MeeraBai

[Guest guest]

Dear Gurudevs,

 

One Of our group members recently wanted to know about Meerabai. I am sure most

of the Gurudevs know about the devout Bhaktha Meera, But may have forgotten to

write about it. So I am giving whatever little I know about the subject.

 

Meera can be considered as personification of Radha. She loved Krishna as her

husband and has written more than 400 Bhajans about her love of the Lord.She was

born in the 15th century in 1497 or so as a daughter of Rajput king.The parents

were very devout Vaishanavas.Meera too was brought up with intense devotion

..According to one story, at the age of three, she witnessed a wedding .Seeing

the bridegroom, she asked her mother who her bridegroom will be. The mother

showed her krishna's idol and said HE is the bridegrooom. When she became

13years old,the girl was married to another Rajput young man.However she

continued her worship of Krishna.

 

In a few years she became a widow. The husband's relatives expected her to

follow the ritual of Sathi, but she did not. She continued to go to the temple

and sing melodious Bhajans. The relatives tried to harm her in many ways, but

nobody could affect her adversely. She went to Vrindavan and later To Dwaraka

where she joined with her beloved Krishna.

 

Famous carnatic musician late MS Subbulakshmi has starred as Meera in the movie

BhakthaMeera which was very popular inthe 1940s.Nowadays, Meerabhajans are very

popular and sung frequently in concerts.

 

I invite all the learned Gurudevs to expand on this to make it complete.Thank

you.

with loving regards,

Sreedevi Menon

Om Namo Narayanaya

[Guest guest]

Dear NVP Menon and members,The stories of the bakthas in the north sopreading bhagavatha cult has been in my mind for sometime and has given me the thought of writing on them. But I shelved it owing to my other activiyies and nor reading the post on Meerr bai by NVP Menonji, on eof our esteemed member, it looked as though the Lord is ordering me to start on it. which else could be the first narration other than that of Meera, extolled as the incarnation of Radha, as Andal in the south, an incarnation of Bhoodevi. Andal had the fortune of being the daughter of a great bhaktha , Periazvar which helped her to progress on her love to the Lord while Meera was not that fortunate being born in a royal family subjected to traditions and had a difficult life but she sacrificed everything to attain the Lord for which she is extolled as the best devotee till

today.. I shall start on her forthwith and let us l pluinge into the Bahkthi rathnakara, the ocean od devotion and extract the the strories of the bhaktha rathnas and the nectar of devotion. I thank NVPMenonji for being the catalyst for this venture of mine by the grace of the Lord Himself.saroja Ramanujam . Dr. SarojaRamanujam , M.A., Ph.D,

sanskritsiromanireply to sarojram18 and to get the previous posts--- On Thu, 10/22/09, NVP Menon <nvpmenon wrote:NVP Menon <nvpmenon[Guruvayur] MeeraBai"guruvayur " <guruvayur >Thursday, October 22, 2009, 12:39 AM

 

 

Dear Gurudevs,

 

One Of our group members recently wanted to know about Meerabai. I am sure most of the Gurudevs know about the devout Bhaktha Meera, But may have forgotten to write about it. So I am giving whatever little I know about the subject.

 

Meera can be considered as personification of Radha. She loved Krishna as her husband and has written more than 400 Bhajans about her love of the Lord.She was born in the 15th century in 1497 or so as a daughter of Rajput king.The parents were very devout Vaishanavas. Meera too was brought up with intense devotion .According to one story, at the age of three, she witnessed a wedding .Seeing the bridegroom, she asked her mother who her bridegroom will be. The mother showed her krishna's idol and said HE is the bridegrooom. When she became 13years old,the girl was married to another Rajput young man.However she continued her worship of Krishna.

 

In a few years she became a widow. The husband's relatives expected her to follow the ritual of Sathi, but she did not. She continued to go to the temple and sing melodious Bhajans. The relatives tried to harm her in many ways, but nobody could affect her adversely. She went to Vrindavan and later To Dwaraka where she joined with her beloved Krishna.

 

Famous carnatic musician late MS Subbulakshmi has starred as Meera in the movie BhakthaMeera which was very popular inthe 1940s.Nowadays, Meerabhajans are very popular and sung frequently in concerts.

