3-Alwars by Sri Bhuvarahacharya

[Guest guest]

Sun, 9 Nov 1997 09:23:10 +0500 (GMT+0500)

 

I am posting an article by Bhuvaracharya:

 

 

Bharat A <kbharat

kkalale

from Bharat

 

 

Dear Sri Krishna Kalale

 

This being the week of the Thiru nakshatrams of the

Three Mudal Azhwars,Sri Bhuvarahachariar Swamy has

kindly written an article about them .I'm enclsosing

it.Please put it on on the Net immly as it is topical.

Please let me know also whether this reached you.

With best wishes for your family

BHARAT

 

 

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

SRI

SRIMATHE RAMANUJAYA NAMAH

 

THE FIRST THREE AZHWARS - BORN IN SUCCESSION DURING

THIS TAMIL CALENDAR MONTH - TULA MASAM (AIPPASI)

(an article by Sri E.S.Bhuvarahachariar Swami)

 

SRIMAN NARAYANA the Supreme Deity of the Universe is

so called because of His Lordship over the two worlds:one

is the Nitya Loka (which is neither created nor destroyed

by Him) and the other is this world created by Him for His

sport and hence named as Leela Vibhuti.In Nitya Vibhuti all

souls are steeped in everlasting joy along with their master

SRIMAN NARAYANA. In this world,on the contrary,there is

very little happiness,people are suffering owing to their

ignorance- namely that they mistake their body for their

soul and do not understand that the soul is permanent while

the body is perishable as clearly perceived by them.The LORD,

seeing this,gave them the Sastras namely Vedas etc,which

would serve as beacon light to dispel their internal darkness

and show them the right path to SI VAIKUNTHA LOKA.But this

also went in vain.People discarded and disregarded all

these Sastras and forgot all about them and the very purpose

for which they themselves had been given their bodies by

THE LORD.They also thought that it was well nigh impossible

to practise all vedic injunctions.Hence THE LORD Himself

took birth as SRI RAMA and SRI KRISHNA and showed to the

human beings that it was not impossible to walk the path

of the Sastra,by Himself walking the way laid down in the

Sastras.Though He demonstrated the right life in this manner

through His divine births the people were not ready to

follow suit.THE LORD pondered over this and realised His

mistake.As He did not belong to their group,(as he was

not a bird of the same feather) the people cared very

little for His birth,preachings and practice.To catch

a wild beast another animal (a deer or goat) is required.

Understanding this principle or the natural law of this

land,THE LORD decided to bestow His benevolent grace on

some souls at the time of their birth.The result is the

birth of the AZHWARS.

 

Thus the AZHWARS in SriVaishnavism are not foreigners,i.e.,

they are not some of the dwellers of the divine world,

namely Vaikuntha Loka.They are some of the suffering souls

repeatedly getting born and dying in this world.All Azhwars

clearly say this in their works.But their greatness lies

in this that they are THE CHOSEN FEW OF THE LORD meant for

uplifting the other distressed souls who are plunged in the

ocean of misery and ignorance.THE LORD gave them perfect

knowledge of the three entities namely CHIT (soul),ACHIT

(insentient beings or inert matter) and ISWARA (the

supreme LORD SRIMAN NARAYANA).He also bestowed on them

deep devotion for Him.Thus with the great gift of very

clear perception of men,matter and THE LORD,the Azhwars

perceived everything in the past,present and future.The

curtain of Time was thus pulled down for them by THE LORD.

So these Azhwars are not divine beings but only ordinary

men chosen by THE LORD for delivering us from the worldly

bondage consisting of the ever-revolving cycle of births

and deaths.As they behaved,owing to their deep devotion

to THE LORD,in a manner totally different from others,

they were looked upon as immortals from Vaikuntha Loka,

come down for our deliverance.This is only a fanciful

imagination.

 

AZHWAR means,those men who are immersed in the ocean of

the Virtues of THE LORD SRIMAN NARAYANA and consequently

those virtues alone sustained them in this world,and not

food and water.Of the TEN AZHWARS the first three are -

POYGAI AZHWAR, BHUTAT-AZHWAR and PEY-AZHWAR.

 

1. POYGAI AZHWAR was born in a Lotus Pond at the temple

of Sri YATHOKTA-KAARI Swami (meaning the Almighty,who

implicitly obeyed the commands of his great devotee

THIRU-MAZHISAI-AZHWAR) in the famous city of Kanchi

Puram.He and the next two Azhwars were not given birth

to by women. (POYGAI= pond)

 

2.BHUTAT-AZHWAR came out of a flower at Mahabali-puram,

the sea shore town.

 

3.PEY-AZHWAR sprang from a flower of the well in a temple

dedicated to Sri KESAVA PERUMAL at Mylapore (Madras).

 

These Azhwars were born during this month (Tula month)

when the three stars THIRUVONAM,AVITTAM and SADAYAM were

reigning supreme.(These most venerable days fall on

11.7.97, 11.8.97 and 11.9.97)

 

These three great men,once they were made to realise the

flimsy and ever transitory nature of the fleeting worldly

pleasures and the most unreliable nature of men,prefered

the jungle life rather than the city life.Repulsed by the

corrupt practises and the insincere and ever impure heart

of the people they retired to the forest and were wandering

about separately without knowing one another.THE LORD was

observing them and thought of a plan to bring them together

as otherwise the purpose of His endowment of devotional

knowledge to them would go waste.It was actually meant to

benefit the people of this world.

