Sri Azhagiyasingar"s AruL mozhigaL on Thiruppavai --Part 2

[Guest guest]

Dear BhakthAs of GodhA Piratti :

 

His Holiness the 44th Jeeyar of Ahobila Mutt states

that ANDAL's abundant blessings fall on every one of those

who recite the thirty verses of Thiruppavai at dawn during

the month of Marghazhi , on those who go around the Divya

Dampathi's temple performing bhajanai of Thiruppavai ,

on those who intrepret the individual paasurams

in the format of UpanyAsams and on those who organize

such upanyaasams for the benefit of the community .

 

Such blessings arise from the sacredness of Thiruppaavai .

H.H. The Jeeyar sumamrizes the essence of this sacred

Thiruppaavai for our benefit . As a great scholar and AchArya ,

he has blessed his sishyAs with upanyAsams on the paasurams

consistent with the tradition of the well known commentaries of

the PurvAchAryAs . In this essay however , H.H The Jeeyar adopts a

different approach that is noted for its uniqueness . He talks as

it were straight from his heart out of his compassion for all of us .

He leaves aside the scholarly emphasis and talks almost

colloquially to reach us . This is what touched my heart .

 

THE ESSENCE OF THIRUPPAAVAI ( PAASURAM BY PAASURAM )

***********************************************************************

 

1. MARGHAZHI THINGAL : Whatever act we perform , we should

think of it as an auspicious act that is of service to others and that

would

gladden the heart of BhagavAn and as such will be noteworthy of

celebration by the world .

 

2 . VYAITTHU VAAZHVEERGAAL : The Lord will make our days on

this earth happy ones as long as we observe vrathams like EkAdasi

fasting , sing the glories of KsheerAbdhi Nathan and perform

dhAna dharmams to the limit of our abilities .

 

3 . ONGI ULAHALANDHA : BhagavAn will bless us with progeny ,

home , wealth and sorrow-free life just as He conferred extraordinary

wealth on Indra , if we sing about the glory of the vamanAvatharan ,

who incarnated as a dwarf and expanded to that of Trivikraman

to measure with His two steps the earth and the sky .

 

4 . AAZHI MAZHAIKKANNAA : If we with a heart laden with Bhakthi

lose ourselves through sankeerthanam of the Lord's names ,

all the devathAs subordinate to Him will recognize us

as the daasans of their Lord , Govindhan

and take care of all of our needs with elan .

 

5 . MAYANAI MANNU : When we have MahA visvAsam in

Sriman NaarAyaNan as our sole protector and meditate on Him ,

then He would bless us with righteous progeny and

loving relatives in addition to removing all of our

accumulated sins .

 

6 . PULLUM SILAMBHINA KAAN : we should get up

before dawn in Marghazhi and utter " Hari , Hari "

for the banishment of our sins , acquisition of sarva mangaLams

and for possessing a mind free from confusions and doubts .

 

7 . KEESU KEESU : We should welcome with reverence

the bhagavathAs arriving at our home uttering the name of

the Lord . We should listen with attention and respect

their discourses on Bhagavan's naamAs and His

stories described by the PurANAs .

 

8. KEEZH VAANAM : The Lord will take pity on us,

eliminate our sins and fulfill our desires , when we

consider each day as an auspicious day and perform

arAdhanam for Him with reverence , joy and affection .

 

9 . THUMANI MADATTHE : TWe should perform ThiruvArAdahnam

for the Lord every day and during those occaasions

present the lamp sevai , incense sevai and keep

the place of aarAdahnam spotlessly clean and pure.

 

10 . NORRU SUVARGAM : The tenth paasuram states that we

should not hide away from BhagavathAs , when they come to our

houses because of fear of responding to what they may ask of us .

We should not display our miserly qualities to them and shun them .

We should not hide behind locked doors and pretend as though we

are not there . When we do not open our door and converse with

them in a respectful mannner , that house will slip away from us .

Hence , we should welcome them , offer our salutations and make

them comfortable and happy .

 

11. KARRUKKARAVAI : The eleventh paasuram teaches us that

we should welcome the relatives or strangers even if they are poor

or uneducated and should set aside our scholarship and wealth ,

while interacting with them , when they come to our houses .

 

12 . KANAITTHILAM KANRU : The twelfth paasuram recomemnds that

we should offer arghyam , paadhyam to the great souls , who

perform Govindha naama sankeerthanam and revere them as

the dear bhakthAs of the Lord ; we should recognize that all of

our paapams disappear at the sight of them and show our

reverence to them .

 

13 . PULLIN VAAI KEENDAANAI : The thirteenth paasuram instructs

us to shake off our lazinness and torpor and get up before dawn without

fear of the cold , peform sandhyAvandanam as our daily ordained duty .

It reminds us that we should not wallow in bed after sunrise or at sunset .

To escape from accumulating paapams through such prohibited acts ,

we should not only wake up before dawn but also wake others , who

may tarry in bed due to thier own laziness.

 

14 . UNGAL PURAKKADAI : The Fourteenth paasuram states that

w eshould go daily to the temple of Sriman NaarAyaNA , offer our

obesiance to Him and recite sthothrams in praise of Him there

indepent of our busy schedules or incoveniences .

 

15 . YELLE ILANGKILIYE : The fifteenth paasuram suggests that

we should prevent the children of the house from becoming lazy

by teaching them to recite Vedams , Prabhandhams and sthOthrams .

They should be kept busy until 9 p.m and should be woken up

before dawn to engage in such auspicious acts .

 

( To be continued )