A Revolutionary lady - Sri Anbil Ramaswamy's brilliant write up - Part 2

January 8, 2008

SrI:

Dear All :

Kaimkarya Ratnam Sriman Anbil Ramaswamy is blessing us

with rare insights thru his scholarly study on " The Revolutionary

Lady " . I join with Sriman MadhavakkaNNan to thank Sriman

Anbil Swami for his enduring contributions to the ghOshti

of Aasthikaas all over the world and wish him PallANDu,

PallANDu !

NamO Sriman Narayanaya,

V.Sadagopan

-

" Madhavakkannan V " <srivaishnavan

; ;

Monday, January 07, 2008 11:24 PM

" A Revolutionary lady " - Sri Anbil Ramaswamy's brilliant write up -

Part 2

> SrI:

> SrImathE Gopaladesika Mahadesikaya nama:

>

> Dearest all,

>

> Subsequent to my first post, here is the sequel..

> Sri Anbil Swami is pouring in with his Godha sthuthi

> posts as well. Insatiable nectar for all your

> consumption and pleasure

>

> Regards

> Namo narayana

> dAsan

January 9, 2008

Dear Moderator Sir

I request you to kindly peruse and consider publishing this letter in the

journal.

Regards,

V.Madhavan

--\

------------

Dear All

I have gone through the second part of the ongoing series on 'A Revolutionary

Lady', by Sri Anbil Swami.

One of the most inspiring part of the write up was when Sri Anbil Swami was

explaining the significance of the three aspects - thoughts, words and deeds -

how Sri Andal revolutionized and put it that it could be very easy for the lay

people to follow in the reverse direction - action (deeds), words and thoughts.

I can only imagine only all our loving elders, when they would motivate us to

simply get ready after bath in the mornings of the Margazhi and simply either

hear or recite the Tirupalli Ezhuchchi, Tiruppavai and take the pongal prasadam.

Then., coolly, at our own pace, the elders will explain the significance of the

prayers, Sri Andal and the Tiruppavai.

Blind faith is necessary in the formative ages for mankind and I have

experienced how well they develop the devout. In retrospect I find that

questioning blind faith is many a time very rational ! How well Sri Andal has

proved to mankind and the faithful and the devout, that it is indeed blind faith

for the Lord that paves way for the all round development of mankind.

We are fully developed and accomplished persons having successfully faced the

world and never at loss or on weak wicket when defending our faith and the

pragmatic blind faith that we had as kids.

Thanks to Anbil Swami once again. His thought provoking words and insights was

ringing in me throughout yesterday.

Regards,

Madhavan

________________________________

on behalf of Dr. Sadagopan

Tue 1/8/2008 7:30 PM

; ;

acharya ; oppiliappan ;

parakalamatham ; Madhavakkannan V

Re: " A Revolutionary lady " - Sri Anbil Ramaswamy's

brilliant write up - Part 2

SrI:

Dear All :

Kaimkarya Ratnam Sriman Anbil Ramaswamy is blessing us

with rare insights thru his scholarly study on " The Revolutionary

Lady " . I join with Sriman MadhavakkaNNan to thank Sriman

Anbil Swami for his enduring contributions to the ghOshti

of Aasthikaas all over the world and wish him PallANDu,

PallANDu !

