Fw: [RaamaBhakthi] Harikatha by TNSeshagopalan at The Music Academy on 3-2-2008-SadguruThyagaraja

[Guest guest]

SrI:

 

Dear Srimathy (Dr,) Saroja Ramanujam :

 

I am delighted to rad your summary of

the Hari Kathaa KaalakshEpam of

Sangeetha KalAnidhi Srri TNS .

 

I wish I could have been there to enjoy it .

 

Few years back , It has been my good fortune

to have created a Monograph on " Ghana Raaga Pancha Ratnams " of Thyagaraja SwamigaL

to focus on His Raama Bhakthi as an echo of

Veda Mantrams and Dhivya prabhandhams

as well as Srimath RaamAyaNa SlOkams .

 

I thas been archived in :

http://www.sadagopan.org

 

the link on the left is :Anjali with Naama Ksumams .

 

Yourself and fellow Raama BhakthAs as well as

Musicologists would enjoy that monograph , which has

300 plus pages .

 

NamO SrI RaaghavAya anisam ,

V.Sadagopan

-

"rasika_tns" <rasika_tns

<RaamaBhakthi >

Thursday, February 07, 2008 8:27 AM

[RaamaBhakthi] Harikatha by TNSeshagopalan at The Music Academy on 3-2-2008-SadguruThyagaraja

