Thirumaalai-57

[Guest guest]

Sri Parthasarathi thunai,

 

Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha

 

 

 

“ Mattrondrum vEinda Maname Madhilarangar

 

Kattrinum meitha kazhalinai keezh- uttra

 

Thirumaalai paadum seer Thondaradipodi Emperumaanai

 

Eppozhudum peesu”

 

 

 

“ Srimat Krishna samahvaya Namo yaamuna soonave

 

yetkadAkshai kalakshyAnAm sulabha: Sridara: sadaa”

 

 

 

Pranams,

 

 

 

Paasuram-37 (contd)

 

 

 

eliyathOr arulum andrE en thiraththu empirAnAr: Alwar called emperuman to be

everything but shouldn’t emperumAn accept the same? Yes he does. Since

emperuman is waiting for such an opportunity to accept the jeevatmas. Like a

parent who accepts their child irrespective of the deficiencies in the child,

emperuman also accepts the jeevatmas as his own irrespective of our papams.

Even before we realize like alwar and call him our only bandhu emperuman showers

all his krupai on all of us.

 

 

 

Bhagavan in geetha says, “abhichet tu durAchAraha:”(I accept even those who are

filled with bad characters). He proved the same in Ramayana when he accepted

guhan and Hanuman without thinking them to be “Azhai Adhalan keezhmagan”(poor,

lowly born person etc) or “vAdhamAmagan margadam”(an animal, that too a monkey).

When bhagavan who was such an AchAra seela in rAmAvatAram accepts everyone

without looking into any of the above criteria and keep them close to him will

he not accept us too?

 

 

 

Though I am a simple, lowly person still I wish that emperuman should shower his

divine grace on me, says alwar.

 

 

 

aliyan nam paiyal ennAr ammavO! kodiyavArE!: Alwar says, “what I really want

is, perumal to call me “nam paiyal” (he is my boy). But what to say about my

fate?” laments alwar. When someone goes to perumal and asks, whom this alwar

was? Shouldn’t perumal reply that he is my boy? Thinks alwar. If perumal says

so that is the ultimate. Then we all will gain extra energy. We feel proud of

many things in this world, but the actual pride lies in belonging to emperuman

only. The unfortunate part is we jeevatmas do not realize this, instead we make

perumal, the supreme being to beg in front of us. In Ramayana, perumal says,

”tavAsmeethicha yAchathE”(Cant you all say once, that I belong to you?).

 

 

 

What a sad part this is? We are all incapable and are into innumerable miseries

and hence destined to beg him for help but the whole thing is totally reversed

and perumal begs us to come and help us out in some way. We jeevatmas are very

strong in not letting him to help us, out of this samsAra sAgaram. Here we have

to get to our memory the dialogue between the jeevatma and namperumal

beautifully portrayed by Sri parAsara bhattar, which is delivered as kattiyam

even today before the thirumanjanam to namperumal.

 

 

 

But here alwar is not like the other jeevatmas instead he wants to become a

belonging of emperuman and hence begs for the same. Alwar considers him to be a

beggar and emperuman, a king. Will it be very difficult for a king to give some

money for a beggar? Similarly, alwar just wants the kataksham of emperuman.

Alwar wants the abimAnam alone. This is the actual saranagatha svaroopam. Here

one important thing has to be noted. Who should have the abhimAnam? Is our

thinking of perumal to be ours (emperuman) important or is it the perumal’s

abhimAnam on us more important? In this paasuram alwar clearly states that it

is perumal’s abhimAnam on us, which is the most important (aliyan nam paiyal

ennAr). If we have a pet in our house, at one time we may get angry and kick

the dog out but the dog never leaves our feet. It always stays with us. A

saranAgathan should be like that dog. Why does the dog do so? That is because

the person who kicked the dog now earlier proudly said that the dog is ‘my dog’

equal to saying ‘my child’. So the dog respects the man’s abhimAnam towards it

and hence always stays in his feet irrespective of his anger. Inturn the person

likes the dog’s abhimanam on him to be its master.

 

 

 

In our guru paramparai, there is one interesting story. One person came to

thirukkanamangai aandan and questioned if perumal will give moksha if just a

person does saranAgathi and sits without doing anything? Aandan wanted to

explain to the person in an appropriate manner and hence kept quiet for that

time. Another person came with his dog to aandan’s house. All 3 were sitting

outside aandan’s house and were chatting. Suddenly a street dog came and

started barking at the pet dog. The owner of the dog immediately threw his

stick on the street dog and protected his pet. Now aandan turned to the first

person and said if this man who is in possession of this dog just for the past

few days and has not much use of the dog has so much abhimanam towards the dog

and runs to its rescue will not perumal who is sarva loka rakshakan and our

bandhu in all janmas, not save the saranagathan who believe that emperuman is

everything and is always waiting only for his krupai?

 

 

 

The same thing has been expressed by alwar in the above paasuram.

 

 

 

AzhwAr emberumAnAr jeeyar thiruvadigaLE saraNam

 

Adiyen Ramanuja Dasyai

 

Sumithra Varadarajan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

News - Today's headlines