NamO Sriman Narayanaya,

V.Sadagopan

January 9, 2008

Shrimathey Nigamantha Mahadeshikaya Namaha I ask all Bhagavatas to forgive me for writing this but I thought I will put across my viewpoints whether they be right or otherwise. I request the learned scholars to throw light on the comments especially the defects that I have made. This is only a viewpoint on the comments made and is not aimed at any individual. Andal is a very very intelligent person. However, She never violated any of the shastras that were applicable. She says in right earnest about this in the second paasuram of Thiruppavai - seyyadhana cheyyom - giving ample evidence that unless one were to accept the shastras in toto there is no point in trying to be spiritual or religious. A person who abides by the law can never be called a revolutionary. Comments on "order reversed" Andal maintains the same order that Krishna advocated in the Bhagavad Geetha. She is recommending the Bhakti yoga here (manaththinaal sindikka). Prior to that one has to perform the gnana yoga (vaayinaal paadi) and the karma yoga (thoomalar thoovi thozhudhu). Hence I don't see any order being reversed here. Comments on "First Accept. You have no need to research" Andal here is echoing the same views as conveyed by Vyasa Bhagavan. He says "Shaastrayonitvaat" at the very beginning stage of the Brahma Sutras where one has to accept the validity of the scripture before proceeding to analyse the contents. Once again we can see the Bhakti yoga prescription. Comments on "Magic of music" Swami Deshika refers to the first

three azhwars - mudal azhwargal - as "paattukkuriya pazhayavar moovar" - hence it is clear that they had already started te Magic of music much before Andal. So we can't claim that she had pioneered the combination of integrating mantras and music. Comments on "Pioneer in Community / Social service" Andal once again follows the shastras to the letter and spirit. She goes to each of the gopis' houses and confirms that they have the bent of mind towards Krishna. It is with these gopis that she wants the term "koodiyirundhu kulirndhu" to be referred to. She never talks of non-believers or non Srivaishnavas getting the benefit of being with Krishna. In fact she says in the very first paasuram - Naaraayananae namakkae parai tharuvaan - which means that it is only the select coterie that is benefited by Naaraayanan. Comments

on "Women's lib movement" Andal's marriage to Rangamannar can never in the wildest of imagination be considered a women's lib movement. A movement is systematically organised and involves a lot of people. It is also intended that the same needs to be followed in the future. Also, Andal was an incarnation of Bhooma Devi and that is the only reason that She was able to aspire to get married to Rangamannar. Moreover, She was not oppressed at all in the first place to desire for so called women's lib. The only liberation She desired was Moksha in its pristine form which She achieved by marrying Rangamannar. There is nothing else to her marriage than this. Comments on "Role Model for “Inter Caste marriage”! What is the point that is being communicated here? Is it that Andal advocated inter caste

marriage? She herself did not have an inter caste marriage. As Andal She was only portraying the naayikaa bhavam which other azhwars had done prior to her. It came to her very naturally since She is the consort of Perumal Himself. There is no question of any inter caste marriage here. All the azhwars and acharyas have always followed the rule book to the word and spirit. Even Rukmini piratti did the same thing. I remember how Mukkur Swami used to elaborate on Rukmini kalyanam being performed exactly in accordance with the scriptures. All our leaders in SriVaishnava sampradayam have been role models for us. We need to understand the nuances of their activities from our learned acharyas. If at all they have transgressed any injunctions, it is because of they had the tapas to overcome them. As Swami Deshika puts it, it is their "vyakti visesham" which we cannot and should not try to emulate. Once again, apologies to all the bhagavatas if I have

hurt the sentiments. Please give me a feedback on any defective explanation. Adiyen Ramanuja Dasan Vasudevan Shrimathey Nigamaantha Mahaa Deshikaaya Namaha. Madhavakkannan V <srivaishnavan wrote: SrI:SrImathE Gopaladesika Mahadesikaya nama:Dearest all,Subsequent to my first post, here is the sequel..Sri Anbil Swami is pouring in with his Godha sthuthiposts as

well. Insatiable nectar for all yourconsumption and pleasureRegardsNamo narayanadAsan************6. Order reversed!The usual refrain in devotion is that it should be inunison at all levels of mind, word and deed and INTHAT ORDER.“manas Ekam, Vachas Ekam KarmaN Ekam maha-aatmanaam/Manas anyath vachas anyath Karman anyathdur-aathmanaam//Andal recognized how difficult it is to control themind and reversed the order completely because itwould then be easier to achieve this. See the Paasuram5 “Maayanai mannu vaDamathurai mainthanai…” where sheputs the deed first, followed by word and finally bythe mind thus: “Thoo malar thoovi thozhudu” (offeringflowers – a physical act), “vaayinaal PaaDi” (SingingLord’s glory – employing words) and finally“manathinaal chinthikka” (Contemplating on the Lord (amental exercise). This has been explained by asmadAcharyan in his article

