Release of the Book on the Vaibhavam of the AzhwArs : Poorva , Magic Miracles and the Mystical Twelve

[Guest guest]

Dear Members :

 

Srimathy Lakshmi Devanath of Chennai has released

one of the most fascinating books on the Mystical Twelve ,

(the God-intoxicated twelve AzhwArs) that would be of

riveting interst to teenagers and younger ones in your family .

 

It has been a wonderful experience reading this unusual book

that is noteworthy for its breezy narration and innovative

approach to bring the world of Alwars within easy reach of

digital age Children and link them to their spiritual heritage .

 

It is my pleasure to recommend this book to Children

and adults in India and overseas .Srimathy Devnath's

book is particularly welcome to the parents since

there are not many books in English for children about

the AzhwArs in an easily assimilable format .

Propelled by a vibrant imagination that is reinforced by her enormous gifts

in story telling , Srimathy Devanath has placed a eleven year old child

with the name of Poorva at the center of the book and describes

Poorva's magical adventures that blur time and space . In a style

reminiscent of Lewis Carroll's " Adventures in Wonderland "

and J.K.Rowling's Harry Potter, Srimathy Devnath describes

the magical , miraculous and cross-fading travel experiences

of Poorva with a saintly person , " Ramaswamy Thatha "

who was visiting her home during her short summer vacation .

Thatha decides to tell the story of the twelve AzhwArs to Poorva

and their celebrated lives filled with devotion to Sriman Narayana .

 

By the sheer power of his spiritual attainments , Thatha transports

Poorva to the past centuries and milleniums and travels with

her . Poorva is full of curiosity and Thatha answers her

questions patiently and keeps the dialog open .He takes

Poorva on magical journeys on cloud cabs , fast horses

and advises her to expect the unexpected and not to

assume anything . They travel together to the places of

birth of the AzhwArs and the temples that they visited

and sung about . Events phase in and fade out and

amazing morphing takes place between personages

whom Poorva meets during this journey . Days get

packed into hours and years into days and Poorva

with the help of her Thatha jumps over centuries .

Poorva observes with sheer delight : " The trip was

powered by magic ". She experiences miracles

of singing trees and travel by cloud cabs jetting smoothly

through space and time .

 

The narration of Srimathy Devnath follows the history

of AzhwArs as told in Guru Parampara and starts with

ThirukkovalUr, where the First three AzhwArs

met , experienced the Lord and sang raptourously

about His limitless auspicious attributes .

The story telling moves on to Thirumazhisai ,

Thirukuruhoor ( Swamy NammAzhwAr ,

Madhura Kavi ) , ThiruvanjikkuLam

( Kulasekara AzhwAr ) , SrivilliputthUr

( PeriyAzhwAr and Andal , the Divine Bride) ,

Srirangam ( Thondaradippodi and ThriuppANar)

and concludes with Thirumangai . After Thirumangai's

times , the Four Thousand sacred collect gets lost

and Sage Naatha Muni retrieves them with the blessings

of Swamy NammAzhwAr . Poorva experiences all

of these events and comes back to the Twenty First

century . Her dear Thatha leaves behind a treasure trove

of palm leaf manuscripts on Alwars and their dhivya

Prabhandhams that are visible only to Poorva

to help her remember her magical , miraculous and

mystical journey .

 

Srimathy Devnath's choice of the title : " Poorva ,

Magic , Miracles and Mystical Travels " is very apt

and revelatory . To appreciate that one has to reflect

on the definitions of the Three "M"s included in

the book's title : Magic , Miracle and Mystic .

 

Magic is closely associated with illusion . At a higher level ,

Magic has been defined as " conceptual and complete

system of thought , beliefs and knowledge that asserts

human ability to control the natural world , the events ,

people and physical phenomenon ". Poorva's Thatha

lets her enjoy the magic during her exciting travel .

 

The definition of Miracle at the simplest level means

some thing wonderful and is linked to the Greek word

" miraculum ". At a spirutual level , Divine Miracle stands for

" the striking interposition of Divine intervention by God in

the universe by which the ordinary course and operation of

nature is overruled , suspended or modified ". As Poorva moves

from the fifth century scene at Thirukkovalur to the tenth

century retrieval of the lost four thousand sacred collect

( NaalAyira Dhivya Prabhandham of the 12 AzhwArs) ,

she becomes immersed in a lot of miracles .

 

Mysticism has been defined as " the pursuit of achieving

communion with or conscious awareness of ultimate Reality

(God) through direct experience , intuition or insight ". The Twelve

AzhwArs immersed themselves in deep devotion to Sriman

Narayana and their sacred utterances are steeped in their

mystical experiences . Thatha facilitated Poorva to have

a taste of this divine mysticism of AzhwArs in general

and the Bridal Mysticism of Andal in particular .

 

Magic , Miracles and Mysticism tumble through

the Kaelidoscope of Thatha Swamy's spiritual

attainments and is lent to Poorva so that it takes

on the role of an unfogettable Teledioscope for her

to rememeber and recall her rich experiences

of Travel with her matchless Thatha .

 

This book is very well suited to be made into

an animated Movie as well to extend the enjoyment

of Poorva's travels with her dear Thatha . Before

that becomes a reality , it is my pleasure to recommend

the acquisition of Srimathy Lakshmi Devnath's book

for your family library .

 

The East-West Books of Chennai has released

this delightful book . You can purchase the book

( Price 195 Rupees in India) from East-West Books ,

571 Poonamallee High Road , Aminjikkarai ,

Chennai 600 029 or send e-mail to them at :

ewb@airtelbroadband,in

 

I plan to recieve few copies of this wonderful

book here son . It would be available at New York

and California . Please let me know if you wish to

acquire them from here .

 

NamO Sriman Narayanaya .

Oppiliappan Koil Varadachari Sadagopan