 

I invite all the learned Gurudevs to expand on this to make it complete.Thank you.

with loving regards,

Sreedevi Menon

Om Namo Narayanaya

[Guest guest]

And can we possibly talk about saint Meerabai without listening to her music? Her utter devotion and surrender to Him permeates her words.

 

I hope you do not mind if I share two links to two of my favorite youtube videos of her bhajans, one performed by MS Amma...

 

hari tum haro

 

 

The lyrics are:

 

hari tum haro jana ki pīirAlmighty Lord God, remove the sufferings of Your slaves.

 

draupadīi kīi lāaj rāakhīi tum badhāayo cīirYou protected the honor of DraupadiLengthening the garment that covered her.

 

bhakta kāarana rūupa narahari dharyo āap śsarīirFor the sake of Your devotee,You assumed the form of Nrsimhadeva.

 

hiranyakaśsyapa māar līinhodharyo nāahina dhīirYou killed Hiranyakasipu with Your fierce form.

 

būudate gaja rāaja rāakhyo kiyo bāahar nīirYou rescued the drowning elephant Gajaraj,Taking him out of the water.

 

dāasi mīirāa lāal giradhardukha jahāańn tahāańn pīirOh Master Giridhara! I am only Your maidservant, Mira.Here and there, there is only suffering and pain.

 

(these lyrics and meanings come fraom the comments section

of this video)

 

 

the other by Giriji Devi, for which I do not have the lyrics.

But it is so beautiful it captured my heart anyway...

 

Govind Ghun Shyam...

 

 

 

 

 

 

-

NVP Menon

guruvayur

Wednesday, October 21, 2009 3:09 PM

[Guruvayur] MeeraBai

Dear Gurudevs,One Of our group members recently wanted to know about Meerabai. I am sure most of the Gurudevs know about the devout Bhaktha Meera, But may have forgotten to write about it. So I am giving whatever little I know about the subject.Meera can be considered as personification of Radha. She loved Krishna as her husband and has written more than 400 Bhajans about her love of the Lord.She was born in the 15th century in 1497 or so as a daughter of Rajput king.The parents were very devout Vaishanavas.Meera too was brought up with intense devotion .According to one story, at the age of three, she witnessed a wedding .Seeing the bridegroom, she asked her mother who her bridegroom will be. The mother showed her krishna's idol and said HE is the bridegrooom. When she became 13years old,the girl was married to another Rajput young man.However she continued her worship of Krishna. In a few years she became a widow. The husband's relatives expected her to follow the ritual of Sathi, but she did not. She continued to go to the temple and sing melodious Bhajans. The relatives tried to harm her in many ways, but nobody could affect her adversely. She went to Vrindavan and later To Dwaraka where she joined with her beloved Krishna.Famous carnatic musician late MS Subbulakshmi has starred as Meera in the movie BhakthaMeera which was very popular inthe 1940s.Nowadays, Meerabhajans are very popular and sung frequently in concerts.I invite all the learned Gurudevs to expand on this to make it complete.Thank you.with loving regards,Sreedevi MenonOm Namo Narayanaya

 

 

Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.423 / Virus Database: 270.14.24/2449 - Release 10/20/09 18:42:00

[Guest guest]

Thank you, Sarojaji for the mail and I saw you started bhakthiratnAkara already.Keep up the great work.

 

I am also glad our Radheji downloaded the wonderful Bhajan of MS.May Lord bless us all

Thank you again,

Sreedevi

Om Namo Narayanaya

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

--- On Wed, 10/21/09, Dr.Saroja Ramanujam <sarojram18 wrote:

Dr.Saroja Ramanujam <sarojram18Re: [Guruvayur] MeeraBaiguruvayur Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2009, 11:17 PM

 

 

 

 

Dear NVP Menon and members,The stories of the bakthas in the north sopreading bhagavatha cult has been in my mind for sometime and has given me the thought of writing on them. But I shelved it owing to my other activiyies and nor reading the post on Meerr bai by NVP Menonji, on eof our esteemed member, it looked as though the Lord is ordering me to start on it. which else could be the first narration other than that of Meera, extolled as the incarnation of Radha, as Andal in the south, an incarnation of Bhoodevi. Andal had the fortune of being the daughter of a great bhaktha , Periazvar which helped her to progress on her love to the Lord while Meera was not that fortunate being born in a royal family subjected to traditions and had a difficult life but she sacrificed everything to attain the Lord for which she is extolled as the best devotee till today.. I shall start on her forthwith and let us l pluinge into the

