ThyagarAjA , a parama VaishNavA : Part 3

[Guest guest]

>

Dear NadhOpAsakAs :

 

I posted a series of articles on the greatness

of Saint ThyagarAja for another private list .

The attached one is the third in the series.

V.Sadagopan

>

>We will focus on additional krithis

>of the Saint to throw light on his parama Bhakthi and

>SaguNa BrahmOpAsanA ,Maha Viswasam and ananya Bhakthi .

>

>1. AnurAgamulEni Krithi -Raagam sarasvathi

>

>In the charaNam , the Saint declares :

>

>vaga vagaka Bhujiyinchu vAriki drupthiyou reethi

>SUGUNADHAAYANAMU paini soukhayamu ThyagarAjanuth

>(anurAgamulEni manasuna SUJN~ANAMU radhu )

>

>(Meaning ) ; Like the satisfaction attained by One ,

>who consumes a variety of delicious dishes (aRusuvai UNdi),

>is the great happiness that One gets through meditation

>on the Lord with attributes ( saguNa UpAsanA of the Brahman ).

>

>(Comment ): The PramAnam here is :

>

>svabhAviki Jn~Ana Bala kriyA cha

>SAMASTHA KALYANA GUNAATHMAKOSOU

>--Svetasvataara Upanishad

>

>This is the view opposite to that of

>Adhvaitham , which postulates a Brahmam

>without attributes and qualities.

>

>ThiruvAimozhi 1.2.10 instructs us that

>His anantha kalyANa guNAs are vital for

>the Bhakthi path .

>

>2. mahA VisvAsam : idhE bhaagyamu ( Raagaa KannadA )

>

>third charaNam : BhOgi Sayana ! neevE GATHIYANI bhatti

>rAgAdhula thOdi puRutha bhava saagaramanu dhADi ,

>santhathamanu yAgapAlana jAgarUka !

>

>(meaning ) : Oh Lord resting on SAdhi SeshA !

>(it is BrahmAnamdham TO TAKE YOU AS SOLE REFUGE

>and pray to you as the VedAs and AgamAs do and thereby

>cross the ocean of SamsArA , which is beset with passions

>and desirs.

>

>Comments : It has been pointed out that " A VisishtAdvaitin's

>thoughts and actions are informed by a single undercurrent

>of devotion , God dependence and absolute surrender to ONE

>LORD , who is the soul to ALL ".Here Saint seeks sole refuge

>in that One Lord .

>

>3.SourAshra Raaga Krithi : Paahi maam HarE MahAnubhAva Raaghava

>

>5th and 6th CharaNams :VisvAsam of a Mumukshu

>

>paahi Raamayanuchu needhu PAADAMU BaaDithi

>paahi Raamayanuchu paramapadhamu vEDithi

>

>paahi Raamayanuchu dhyAna paruDa naithini

>paahi ThyagarAja vinutha BhakthuDaithini

>

>(Meaning ) : Oh (Veera )RaaghavA ! Oh MahAnubhAvA !

>I have reposed my faith in Your holy feet

>with a devout mind and have sung Your limitless

>glory ; desiring residence in Paramapadham ,

>I have meditated on You and have become Your

>Bhakthan .Please protct me !

>

>4. Kaapi Raaga Krithi: Intha Soukhayamani nE jEppajAla

>( Raama Bhakthi of SankarA )

>

>SeethA Kantha karuNA svAntha !--svara raaga laya

>sudhArasamandhu , VARA RAAMA naamamanE kanDachakkEra

>misramu jEsi bhujinchE SANKARUNIKI delusunu Thyaga-

>raaja Vinutha !

>

>(Meaning ) : Oh Lord of SitA Piratti ! Oh Abode

>of Mercy ! It is not possible for me to describe the joy

>one derives from the chanting of Raama Naamam . Who can

>really take a measure of its quality ! Only the great

>and true devotees know about it. Lord SankarA , who delights

>in drinking the nectar of music mixed with the sugar candy

>of Raama Naama , knows it well . ( RaamA has to be equated

>to Sriman NaarAyaNA ).

