from the same word "thaaL iNaiyan"

(ie thaaLil iNainthu irupppavan or sadaari or one who is associated with this

holy feet all the time [as a sadaari] ie iNai also means that which join. Is he

(nammazhwaar i sthe one who joins us with the Lord ? Yes in the heirarchy or

achaaryaLS HE is the direct connectivity for us to Lord's holy feet and we also

know this by sadaari mahimai) ie I am the one who is always in union at HIS

holy feet, or joined at HIS feet.

 

This divine experience of azwaars living in union at HIS feet all the time is

captured in sri paadhukaa sahasram (32 steps of the holy paadhukai of Lord

Ranganatha that comes to his mind when 32 upayas of brahma vidhdhais are dealt

by him in 1008 songs). While delivering these Swami desikan also associates

prapatti as the easily conceivable upaya to seek and rest for ever in Lord

Ranaganathaa's holy paadhukais such that when one's mind is inclined to do

prapatti the Lord's feet comes to them involuntarily searching for their union.

please forgive me as I hesitate to derive from these verses as to which came

first ie the inclination or seeking or the Holy feet. My only aim and

understanding was to seek HIS union through these vesres. Please also forgive

me for not quoting these exact verses as they were initiated as mukya mantra

to me.

 

 

Only blessed can get to have this deep and profound experiences of the Padha

Darsanam of the Lord of Srirangam everywhere either on a any given day or

during all their life (aazwaar's). It is conceived that the aazhwaar is at the

state of "Kruta Krithyan". One can not buy this experience or assume (fake) it

in anyone's own seeking. The blessings of being overwhelmed by this experience

is unique and only those who had this experience *will ever know about it in

great depth*. Many may get occasional glimpses of these holy feet or His subha

Tanu in dreams. There it stops. One is indeed blessed to have a higher level

of experience known as "Tanmayatvam". Thus it is observed that these verses

"vanthu en (agak)kaNNinuLLa vokkinRathE" and "kaaNmin ulageer ! en kaN mugappE

nimirntha thaal Inaiyan" are not one time or that time occurance or event, but

these are continum for these aazwaars who are amsams and form part of Lord

HIMself. These are "ever existing state" in Lord's vibavam of creating the

aazwaars to convey us the "kuRRamaRRa, thELivaana vEtham or the true meaning of

vedas in Tamil ie having no kuRRams or dhOshams" and the complete essence of

vedams.

 

 

 

Coming to the exemplery vyaakyaanams quoted by sri viji and sri mohan, When it

is said that "one is blessed to have this unique experiece, it can be derived

as one who was chosen by HIM for showering HIS grace" or as said by Sri Mohan

> For it is the Lord Who, out of His Boundless

> Compassion, provides us with the gifts of life and conscience, and Who

> reveals His Kalyana Gunas through His Avatharas and as the Archa,

> cultivating in us such devotion as to guide us to Him.

 

 

It is indeed a great blessing. However azzhwaar is arangan HIMself in a way as

he is an amsam of the Lord Ranaganthar (as confirmed to loka saaranga muni).

Can it be applicable to badhdha jivaatmaas who seek HIS union that they can get

this *grace* (that the aazhwaar had) by HIS compassion alone and without any

effort from the badhdha jivans (prapatti). As per srirangam acharyaaLS it is

conveyed that it is possible for one to get chosen by HIM and get this *grace

of HIM* without any *prior* efforts from one's part. This is definetly a valid

statement. The argument that HE is all prevading vibhu and how can we a tiny

souls anu make him or cause him to, shower his grace is accepatable in quantum

level. However, Once having gotten HIS grace, does it take those ones to be in

union with HIM, right away and without anymore efforts from their part ? Did

aazhwaar stop at this point of having HIS grace (of having these kamlap

paathams coming to him first) or proceeded to *seek* HIS union in the following

verses.

 

 

In my humble opinion the *derivation* by srirangam schools (as eloquently

conveyed by Sri Mohan) (the first paasuram of amaln aathi piraan) is very

beautiful, and meaningful. However I am also comfortable in saying that it is

indeed more desirable to think of the destiny which the azzwaar *sought*

finally than to skim on this first step. If some are chosen, and some are told

that they have to wait to be chosen, some may think that they are (either they

already are chosen or they are made to seek due to achaaryaaLS grace, but are)

now seeking of the UNION with Lord's holy feet with somewhat of their own

efforts. In tamil it is said repeatedly that "avan anRi Or anuvum asiyaathu".

ie He is vibhu and all of us are anus, and without HIM nothing will ever move.

Having said that in a general way, even *seeking* can be derived as an act

commanded or caused by HIM. But all these arguments stop mentally and once

having *realised* that HE is the causes of all causes either through acharyaaLS

(act of prapatti) or themselves through direct grace of Lord (similar to

azzwaars) one has to *seek* union with HIM. It may not matter what comes first,

it matters what is the *ilakku or destiny*.

 

 

In fact azhwaar was shown as Lord Arangan's amsam *even before* aazhwaar sang

that "thiruk kamalap paatham *vanthu* en kaNNinulla vokkinRathE". So the *grace

of Lord* happening prior to his *seeking* (as seen by some in their thiru uLLam

that this "vanthu en (agak) kaNNinuL okkinRathE ie the arrival (vanthu) of this

holy feet precedded) need not be the *only* useful hint as cited before. Since

he is the amsam of Lord, aazhwaar was always in mental union with HIM and hence

aazhwaar was never needed to be *picked up* (or in other words the grace of the

Lord showered first, by making HIS holy feet appear in his agak kaN first, need

not precede in this aazwaar's case) to get HIS grace so that he can seek HIS

union, only *after* this grace has been showered on HIM.

 

 

However, having sought HIS physical union in a *vibavam* that Lord HIMself

created by making this aazhwaar *appearing* in paaNar's kulam, aazwaar was

meant to convey the *essence* of vedam to us in a nutshell and in a concise way

(ie.. such is the only mandate for aazwaar as seen by many achaaryaaLS in their

vyaakyaanams of these 10 paasurams). In fact when I get up in the moring in

brahma muhoorththam i chant these 10 paasurams instead of veda mantrams (the

palan is same as these 10 songs convey the essence of vedas) that one is

supposed to chant even before they place their foot on ground. All those

(aazhwaars) who are amsams of lord automatically (tend to track back) seek the

Union with HIM all the time in their mind. Any "viLaiyaatu" or rasa planted by

Lord in the life of these aazwaars is to *derive* more meaningful lessons

(similar to loka saarnag muni getting the indication from Lord Ranganatha even

prior to azzhawaar singing this first paasuram and thiru mangai, thondar adip

podi's events) for bhakthaaLS and gain in seeking HIS thiruvadi from such.

Since Bhakti maargam is a great deal of mana neghichchi, it is also possible

that this holy maargam sees this first verse of amalan aathi piraan such that,

this *first stage* (or a state of mind) {(agak)kaNNiNuLLa vokkinRathE }

conveyed in this first paasuram is only one first step towards union and not

the final destiny. I seek the forgiveness of all the bAgawathALs if my writing

has hurt their feelings or they find it unacceptable. I consider it a baagyam

and sevai for Sri Ranaganaatha paadukai, if anyone feels they learnt something

in these. May Lord Ranganatha's blessings continue to shower on those who seek

HIS union always,

 

Sri Sri Ranganayikaa samEthara Sri Rangnaatha Swami paadhukaa charanam

Sampath Rengarajan