The harikatha was on Sadguru Thyagaraja and TNS had to pack the subjecton which he could have elaborated for several days within the timelimit of two and a half hours and he has valiantly done a marvelous jobof it. All the highlights of the harikatha were brought within thestipulated time, proving that he could give a performance par-excellencein a duration however short.I give below the essence,(rasa) of the harikatha by TNS , which hespiced with his wonderful music, making it into a karnarasayanam, to thebest of my ability.In kaliyuga namasankirthana is enough to attain moksha whereas in otheryugas one has to resort to more strenuous methods like tapas, yajna etcand Thyagaraja was a living example for this. His bhakthi was no lessthan that of Prahlada.We are blessed that Thyagaraja had more than 100 desciples who wrotedown his songs and it was thus handed over to posterity.But it is a pity that even though numerous krthis of Thyagaraja wereknown to exist only about 50 or more are well known.Thyagaraja had composed many krithis in one raga each, with differentsvarupa. Some of his krthis are easy enough to sing even for a beginnerwhile some are difficult even for a trained musician.Thygaraja mentions that Lord Siva was the first among those who revelledin the Ramanama as he told Parvati that ramanama is equal to thethousand names of the Lord. TNS quoted from the Pancharathnakrthi`kankanaruchira' in which Thyagaraja says that Siva andAnjaneya are the witnesses for the glory of Ramanama, and TNS said thatAnjaneya and Siva are one because Anjaneya is supposed to be the amsa ofSiva. It is said that to die in Kasi is to attain mukthi because Sivawhispers the Ramanama in the ear of the dying person in Kasi.Next TNS explained the term sadguru. Thyagaraja was born in a family ofgreat devotees and was truly blessed with the grace of Srirama ,yet hecould reach the poornathva, perfection, only through a guru. This isbecoming a rarity nowadays, he said, as the tapes and computers arereplacing the guru ! TNS said gurus may be numerous(!) but to find asatguru is difficult. He defined the term guru as the one whodispels(ru) the darkness of ignorance(gu). Muthuswami Dikshithar hassaid, in his krthi about Lord Subramanya, who performed the role of aguru to him, `ajnanadhvaanthasavithre,' the one who is like asun to the darkness of ajnana.TNS compared guru to the rain-cloud which takes the salt water from thesea and transforms it into pure water. If we approach any sastra, musicor any other, by ourselves it will be like salt water. Thyagaraja saysthat guru is like the nut which when put into water clears it because heclears our mind of delusions and doubts. It is mentioned by Thyagarajain his krthi where he says `guruvechillaga' etc. Similarly guruwill turn apasvaram to susvaram.A satguru is the one who an impart jnana, and he himself must have hadthe anugraha of his guru. A satguru assumes the roles of mother, father,teacher and God to his disciple. He shows the God he has experienced toall. Thyagaraja had the darsan of Rama which made him burst into thedescription `balakanakamayachea'etc. But, TNS asked, where wasthe necessity of him to raise a plaintive cry`Elaneedhayaraadhu?' And he supplied the answer. It was not forhis sake he said so but with a wish to show the world what he hasexperienced, he entreated Rama to give His darsan to all. This is themercy of the saintly souls, that they feel ` yam pettRaunbam perugaivvaiyagam,' "let the whole world experience the joy I havefelt." This is what made Arunagirinathar to ask Lord Muruga to comein front with all his realatives and vehicle in the Mayilviruttham`athalachedanaaraada.' Thyagaraja expressed this wish in many ofhis krthis, like `sreeganapathini sevimparaare,' `choothaamurare, ` rajuvedala choothaamuraare,' and `baaghasevinchisakala bhaagyamandhudhaamu rare, in his krthi `ragaratnamalikache' in reethigoula , in all these inviting people to come andshare the joy of the darsan of the Lord.TNS said that the great souls have not written autobiography or madesomeone to write their biography and their works themselves serve thispurpose. Rama showed the world how to follow dharma by his conduct , thedharma which He spoke about in Krishnavathara. His life is anillustration as to how one should behave in the role of a son, king,master, brother etc. The Kural says'vaiyatthu vaazvaangu vaazbavanvaanuraiyum dheivatthuL vaikkappadum,' which means that the humanbeing who lives according to dharma is equal to God. Rama was GodHimself and hence there is no need to say how much more it would havebeen true for one who is vigrahavan dharamah. TNS said that how elsecould a devotee who worships such a deity like Rama be but likeThyagaraja. He, like Rama whom he worshipped, gave all he had to thosewho approached him with devotion, all that he had being nothing else butnadhavidhya. His whole life was spent in going on unchavrtthi for thesake of worshipping Rama and the rest of the time was spent in thearadhana of Rama through music.Thyagaraja showed that music is the only path to salvation an asksboldly whether one who has no knowledge of music and devotion,sathbhakthisangeethajnanaviheenulaku, can attain moksha in his krthi`mokshamugakladha.' TNS explained the words`veenaavaadhanaloludou sivamanovidha merugaru,' as the veenamentioned in the krthi is the human being who himself