A Tribute to NammAzhwAr's Thiruviruttham : Part 2

[Guest guest]

Dear BhakthAs and BhagavathALs :

I will continue with the VislEsham and samslEsham

moods of NammAzhwAr in this posting .

 

SamslEsham and VislEsham as Bhagavad anubhavam

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

 

The prathyaksha tulya maanasAnusandhAnam is

samslEsham . This is equivalent to being with the Lord

and union with Him as His beloved .When AzhwAr does not

get the boon of union with the Lord , he is totally dejected .

He cries out in a heart-rending way . This is VislEsham .

 

In chUrNikai 118, AchArya Hrusdhaya SoothrakArar

describes the two moods of AzhwAr and connects them

to the feeling state behind them this way :

 

jn~Anatthil tamm pEcchu , prEmatthil peNN pEcchu

 

In Jn~Ana dasai , AzhwAr is in full control of

himself and speaks as himself ; In prEma dasai

(state) , he is totally out of control with the

feelings of separation and hopelessness and he

assumes the role of a woman deeply in love with

the Lord , who has abandoned her .AzhwAr becomes

ParAnkusa Naayaki .

 

In both states ( samslEsham and VislEsham ) ,

the clear speech associated with samslEsham

and the agitated speech linked with vislEsham ,

the sEshathva prakAsamaana anjali does not change .

AzhwAr's hands are folded in anjali mudrA in

recogniotion of his relationship to the Lord as

a sEshan to the Sarva sEshi . This unchanged

bhakthi of AzhwAr is described as : " tERiyum .

tERAthum MaayOn tiratthinaLE itthiruvE " .This

beautiful girl has the same measure of devotion to her Lord ,

whether she is composed from the experience of union with Him

or agitated during the experience of separation from Him .

 

For instance ,in the Thiruvaimozhi Pasuram (2.1.10),

AzhwAr describes his immense suffering over separation

from the Lord this way :

 

" Oh, my supreme Lord ! Oh the first among all Gods !

Why wont You show me Your bewitching countenance ?

My unconmtrollable passion for You burns and burns

without an end in contrast to the common materials ,

which stop burning , when their fuel source is exhausted.

Alas ! here, my soul burns and burns in an unparallelled

mannner .This burning process seems to kick my soul outside

of my body . What is the rason for submitting me to this level

of torture ? Oh Lord of many victories ! Please rush to my

(suffering ) side at once and take me in Your comforting arms.

I have grown far too exhausted to bear this separation

any more ".

 

In his prEma dasai , AzhwAr takes on the role of Naayaki

and talks like a hurt beloved over the neglect of her Lord.

Nayaki is clearly agitated .

 

In the happy state of union with her Lord , ParAnkusa-

Naayaki joyously celebrates her happy mood this way .

The paasuram is 2.5.1 of Thiruvaimozhi and has been

enjoyed particularly by ALavandhAr and RaamAnuja :

 

" Oh , What a wonder ! My Lord has come to me now

surrounded by all His nithya sUris to keep me in

His company . Oh , What a Bliss ! He has out of His

infinite compassion come to me , who is totally

undeserving of this honor. He seems to say that I

too deserve Him . He is indeed sarvEsvaran .Oh , What

a beauty ! I am enjoying His bewitching form bedecked

with the radiant white conch , the blazingly effulgent

chakram ,the shining sacred thread , the rathna haaram ,

the vanamAlai , the splendid crown . Even the nithya sUris ,

who are always next to him look more radiant now , perhaps

reflecting the great joy of their Lord arising from

His union with me.That is how I intrepret this unusual

radiance of my Lord .He was looking famished prior to

union with a passionate one like me . Without the union

with me (parama bhakthai ) , He was withering away .He has

now gained a special sparkle .All His abharaNams have

become jaajvalyam now . Now I am taking in the beauty of

His lotus-soft eyes , soft red lips , lotus-like feet and

the whole body of golden complexion . I have now gained a

unique and unparalleled joyous experience from this union .

 

SoorNikai 120 of AchArya Hrudhayam

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

This SoorNikai is as follows :

 

" adiyOm thodarnthu kuRREval , adichciyOmadikkeezhk

kuRREvalAhai avasthAntharam "

 

The first half of the above sUrNikai

is the speech from Jn~anam born out

of SamslEsham and is of the form of a masculine speech .

The second half is that of a woman , who out of

unrequitted love is agitated and speaks in the voice

of a disappointed lover . The soothrakAra describes this

latter state as avasthAntharam .

 

EmperumAn's aprAkrutha divya vigraham ( the divine form

beyond the elements of nature ) destroyed the masculinity

of the AzhwAr and transformed him into an emotionally

involved woman ( ParAnkusa Naayaki ) . That aprAkrutha

ThirumEni of the Lord has been described as being

surrounded by the worshipping nithya sUris and in the

center of a flood of effulgence : " kuzhumit thevar

kuzhAngaL kai thozhac chOthi veLLatthinuLLE

yezhuvathOruru " .The flood of prEmA of NammAzhwAr

flowed towards that radiant presence of the Lord just as

the ordinary floods hasten towards their home , the ocean .

