Thiruppavai Acharya Param - I

[Guest guest]

Our Acharyas teach us that Andal's 30 sweet verses of Thiruppavai are

the seed of the Veda, the very essence of the all of the Vedic texts,

Upanishads, ItihAsas, and PurAnas. Needless to say, Thiruppavai's

literal meaning, which in and of itself is very beautiful, really only

touches the surface of the vast depth of the poem and the levels of

spiritual experience that are contained within it.

 

While most traditional studies of Thiruppavai center on its revelations

about the nature of the jeeva and Sriman Narayana, one unique

explanation brings out what is considered to be the most important

aspects of Sri Vaishnavam, the relationship of the spiritual seeker with

the AchArya, the spiritual Teacher.

 

Sri VPS Varadhan, a respected scholar and devotee of Kanchipuram who is

currently visiting his family in the USA, has been blessed to learn this

Acharya param understanding of Thiruppavai as revealed by the revered

Sri P B Annangaracharya Swamy, and has been very kind to share this with

all of us in a weekly series of teleupanyAsams.

 

This is a crude attempt to summarize the wisdom contained in Sri Varadan

Swamy's talks. I humbly seek forgiveness from Sri Varadan Swamy and all

other devotees for any inadvertent errors in these words, which are

solely due to my own ignorance.

 

Sri Varadan began his series with an examination of the pAsuram that is

considered to be the essence of Thiruppavai, mArgazhi thingal:

 

mArgazhith thingal madi nirainda nannAlAl

nIrAdap pOduvIr pOdumino: nErizhaiyIr

sIrmalgum AyappAdi selvachchiru mIrgAl

kUrvEl kodunthozhilan nandagOpan kumaran

ErAranda kanni yasOdai iLam singam

kArmEnichchengan kadir madiyam pOl mugaththAn

nArAyananE namakkE parai tharuvAn

pArOr pugazhap padind ElOr empAvAi

 

'ma:rgazhith thingal madi nirainda nannAlAl' - the month of mArgazhi is

auspicious because it defines the mArgam, the Way. Good days have come

to those who recognize the AchArya as being the Way. It is important to

note here that since all Sri Vaishnava AchAryas identify themselves as

being merely the instrument to the Feet of Bhagavad Sri Ramanuja, the

term "AchArya" in this discourse can in fact be interchanged with the

name of our True AchArya, EmperumAnAr, Sri Ramanuja.

 

'nIrAdap pOduvIr pOdumino: nErizhaiyIr' - Neerattam, sacred bathing, is

mentioned several times in Thiruppavai. This bathing is a metaphor for

immersing ourselves in the Divine Experience of the AchArya and his

teachings. Because of the AchArya's compassion for this world, the

opportunity to immerse ourselves in His Wisdom is open to anyone and

everyone, irrespective of race, caste, or gender; this is implied by the

term 'pOduvIr pOdumino:'

 

' sIrmalgum AyappAdi selvachchiru mIrgAl' - Ayyapadi is more than just

Brindavana, it is this Universe, this samsAram. The wealthy girls that

Andal says reside there are a treasure to this Universe, for they are

the mumukshus, the prapannas, those who strive to surrender to the

Lord. It is these people, the devout seekers of God, who bring the

wisdom of the AchAryas to this world. To describe what is offered by

the AchArya to these rare souls, the term 'nArAyananE namakkE parai

tharuvAn' can be mentioned here:

 

'nArAyananE namakkE parai tharuvAn' - Possessing all wonderful

qualities, the AchArya is the personification of Sriman Narayana's Grace

to all those who know him to be the Way, and who seek to serve him and

learn from him in spite of living in this world of ignorance. It is

this Acharya, who through his blessings, provides them with all the

material things needed for life in this world, and also the paratma

jnAnam (knowledge of the Supreme Being) and sambhanda jnAnam (knowledge

of our Eternal Connection to Him) that make them qualified to be

receptacles to His Grace and Compassion.

 

'kUrvEl kodunthozhilan nandagOpan kumaran' - 'kUrvel kodun thozhilan'

refers to the AchArya's grace coming to us in the form of the

panchasamskAram, the five-fold sacrament that initiates one into the

fold of SriVaishnavas. One of these sacraments is the investment with

the sacred symbols of Sriman Narayana, the Sankham (the conch) and the

Chakram (the discus), which the AchArya places upon the devotee's

shoulders with two hot iron disks. These are likened to the sharp spear

of Nandagopan. And, just as Sri Krishna is loved by his father,

Nandagopan, unconditionally, without any effort on His own part, the

nirhEtuka kripai of Sriman Narayana (His Unconditional Love) comes to us

in the form of the AchArya to redeem us, without any effort on our

part. The term 'kumaran' refers to the AchAryas spiritual strength to

retain and impart the wisdom of the Veda and Divya Prabhandam, which is

likened to the spritely strength of a young person.

 

'ErAranda kanni yasOdai iLam singam' - The term 'kan' refers to wisdom,

which the AchArya has in abundance. The term 'kanni' can also mean

mAlas, garlands, in reference to the sacred garlands that the AchArya

adorns while serving the Lord, and while sharing his wisdom with all of

us through his upanyAsams (discourses). The AchArya is likened to

Yashoda, Sri Krishna's mother, because just as she was able to directly

experience Him and all His Divine Activities, he has also fully immersed

himself in the Divine Experience of Him. The AchArya is both like a

lion, majestic and commanding, and yet like a little one, easily

accessible and approachable to all those seeking to learn the Eternal

Truth.

 

kArmEnichchengan kadir madiyam pOl mugaththAn - The teachings of the

AchArya are straight and direct, not crooked with contradictions and

errors. The eyes of the AchArya are reddish because they are filled

with tears of compassion for the world. His skin is described to be

dark in complexion, because, from his ever-constant meditation on Him,

he has taken on Sriman Narayana's Own qualities. The AchArya is cool

like the moon when expounding on Bhagavad vishayam, divya prabhandam,

and all other sacred texts that reveal to us the Eternal Truth of the

Supreme Lord. Yet, he is hot-tempered like the sun to those who are

apathetic to Sriman Narayana, and approach him only for the fulfilment

of selfish desires.

 

'pArOr pugazhap padind ElOr empAvAi' - If we simply serve and follow

the AchArya faithfully, everyone in this world will praise us!

 

--Continued--

 

adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan

Mohan