Mutual help - bhojanam (part -1)

[Guest guest]

SRIMATHE RAMANUJAYA NAMAHA.

 

Just thought I can share some information on the 'mutual help' that fellow

bhagavathas are willing to do.

Offer of food to someone is not just that one is sharing the prasadam of

Bhagavan. It has been characterised as a yajna, a must-be done, by everyone

everyday, irrespective of whether he is a srivaishnava or not. This is one

among the pancha maha yajnas or 5 sacrifices that every human being,

irrespective of caste, creed etc must do. It was done by everyone in those

days. This offer done in the spirit of yajna is 'manushaya yajna'(yajna to

people), also known as 'athiti bhojanam'. Let me give in 4 posts some

insight into this. This was originally written as a reply to a girl of white

origin who wanted to know about hospitality in sanatana dharma and posted in

another group some time ago. I am giving it here with some modifications

incorporating the new insights that I have gained in the meantime. Hope our

fellow bhagavathas will find something to 'relish' (since this is about

bhojanam) out of these. Let me start from what this was in Tamil culture and

society and take it from simple to complex tattwas.

 

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Serving food to the guest is the noblest of all acts. In ThirukkuraL, there

is a chapter called 'virundhombal' (feeding the guest) which lays emphasis

on feeding the guest as the supreme one among the 5 forms that are ordained

to be followed by the couple in family life (Gruhastha).(Pancha yajna was

thus popular in all the lands in Bharatha varsha.)

 

This has been placed in the middle of 5 types of virundhombal - the first

two being offered to unseen

guests (Devas (gods) and pitrus (departed souls)) and the last two to

relatives and to one's own self. This is as followed in Tamil society.

 

While anyone who visits can be termed as a guest, the one who is new to the

place and is in need of food and a place to rest is considered as special.

You may go

through the translation of the 10 verses of thischapter to get a better idea

about how guest feeding was done.

 

The unique feature of this chapter is that this has been placed after

'anbudaimai' (having love for others) and is succeeded by `iniyavai kooral'

(to speak good words) indicating that 'guest feeding' is the result of love

for others and must be done with sweet treatment of the guest so as to make

him comfortable or 'feel at home.'

 

The chapter that follows then is 'sei nandri maravaamai' which means not to

forget the good done by others. In my opinion the gratitude that the guest

has for the one who fed him and cared for him is what makes atithi bhojanam

supreme. I will elaborate on this later in another

mail.

 

In general, ThirukkuraL accords high status to the one who feeds the guest,

on par with 'vaanavar' (devas' or gods). Grains and wealth grow in his home

who offers food to the guest or whomever approaches him as a'vELvi'

(sacrifice or yajna). Similar views are echoed in

almost all Tamil texts preaching 'sheelam' or'vozhukkam' (good behaviour)

 

Notable among them is Puranaanuru which contains many verses extolling

greatness of feeding atithi among others. Most kings and philanthropists

have been

praised for having amassed grains (food) to feed whomever approaches them.

 

One unique verse (173) has been composed by none other than a king of

Cholas, KuLa muttratthu thunjiya KiLLI vaLAvan in praise of one of his

subjects, PaNNan (Siru kudi kizhaan PaNNan) whose sole aim in life was to

feed the people who came from far and near. The king makes a rare gesture by

offering to bequeath his remaining years of life to PaNNan so that he (the

latter) can live long to feed the people.

 

The verse also indicates that when people like PaNNan are around, the

seasons and rains would not fail - a notion shared by other texts too. A

country will receive the bounties of nature - not more and not less- if all

its subjects make it a way of life to feed atleast one person a day. A good

economics too.

 

The description such as this throws light on the way of life in those days.

Every family would wait for at least one traveller (athithi) or a guest to

feed him before they take their meals. That means there had been people who

had been moving from place to place (for various reasons) and there had been

no need for

them to carry much baggage as an atithi is being taken care for the night

stay also. (More on this aspect in the next mail).

 

There were no prior appointments to be made and no frown on the face on

seeing the guest. The injunction is on feeding

a stranger who happens to be a traveller. One can imagine the kind of

mentality, the broad mindedness, the care, the compassion, the embracing of

the entire

human race as one with himself etc., that the people of those days have had,

with their mind steeply set on feeding at least one guest a day.

 

It is a glad feature that the bahgavathas of this group are exhibiting such

care for humanity - something sanatana dharma expects in people and has

inculcated in them.

 

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A popular figure of ancient Tamil land known for doing athithi bhojanam of

an excellent order was king Adiyaman. The popular Tamil poetess, Ouvaiyar

used to visit him as an athithi (a-thithi = one who does not come everyday)

 

A special amla fruit was offered to her once by the king. The king

considered Ouvaiyar as the most deserving person than he himself, to eat the

fruit which is supposed to extend longevity. He offered it to her without

telling her the special quality of the fruit as he believed Ouvaiyar would

not accept it then.

 

The poetess was indeed moved by the king's intention when she came to know

about the speciality of the fruit after eating it and did not forget it for

life. 18 of her poems in Purananuru are on Adhiyamaan. Today we may not know

much about Ouvaiyar's life from recorded history. But we know more about

Adiyaman, thanks to Ouvaiyaar who immortalised him in verses.

 

She even went to his enemy as 'messenger' and teased him with a satire

composed on him which is also found in Purananuru.

She extended her kind heart to his new born son too - a poem on him is also

found in Purananuru.

 

The over-flowing godd-will of athithi for the one who has taken care of him/

her is something that one can not buy with money. This good-will showers

propsperity on the giver as how Adi Shankara invoked kanaka-dhara on the

poor woman who had nothing but an amla to offer him. Though this is about

offer of food to the sanyasin or brahmachari, the underlying spirit is that

of manushya yajnam or athithi bhojanam.

 

Shabari was blessed to get Rama-Lakshmana as athithi, so was Vidura to have

Krishna as athithi. The result of this athithi bhojanam was the innovation

of the popular dish called,ThirukkaNamudu (from grandma's tale).

 

Vidura, who on receiving Krishna as his athithi prepared it with whatever he

had with him at that time (rice, jaggery, ghee, milk and honey) He was

worried how Krishna would relish it. But Krishna had it delightfully - He is

one who would accept even a fruit, leaf or water that is offered to Him

whole-heartedly. Won't He feel delighted to get this to eat - which had all

ingrediants of His liking? And Thirukkannamudu has come to stay in our homes

till today as an important sweet / dish to be offered to Him as amudu sEvai!

 

Regards,

Jayasree saranathan.

(To be continued)