Sri Ahobila Mutt USA presents the Audio CD : Saranagati

[Guest guest]

Dear BhakthAs :

 

It is my pleasure to let you know about the release of

a delightful and significant audio CD ROM by The Ahobila Mutt of

North America on the most important topic of Saranagathi .

 

It is a Musical CD ROM , a Naadha NaivEdhyam by

Srimathi Sumati Ramesh of New Jersey and Mumbay .

 

Sumati is a gifted musician , who has assembled an exquisite

garland of " flowers " from AzhwAr , AchArya Sri Sookthis

and NaadhOpAsakaas like Saint Annamayya and ThyAgarAja

SwamigaL . She is placing this garland at the sacred feet of her AchAryan

(Srimath Azhagiya Singar) and MalOlan with great bhakthi . It is indeed

a Naama KusumAnjali by her .

 

This SaraNAgathy garland presented by Srimati Sumati Ramesh

is a veritable Vyjayanthi Maalai and carries the eternal fragrance

associated with the uplifting message of SataNagathi in all its aspects .

 

This is an audio CD ROM that all Sri VaishNava Families and

Music lovers should enjoy and reflect upon . Please send e-mail to

Sriman Rajaji , the President of Ahobila Matam NA to acquire your copies

(Rrajaji) .

 

This Outstanding CD from many aspects ( Sacredness of the subject ,

significance in our lives , Musical acumen displayed , AchArya anugraham

that it contains) is a most desirable treasure to have in your family's library

and listen to often .

 

This CD has been prized at $ 15 to recover the costs invested ahead

to prepare and release it .

 

Your support for this kaimkaryam beyond $15 for each CD

is also most welcome to cover the expenses incurred . May Sriman

Narayana's blessings be with you and your Family always !

 

Let us start now with the enjoyment of the Saranagathi CD ROM .

 

1. Anugraha BhAshaNam

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Prakrutham Azhagiya Singar , HH Sri Narayana Yathindhra Maha Desikan

blesses this CD with a seven minute long anugraha BhAshaNam on

the importance of SaraNAgathy anushtAnam in Sri VaishNava SampradhAyam .

 

HH Srimath Azhagiya Singar reminds us of the MahOpakArams of

our AzhwArs and AchAryAs to show us the secure means of SaraNAgathy

to gain Moksha Siddhi and enjoy nithya Kaimkaryam and ParipoorNa

BrahmAnandham at Sri Vaikuntam .

 

2. AchArya Vandhanam

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The musical portion of the CD Rom statrs with the invocatory piece

( Taniyan ) in Sanskrit that offers its obesiance to HH Sri Narayana

YathIndhra MahA Desikan , the current revered Jeeyar of Sri Matam .

It is sung in a very pleasing early morning Raagam .

 

3. Guru Parampara anusandhAnam

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The second piece is from Swamy Desikan's tribute to Sri VaishNava

Guru Paramaparai . This Tamil Paasuram is from AdhikAra Sangraham

of Desika Prabhandham and is sung in Raagam AabhOgi (Known for its

Janta Svara PrayOgam , which matches the brisk Chantham of Swamy

Desikan's Paasuram ) in the Viruttham style .

 

Here , Swamy Desikan pays his praNAmams to his immediate

AchAryan for the sadhupadEsams that he has recieved . Srimathy Chitra

Malolan says in her sleeve notes : " Sri VaishNava SampradhAyam

is grand and rich in glory , as it has been passed on to us from Lord

Sriman Narayanan Himself . Swami Desikan venerates this unbroken

chain of Acharyas " from his immediate Acharyan (AatrEya Raamanuja )

to the PratamAchAryan , Sriman Narayanan .

 

After the salutations to the AchArya GhOshti , Sumathi selects

an elaborate piece to pay her tribute to the Naayaka MaNi in

the necklace (haaram ) of AchAryAs , Swami Ramanuja .

 

4. Bhaja YathirAjam in Raaga Maalikai format

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This Sanskrit piece has been bequeathed to us

by Sri RanganAthAchAr Swamy considered as

a disciple (?) of AchArya RaamAnuja .

 

Sumati selects thirteen beautiful ragams to bring out

the reverential salutation of Sri RanganAthAchAr's

extensive coverage of the Life and Vaibhavam of

AchArya Ramanuja . Ninteen minutes have been

dedicated to this Krithi .

 

These raagams in their exquiste sequence are:

 

1) Hamsadhvani ( A Raaga created by the 18th Century composer

Sri Ramaswamy Dikshithar ).

 

2) DhanyAsi ( a Janya Raagam of 8th MeLam , Hanuma ThOdi

known for its Maadhuryam and mood of Bhakthi ; Morning Raaga ).

 

3) HamsAnandhi ( a Beautiful Evening Raagam).

 

4)SahAnA ( a tender Raagam ideal for humble prayers with pathos

and nirvEdham seeking the boon of BhagavAn's anugraham)

 

5) SaavEri ( another tender Raagam with its exquisite gliding between

shadjamam and Rishabha svarams : " SaavE ReeyAha irukkum ") .