 

So one night as per His will there was heavy rain and blinding

darkness.The first Azhwar had to resort to a shelter.Luckily

he saw the hermitage of Mrikandu Sage at THIRUK-KOVALUR.On

the veranda,which was very small in area,he lay down meditating

on the qualities of God.Driven by the same circumstances

Bhutat-azhwar came there (as it was the will of destiny) and

sought shelter with all humility from the previous occupant

of the place.The former said," One can lie down,Two can sit

and that is the accomodation.Please come in,Sir!" The very

polite reply invited the latter,making him realise that the

gentleman inside was a very great SriVaishnava.Who would

give shelter at that juncture,when the space was just

sufficient for one man to sleep!

 

While these two were sitting and chatting about God,the

Third Azhwar,Pey-Azhwar arrived there and he also solicited

shelter.Both of them replied in one voice earnestly praying

for the Third Azhwar's delectable company.The three now had

space only to stand.They spoke of the virtues of God,shedding

profuse joyful tears with horripilation all over their bodies.

THE ALMIGHTY took this opportunity to mingle with them.He came

there along with His Spouse SRI MAHALAKSHMI and also His

retinue.Naturally the Azhwars suffered due to the restricted

space and being pressed hard by the large crowd.

 

The First Azhwar,desiring to know the cause,lit a lamp;not an

ordinary lamp but an extraordinary one.He took this world for

the lamp,and the Water of the Oceans for the ghee,and the Sun

for the wick and flame of the lamp.

 

The Second Azhwar (BHUTAM) lighted in his own way another lamp;

with his Devotion for THE LORD as the lamp,and his earnest

longing for THE LORD as ghee,and his evermelting meditative

thought of Him as the flame of the lamp.

 

The Third Azhwar (PEY) declared having sighted the Supreme

Being: "Oh! SRIMAN NARAYANA along with His followers are

seen here."

 

Thus Poygai Azhwar sang one hundred verses inlucid Tamil

called MUDAL TIRUV-ANDADI;so also the Second Azhwar,

IRANDAM TIRUV-ANDADI and the Third Azhwar,MOONRAM

THIRUV-ANDADI.

 

The First Azhwar declred in his centum that THE LORD has

got Two Worlds (Sri Vaikuntha and this mortal world) for

His property.The Second Azhwar said that His name was

NARAYANA.The Third declared that He had as his consort

SRI MAHALAKSHMI.

 

All the three declared in one voice: "He alone is the

Supreme Being and all others are subservient to Him.He

alone can grant Salvation.Taking Refuge unto Him is the

very best and the easiest means of reaching His Abode.

The Final Goal of man is to reach His Eternal Abode and

worship Him and serve Him."

 

In unequivocal terms they all said that all other deities

can give us only worldly pleasures which would only make us

more and more involved in this world and cause more miseries

and get us born again and again in this mortal world.The

body is given to us by SRIMAN NARAYANA to make the effort

needed to put a fullstop to te ever revolving cycle of

birth and death.So we should hold fast to His Feet and

snap the chain of Bondage.

 

These sweet simple songs should be ever on the lips of

all SriVaishnavas.That alone is the easiest means to earn

His Grace.

 

Do you wish to hear more about these sweet Divine Songs ?

Kindly contact Prof E.S.BHUVARAHACHARYA, 114/3, Sri Ranga

4th Main Road,Between 9th and 10th cross,Malleswaram,

BANGALORE 560003,INDIA.

 

Kindly celebrate the birthday of these Azhwars,by lighting

ghee lamps in front of Sriman Narayana at your residence

which will drive away your ignorance (if any) and drive

away the darkness of your sufferings.

 

" REMEMBER THE THREE AZHWARS "

[Guest guest]

Dear Kalale,

 

Thank you for the posting by Bhuvarahachar on the Mudal Alwars.

 

I do not know how he says that the Alwars were just suffering humans like any

of us but but maybe were endowed with superior vision.

 

Swami Desika clearly says that the Alwars were HIS own incarnations (Abhinava

Dasaavataaram Panni - Vide Rahasya Traya Saram)

 

All the Alwars have been uniformly described by Poorva Acharyas as the Amsam

of one or the other of Sriman Narayana's Parivaaras, Bhooshanas and Ayudhas.

 

I do not know how he has drawn his conclusions despite clear interpretations

to the contrary by our Poorva Acharyas. Maybe, some of the erudite members

will be able to throw light on this based on APPROPRIATE AUTHORITY

(not a mere personal opinion)

 

Dasoham

Anbil Ramaswamy

[Guest guest]

Sri Anbil Ramaswamy writes:

>

> I do not know how he says that the Alwars were just suffering humans like any

> of us but but maybe were endowed with superior vision.