becomes a veena,when the pranava becomes the sapthasvaras and flows through the heartstrings which is the veena tuned by devotion. This secret is known toSiva, says Thyagaraja and one who does not know this cannot get mokshais the meaning of the words. The one who knows this is referred to byThyagaraja as `vedajanithaveenaavaadhanthathvajna.' So what ismeant is the deivaveena, and a good veena playing should resemble vocalsinging and the words should be heard with the laya inherent. TNS alsosang briely the sloka of Adisankara in soundaryalahari which is aboutSarasvati covering her veena when Ambika uttered a sound inappreciation, because of her shame that her playing of the veena isnothing against the sound that came from Ambal.Thyagaraja has also given the lakshana of good music.in his krthi`kaddhanuvariki' in thodi, said TNS and explained the charanamof the krthi, .niddhuraa niraakarinchi, muddhugaa thamburaapetti,suddhamaina manasu che susvaramutho.' You can achieve something onlyby giving up something else. So Thyagaraja says niddhuraa niraakarinchi,giving up sleep as one who is fond of sleeping can learn nothing. Nexthe says muddhugaa thamburapetti, which means that one should hold thethambur gracefully, and does not mean the thamburapetti,( theelectronic) as it is prevalent today, quipped TNS. One could achieveeven this much but the next requirement is very difficult, said TNS,namely, suddhamaina manasu.che susvaramutho, to achieve a purity of mindand sing pure music. So one should have so much discipline to mastermusic when only it becomes the path to moksha.Thyagaraja has brought out the whole Ramayana in one krthi, `sriraghukula,' as in the sloka called ekaslokiramayana`poorvam raama thapovanaanigamanam,' which describes the wholeRamayana in one sloka. In that krthi soon after the mention of`sriraghukula mandhubutti' meaning `being born inRaghukulam, Thyagaraja says `seethaanujaikonina ,' accepted thehand of Seetha. This , TNS said is in-keeping with the view ofThyagaraja that the ramavathara is the best as he mentions in the krthiin the raga kolahalam, `pathivesmulalo raamavesamubahubhaaganutsu.' This is because the divine mother , has come alongwith Rama unnlike in other avatharas. Ramavatara begins only afterseethakalayanam whereas Krishna married Rukmini much later after showingHis divinity to all by His leelas. TNS remarked that the only similaritybetween the two avataras is that both killed a woman first, Rama killedThataka and Krishna killed Poothana!Thyagaraja also showed the real purpose of Raamavatara as bhakthaparipalana and not Ravaana vadha as it may be commonly thought. Hesays, `paramabhakthulanupaalanamu tseyu,' in his krthi`Sriraghukula .' TNS said that Rama did bhakthaparipalanathrough out showering His grace to man , bird and beast. His mercy wasirrespective of caste or creed and whether it was a bird, or a monkeyor a huntress or even the brother of his enemy He was the same. Sabariwas twice blessed, said TNS, as her ascent to heaven and attainment ofmoksha was witnessed by Rama Himself.Rama was the personification of music to Thyagaraja. He asks`evarani nirnayinchiriraa? whom did the great souls take youfor?' TNS said that Thyagaraja asks a question and will supply theanswer in the charanam. He defines the ramasvarupa in the line`sivamantharamunaku maa jeeavanu, maadhavamanthramunaku raa jeevanu,' the essence of he siva manthra is "ma" and that of Vishnuis "ra" and both joined together in Rama. TNS said that thevidvans have the responsibility of knowing the meaning and split thewords correctly in singing the krthis. He jocularly remarked that itwould look as though Thyagaraja has confirmed his belief in the efficacyof ramanama which could be easily uttered anytime, by thekrthi'dhyaaname,' if the last word of the pallavi `manasaaraama' is joined with `dhyaname' while repeating the line tosound like `madhyaname' which gives the impression the ramanamacan be said in madhyanam, afternoon! Similarly he demonstrated how thekrthi `maamavathu sri sarasvathi kaamakotipeetanivaasini,'( ofMysore Vasudevachar ) should be sung with a break while repeating thepallavi as otherwise joining the nivasini with mamavathu without a breaksounds like `cinema!' and hence one should take a breath beforerepeating the line.TNS quoted from Kamban `moolamum naduvum,' where Hanuman tellsRavana that Rama is the :Lord Himself who has left all his other weaponsand came to Ayodhya carrying only the bow, `orukaivil Endhiayoddhivandhaan.' TNS remarked that Hanuman was called `sollinselvan' by Rama which could be broken as sol+in+selvan meaning thathe is the selvan possessing the rich wealth of the sweet name Rama,`in sol'Continuing the svarupa of Rama as the sangeetham itself TNS explainedthe Thyagarajakrthi `naadhasudhaa rasambilanu,' where Rama isdescribed as the music itself in humanform, `naddhasudhaarasambilanu narrakrthi aaya.' And his bow is the raga, the svaras are thebells on his bow etc and the sangathis are His conversations and it issarasa, full of essence (sa+rasa) and also enjoyable (sarasa). Then TNSspoke about the sangathis. He said `sangathi pOdaradhu periasangathi!' Thyagarja's sangathis are like the lotus slowlyopening its petals in the sunlight of Ramakripa and the technique ofsangathis developed today is the boon of Thyagaraja. TNS said "avarkOdu pOttaar mattRavaa rOdu pOttaa."Sangeetha