 

6) The Soaring and Majestic KedAra Gowlai (Veera Rasam)

 

7) The pleading Hameer KalyANi (usually used in nindhA sthuthi

to remind the Lord that he has not done his duty of Bhaktha RakshaNam ).

 

8) The delectable Aanandha Bhairavi dear to VeNu and Naadhasvara VidhvAns.

 

9) Tilang ( Evening 6-9P.M Raaga known for the mood of VisrAnthy/Saanthi ).

 

10) Bage Sri ( another auspicious Raagam dear to MahA Lakshmi ).

 

11) BehAg ( late night Raagam / 9-12 Midnight )

 

12) Sindhu Bhairavi ( Noted for its Karunaa Rasam )

 

13) Desh ( a Luminous Raagam like Chandra Kauns , Madhuvanthy ).

 

Srimathy Sumati Ramesh's brilliant rendering of the tribute to

AchArya Ramanuja and His message of SaraNAgathi is a wonderful

accomplishment . You must hear this Bhajan style item with the hand cymbals

echoing the beat in the background .

 

5. Thirumangai Mannan's outpourings on SaraNAgathi

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The nirvEdham of Klaiyan and His UpadEsamfor us to clelebrate

the power of AshtAkshara Manthram to get freedom from

the cycles of births and deaths ( Moksham) is a very personal

message .

 

The first Paasuram " VaainEn Vaadi VarunthinEn " ( Periya Thirumozhi 1.1.1)

is sung by Sumati in the Raagam Revathy dear to Lord RanganAtha.

The closeness of Revathy svarams to Vedic svarams used in

Saama Gaanam make this rendering of the Paasuram very moving .

 

Sumati follows the First Paasuram of Periya Thirumozhi

with the ninth Paasuram of the same decad ( Kulam Tarum )

in the morning Raagam of Bilahari . Here , Kaliyan points out

the greatness of the dhivya Naamam of NaarAyaNa and its

power to grant all the worldly riches as well as the Parama

PurushArTam of Moksham .

 

6. Tribute to Lord Narasimha

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In this Bilahari Raaga Krithi composed by Saint ThyagarAja

at Sholingar and set in Misra ChApu TaaLam , Lord Narasimha

is the object of his SaraNAgathi . The sleeve notes by Smt. Chitra

Malolan says : Saint ThyagarAja says : " Only with the benevolence of

Lord Narasimhan we would have the bhAgyam of chanting his name ,

meditate upon Him and be in the company of His devotees , which are the ideal

values for a Sri VaishNavan ".Sumati's rendering of this krithi brings out

the mood and mind set for SaraNAgathy .

 

7.Tribute to Lord VenkatEsa by Saint AnnamAchArya: BhavamulOna --

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The next krithi chosen by Sumati is the famous Suddha DhanyAsi

Krithi of the srEshta VenkatEsa BhakthA , AnnamayyA of TaaLappAkkam .

AnnamayyA was a key sishya of the First Jeeyar of Ahobila Mutt ,

Sri Aadhi VaNN SaThakOpa Jeeyar . The spirit of SaraNagathi is

evoked by AnnamayyA in this krithi and the dhvani of it echos

are heard still in the sanctum of the Lord of the Seven hills .

 

8. Swamy NammAzhwAr's SaraNAgathy to Lord SrinivAsa at Thirumala

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In the classical ThiruvAimozhi Paasuram ( 6.10.10) , Swamy NammAzhwAr

performs his moving SaraNAgathy at the sacred feet of Sriya: Pathi at

ThiruvEnkatam hills ( agalakillEn Paasuram) . It is the SaasthrOktha

SaraNagathi following the way shown by Dhvaya manthram . Its tight links to

Dhavya Manthram has been extensively commented upon .

 

Here , Swamy NammAzhwAr , who is eager to have his SaraNagathy fulfilled

quickly approaches the Lord through MahA Lakshmi as PurushakAram ;

next he describes clearly his svaroopam ( yennai AaLvAnE !) and performs

SaraNAgathi( adiyEn unnadikkeezh puhunthEnE ).

 

AchArya RaamAnuja took his cues from this Paasuram to perform

his SaraNAgathi in front of the dhivya dampathis of Srirangam through

his SaraNAgathy Gadhyam , where Acharya Ramanuja eulogized

the nithya yOgam ( nithyAnapAyini , agalakillEniRayamenRu ) .

As ananya SaraNan and akinchanan , Swamy NammAzhwAr perforemed

his SaraNAgathy ( Unn adikkeezh adiyEn amarnthu puhunthEnE/ NaarAyaNa

charaNou SaraNam prapadhyE ) and AchArya Ramanuja followed that ancient path .

 

Swamy NammAzhwAr is our ParamAchAryar with unshakable links to

our PrathamAchAryan , Sriman NarayaNan . This Paasuram is the sheet

anchor for SaraNAgathy in that it is an exact vivaraNam of SaraNAgathy

anushtAnam as per the dhvya Manthram .

