guru dhyaanam - 2

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Dear srivaishNava perunthagaiyeer,

 

Continuing the topic of guru dhyaanam, now we take up the comments on

anupallavi. Just to recall, first the anupallavi:

 

gaanamE kaNNaa kaNNaa enRa

gaanamE hari naamamE

gaanamE kaivalyamE tharum

gathi unakku enRu nidhi enakku inRu

thudhi aruL thandha guru padha malar adigaLin - dhyaanamE

 

Points or comments: hari naamam - kaNNan enRa gaanam - 'naavinaal uyaa naan

kaNdu koNdEn naaraayaNaa ennum naamam' says thirumangai aazhvaar - in his very

first padhigam in periya thirumozhi - in all the 10 verses.

 

naavinaal uyya means - by continuously uttering or singing, I get release. OVS

also says same - kaNNaa kaNNaa enRa gaanamE kaivalyam tharum - uyya said

aazhvaar - kaivalyam tharum says OVS. Both talk about the detachment and the end

result of release from bondage of this life [piRavi].

 

"May be at a later date, when my physical strength is down I may not be able to

say your name - so now itself, when I am able to utter your name several times,

I am doing it" says periyaazhvaar - eippu ennai vandhu naliyumpOdhu angu Edhum

naan unnai ninaikka maattEn appOdhaikku ippOdhE sollivaiththEn arangaththu

aravaNaip paLLiyaanE - 4 -10 -1 in his thirumozhi. By this aazhvaar now itself

saves as nidhi- wealth, he insures himself for a later day risk. Like that guru

has said this is your savings or insurance - Krishna gaanamE nidhi unakku - also

the route gathi - road.

 

OVS says his naama is the route, asylum, and wealth. But nammaazhvaar goes up to

a great extent - uNNum soRu thinnum veRRilai ellaam kaNNan - even the simple

food what we eat etc is all kaNNan - just any thing and every thing is kaNNan.

Who said it - guru - nam aazhvaar - the dhyaanam on that guru's feet is parama

paavanam.

 

Now charanam 1:

onbadhu vaasalaam kOttai

idharkku uththaman pOttaan raaja baattai

munbu irundhaar seidha avakkEttai pOkki

moovulagam ettumaaRu paadinaan oru paattai - dhyaanamE

 

See aazhvaar' lines -

oonidaich chuvar vaiththu enbu thooN naatti urOmam vEindhu onbadhu vaasal

thaanudaik kurambai piriyum pOdhu unthan charaNamE charaNam enRu irundhEn

thEnudaik kamalath thiruvinukku arasE thiraikoL maa nedum kadal kidandhaai

naan udaith thavaththaal thiruvadi adainthEn naimisaaraththuL enthaai

 

- 1 -6 -9 periya thirumozhi of thirumangai aazhvaar

 

this 'onbadhu vaasal kOttai' - perhaps this idea is taken from aazhvaar -

aazhvaar says it is a hut - OVS says fort - both words only different, meaning

wise same. The 9 holed 'body' housing the soul. That soul only sings kaNNaa,

krishNa, hari, aranga maa nagar uLLaanE, naimisaaraNyaththu endhaai etc.

 

see below from thoNdar adip podi aazhvaar -

 

maRanchuvar madhiL eduththu maRumaikkE veRumai pooNdu

puRanchuvar Ottai maadam puraLum pOdhu aRiya maatteer

aRanchuvar aagi ninRa aranganaarkku aat cheyyaadhE

puRanchuvar kOlam seidhu putkouwak kidakkinReerE - 6 thirumaalai

 

to under stand both verses meaning for few words -

oon - flesh

enbu thooN - elumbuth thooN - bones acting as pillars to support the body

urOmam - hair

kurambai - kudisai - hut

piriyum pOdhu - while dying - while leaving the body

thiruvinukku arasu - lord of thiru - lord of mahaa lakshmi - naaraayaNa - my

Krishna

maRam chuvar - strong wall - well built body

maRumai - next birth

madhil - fort wall

puRam chuvar Ottai maadam - the outer wall having holes or windows [maadam is

window]

puL kouva - the birds come eat the flesh once dead

 

Instead of building a big strong and stout body, do sing ranganaathan's guNams

says aazhvaar. Other aazhvaar says sing the fame of naimisaaraNyam lord. OVS

says kaNNan - though again words differ it is all mean same - sing my krishNa.