jnanam without devotion, said Thyagaraja will not securesalvation, `sangeethajananmu bhakthivina sanmaargamu galadhe .'TNS said the musician is similar to a knower of Vedas if his music isinvolved with bhakthi and it should be visible by mere looking at himbecause sangeetha sasthrajnana is capable of providing saaroopyamukthi,as described by Thyagaraja in his mukhaari krthi. (saaroopyamukthi meansattatining a form similar to the Lord)TNS next mentioned about the variety of bhavas Thyagaraja brought intothe same raga, sometimes .within one krthi. Atana portrayed differentmoods as in `Elaneedhaya raadhu,' he said and sang the krthi todemonstrate it which was a treat to rasikas. In the charanam Thyagarajacalls Rama affectionately and TNS sang it displaying the full beauty ofthe lyric. Then he gave an explanation for the use of the wordraajeevanethra by Thyagaraja, who was undoubtedly familiar withValmiki. In Balakanda where Visvamithra asks Dasaratha to send Rama thelatter replied that Rama was just a boy and could not face the asuras.The reason is implied in the word `raamo raajeevalochanaH' bywhich Dasaratha refers to Rama. A lotus `raajeeva' will close atthe sunset and the asuras are known to appear only in the night when theeyes of Rama which are like lotuses will close with sleep as. he was `oonoshodasavarshaH,' not even sixteen.Then TNS referred to the pisode of the king of Tanjore callingThyagaraja, the very fact that he did so was enough to distressThyagaraja to whom Rama was everything, `dhanadhaanyamu dhaivamuneevaiyundaka,' as he says in the ranjani krthi,`dunmargachara.' He was so pained that he asks himself whetherhe had any desire for wealth unconsciously which made others think thathe may accept the offer of the king. `Nidhi tsaalasukhamaa raamunisnnidhisevaa sukhamaa nijamuga phalgu manasaa.' Another time he wastold by Vadivelu , one of the Tanjore quartet, thatMaharajaSwathithorunaal wished to meet him. This made him exclaim`padhavini sathbhakthiyu,' that the true exalted position is theservice of Rama. This krthi, a beautiful one ,said TNS, shows the heightof vairagya of the devotees like Thyagraja , similar to that ofVeedantadesika who composed vairagyapanchakam in which he exclaims,`asthi me hasthisailagre vasthu paithaamaham dhanam,', when hisfriend Vidyaranya wanted to call him to the court of Krishnadevaraya. Inhis krthi `daasarathee neernamu theerppa naavasamaa,' Thyagarajaputs it all to the glory of Rama that he was revered by all.TNS then referred to the krthi of Thyagaraja `mithribhagyame,'in karaharapriya where Thyagaraja marvels at the way Lakshmana placesRama on the oonjal and sings. This krthi gives the essentials of goodmusic. Thyagaraja himself had s shown how Rama should be placed on theoonjal in his krthi'uyyaalaoogavayya.' In the karaharapriyakrthi he says, ,'bhagugavindha raagamulanu aalaapamu tseyagameupulkarinchaka,' and this dispels the doubts of sceptics whetherThyagaraja did alapana etc. He says Lakshmana sang elaborately doingalapana in apoorvaragas so that it created horripilation to thelisteners. TNS said this is the way the raga alapana should be sung andhis rasikas who have heard him sing the raga alapana will have no twoopinions about this, especially when he said one should singélaborately yet leave the listeners longing for more! This is exactlythe experience of the rasikas of TNS! As he said while definingbrahmanandham, it is the capacity of the musician to show the divinityhe has experienced through his music to the listeners. I would like toadd that to get that experience the rasika must be sahrdhya his mindtuned to that of the musician. As TNS said later , for that one needsthe grace of the Lord.The question whether Thyagaraj would have sung svaras is answered by hispancharathnakrthis, said TNS. In the nata pancharathna krthi thesvaras `SPMRSPMR,etc., rishabha which is the vivadi svara standsprominently repeated many times like so many nandis we see before we getinto the sanctum sanctorum of the temple of Siva. Not only that , in thebeginning itself Thyagaraja united Rama with Seetha, in`jayajaanakeepraaNanaayakaa' to give us the darsan of the Lordand the Divine mother together. Other charanas of the krthi also aboundin svara combinations which clearly stand as beacon-lights for theposterity in svara singing. The lyric is also rich in rhetoric beautyeven without music, said TNS, like ashtapadis, which even when read loudas a poetry creates a joy to the listener. He cited the charanam`karadhrthasarajaala,' to illustrate this.The lyric of Thyagarajakrthis itself portrays the different emotions,said TNS as in `ethudanilachithe ,' where he starts withentreaty and proceeds to accusation in the charanam, which is full ofrhetoric charm. So is the charanam of `Elaneedhayaraadhu..'His compositions are not mere fantasy but actual experience of thepresence of Rama.Finally Thyagaraja has handled even the topics that are like walking onrazor's edge like the nowkacharithram with full of rasa withoutvirasa.I have presented a picture to the best of my knowledge which is no waycomparable to the excellent exposition of TNS which is all this and muchmore, added with his brilliant music. I only endeavour to convey anidea of his harikatha to the rasikas who did not have the opportunityto witness it personally. I hope that I have done a reasonably good jobof it.