>

> Swami Desika clearly says that the Alwars were HIS own incarnations (Abhinava

> Dasaavataaram Panni - Vide Rahasya Traya Saram)

>

 

One needs to dig deeper and more broadly into our pUrvAcArya's

works to see how they viewed the Alvars. Almost all of our

primary acharyas, i.e., Desikan, MaamunigaL, Vadakku Thiruveedhi

Pillai, etc., believed that Alvars were human beings who were

inspired by a "pravesam" or gracious entrance of the Lord into

their hearts. This brings out the true greatness of the Lord:

despite his absolute superiority, he condescends and graces us

in so many ways -- the Alvars are the best examples of this

grace.

 

We can see this in the first paasuram of thiruvaaymozhi itself:

 

mayarvaRa madhinNalam aruLinan

 

Cutting aside my ignorance from time immemorial,

He graced me with divine loving knowledge of Him.

(bhakti-rUpa-panna-jnAna = madhinalam)

 

This is Nammalvar's statement. Thirumangai even more graphically

details how he was wilting away, chasing after sensual pleasures,

until the Lord graced him and gave him upadESam of His divine

name ("vaadinEn vaadi varundinEn ... naadinEn naadi naan kaNdu

koNdEn naaraayaNaa ennum naamam.") We can also read the aruLicceyals

of ThiruppaaN, Thondaradippodi, Kulasekharan and find their

testimonials to this effect.

 

Regarding Desikan himself: his statement from Guruparampara Saaram

that the Alvars were a new daSa avatAra (10 incarnations) of the

Lord needs to be properly understood in context. Desikan is saying

nothing different from Sri Bhuvarahachariar Swamy. The Alvars

were graced by the entrace of the Lord into their hearts, cutting

asunder their ignorance and showing Him to them as He truly is.

Out of this rapturous experience, they sang their paasurams.

(Recall "thirukkandEn pon mEni kandEn" etc., of the mudhal

AlvargaL. The entrace of the Lord into the heart is also considered

an avatAra, but not in the same sense as Krishna or Rama, which

are literally the Lord Himself.

 

To confirm this, we only need look at Desikan's rahasya anubhavam

of ThiruppaaN's "amalan aadhi piraan", entitled "muni vaahana bhogam".

In the introduction itself, Desikan toes a fine line, describing

how ThiruppaaN spent eons wallowing in samsAra, just like other

creatures, following "kshudra purushArthas" (lower aims of life)

among other things, until he was graced by the Lord. Desikan is

unambiguous here.

 

The most overt statement however, is from Vadakku Thiruveedhi

Pillai, the author of eedu vyaakhyaanam (36000) on Nammalvar's

thiruvaaymozhi. He goes to the extent of calling Nammalvar a

"nitya samsAri", one who has been forever wallowing in samsAra

until the Lord lifted him up to Him. In the "ozhi vil kaalam

ellam" set of 10 paasurams, dedicated to ThiruvEngadam Udaiyaan

(Tirupati Srinivasar), Nammalvar self-abasingly says, "neecanEn

niRai onRum ilEn" ("I am extremely low, with nothing good in

me"). Commentators such as Periya Vaaccaan Pillai and VT Pillai

write (a bit exaggeratingly) that the Lord looked all over

creation to find the lowest, meanest individual to bless, and

found Nammalvar. A more explicit statement about how we must

relate to Nammalvar cannot be written.

 

What is the point of all this? There is no doubt that the Alvars

are extremely special individuals -- but their greatness is enhanced

by the fact that they were living breathing creatures, like us,

with histories in samsAram as troubled if not more troubled than

us. But because of the grace of the Lord, all their ignorance

and karma were destroyed in one fell swoop, and they were inspired

by His presence to give us the Divya Prabandham. One can say that

all of this is a result of His grace alone, to elevate us to Him.

 

In any case, Sri Bhuvarahachariar is an esteemed authority

on Divya Prabandham and the traditional commentaries thereon.

Very, very few scholars today can match his erudition.

 

Mani

[Guest guest]

At 10:40 AM 11/11/97 -0800, Mani Varadarajan wrote:

>

>.... Commentators such as Periya Vaaccaan Pillai and VT Pillai

>write (a bit exaggeratingly) that the Lord looked all over

>creation to find the lowest, meanest individual to bless, and

>found Nammalvar. A more explicit statement about how we must

>relate to Nammalvar cannot be written.

 

 

Obviously this was not meant literally; otherwise we ought to become mean

and low and hope we are mean and low enough to become eligible for our

Lord's grace. Similarly, one could argue that the the statements that give

nithyasoori status to Azhvaars are based on deep love and admiration for

the aazhvaars, and should not be taken literally.

 

But, how are we to differentiate between statements that are mere

exaggerations and the ones that are meant literally? Are we free to make

this determination by our own logic and knowledge? If Nammazhvaar himself

is "siRiya nyaanaththan", what to say of our "nyaanam" and our ability to

make this determination all by ourselves. IMHO, what Sri PVP, Sri VTP,

and Swami Sri Desikan actually meant are to be known only by approaching a

qualified acharya with complete and unflinching faith.

 

 

-- adiyEn

 

 

------

P. Dileepan

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