in his “SathaabhishEka Ratnamaalaa”.Is not this reversal a revolution in the sequence ofworship?7. First Accept. You have no need to research!In every Paasuram, you can see the word “yEl-Ore” as aconstant refrain. Now what does this word mean? It isa combination of two words, namely “yEl” which means“Accept” and “Ore” which means “Think about it”.Normally, people are asked to “think about” a matterand if found agreeable to “accept” the same. Andalreverses this order. She exhorts us to first acceptand then only think because she had already thoughtabout the matter exhaustively and arrived atirrefutable conclusions and there was no need for usto waste our time and energy in analyzing the pros andcons of the matter.In Gurukula Vaasm (Residential Studentship), thesystem was to “catch them young” teaching the youngpupils to recite mantras by rote in “santhai” modebecause once committed

to memory while young, it wouldstay put indelibly for the rest of their life. Thereis a whale of time after they leave the Gurukulam tosavor the nuances of what they had learned byretrieving the mantras lodged in memory and enjoyingthem. Andal’s approach is similar to this method ofteaching adopted in the olden days. No attempt toargue it out in the first place!This is also akin to what Tirumazhisai Azhwar advisedin Naanmukhan Tiruvantaadi in which he practicallyordered that he had analyzed all faiths and by astroke of good luck had arrived at the conviction andconclusion that Lord of TiruvEnkaTam IS THE Paramaatma“sAkkiyam katrOm, SamaNam katrOm, SankaranAr aakkiyaAagamanool aarAindhOM; BhaggiyathAl venkaTkariyAnaiSerndOm” (Tiruchanda Viruttam)“We learned SAkkiyam (Jainism) SamaNam (Buddhism) anddid deep research into the doctrine of Saivam; whichwere all totally misleading”He

advised in no uncertain terms that he having doneall the needed research on our behalf, we shouldaccept his conclusions as final and have no need to“think it over” again! He says:Naanmuganai NaaraayaNan paDaithaan - NaanmuganumTaan mugamaai sankaranait taan paDaithaan – yaanmugamaaiAnthaadi mEliTTu arivithEn aazh poruLaiSintaamal koNmin neer tErndu (Nanmugan Tiruvantaadi 1)What an amount of self confidence Andal has and triesto infuse in us!8. Magic of Music The Vedas are 4 in number, Rik, Yajur, Saama andAtharva. A whole Veda, namely, Saama Veda is totallydedicated to rendering of mantras set to music. WeIndians ought to be proud that we are the pioneers inintegrating Music with Mantras to guide us on ourspiritual journey. Sri Nathamunigal received in atrance from Swami Nammaazhwar the 4000 holy collectsknown as “Naalaayira Divya Prabandams” and promptlychronicled them (paTTOLai

PaDuthuvatu) , setting themto music with appropriate Raagam, TaaLam etc andinitiated his disciples (MElai agathu Azhwaan andKeezhai agathu Azhwaan) to spread the message throughthe medium of music. This magic of fusion of music andmantras (Sangeeta and Saahitya) is nowhere seen morepronouncedly than in the rendering of the psalms ofAndal’s Tiruppavai. Andal, the God intoxicated bridalmystic repeatedly emphasizes the musical aspect of hermagnum opus – Tiruppavai, using the words “PaaDu,“PaaDi” etc in most of the 30 stanzas in her work Forexample -“Paraman aDi paaDi” (2), “Utthaman pER paaDi” (3),Vaayinaal paaDi” (5),”kEsavanaip paaDavum” (7),“paaDip Parai koNDu” (8) “mughil vaNnan pEr paaDa”(11), “manathukku iniyaani paaDavum” (12), “KeerthimaipaaDip pOi” (13), “Pangayak kaNNaanaip paaDavum” (14),“maayani paaDElOr” (15), “Thuyil ezhap paaDuvaan”(16), “maithunan pEr paaDa”

(18),”thiruruthakkaselvamum yam paaDi” (25), “PallaaNdu isaippaarE” (20),“Unnaip paaDip parai koNdu” (27)Is this not a pioneering effort which no other Azhwarseems to have attempted?9. Pioneer in Community / Social serviceIt used to be said that till the time of BhagavadRamanuja the initiation of the esoteric secrets werehanded down on “one to one” basis (OraaN vazhi) i.e.one preceptor to his one disciple, “one at a time” andthat only Sri Ramanuja opened up the floodgates ofinitiation to “one and all” who desired suchinitiation. Even her father, Periyaazhwar invited only those whowished to “save their souls” “vaazh aaT paTTu ninreeruLLeerEl vandu maNNUm maNamum koNmin” and segregatedand “denied access” to others who were after worldlypleasures, saying “Koozh aaT paTTu ninreergaLai engaLkuzhuvinil pugudal oTTOm”. But, the life of Andal shows that she shared thesecrets with all the 5

lakhs Gopis in the style of“KooDi irundu kuLirndu” and through them the entireposterity - a kind of community / social service thatmade no such distinctions, the only requirement beinga desire for liberation (pOduveer poduminO)Does this not show that in this also she is a pioneer,a “Maarga Darsi” as mentioned earlier?10. “Womens’ lib movement” - of a different kind!Do you know that Andal was the first votary of“Womens’ lib” movement?This, she did - not through rebellion against what isperceived as “male chauvinism” but through a love andaffection compelling her spouse to do her bidding.The most revolutionary of revolutions she spearheadedwas regarding her marriage. Having taken birth as ahuman being she dared to marry the Paramaatma in hisarcha moorti and she succeeded in it. Can any woman(who talks of “Womens’ lib” movement today, desiresimilarly, let alone achieve such a feat? It is

Andalwho proved her point not only by saying: “maaniDarkkuenru pEtchup paDil vaazhagillEn kaNDaai” (NT 1.5) butalso by accomplishing what she desired.Thus, Andal is the pioneer of the “Womens’ lib”movement albeit of a different kind!11. Role Model for “Inter Caste marriage”!There is one more astonishing point about hermarriage. There was and even today is, so much tabooon Inter-caste marriages. But, Andal being a Brahminmarried an “iDaiyan” (a community that tends sheep andcattle and usually live in forest lands). She was thusa pioneer and a great revolutionary ushering in Intercaste marriage at a time when people could neverimagine such a sacrilegious thing! It is interesting to note that the same analogy ispresented by Andal and Rukmini in different waysrepresenting their respective “varnas”. Andal, theBrahmin girl would not brook marrying anyone elsesaying that “the “havis” is prepared

for Gods cannotbe touched by a vile wily fox” (This is becauseBrahmins engaged in Yagjna used to prepare food foroffering as “havis” to the Gods.) On the other hand,Rukmini, the Kshatriya girl who also married KrishNasays that “the meat for offering to Lion cannot betouched by a vile wily fox”. (This is because beforeembarking on a war, Kshatriyas used to offer meat to alion.)This, however, cannot be taken as a precedent bymodern girls because neither they can claim to beAndal or Rukmini nor will they ever dare to marry an“Archa murthi” like Andal!The credit for this revolution goes to our Andaal.[To be continued]dasohamAnbil Ramaswamy________Never miss a thing. Make your home page. http://www./r/hs

Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Search.

January 10, 2008

SrI:

Dear SrImAn Madhavan,

Nicely said.