Bahkthi rathnakara, the ocean od devotion and extract the the strories of the bhaktha rathnas and the nectar of devotion. I thank NVPMenonji for being the catalyst for this venture of mine by the grace of the Lord Himself.saroja Ramanujam

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

Dr. SarojaRamanujam , M.A., Ph.D, sanskritsiromani

reply to sarojram18 (AT) gmail (DOT) com and to get the previous posts--- On Thu, 10/22/09, NVP Menon <nvpmenon > wrote:

NVP Menon <nvpmenon >[Guruvayur] MeeraBai"guruvayur " <guruvayur@grou ps.com>Thursday, October 22, 2009, 12:39 AM

Dear Gurudevs,One Of our group members recently wanted to know about Meerabai. I am sure most of the Gurudevs know about the devout Bhaktha Meera, But may have forgotten to write about it. So I am giving whatever little I know about the subject.Meera can be considered as personification of Radha. She loved Krishna as her husband and has written more than 400 Bhajans about her love of the Lord.She was born in the 15th century in 1497 or so as a daughter of Rajput king.The parents were very devout Vaishanavas. Meera too was brought up with intense devotion .According to one story, at the age of three, she witnessed a wedding .Seeing the bridegroom, she asked her mother who her bridegroom will be. The mother showed her krishna's idol and said HE is the bridegrooom. When she became 13years old,the girl was married to another Rajput young man.However she continued her worship of Krishna. In a few years she became a widow. The

husband's relatives expected her to follow the ritual of Sathi, but she did not. She continued to go to the temple and sing melodious Bhajans. The relatives tried to harm her in many ways, but nobody could affect her adversely. She went to Vrindavan and later To Dwaraka where she joined with her beloved Krishna.Famous carnatic musician late MS Subbulakshmi has starred as Meera in the movie BhakthaMeera which was very popular inthe 1940s.Nowadays, Meerabhajans are very popular and sung frequently in concerts.I invite all the learned Gurudevs to expand on this to make it complete.Thank you.with loving regards,Sreedevi MenonOm Namo Narayanaya

[Guest guest]

Dear Shrimati Shreedevi Menon:

 

Thanks for your enlightening Satsangam discussion about Bhakta Meera Devi.

 

There is another film about Meera in which Hema Malini starred that was made in

the 70's. The movie is not perfect, but Pandit Ravishankar's Meera Bhajan music

sung by Vani Jayaram, and Hema Malini's soulful acting make it a very good

Bhakti film. While watching it (with the very sensitive background music by

Pandit Ravishankar), many times I have shed tears of Bhakti and Karuna rasam

about the suffering that Devi Meera had to go through because of her

Krishnaanuraagam.

 

I felt that Shrimati Hema Maalini acted in the role with great Tanmayee Bhaavam

with the character and it is a film certainly worth watching for Krishnabhaktas

like us.

 

The only questionable part is where the film shows a conflict between the

Shaakteya cult and the Vaishnavism in Gujerat and Rajastthaan. I dont know if

the complex interaction can be looked at simiplistically. For example, the

priest who tries Meera in court is a Shaakteya and uses meat in his worship

(Mahaaprasaad). I personally see only complete harmony among Shaivism and

Shaktism and Vaishnavism in my heart and in history.

 

Shree Meeradevee Namostute!

 

DKM Kartha

(Mohanachandran)

[Guest guest]

Dear Sree MohanachandranKartha,,

 

Thank you very much for the information. I missed many movies from 70s on

because we came to United states by '69. I would very much love to have seen the

movie with the beautiful Hemamalini with  Pandit Ravishankar's music and

rendering of Vani Jayaram! Is the title of the movie, BhakthaMeera?.

 

Actually some other devotee in the group wanted to know about Meera. So that

person deserves all the credit for availing all this information abut Meera to

the group. Thankyou all.Hoping to get much more of nectar of Bhakthi from each

one of you including the Bhakthratnakara from Sarojaji and other Meerabhajans.

loving regards,

Sreedevi Menon

Om namo Narayanaya

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

--- On Thu, 10/22/09, D.K.M. Kartha <dkmkartha wrote:

 

 

D.K.M. Kartha <dkmkartha

Re: [Guruvayur] MeeraBai

guruvayur

Thursday, October 22, 2009, 1:53 PM

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Shrimati Shreedevi Menon:

 

Thanks for your enlightening Satsangam discussion about Bhakta Meera Devi.

