Two ladies, Two mothers and two different views!

Lets see another comparison involving two states of Parangusa nayaki and Parakala nayaki.

Parangusa Nayaki's (Nammazhwar)mother takes her to தொலைவில்லி மங்கலம் to have darshan of perumal, despite knowing her weak state!

Mother took nayaki and showed her the perumal who adds beauty to the jewels he is wearing. (ஆபரணங்களுக்கு அழகு செய்யும் பெருமாள்). After seeing the lotus eyed lord, tears starts flowing down like rain and she keeps prostrating in the direction of தொலைவில்லி மங்கலம் without any other thoughts.

Here the summary is this. Mother herself takes Parangusa nayaki to see the lord and immerses her into him. Nayaki sees the lord and dives into the beauty and the divine attributes of the Lord and is unable to think of anything else. Can mother ever recover her daughter from this?

So Parangusa Nayaki sees the lord for herself here.

Now lets move to Parakala Nayaki (Thirumangai Azhwar).

In this case, Parakala Nayaki is already immersed in perumal and her mother is trying to distract her from her state! Mother feels that if Nayaki is moved out to a place without (even) a human contact, she may recover. She moves Nayaki to a bungalow with a balcony (நீணிலா முற்றம் ).

பரகால நாயகி moves to the balcony and looks out. She sees திருகண்ணபுரம் from a distance. And instead of just enjoying the sight herself, she calls out to her mother ... காணுமோ கண்ணபுரம் என்று காட்டினாள். She intends to convey that "See Thirukannapuram. Prostrate and bow to the lord". Instead she simply points to the direction and says "see Thirukannapuram" and conveys the rest by gestures.

The 'O' in காணுமோ refers to  sympathy towards other souls. The very reason why eyes have been provided by the  lord is to have darshan of him. Instead of that, eyes are used for all other material purposes. There is a reference to an incident during Parasara Bhattar's time. When Bhattar was going to the sanctum, he sees a devotee looking towards the Sriranga Vimanam. But he has closed his eyes and is muttering some slokas. Bhattar was so disappointed and commented that the Vimana is there just for the eyes to feast. Instead his poor soul is closing his eyes thereby invalidating the very reason why it exists.(Refer to all folks who close their eyes and slap their cheeks with both the hands in temples.... that can be done even without going to the temple. Once you are in the temple, keep your eyes wide open!!!)

 The end state of knowledge is to serve it to others and thats what Parakala Nayaki (Thirumangai Azhwar) is doing here. Its important to note here is that while all the romantic allegories of Nayaki, Nayakan are all there, this is the key differentiation from the material world. Its always Paramathma with all the Jeevathmaas and everyone is invited to the realization of the true relationship. Its not a one on one relationship like lovers in material world.

Mother is surprised and says in wonder. I keep scolding her saying you should not be so rigid and determined like this. Despite all that, she calls me of all people and says "காணுமோ கண்ணபுரம்".

பாணனார் திண்ணமிருக்க இனியிவள் நாணுமோ  - பாணனார் refers to the go between for Nayaki and Nayakan. This refers to an Acharya who acts as intermediatary between Jeevathma and Paramathma. Mother says that Parakala nayaki has the stature of an acharya and so there is no way she is going to climb down and get distracted from her single minded focus on the Lord.

Parangusa Nayaki shows how she gets immersed when she gets the sight. Parakala Nayaki shows how to spread the sight after she got it.

Thanksgiving!

I got a note from one of my colleagues yesterday night basically greeting us and to express thanks for having such a great team. I looked at this tradition and realized that this has both civil and religious context.

I guess the equivalent in tamil tradition is the தை திருநாள் where Sun, Rain, farm animals and workers are thanked. But then thoughts wandered around topics that are of my interest. The question basically was "whats the equivalent for "Thanksgiving" from the Sri Vaishnava tradition". Before long, it became obvious to me  that most of my previous posts were from the "thanksgiving finale" of திருமங்கை மன்னன்.