" Learn from Elders " is the message from Andal (melaiyAr seivanagaL vENDuvana

kETTiyEl ..)

This is also called 'SishTAcAram', the discipline of respectable elders.

Somebody asked AzhwAn 'Why do you worship only Narayana?'

The knowledgeable AzhwAn - who established the paratvam of Srimannarayana in

chozha-king's court - did not go into detailing 'Why'.

He simply answered 'Because our elders have been worshipping only

SrImannArAyaNa'.

This incident has been quoted by vyAkyAnakarta while explaining 'melaiyAr

seivanagaL'.

(thanks SrI u.vE Ma Venkatakrishnan swami's 'vAzhvum vAkkum of acharyas')

dAsan

On

Behalf Of vmadhavan

Wednesday, January 09, 2008 12:28 PM

yennappan;

RE: Re: " A Revolutionary lady " - Sri Anbil

Ramaswamy's brilliant write up - Part 2

Dear Moderator Sir

I request you to kindly peruse and consider publishing this letter in the

journal.

Regards,

V.Madhavan

----------

----------------

Dear All

I have gone through the second part of the ongoing series on 'A

Revolutionary Lady', by Sri Anbil Swami.

One of the most inspiring part of the write up was when Sri Anbil Swami was

explaining the significance of the three aspects - thoughts, words and deeds

- how Sri Andal revolutionized and put it that it could be very easy for the

lay people to follow in the reverse direction - action (deeds), words and

thoughts.

I can only imagine only all our loving elders, when they would motivate us

to simply get ready after bath in the mornings of the Margazhi and simply

either hear or recite the Tirupalli Ezhuchchi, Tiruppavai and take the

pongal prasadam. Then., coolly, at our own pace, the elders will explain the

significance of the prayers, Sri Andal and the Tiruppavai.

Blind faith is necessary in the formative ages for mankind and I have

experienced how well they develop the devout. In retrospect I find that

questioning blind faith is many a time very rational ! How well Sri Andal

has proved to mankind and the faithful and the devout, that it is indeed

blind faith for the Lord that paves way for the all round development of

mankind.

We are fully developed and accomplished persons having successfully faced

the world and never at loss or on weak wicket when defending our faith and

the pragmatic blind faith that we had as kids.

Thanks to Anbil Swami once again. His thought provoking words and insights

was ringing in me throughout yesterday.

Regards,

Madhavan

________________________________

on behalf of Dr. Sadagopan

Tue 1/8/2008 7:30 PM

; ;

acharya ; oppiliappan ;

parakalamatham ; Madhavakkannan V

Re: " A Revolutionary lady " - Sri Anbil Ramaswamy's

brilliant write up - Part 2

SrI:

Dear All :

Kaimkarya Ratnam Sriman Anbil Ramaswamy is blessing us with rare insights

thru his scholarly study on " The Revolutionary Lady " . I join with Sriman

MadhavakkaNNan to thank Sriman Anbil Swami for his enduring contributions to

the ghOshti of Aasthikaas all over the world and wish him PallANDu, PallANDu

!