>

>Sri Raama RaamEthi RamE RaamE manOramE

>sahasra naama tath thulyam Raama naama varAnanE

>--Isvaran on the glory of the Raama Naamam

>

>5.His ananya Bhakthi without dhvEsham to other demi gods :

>

>Sukhi YevarO Raama Naama (Raagam KaanadA )

>

>Who is the truly blessed and happy one that enjoys

>the nectar of Raama Naama , which is the best of all

>mantrAs (Taaraka Manthram ) aimed to save men from

>samsAric bondages ?

>

>Who is the blessed one unswerving from truth,

>performs kaimkaryam to all humanity and who without

>disregard or hatred towards other Gods , sings always

>Raama nAmam with music with susvarams .

>

>Elsewhere in the Sriraga krithi (Naama KusumamulachE),

>the Saint points out that the human life itself becomes

>blessed , if one worships the lotus feet of (Veera ) Raaghavan

>with the flowers of His (thousand ) names .

>

>6. VisvAsam : Entha vEdu kondu RaghavA (Sarasvathi ManOhari )

>

>I have reposed my faith totally in You and

>believe , with joy , that the greatest happiness

>consists in seeing You in my heart !

>

>Sarvarakshakathvam of the Lord is referred to

>here.

>

>7.Dvaithamu SukhamA ? adhvaithamu sukhamA ?

>

>In this Reethigowlai Krithi , Saint ThyagarAjA

>asks a question and answers it himself in

>the spirit of a famous paasuram of NammAzhwAr .

>

>Here he asks " Oh RamachandrA ! which conduces to bliss ,

>DvaitA or AdvaitA ? Pray instruct me ! Clear my doubt .

>You are sporting in this Universe of pancha BhUthAs ,

>in Gods like BrahamA , SivA , Indra and in BhagavathAs .

>

>I conclude that the rhetorical answer is VisishtAdvaitham

>bsed on the echo I hear from the ThiruvAimozhi 1.1.7

>( ThiDavisumperivaLi--).Opposing SamaanadhikaraNyA ,

>which equates the Brahman and the World as identical ,

>NammAzhwAr says here that the world is a PrakArA or

>VibhUthi of the Lord. He is indeed the cause , sustainer,

>contoller and the soul of all things and beings .This is

>recognized as an important doctrine of VisishtAdvaitham as

>evidenced by the Thirukkurhai PirAn's original commentary

>that supports this doctrine housed in this paasuram with

>48 Vedic PramANams and 25 more other pramANams.

>

>AzhwAr says:

>

>thiDavisumperivaLI neer nilamivaimisai

>paDar poruL muzhuaathumAi avai avaithoRum

>udanmisai uyir yenak karanthengum paranthuLan

>sudar mihu SuruthiyuL ivai unDa suranE

>

>Sri V.N.Vedantha Desikan translates this Paasuram

>this way :

>

>"Everybody is sure to admit the existence of the five

>elements.The Lord created them in the order, Ether ,

>Fire, Air, Water and Earth. From out of them , he wrought

>all others. Indeed He became all others. He pervades

>everything in and out.He is the soul for the body of

>every being and every thing , controlling and directing ,

>but being invisible. In the final deluge , He devours all .,

>--- All this knowledge about the Lord and His relationship

>to the World is obtained from the supreme authority ,

>the VedAs , of excellent effulgence (Sudar mihu Sruthi )-

>the VedAs , which are authorless , timeless, endless

>and faultless --".

>

>8 .Saint ThyagarAjaa's Self-portrait in the NaarayaNa Gowlai

>Krithi ," InnALLu dayarAkunna vainavEmi?" (3rd charaNam ):

>

>I have always spent my time on this earth cherishing

>You with happiness in my heart as my Father, Mother

>and elder and younger brother ; without engaging

>myself in disputations with elders , and worshipping

>Your blessed feet with flowers .