AzhwAr's prEmai flowed both in the maculine and

femenine form to the Lord and mingled with it .

 

Friends , Mother and the Naayaki: their stats of mind

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

 

The samslEsha-VislEsha anubhavams of NammAzhwAr

are cast as paasurams sung by the friends of

ParAnkusa Naayaki , her concerned mother or by

her lamenting self . In sUrNikai 133 , the sUtrakAra

of Acharya Hrudhayam gives us an explanation

of the relative roles of ParAnkusa Naayaki with

her mother and friends :

 

" sambhandhOpAya palangaLil uNartthi ,

tuNivu pathaRRamAhiRa parajn~AvasthaikaLukkut

thOzhi , thAyAr , mahaL yenru pEr "

 

Reason for the paasurams thru the mouth of ThOzhi

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

 

The ThOzhi is the one , who intercedes and unites the

nAyakan and nAyaki ( the ParamAthmA and the jeevAthmA ).

In Thirumanthiram ( mUla manthram ) , praNavam denoting

ananyArha sEshathvAdhi sambhandha jn~Anam is the reason

( hEthu) for the union and that prajn~Avasthai came forth

as the paasurams uttered by the mouth of the ThOzhi .

 

Reason for the paasurams of the Mother

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

 

The prajn~AvasthA in response to the flight of

the daughter due to her (daughter's )firm belief

in upAyam to abandon her mother's home to travel

to her nAyakan's home is the basis of the mother's

paasurams . The thuNivu ( determination ) of her little

daughter to run away leaving the comfort of the

hearth and home to an uncertain future with some one

she(mother ) does not yet trust pains her . The nAyaka

prAvaNyam , which makes her daughter run away instead of

patiently waiting for Him to show up upsets the mother

and she tries to calm down the agitation of the love-lorn

daughter . She reminds the daughter of kula maryAdhai.

She reminds the daughter that in the SiddhOpAyam of

union with the Lord , calmnes is needed and presses on

upAyathAvasAyam as an essential ingredient . That

prajn~AvasthA ( state of consciousness ) of the mother

comes out as her paasurams restraining her daughter

in a state of concern and affection . The Nama: padham

of mUla manthram takes on the role of the Mother just as

the PraNavam took on the role of ThOzhi .

 

The Naayaki's paasurams and NArAyaNa padham

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

 

The daughter ( naayaki ) does not worry too much

about what others might say ( kula maryAdhai ) in

her state of immense agitation over the union with

her Lord . Her dvarai ( impatience and hurry )

to unite with her lord and enjoy his anantha kalyANa

guNAs ( vailakshaNyam ) drives her and in that

prajn~AvasthA , she can not hold on to her life

any more. The prApya dvarai of the nAyaki pours

out as her paasurams . She places these paasurams

at the lotus feet of her Lord and begs for His grace to

bless her with His union . He is NaarAyaNan ( the last

or charama sabdham of mUla Manthram ) and he is the one

qulaified by praNava (sEshithva svarUpam ) and

nama: sabdham ( saraNyathva svarUpam ) . He is the One

with the svarUpa , guNa vibhUthis (attributes ) implied

by NaarAyaNa sabdham . Like an arrow leaving the bow ,

nAyaki hastens towards the target of Sriman NaarAYaNan

with her paasurams .

 

AdiyEn ParAnkusa Daasan ,

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan

 

P.S : I will come back to the Thiruviruttham

paasurams of NammAzhwAr after a special kaimkaryam

to Sri RanganAthA . The RathnAngi for Sri Ponnappan ,

the MaaNickka Kondai/Maragatha KiLi/golden jata kothsu

kaimkaryam for Sri Bhumi Devi and the Mutthangis

for the uthsavar divya dampathis of Oppilaippan KOil

celebrated by NammAzhwAr's saraNAgathi has now been completed

with your particpation .I have no more requests to make to

you on behalf of Kaimkaryam for Sri Oppiliappan .

 

My only prayer is that you all be blessed with the darsanam

of the aprAkrutha divya vigraham of the SaraNya

dampathis at Oppiliappan Koil .Please stay at my home in

the Sannadhi street of Oppilaippan Koil duirng your visits .

The name of my home is " SatakOpa Bhavanam " .

 

I have got only ONE kiamkaryam that I want to get

involved in my life for a very special and sacred reason .

That is the Kaimkaryam of realizing the construction

of the Temple for Sri RanganAthA and Sri RanganAyaki

at Pomona , New York . Sri Anand wrote recently about

his unique and moving anubhavam of BhUmi pUjA for

the construction of that special temple modeled in

every way after the holy temple in Srirangam .

 

A great Bhaagavatha , Dr.Venkat Kanumalla has

lived every moment of his life to realize that

dream come true . A group of Sri RanganAtha PrEmis

have contributed time and money to bring the kaimkaryam

to the half way mark . The prANa prathishtai for the

vigrahams have been done by parama padavaasi ,

His Holiness , the 44th Jeeyar of AhObila Mutt.