The introduction to the commentary (அவதாரிகை) clearly shows that Azhwar thinks of all the blessings bestowed upon him (உபகார பரம்பரைகள்) and expresses them in திருநெடுந்தாண்டகம்.

In some of the previous posts (Oracle et al), we have seen the context for the different works. We can see them again quickly as they are the blessings Azhwar says that he got in his "thanks giving" to Perumal.

In his own words, Azhwar was like this. God created women for me to enjoy! And the primary cause of such a thought is this "My body is the soul.  There is nothing else". Due to such a situation, there was no possibility for Azhwar to even contemplate about things beyond the physical body ,senses and the pleasures.

1. Perumal decides to bless Azhwar by revealing his divine beauty. After all, this vessel is not ready for discourses or other such mechanisms. Because he was such a connoisseur , he got immersed deeply in this experience.
2. Perumal went ahead to the next step. Such a relationship will be transient and so he wanted to strengthen it. When Azhwar threatened perumal with his sword to reveal his magic, Perumal gave him the Thirumantra. However he also explained the mantra revealing the nature of Jeevathma, Paramathma and their relationship, along with the divyadesams that showcase those divine attributes.
3. After Azhwar goes all around Bharat, singing in praise of the divyadesams and perumal, Perumal reveals the temporary nature of this life and the associated suffering.
4. When Azhwar understands the nature of this Samsara to his horror, he starts screaming for help (மாற்றம்  உள ). Perumal waits (as a mother waits when a child has just recovered from Indigestion) to make sure Azhwar is fully ready before granting him Moksha.

The above are the various actions of perumal. The below is how Azhwar conveys his "Thanks".

Perumal explained the nature of non sentient (அசித்), sentient (சித்) and Easwara (ஈஸ்வரன்) without any other qualifications or expectations from Azhwar. Through this Azhwar was blessed with knowledge of everything and he ends his first song by wondering as follows:

என் உருவில் நின்ற எந்தை - Even if perumal comes into my soul, it will only reduce his glories. But he goes further and comes inside my physical body itself!!

தளிர் புரையும் திருவடி என் தலை மேலவே

Perumal's feet was dessicated and dry due to separation from Azhwar. Now that Azhwar has come to realize his true nature, perumal's feet is literally 'blooming'.

From having feet of women on my head, I have come to a situation where my lord's feet is on my head. After all,  celestial beings (நித்ய சூரிகள் ) are the ones who have this blessing. And I have got the same with no effort from my side.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

A tale of two damsels and their mothers worries

Most of us might have heard of this comparison between the concern of Parangusa Nayaki (Nammazhvar)'s mother and Parakala Nayaki (Thirumangai Azhwar)'s mother regarding their daughter's safety/status.

There are two corresponding decads in திருவாய்மொழி and பெரிய திருமொழி where both mothers express this.

In திருவாய்மொழி (6-7), from the decad on திருக்கோளூர்.

Mother gets up in the morning and does not find பராங்குச நாயகி next to her in bed. She immediately says "I know for sure that she has gone to திருக்கோளூர் . Here the mother differentiates between all the rishis living in the jungle meditating on the lord and Azhwar (Nammazhvar here). The Rishis live on Vegetables, fruits and other edible things available in the jungle. However for Nammazhwar food, water and even the betel leaf post food is எல்லாம் கண்ணன்.

Now the question comes.... why say உண்ணும் சோறு , பருகு நீர், தின்னும் வெற்றிலை. Isnt it enough if you say food, water and betel leaf ? Apparently if you are already filled with food and have drunk enough water and had enough betel leaves already, you will run away from more food, water and betel leaf. However if you are hungry and thirsty, the same food is extremely desirable. Nammazhvar is always in that state when it comes to கண்ணன்  and so உண்ணும் சோறு , பருகு நீர், தின்னும் வெற்றிலை.

So there is no doubt that when Parangusa Nayaki is missing, her mother is very sure that she must have gone to Thirukolur!!

Now lets come down to the Parakala Nayaki.

