Vice and virtue

[Guest guest]

Dear Bhagavathaas:

 

Hopefully the round of confrontational posts, for

which I am more guilty than any other, is behind us.

As a show of repentance please permit me to present

a few paasurams involving Naichyaanusandhanam (self-

abasement) expressed by our beloved and revered

Azhvaars. After the experience of last few days,

the self-abasement expressed by Azhvaars reminds

me about the level of dirt in my heart. Obviously,

more than other verses, it is the ones where

Naichyaanusandhanam is expressed that resonates

with my true condition.

 

In this post two paasurams from Thiru Mazhisai

Azhvaar's Thiruchchandha Viruththam, verses 110

and 111, and one paasuram of Periyaazhvaar Thirumozhi

4.9.2, are covered. (The words in the verses are

broken down for easy reading.)

 

Verse 110:

thooyanaayum anRiyum surumpu ulaavu thaN thuzhaay,

maaya! ninnai naayinEn vaNangi vaazhththum eethelaam,

neeyu nin kuRippiniR poRuththu nalgu vElai neer,

paayalOdu paththar siththam mEya vElaivaNNanE!

 

(surumbu = bees; vElai = ocean; paayal = bed)

 

"O! Lord, bedecked with garland of holy thuLasi beset

with bees, O! Lord of ocean hue reclining in an ocean

bed, you are in the hearts of bhakthas; the dog that

I am, not fit to worship you, yet I dare to worship

you as the pure and blemishless one; take pity and

absolve me of this impertinence."

 

Having sought His forgiveness for daring to worship

Him, in the next song the Azhvaar beseeches the Lord

to treat his vices as virtue.

 

Verse 111:

vaidhu ninnai vallavaa pazhiththavarkkum maaRil pOr

seythu ninna seRRa theeyil venthavarkkum vanthu unai

eythalaagum enpar aathalaal em maaya! naayinEn,

seytha kuRRam naRRamaakavE koL NYaala naathanE!

 

(vaidhu = scold; vallavaa = as far as possible;

maaRil = incomparable; seRRa = anger)

 

"There are those who berate you endlessly (like

Sisubalan). They will be destroyed in your angry

fire. Yet it is said that they ultimately attain

you. Encouraged by this, the mean dog that I am,

beseech you, O! the Lord of all the worlds! Treat

my vices as virtue."

 

The above sounds a little strange. How can one's

vices be treated as virtue? The answer can be

found in Periyaazvaar Thirumozhi 4.9.2:

 

than adiyaar thiRaththakatthu

thaamaraiyaaL aakilum sidhagu uraikkumEl

ennadiyaar adhu seyyaar

seydhaarEl nanRu seydhaar enbar pOlum

mannudaiya vibeedaNaRkaa

madhiL ilangai thisai nOkki malarkkaN vaiththa

ennudaiya thiruvarangaRku anRiyum

maRRoruvarkku aaLaavarE?

 

(sidhagu = fault)

 

"Even if the divine mother Sree, whose very nature

is purushakaarathvam, in a mood to demonstrate the

infinite mercy of the Lord, makes certain accusations

about a bhaktha, our Lord will say, "No that can't be;

even if it is so, this act of my bhaktha is good only!

(adhu seyyaar, seydhaarEl, nanRu seydhaar). He

gazed in the direction of Sri Lanka with His lotus

eyes to please Sri VeebeeshaNa. Why would anyone

serve any other but my Lord of Sri Rangam?"

 

In this spirit of "adhu seyyaar, seydhaarEl nanRu

seydhaar", the dog that I am, beseech this earnest

assembly of bhakthas to treat my display of ego in the

past few days as virtue.

 

 

-- naayindhE, naayindhE

(with all the sincerity I can muster)