 

At ThiruviNNagar , Swamy NammAzhwAr revealed through his Ukthi

( ThiruviNNagar mannu PirAn kazhalkaLanRi maRROr kaLaikaNilam

kaaNminkaLe) . Here at ThiruvEnkatam , Swamy NammAzhwAr performed

his SaraNAgathi anushtAnam . Swamy NammAzhwAr performed SaraNAgathi

at ThiruvEnkatam not for himself alone but for all of us and showed us

the way through this anushtAna Paasuram .

 

Sumati has etched the anubhavam of Swamy NammAzhwAr through

the use of KaambhOji raagam ideal for elaboration of the spirit and

substance of SaraNAgathy. Saint ThyagarAja was inspired to perform

his SaraNAgathy in front of Lord RanganAtha with his elaborate KaambhOji

krithi ( Oh RangasAyee) with its many sangathis in the Pallavi . Sumati has

followed this rich tradition . It is appropriate that her CD is going to be released

at Sri RanganAtha Temple during AchArya Dinam celebration ( Sep 3-4, 2005).

 

9. Swamy Desikan's NyAsa Dasakam : Description and AnushTanam of SaraNAgathi

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Sumati now moves from Swamy NammAzhwAr's Paasuram to the Sri Sookthi of

NyAsa Dasakam , where Swamy Desikan instructed us about the mood behind

the SaraNAgathy , the five angams of SaraNAgathi and performed the SaraNAgathi

before his Ishta Dhaivam , Lord VaradarAjan of Hasthi Giri at Kaancheepuram .

 

The detailed meanings of Sri NyAsa Dasakam recited by us every day is

covered in http://www.sadagopan.org/acharyans/sd21.htm

 

Sumati has used Siva Ranjani and Subha PanthuvarALi to bring out

the inherent beauty and sacredness of this precious Sri Sookthi of

Swamy Desikan with great Vaathsalyam and prEmai . adiyEn was deeply

moved by listening to the rendering of Sumati with great care to the uccharaNam

of the Sanskrit words and the BhAvam behind the slOkams of this Sri Sookthi .

 

Lord Sivan is none other than Ahirbudhnyan , who performed His SaraNAgathi

at the sacred feet of Sriman Narasimhan ( MlaOlan) through the illustrious

Manthra Raaja Padha SthOthram . This NyAsa Dasakam should be very

pleasing ( Ranjani) to this Special Nrusimha Bhakthan .The Raagam of

Subha PanthuvarALi is dear to Sathya NaarayaNan , the SaraNAgatha

Vathsalan , who accepts our SaraNAgathi with Svaroopa, Bhara and

Phala SamarpaNams through our AchAryans .

 

9. MangaLam in MadhyamAvathi : Vandhanam to Sri Vaikunta Naathan

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As a fitting finale , Sumati has chosen the MadhyamAvathi krithi of

VidhvAmsini-Saahithya KarthA , Srimathy SanthAna Lakshmi of

Mumbay to evoke the bliss of arival of the Mumukshu at Parama Padham

and the performance of Nithya Kaimkaryam to the dhivya dampathys

there . This is the ultimate experience for one , who has been blessed

with Moksha Siddhi through the anushtAnam of SaraNAgathi .

 

In the Subhakara Raagam of MadhyamAvathi with its many ranjaka prayOgams,

Sumati invokes the mood of AchArya RaamAnujA's Sri Vaikunta Gadhyam ,

KurEsar's Sri Vaikuntta Sthavam and Swamy Desikan's Parama Padha

sOpAnam 's PrApthi parvam . with great bhAvam (emotional appeal) .

 

Sumati sings this krithi set in a thristhAyi raagam known for its concordance

of scales (Symmetrical plain scales) that portrays exquisitely the Bhakthi and

KaaruNya rasams . The many ranjaka prayOgams of this raagam are at the emotional

rather than the cerebral level , which fits very well with the mood of SaraNAgathi .

One has to enjoy this whole CD ROM with one's eyes closed and it is superlative

aanandha anubhavam .

 

Concluding observations on the Musical aspects of the Raagams chosen

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Sumati's choice of RaagAs are striking . Her selections are eclectic :

 

There are RaagAs with symmetrical plain scales : AbhOgi , MadhyamAvathi ,

HamsAnandhi and AbhOgi .

 

There are RaagAs with asymmetrical plain scales : Bilahari , DhanyAsi , SaavEri , KedAragouLai and KaambhOji .

 

There are the RaagAs with Vakra Scales : SahAnaa , Aanandha Bhairavi ,

Hameer KalyANi and Behag and there is the 45th Parthimadhyama MeLa

Raagam of Subha PanthuvarALi .

 

The Raagas and their svaroopam are revealed in a manner that enhances

the RasAnubhavam for the Listener .Please acquire this CD and experience

the outpourings of AzhwArs and AchAryAs to help one and all to practise

SaraNAgathy as a direct and immediate means to Moksham irrespective of

Caste , Creed , Colour , Language or Gender .

 

DaasOham , Srimath Azhagiya Singar ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam ,

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan