Kanndeyn Gopiyai..

[Guest guest]

Dear Baagavathaas,

Aditeyn was fortunate to sight and hear a Gopika at Shri Mahalakshmi

Temple in Boston in the guise Of Shri. Vellukudi Swami.His talk on

the significance of Thru Venkadesa worship in Kali Yuga cativated

all.He also gave a brief hand out to take home and muse over his

talk.We all knew that his Tamil Vubanyaasams are so fleuent like

continous down pour of rain.Aazlvaar's paasurams,slokams from

Raamaayanna and Geethai as well as veda vyaasa's Baagavatham comete

with each other to come from his sweet tongue to illustrate the

points he was making.His english talk was also as fluent..Adiyen felt

that much larger audience-may be in one of the leading univercity

auditoriyams would have been more useful to convey his universal

message.

 

...He quoted the ancient Rig veda-arAyi KAne vikatEgirim gaccha

satAnvE sirim pithasya savabhi:ebhistva sAtayAmasi-puhal ontrum

ellatha naam- .Govinda Nama Sangeerthanam panni konndu,

baagavatharkalludan ezlu malai nokki sentraal porum-such simple

efforts will remove all our Vem-collection of sins,and will burn them-

kada-into ashes..Staying there for a while will sow bakthi in our

minds.Sugreevan cautioned all monkeys who went in search of Seethaa

Piraatti to avoid Thiru Vemkada hills--if they go there ,they will

straight away proceed to Parama Padam and they will not return back

to search Piraatti.. Such was the fiem belief of a monkey in those

days..We should also have such firm belief.

 

He also mentoined the clever way of Lord Srinivasa in granting us all

we wish so that we have faith in Him and continue to come to

Him.Gradually, He will succeed in His mission to take all of us in

His fold.. Untill He succeeds to complete His mission and bring

all " neesars and nirai ontrum ellaathors " also into his fold..He does

not sit or sleep but keeps on standing just for this purpose.That is

why He is " Ezlil koll Jothi " ..Parama pada naathan is like pahal

villakku, but here in Thiruvemkadam He is Kuntrin mel erukkum

Villakku ..

 

He taught us seven simple steps to reach Lord Srinivasan.These are

easy to remember and represent the seven hills..The seven steps are

in the form of our offering seven pushbams.

 

1.Ahimsa prathamam pushpam...not doing himsai by body, speach or

mind..He illustrated the cruelty of bagavatha abacharam by narrating

oorath aazlvaan's saying that he might have thought about the konal

thirumann kaappu of some bagavatha to have lost his eye sight.

 

2.Pushbam indriya nigraha.controlling all our ten karma, gjana

enthiriyams and mind by channeling then to Him..Control of food

habits is essential to acheive this..

 

3..Sarva bhUta daYa is the next pushbam we should offer to

Him..Compassion towards all beings..The examples he naraated of Rama

offering to perform last rites to Ravanna, bringing all dead monkeys

back to life ,and feeling lost because he could not do so for all

dead asuras because Ravanna ordered all dead asura's bodies to be

thrown into ocean so that therir sight will not demotivate the

fighting asuras..Another moving example was Yudhishthira's svarga

arohaNa--evan as he was entering svarga, he heard a dog crying for

help to free it from biting insects..He offered himself to the

insects and helped both the dog and the insects..Koorath aazlvaan's

pleading to Lord varadar to grant motsham to NaloorAn is another

example he indicated .

 

...4.Kshama pushbam is the next one to offer..this is viseshata

pushbam..Rama's acceptance of Vibeeshanna,KAkAsura,and Samudra rAja

are examples of kshamA..

 

...5..GnAnam pushbam is the fifth step..Pireethiyudan, gnAnam

kalanthu, Bakthiyaha parimallikkanum..Swami gave the example of -this

bakthi roobamana gnAna as unfailing means -Vidura.. He offered the

pealings of the fruit to Krishna who gladly accepted the same.Vyasar

calls him as mahaa gjanavaan.Friut or the peals of the same is

nothing for the vulaham vunnda peru vaayan.. It is the preethi

kalantha bakthi, with which that was offered that pleases Him.

 

...6..Tapas is the sixth pushbam to be offered.. we need not go to

Himalaya to perform tapas..research and nyasam..puhal ontrum ellaatha

naam avan adikeezl puhunthu surrender seyvathey ethu. " Kallaivaay

thunbam.. kallai kann mattru elen " yentru eruthal..

 

...7..DyAnam is the seventh one to be offered..We can make a humble

beginning with 15 minutes of meditation a day.. focussing on His

Divya Manngalla Vigraham.

 

...By offering these seven pushbams,He offers Himself-Satyam yenkira

8th Pushbam-to us..Satyam bhUta hitam proktam..He explained thar sat-

is sentinent - chit thathvam...and ti-is insentinent achit

thathvam....yam- the controller -easvara thathvam..

 

His talk for over 75 minutes brought out tears in our eyes.neer

malhum kanninaraahi, nenjam kuzlainthu nainthom..Entha Baagyam pera

arull thantha Srinivasanukku kruthagjanaraahi ..swamiyin pala pala

divya kainkaryangall melum melum vallara praarthippom..

 

Adiyey Raamanuja Dasan

 

Kasturi Thiruvemkadathaan.