Here the mother witnesses the so called abduction!! He was like a dark bull (signifying the young age of the lover). I wonder if he is a கள்வன் ... I dont know (the underlying commentary is that, the jeevathma is the actual thief having stolen the soul which is the property of bhagavan. But due to அஹங்காரம் she says perumal is the thief instead!!). The question comes as to why the mother did not do anything. பராசர பட்டர் says this was like the தீவிட்டி கொள்ளைக்காரர்கள் . He came and took her away by force as her mother was screaming for help.

Mother also says that my daughter is so soft that she does not know or understand the difficult path she is going to take. The lover just told her daughter .. வா வா. When Parakala nayaki was stunned by this, he grabbed her hand which had வெள்ளி வளை and she left her mother (விட்டு அகன்று) ....

Would they have gone to திருவாலி?

A very important point is mentioned here in the commentary. Jeevathma performs கர்ம, ஞான , பக்தி yogas to get paramathma. In a mismatched comparison this is what paramatha does to get jeevathma.. He just grabs...வெள்ளி வளை  கைப்பற்ற !!

Now lets see the contrast. In the previous case, mother is sure that her daughter has gone to thirukolur. Here mother wonders whether they have gone to Thiruvaali.

When there was discussion in Srirangam on whose concern was more serious...every one suggested that Parangusa Nayaki's mother's concern was bigger as her daughter went alone and so she was worried about her safety.

However Swami Alavandar interpreted this differently (I had read somewhere else that this was Swami Ramanuja but I guess they are one and the same for this purpose). In the first case, even though she was going alone, she was clear in her goals and the path. She was sure to go Thirukolur. In the second case, both the lover and her daughter were crazy about each other and so its very possible that they lost their way because they were walking along looking at each other instead of the way to Tiruvaali!!!

Hey.. Its just a "Veena" not your lover!

This is a followup to the post on "Do pets help in healing"?. Parakala Nayaki was down and out. When her pet parrot started reciting Perumal's names she regains strength and prostrates to it.

Now she starts singing herself.

Quick Summary as sung by Parakala Nayaki's mother. Parakala Nayaki gets back her strength and starts thinking of her time with her lover. She starts singing his names along with வீணை. She gets lost in thoughts and is thinking that she is in his arms. She starts treating her வீணை as her lover!! Her mother is now concerned. What if she realizes that it is just the Veena and not Perumal?

சொல்லுயர்ந்த நெடு வீணை  - Here Veena is considered superior to யாழ் and புல்லாங்குழல் with the sound it produces. It also is so smooth that the individual notes merge to produce a fluent music. It is also so sweet that the listeners dont realize the time (நெடு ).

முலைமேல் தாங்கி - Parakala nayaki is lost in thoughts and imagines perumal being present. She feels his fingers on the veena, his arms, his shoulders and chest. She hugs his chest to herself and so hugs the veena here!  Huge reference to Ramayana here in the commentary of how Seetha looks at the சூடாமணி and thinks of Lord Rama being in person. தாங்கி is also because Piratti holds perumal when he is overcome by  ஸ்ரீதேவி தாயாருடைய இனிமையில் and hugs him. Similarly Parakala Nayaki is hugging him to her breasts and so holds the Veenai thinking that it is him.

தூமுறுவல் - This is so sweet.  புன்முறுவல்  - Given the pleasure of being with him and seeing him as affected as he is by nayaki, she smiles!!

நகை இறையே - Her happiness is so overflowing that she smiles with a little bit of her teeth showing (!!)

மெல்  விரல்கள்  சிவப்பெய்த தடவி - Her sensitive fingers are going over the strings of the veena and so turn red. But she is thinking about the marks she made in perumal's back with her finger nails (!!! refer hickeys and/or love marks!!). Her fingers are already red due to the strings and now they become more red due to her encounter with her lover!!.

And she does the singing (with veena) much better than (மிக) the parrot in the previous pasuram.

As per Tamil literature, Pethai is (5-7) years of age. But here the mother is wondering "how did my daughter become such a mature woman in love?"

நெடு வீணை முலை மேல் தாங்கி  (Azhwar as parakala nayaki with veena along with Kumudhavalli Nachiyaar)

Mirror! Mirror! Who is the Fairest of them all?

