Songs by Purandara Dasa

[Guest guest]

sriman jaganath wrote:

>

> But if

> one follows Srivaishnavism, one cannot enjoy the songs of Purandara

> Dasa where he sings in praise of Ganesha etc. Why?

>

 

The songs of Purandara Dasa, in my opinion, can be enjoyed

by anyone, even Sri Vaishnavas, or should I say perhaps

*best* by Sri Vaishnavas! Even Purandara Dasa's songs on

Ganesha are generally only meant to further his own love

for Sriman Narayana.

 

For example, take the popular song "gajavadana vEduvE,

gauri tanaya". In the final charaNa of the song, Sri

Purandara Dasaru sings:

 

sarasija nAbha Sri purandara viThalana

nirata neneyuvante dayamAdO!

 

[O Gajavadana!] Please grace me such that

I forever contemplate on Sri Purandara Vithala,

the one with a lotus in his navel!

 

Purandara is only asking Gajavadana to clear away any

obstacles in his contemplation of the Lord. In Purandara's

conception, all the devatas are only serving Sriman Narayana,

so why not ask these bhaktas to help him advance in his love

for God?

 

Philosophically speaking, one should have no objection to

singing songs that appear on the surface to be about other

deities. Since Sriman Narayana is alone the Inner Self of

all these various entities, it is in fact only Him that is

addressed in all these songs. If we sing or appreciate this

music with this idea in mind, we can progress further and

not worry about whether we are doing "anya-devata-arAdhanai".

 

Bhagavan Ramanujacharya endorses this approach in the Sribhashya.

In the Prasna Upanishad, the god Indra says, "mAm upAsya" --

worship me as the means to liberation. It is Ramanuja's

understanding that what is meant here is "worship Me who is

the Inner Self of this Indra, the Supreme Lord". Even though

the god Indra is named, it is not Indra who is worshipped,

since the Inner Self is the actual recipient of the worship.

 

I believe that with this attitude, we can dispense with the

petty sectarian fights and move on to a greater appreciation

of the vibhUtis of Bhagavan Sriman Narayana.

 

adiyEn

Mani