 

The murthys of Srirangam ( periya PerumAL ) is

the kula dhanam for every one of us . AzhwArs have

poured out their hearts over the mahimai of

Sri Ranganathan . Our AchAryAs have rooted themselves

in Srirangam to be near Him and serve Him and His

divine consort . The saraNAgathi Gadhyam was born there .

Many miracles have happened to keep our sampradhAyam alive .

 

I plan to write a series of articles in the Bhakthi

list about the greatness of Srirangam and the SaraNya

dampathis there .

 

Although we have many kaimkaryams to support , this

particular one is very special and immediate one . Dr.Venkat

Kanumalla will describe the status of the Kaimkaryam and

seek your most valued help .

 

Please , Please help to the best of your ability .

Sri RanganAthA's blessing will always be with you

and your family . I will post a similar appeal

in SaraNAgathi jouranl so that additional bhakthAs

could be made aware of the urgent need for their support

to this unique and special temple under construction for

the Sesha sAyee on the banks of the Hudson river in

New York .

 

DaasOham , Sadagopan

[Guest guest]

At 04:51 PM 3/28/98 -0500, Sadagopan wrote:

>Dear BhakthAs and BhagavathALs :

>I will continue with the VislEsham and samslEsham

>moods of NammAzhwAr in this posting .

>

>SamslEsham and VislEsham as Bhagavad anubhavam

>***********************************************

>

>" adiyOm thodarnthu kuRREval , adichciyOmadikkeezhk

>kuRREvalAhai avasthAntharam "

 

Dear devotees,

 

This kainkaryam of Sri Sadagopan cannot be thanked sufficiently. The

acharyas' anubhavams of the pasurams are no wonder classic! due to their

panoramic view of the shastras and untethered thoughts which pulls together

important strings of truth and wraps the vedic and tamil prabandham

information into an invaluable gift to humanity. Without seeing through

the eyes and thoughts of our acharyas it is very difficult for us to make

out the meanings of these pasurams and vedic hymns. To bring these to

public who can communicate mainly in english medium only, is a laudable

task, that too on a daily basis. Our Madhavakannan is contributing to this

kainkaryam with his unique style of writings. May the divya dampatis and

our acharyas shower their grace on these benefactors.

 

>

>Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan

>

>with your particpation .I have no more requests to make to

>you on behalf of Kaimkaryam for Sri Oppiliappan .

>I have got only ONE kiamkaryam that I want to get

>involved in my life for a very special and sacred reason .

>That is the Kaimkaryam of realizing the construction

>of the Temple for Sri RanganAthA and Sri RanganAyaki

>at Pomona , New York . Sri Anand wrote recently about

>his unique and moving anubhavam of BhUmi pUjA for

>the construction of that special temple modeled in

>every way after the holy temple in Srirangam .

>

>A great Bhaagavatha , Dr.Venkat Kanumalla has

>lived every moment of his life to realize that

>dream come true . A group of Sri RanganAtha PrEmis

>have contributed time and money to bring the kaimkaryam

>to the half way mark . The prANa prathishtai for the

>vigrahams have been done by parama padavaasi ,

>His Holiness , the 44th Jeeyar of AhObila Mutt.

>

>The murthys of Srirangam ( periya PerumAL ) is

>the kula dhanam for every one of us . AzhwArs have

>poured out their hearts over the mahimai of

>Sri Ranganathan . Our AchAryAs have rooted themselves

>in Srirangam to be near Him and serve Him and His

>divine consort . The saraNAgathi Gadhyam was born there .

>Many miracles have happened to keep our sampradhAyam alive .

>

>

>Although we have many kaimkaryams to support , this

>particular one is very special and immediate one . Dr.Venkat

>Kanumalla will describe the status of the Kaimkaryam and

>seek your most valued help .

>

>Please , Please help to the best of your ability .

>Sri RanganAthA's blessing will always be with you

>and your family . I will post a similar appeal

>in SaraNAgathi jouranl so that additional bhakthAs

>could be made aware of the urgent need for their support

>to this unique and special temple under construction for

>the Sesha sAyee on the banks of the Hudson river in

>New York .

>

>DaasOham , Sadagopan

>

>

 

I would like to add a few thoughts of mine here with respect to POMONA

Ranganatha Temple. Sri Ranganatha is our Peria Perumal, who was worshipped

by Lord Rama himself. It is our real good luck that such a rare occurrence

as PERIA PERUMAL himself will be coming to New York to visit us. Probably

this is the only temple in US which will conform to the Pancha-ratra agamas

and will be equivalent to the divyadesams back in India. This temple was

started with the blessings and instructions by the 44th Jeer who in fact

performed so many kainkaryams to God including the construction of the

Rajagopuram for Sri Ranganathar in Srirangam. Any help to this cause will

contribute to invaluable service to humanity and particularly folks in US.

 

adiyen Krishna Kalale