 

On this munbu irundhaar seidha avakkEdu - munbu irundhavar - who all - the "I"

ego - the ahankaaram, mamakaaram, kaamam, krOdham etc - were living there in the

heart. They created lot of avakkEdu - lot of damages.

 

When this supreme guru - uththaman - purusha uththaman - krishNa gave the geetha

- that became the raja baattai - the royal road. Result - sing his name, which

echoes in all three worlds - bhagavadh geetha BG. That is the song OVS refers.

[bG is known in western world as "the song celestial" translated by Sir Edwin

Arnold].

 

CharaNam 2: (madhyama kaalam)

anbu kalandhida azhagu thulangidum

aayiram thooNaal aanadu koodam

aadiyum paadiyum hari guNa maNandha

adiyvarkku ena thiRandha kavaadam

indhriyam ennum anju padi Eri

chinthai enum simhaasanam pODum

en aiyyan vandu amaruvaan paarum

iNai yEdhu kooRum guru padha malar adigaLin - dhyaanamE

 

Keep the heart open to make love. When once that love intensifies on the lord,

naturally the physique gets beauty along with the heart. Then it leads to

singing and mingling with similar minded. The five senses also come under

control. Once that happens, the mind allows the lord to come and get seated. For

this route there is no parallel.

 

For guru says so - chindhai - simhaasanam - see nammaazhvaar's lines

aavi thigaikka aivar kumaikkum chiRRinbam

paaviyEnaip pala nee kaattip paduppaayO?

thaavi vaiyam koNda thadam thaamarai katkE

koovik koLLum kaalam innum kuRugaadhO - 6-9-9 nam aazhvaar

 

Since the time has not shortened for getting released from the clutches of the

five senses aazhvaar wants the early release. For that the route is palam undhu

seeril padimin - take that route which will hasten the result. What is that

'seer' - way?

 

Open your doors and climb the steps chindhai enum simmaasanam pOdum - by singing

hari gunam for OVS. asurarai cheRRaan balam padimin - [for the letter pa in

tamil pa ba are same. Rely on His strength]. See verse

 

pulan aindhu mEyum poRi aindhu neengi

nalamindham alladhu Or naadu puguveer

alamandhu veeya asuraraich cheRRaan

palamundhu seeril padimin OvaadhE - 2-8- 4 nam aazhvaar in thiruvaaimozhi

 

Again just consider OVS lines of kavaadam thiRandhu padi Eri chindhai

simmaasanam pOdum to receive the lord. See here-

 

chindhai maRRonRin thiRaththallaath thanmai dhEva piraan aRiyum

chindhaiyinaal seivadhaanaRiyaadhana maayangaL onRumillai

chindhaiyinaal sollinaal seigaiyaal nilathdhEvar kuzhu vaNangum

chindhai magizh thiruvaaRanviLai uRai theerththanukku aRRa pinnE

- 7-10-10 nammaazhvaar thiruvaai mozhi

 

In this verse shift the second line down after four, like this - then

chindhai maRRonRin thiRaththallaath thanmai dhEva piraan aRiyum

chindhaiyinaal sollinaal seigaiyaal nilathdhEvar kuzhu vaNangum

chindhai magizh thiruvaaRanviLai uRai theerththanukku aRRa pinnE

chindhaiyinaal seivadhaanaRiyaadhana maayangaL onRumillai

 

when once the doors of the mind are open to the lord, nothing is secret. The

lord knows even the five senses and their leads. So the five steps are slowly

brought under his control and then the lord leads himself into the heart - so no

more wonders. For that situation iNai Edhu kooRum.[OVS last line].

 

Thanks to sriman NSR swamin, we could enjoy quite a good krithi in light of the

great aazhvaar paasurams. For any wrong link or mistake in interpretation pardon

me. May be that mistake has crept in the eagerness to share this joy of enjoying

krishNaa.

 

Dhaasan

 

Vasudevan m.g.

 

PS: Just as an addition with modern day writings. An old cinema song by poet

kaNNadhaasan read like "idhu ottai veedu onbadhu vaasal idharku uLLe aasai

enna?"

 

The song begins as - idhu maalai nEraththu mayakkam - when she says inviting him

for the first night. He replies "idhu kaala dhEvanin kalakkam" and says the

above line as a 9 holed body. Perhaps some other can give the lines exactly.

 

Many a sidhdhar paadalgaL - songs - also dole out this theory of treating the

body as a 9 holed fort.