 

There is another film about Meera in which Hema Malini starred that was made in

the 70's. The movie is not perfect, but Pandit Ravishankar' s Meera Bhajan music

sung by Vani Jayaram, and Hema Malini's soulful acting make it a very good

Bhakti film. While watching it (with the very sensitive background music by

Pandit Ravishankar) , many times I have shed tears of Bhakti and Karuna rasam

about the suffering that Devi Meera had to go through because of her

Krishnaanuraagam.

 

I felt that Shrimati Hema Maalini acted in the role with great Tanmayee Bhaavam

with the character and it is a film certainly worth watching for Krishnabhaktas

like us.

 

The only questionable part is where the film shows a conflict between the

Shaakteya cult and the Vaishnavism in Gujerat and Rajastthaan. I dont know if

the complex interaction can be

looked at simiplistically. For example, the priest who tries Meera in court is

a Shaakteya and uses meat in his worship (Mahaaprasaad) . I personally see only

complete harmony among Shaivism and Shaktism and Vaishnavism in my heart and in

history.

 

Shree Meeradevee Namostute!

 

DKM Kartha

(Mohanachandran)

[Guest guest]

There was an old fil in Hindi and Tamil starring MSSubbulakshmi as Meera and the bajans sang by herself in her golden voice. If you cn get hold of it it is really worthwhile not only for the music but for the dedicated role palyed by MSS. After that she became a veritavle Meera steeped in devotion.saroja Ramanujam . Dr. SarojaRamanujam , M.A., Ph.D, sanskritsiromanireply to sarojram18 and to get the previous posts--- On Fri, 10/23/09, NVP Menon <nvpmenon wrote:NVP Menon <nvpmenonRe: [Guruvayur] MeeraBaiguruvayur Date: Friday, October 23, 2009, 8:42 AM

 

 

Dear Sree MohanachandranK artha,,

 

Thank you very much for the information. I missed many movies from 70s on because we came to United states by '69. I would very much love to have seen the movie with the beautiful Hemamalini with Pandit Ravishankar' s music and rendering of Vani Jayaram! Is the title of the movie, BhakthaMeera? .

 

Actually some other devotee in the group wanted to know about Meera. So that person deserves all the credit for availing all this information abut Meera to the group. Thankyou all.Hoping to get much more of nectar of Bhakthi from each one of you including the Bhakthratnakara from Sarojaji and other Meerabhajans.

loving regards,

Sreedevi Menon

Om namo Narayanaya

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

--- On Thu, 10/22/09, D.K.M. Kartha <dkmkartha > wrote:

 

D.K.M. Kartha <dkmkartha >

Re: [Guruvayur] MeeraBai

guruvayur@grou ps.com

Thursday, October 22, 2009, 1:53 PM

 

 

Dear Shrimati Shreedevi Menon:

 

Thanks for your enlightening Satsangam discussion about Bhakta Meera Devi.

 

There is another film about Meera in which Hema Malini starred that was made in the 70's. The movie is not perfect, but Pandit Ravishankar' s Meera Bhajan music sung by Vani Jayaram, and Hema Malini's soulful acting make it a very good Bhakti film. While watching it (with the very sensitive background music by Pandit Ravishankar) , many times I have shed tears of Bhakti and Karuna rasam about the suffering that Devi Meera had to go through because of her Krishnaanuraagam.

 

I felt that Shrimati Hema Maalini acted in the role with great Tanmayee Bhaavam with the character and it is a film certainly worth watching for Krishnabhaktas like us.

 

The only questionable part is where the film shows a conflict between the Shaakteya cult and the Vaishnavism in Gujerat and Rajastthaan. I dont know if the complex interaction can be

looked at simiplistically. For example, the priest who tries Meera in court is a Shaakteya and uses meat in his worship (Mahaaprasaad) . I personally see only complete harmony among Shaivism and Shaktism and Vaishnavism in my heart and in history.

 

Shree Meeradevee Namostute!

 

DKM Kartha

(Mohanachandran)