>

>10. Jingala Raaga Krithi : anAthudanu gAnu

>

>here he says: Oh RaamA ! I am not a destitue

>(anAthai ). The VedAs say that You are the supreme

>(Bhandhu ).The unintelligent folk of the world ,

>seeing that I have no support of man, call me destitute !

>

>The parama VisvAsam in the Lord gushes out here.

>He points out that one , who has the Lord as Bhandhu

>does not need to worry about all the others and

>their loyalty.

>

>11. RaamA ninnE namminAnu (HusEni Raagam )

>

>Oh RaamA ! I have placed my total faith in You

>and You alone .

>

>Ananya gathithvam is referred to here .

>

>12. Raama Nee SamAnamamevarUrA ?

>

>Oh Lord ! Is there anyone equal to You ? Never !

>

>then the saint goes on to say in the spirit of

>Poygai AzhwAr paasuram , Mudal ThiruvanthAdhi 88:

>

>naadilum ninnadiyE naaduvan ,nADORum

>paadilum ninnpukazhE paaduvan, soodilum

>Ponnaazhi YenthinAn ponnadiyE sooduvERkku

>yennAhilennEvenakku

>

>13. The Maanasa SambhOdhanams of saint ThyagarAjA are

>remarkable illustrations of His parama Bhakthi as a

>Sri VaishNava.

>

>One of the example is the AtANA krithi : ChEDE buddhi maanurA .

>here he advises his mind : " banish all evil

>disposition . Take care to see who the real

>charitable one is .Oh My mind! Are you not aware

>that each gets rsults according to his desires .

>Meditate constantly on the ETERNAL TRUTH THAT

>SRI VAASUDEVA IS EVERYTHING .( VaasudEva :

>sarvamithi Sa MahAthmA Dhurlabha: ).

>

>14. In a Bhiravi Krithi , Saint ThyagarAja

>sang PallANDu to Sri RaamA .Like PeriyAzhwAr

>before him , he was concerned about any harm

>coming to the Lord thru YecchiRkkaNN (drishti DhOsham ).

>He sang :" raksha BettarE doraku.

>Vakshasthalamu velayu LAKSHMI RamaNuniki Jaya

>(raksha PettarE )" . He thus performed mangalAsAsanam

>on the Lord out of pongum parivu .

>

>(Meaning ) : Let us protect our Lord in

>whose bosom shines Lakshmi , with the victory charm

>(Jaya Lakshmi ).

>

>15. The anubhavaas and Bhakthi PrakArAs ( the forms

>of devotion )of the Saint from morning awakening

>of Sri RaamA to paryankAsanam for Him are the most moving

>to read and reflect .In the raagA ,NaagasvarALi ,

>he will confess to the Lord :SripathE !

>neepadha chintana jeevanamu ( Oh Sriya: pathi!

>Meditation on Your holy feet is my very life

>and sustenance ).

>

>He will decorate the Lord with flower garlands and

>jewelery and stand before him completely taken aback

>by the beauty of the Lord ( ChEthulAr a SringAramu

>jEsi chUthunu , Sri RaamA ).

>

>He will take the Lord on procession on Sri Rama Navami days

>and say Paraak ( HeccharikagA raara Hey Raamachandra ).

>He will offer milk at the right temperature like

>NaadAdhUr ammaaL and say : AaragimpavE , PaalAraimpavE .

>He will offer Taampoolam to the Lord with affection

>and request : ViDamu sEyavE , nannu viDanADakavE ( Pray

>accept the paansupAri and do not discard me ).

>As the last upachAram for the day , He will rest

>Raaman and His consort in the flower strewn bed and

>lull them to sleep in Dolai with the song :

>" UyyAlalUkavayyA Sri RaamA , SayyADa paaDalanu

>SathsArvabhoumA " in NeelAmBhari raagam .The Bhaavam

>of Saint ThyagarAjA in his Araadhanam to the Lord

>is matchless.

>

>I will conclude this series on the Saint

>with His Aathma Nivedanam krithis tomorrow.

>

>AzhwAr , AchAryaaL, BhagavathAL ThiruvadigaLE saraNam

>Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>