NamO Sriman Narayanaya,

V.Sadagopan

January 10, 2008

Shrimathey Nigamantha Mahadeshikaya Namaha I ask all Bhagavatas to forgive me for writing this but I thought I will put across my viewpoints whether they be right or otherwise. I request the learned scholars to throw light on the comments especially the defects that I have made. This is only a viewpoint on the comments made and is not aimed at any individual. Andal is a very very intelligent person. However, She never violated any of the shastras that were applicable. She says in right earnest about this in the second paasuram of Thiruppavai - seyyadhana cheyyom - giving ample evidence that unless one were to accept the shastras in toto there is no point in trying to be spiritual or religious. A person who abides by the law can never be called a revolutionary. Comments on "order reversed" Andal maintains the same order that Krishna advocated in the Bhagavad Geetha. She is recommending the Bhakti yoga here (manaththinaal sindikka). Prior to that one has to perform the gnana yoga (vaayinaal paadi) and the karma yoga (thoomalar thoovi thozhudhu). Hence I don't see any order being reversed here. Comments on "First Accept. You have no need to research" Andal here is echoing the same views as conveyed by Vyasa Bhagavan. He says "Shaastrayonitvaat" at the very beginning stage of the Brahma Sutras where one has to accept the validity of the scripture before proceeding to analyse the contents. Once again we can see the Bhakti yoga prescription. Comments on "Magic of music" Swami Deshika refers to the first three azhwars - mudal azhwargal - as "paattukkuriya pazhayavar moovar" - hence it is clear that they had already started te Magic of music much before Andal. So we can't claim that she had pioneered the combination of integrating mantras and music. Comments on "Pioneer in Community / Social service" Andal once again follows the shastras to the letter and spirit. She goes to each of the gopis' houses and confirms that they have the bent of mind towards Krishna. It is with these gopis that she wants the term "koodiyirundhu kulirndhu" to be referred to. She never talks of non-believers or non Srivaishnavas getting the benefit of being with Krishna. In fact she says in the very first paasuram - Naaraayananae namakkae parai tharuvaan - which means that

it is only the select coterie that is benefited by Naaraayanan. Comments on "Women's lib movement" Andal's marriage to Rangamannar can never in the wildest of imagination be considered a women's lib movement. A movement is systematically organised and involves a lot of people. It is also intended that the same needs to be followed in the future. Also, Andal was an incarnation of Bhooma Devi and that is the only reason that She was able to aspire to get married to Rangamannar. Moreover, She was not oppressed at all in the first place to desire for so called women's lib. The only liberation She desired was Moksha in its pristine form which She achieved by "marrying" Rangamannar. There is nothing else to her "marriage" than this. Comments on "Role Model for “Inter Caste marriage”! What is the point that is being communicated here? Is it that Andal advocated inter caste marriage? First of all She never got married in the worldly way. She was found in the nandavanam of Periyazhwar and was not born as a brahmin girl. Andal never had a marriage performed to her but only merged with Rangamannar at Srirangam. She herself did not have an inter caste marriage. As Andal She was only portraying the naayikaa bhavam(by writing vaaranamaayiram) which other azhwars had done prior to her. It came to her very naturally since She is the consort of Perumal Himself. There is no question of any inter caste marriage here. All the azhwars and acharyas have always followed the rule book to the word and spirit. Even Rukmini piratti did the same thing. I remember how Mukkur Swami used to elaborate on Rukmini kalyanam being performed exactly in accordance with the scriptures. All our

leaders in SriVaishnava sampradayam have been role models for us. We need to understand the nuances of their activities from our learned acharyas. If at all they have transgressed any injunctions, it is because they had the tapas to overcome them. As Swami Deshika puts it, it is their "vyakti visesham" which we cannot and should not try to emulate. It would be great if all of us could follow our poorvacharyas for explanations, commentaries and interpretations instead of trying to find new meanings where we may falter. Once again, apologies to all the bhagavatas if I have hurt the sentiments. Please give me a feedback on any defective explanation. Adiyen Ramanuja Dasan Vasudevan Shrimathey Nigamaantha Mahaa Deshikaaya Namaha. Madhavakkannan V <srivaishnavan wrote: SrI:SrImathE Gopaladesika Mahadesikaya nama:Dearest all,Subsequent to my first post, here is the sequel..Sri Anbil Swami is pouring in with his Godha sthuthiposts as well. Insatiable nectar for all yourconsumption and pleasureRegardsNamo narayanadAsan************6. Order reversed!The usual refrain in devotion is that it should be inunison at all levels of mind, word and deed and INTHAT ORDER.“manas Ekam, Vachas

Ekam KarmaN Ekam maha-aatmanaam/Manas anyath vachas anyath Karman anyathdur-aathmanaam//Andal recognized how difficult it is to control themind and reversed the order completely because itwould then be easier to achieve this. See the Paasuram5 “Maayanai mannu vaDamathurai mainthanai…” where sheputs the deed first, followed by word and finally bythe mind thus: “Thoo malar thoovi thozhudu” (offeringflowers – a physical act), “vaayinaal PaaDi” (SingingLord’s glory – employing words) and finally“manathinaal chinthikka” (Contemplating on the Lord (amental exercise). This has been explained by asmadAcharyan in his article in his “SathaabhishEka Ratnamaalaa”.Is not this reversal a revolution in the sequence ofworship?7. First Accept. You have no need to research!In every Paasuram, you can see the word “yEl-Ore” as aconstant refrain. Now what does this word mean? It isa combination of two

words, namely “yEl” which means“Accept” and “Ore” which means “Think about it”.Normally, people are asked to “think about” a matterand if found agreeable to “accept” the same. Andalreverses this order. She exhorts us to first acceptand then only think because she had already thoughtabout the matter exhaustively and arrived atirrefutable conclusions and there was no need for usto waste our time and energy in analyzing the pros andcons of the matter.In Gurukula Vaasm (Residential Studentship), thesystem was to “catch them young” teaching the youngpupils to recite mantras by rote in “santhai” modebecause once committed to memory while young, it wouldstay put indelibly for the rest of their life. Thereis a whale of time after they leave the Gurukulam tosavor the nuances of what they had learned byretrieving the mantras lodged in memory and enjoyingthem. Andal’s approach is similar to this method

ofteaching adopted in the olden days. No attempt toargue it out in the first place!This is also akin to what Tirumazhisai Azhwar advisedin Naanmukhan Tiruvantaadi in which he practicallyordered that he had analyzed all faiths and by astroke of good luck had arrived at the conviction andconclusion that Lord of TiruvEnkaTam IS THE Paramaatma“sAkkiyam katrOm, SamaNam katrOm, SankaranAr aakkiyaAagamanool aarAindhOM; BhaggiyathAl venkaTkariyAnaiSerndOm” (Tiruchanda Viruttam)“We learned SAkkiyam (Jainism) SamaNam (Buddhism) anddid deep research into the doctrine of Saivam; whichwere all totally misleading”He advised in no uncertain terms that he having doneall the needed research on our behalf, we shouldaccept his conclusions as final and have no need to“think it over” again! He says:Naanmuganai NaaraayaNan paDaithaan - NaanmuganumTaan mugamaai sankaranait taan paDaithaan –

yaanmugamaaiAnthaadi mEliTTu arivithEn aazh poruLaiSintaamal koNmin neer tErndu (Nanmugan Tiruvantaadi 1)What an amount of self confidence Andal has and triesto infuse in us!8. Magic of Music The Vedas are 4 in number, Rik, Yajur, Saama andAtharva. A whole Veda, namely, Saama Veda is totallydedicated to rendering of mantras set to music. WeIndians ought to be proud that we are the pioneers inintegrating Music with Mantras to guide us on ourspiritual journey. Sri Nathamunigal received in atrance from Swami Nammaazhwar the 4000 holy collectsknown as “Naalaayira Divya Prabandams” and promptlychronicled them (paTTOLai PaDuthuvatu) , setting themto music with appropriate Raagam, TaaLam etc andinitiated his disciples (MElai agathu Azhwaan andKeezhai agathu Azhwaan) to spread the message throughthe medium of music. This magic of fusion of music andmantras (Sangeeta and Saahitya) is nowhere

seen morepronouncedly than in the rendering of the psalms ofAndal’s Tiruppavai. Andal, the God intoxicated bridalmystic repeatedly emphasizes the musical aspect of hermagnum opus – Tiruppavai, using the words “PaaDu,“PaaDi” etc in most of the 30 stanzas in her work Forexample -“Paraman aDi paaDi” (2), “Utthaman pER paaDi” (3),Vaayinaal paaDi” (5),”kEsavanaip paaDavum” (7),“paaDip Parai koNDu” (8) “mughil vaNnan pEr paaDa”(11), “manathukku iniyaani paaDavum” (12), “KeerthimaipaaDip pOi” (13), “Pangayak kaNNaanaip paaDavum” (14),“maayani paaDElOr” (15), “Thuyil ezhap paaDuvaan”(16), “maithunan pEr paaDa” (18),”thiruruthakkaselvamum yam paaDi” (25), “PallaaNdu isaippaarE” (20),“Unnaip paaDip parai koNdu” (27)Is this not a pioneering effort which no other Azhwarseems to have attempted?9. Pioneer in Community / Social serviceIt used to be said that till the time of BhagavadRamanuja the

initiation of the esoteric secrets werehanded down on “one to one” basis (OraaN vazhi) i.e.one preceptor to his one disciple, “one at a time” andthat only Sri Ramanuja opened up the floodgates ofinitiation to “one and all” who desired suchinitiation. Even her father, Periyaazhwar invited only those whowished to “save their souls” “vaazh aaT paTTu ninreeruLLeerEl vandu maNNUm maNamum koNmin” and segregatedand “denied access” to others who were after worldlypleasures, saying “Koozh aaT paTTu ninreergaLai engaLkuzhuvinil pugudal oTTOm”. But, the life of Andal shows that she shared thesecrets with all the 5 lakhs Gopis in the style of“KooDi irundu kuLirndu” and through them the entireposterity - a kind of community / social service thatmade no such distinctions, the only requirement beinga desire for liberation (pOduveer poduminO)Does this not show that in this also she is a pioneer,a

“Maarga Darsi” as mentioned earlier?10. “Womens’ lib movement” - of a different kind!Do you know that Andal was the first votary of“Womens’ lib” movement?This, she did - not through rebellion against what isperceived as “male chauvinism” but through a love andaffection compelling her spouse to do her bidding.The most revolutionary of revolutions she spearheadedwas regarding her marriage. Having taken birth as ahuman being she dared to marry the Paramaatma in hisarcha moorti and she succeeded in it. Can any woman(who talks of “Womens’ lib” movement today, desiresimilarly, let alone achieve such a feat? It is Andalwho proved her point not only by saying: “maaniDarkkuenru pEtchup paDil vaazhagillEn kaNDaai” (NT 1.5) butalso by accomplishing what she desired.Thus, Andal is the pioneer of the “Womens’ lib”movement albeit of a different kind!11. Role Model for “Inter Caste marriage”!There

is one more astonishing point about hermarriage. There was and even today is, so much tabooon Inter-caste marriages. But, Andal being a Brahminmarried an “iDaiyan” (a community that tends sheep andcattle and usually live in forest lands). She was thusa pioneer and a great revolutionary ushering in Intercaste marriage at a time when people could neverimagine such a sacrilegious thing! It is interesting to note that the same analogy ispresented by Andal and Rukmini in different waysrepresenting their respective “varnas”. Andal, theBrahmin girl would not brook marrying anyone elsesaying that “the “havis” is prepared for Gods cannotbe touched by a vile wily fox” (This is becauseBrahmins engaged in Yagjna used to prepare food foroffering as “havis” to the Gods.) On the other hand,Rukmini, the Kshatriya girl who also married KrishNasays that “the meat for offering to Lion cannot betouched by a vile wily

fox”. (This is because beforeembarking on a war, Kshatriyas used to offer meat to alion.)This, however, cannot be taken as a precedent bymodern girls because neither they can claim to beAndal or Rukmini nor will they ever dare to marry an“Archa murthi” like Andal!The credit for this revolution goes to our Andaal.[To be continued]dasohamAnbil Ramaswamy________Never miss a thing. Make your home page. http://www./r/hs Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Search.

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