bhAgavatha experiences...

[Guest guest]

Sri:

Srimathe Ramanujaya nama:

Dear bhAgavathAs,

Accept my praNAms. Just as we had series of posts on

nirhEthuka krpa by not getting the message across,I strongly feel it

is going to happen to sharing even AzhvArs experiences. Because one

has to know the hidden meanings of those hymns. AzhvArs unianimously

proclaim ONLY nirhEthuka krpa of the Lord! We can always talk about

bhAgavathAs and it is more appropriate as our sampradhAyam gives

importance to primarily a bhAgavatha and secondarily a bhagavad

kaimkaryam. We don't have to talk about the bhAgavatha "nampaduvan"

of kaisika purANam(and quote related SVB aphorism) and so on. We can

share the experiences of bhAgavathAs whom we have met in our life.

This "does not" require the knowledge of any "rahasyams". So,I am

going to share my experiences and whoever wants to join the

bandwagon,is most welcome and it will be great.

 

WHen I was in sixth grade,there was a competition in Tamizh

and whoever recites certain things,would be rewarded a silver coin.

The student can recite the entire ThirukkuraL(collections of sonnets

type?) of the poet ThiruvaLLuvar or the ThiruvAymozhi of NammAzhvAr(I

don't remember what other options were there!). My mother chose

ThiruvAymozhi for me and I hardly knew the greatness of it,although I

had heard about AzhvArs. So I roted the entire TiruvAymozhi and got

the silver coin also from Swami Jayendra Shankaracarya! But I have

forgotten most of them(as there was no continuity) with the exception

of Koil ThiruvAymozhi.

 

The first bhAgavatha who had a tremendous influence is a

telugu srivaiShNavaite(not a brahmin though and for me he is an

AcAryan too) and that uncle's name is JagannAThan. He was new to our

colony and both of us would visit the nearby Srinivasa temple

(alongwith sanniDhis for thAyAr,Lakshmi Narasimhar and Hanuman) with

a special sanniDhi for emperumAnAr(what else one can ask for?). I

have to cross his house on teh way to the temple and initially we

would be walking few furlongs apart. As soon as he enters the

temple,he will sing loudly that he does not need any mic.

 

He used to sing "mannu pugazh kausalai","kangulum pagalum

kaN thuyil" etc so beautifully that I fell flat for those pAsurams

and also wanted to befriend him and learn from him. I can befriend

anyone but then I somehow refrained myself from doing. We used to

smile at each other but never got a chance to introduce ourselves.

 

Within a few days, in the temple,right infront of Ramanuja

sanniDhi(we two and one more bhAgavatha would compete to sit infront

of R),he said "I see you coming to the temple daily,it's very good

blah blah blah and asked me if I would be interested in joining him

in chanting prabanDham". I grabbed the opportunity like a Pavlovian

dog and I was waiting for that moment only. That's how I started

learning Koil ThiruvAymozhi(not like sEvAkAlam but rAgam based) and

other AzhvArs pAsurams(but I have a long way to go to finish the

entire 4000!!!)and my younger sister also joined me slowly and

initially she used to feel shy to chant loud infront of everyone but

she overcame. That bhAgavatha sings with so much bhAvam that even an

atheist will be slightly shaken and will get goosebumps. I really

envy him for that.

 

He was the one who watered the plant(it is not enough if it

is sowed) called "love for AzhvArs & God". My love for Ramanuja and

sampradhAyam is very deep from my childhood that I(& all my folks)

would not even step into non-SV temples. I'm eternally indebted to

him for creating that interest in me towards AzhvArs. He always tells

my father/sister whenever they meet,that he really misses me and lost

his right hand. I miss him a lot too. He would always say that "for

us Sriman Narayanan is everything;we don't have to worry about

anything;He will take care of us". This incidence is also an example

for nirhEthuka krpa of the Lord! I didn't seek out this bhAgavatha.

He himself came to me and helped me.

 

I just can't explain my feelings beyond this. Only God and

myself know how much I am indebted to this hbAgavatha. He sports

a "pattai TK thirumaN" that sometimes people start laughing. He

graced my elder sisters weddings and some guest were passing remarks

and I couldn't control myself and blasted them. I would not spare a

person who says bad things about someone whom I regard and respect

very high. If I have to go to hell,I don't care. It's so funny how

people go by the standards of society and status quo. People are more

bothered about what others think of them than what they think of

themselves. Who is my next bhAgavatha? He is very precious, like a

jewel, to me and he is the one who made me realise the greatness of

our sampradhAyam. I even cried nicely when he told me his story.

Everyday I thank God for sending such a great bhAgavatha(again an

example for nirhEthuka krpa) who voluntarily sent the first personal

mail to me and said "whatever doubts you have,ask me. Adiyen will

help you out". Yes,he is none other than our dear Sri Tirunarayanan

Parthasarathy Iyengar.

 

AzhvAr emperumAnAr jIyar thiruvadigaLE sharaNam

NC Nappinnai