Now.... I really don't know what criteria the mirror used to decide on the answer!!

Beauty is an attribute that has widely varying interpretations, preferences, scores and what not.  Then personality traits and other non visual qualifications are said to enhance "beauty" thus making it a "packaged attribute". This is where Kindness/Mercy/Sympathy and possibly other qualifications also become contributing factors that create or enhance "beauty" as compared to just "raw physical beauty".

The title reflects this eternal question of beauty. Lets see how this is defined by none other than Parakala Nayaki or to be specific, Parakala Nayaki's mother.

The pasuram in question is from the திருவிடந்தை set, where mother is beseeching perumal asking what he has in his mind for her daughter?

The context is simply this. Parakala Nayaki understands the true nature of herself (Jeevathma) and the true supreme nature of Paramathma. Despite this and the fact that she is yearning for his presence, thats not happening. So she is suffering.  This triggers a transformation into mother state who then proceeds to intervene on behalf of her daughter. Despite this, mother realizes that Perumal is reason for this situation and has to be solution as well. So she ends up asking "உன் மனத்தால் என் நினைந்திருந்தாய் ".

From திவளும் to  அவளும் , mother describes the beauty and greatness of Piratti (Lakshmi).

வெண்மதி - Bright moon is used for comparison to reflect the brightness, youth and beauty of piratti. However that seems not enough. She is considered without the blemishes of moon or the ever changing nature of moon.  Specifically the following attributes are specified

• As brilliant and cool as a moon
• Never ending beauty (as we keep appreciating the moon)
• Instead of just comparing to முகம் , திரு முகம் is used as முகம்  does not quite cover the glory.
• Her glory by referring to her birth from the deep ocean of திருப்பாற்கடல் .
• More spectacularly, if perumal is considered to be a deep dark ocean, piratti is like a brilliant pearl from the depth of the ocean!!
• It is said that perumal helped Devaas to get Amirtha from the ocean. But thats not the case. He actually wanted Piratti and used Amirtha as the reason to actually get her!!

So basically பிராட்டி is the reference point :-) but then we are talking about Thirumangai Azhwar, that too as Parakala Nayaki. Definitely something is cooking!

Lets skip a line and jump to the third line.

Clearly Piratti's beauty is nothing compared to Parakala nayaki :-) 

குவளயம்கண்ணி   - The one with eyes like the dark/Black நெய்தல் பூ .

கொல்லியம்பாவை  - The beauty from Kolli Malai. In Tamil Literature this is used to describe the physical beauty. Since no other woman can be compared for reference, this virtual lady is used for comparison (so much for Piratti's beauty).

இவளை - Since all other attempts to explain Parakala Nayaki's beauty is exhausted, the mother shows her daughter and says இவளை !!

What about Parakala Nayaki's other glories as intended by her mother.

• Perumal is known as அரவிந்தலோசனன் (lotus eyed)
• Piratti's eyes overtakes perumal's eyes (refer to bhattar's reference where he says his mother's காருண்யம் in the eyes beats perumal)
• Parakala nayaki's eyes overtakes even Piratti's eyes

but why?

Perumal cannot look up to anything. Piratti looks up to only perumal. So her eyes get that added glory. Unfortunately for her, she cannot look up to herself. But Parakala Nayaki looks up to both Perumal and Piratti and so her eyes are even better!!

Piratti prefers perumal's heart and so resides there. However Parakala Nayaki looks at both of them and wants the feet - நின் தாள் .

Now who else can solve this suffering other than perumal himself and so உன் மனத்தால்  என் நினைந்திருந்தாய் இடவெந்தை எந்தை பிரானே !! (4th and final line)

In case you kept track, the second line was skipped over. Thats the key.

நின்  ஆகத்திருப்பதும் அறிந்தும் ஆகிலும் ஆசை விடாளால் 

Mother thinks a little less of Parakala Nayaki here (apparently). After all, she knows that her daughter has fallen for a man despite knowing that he already has a woman in his heart (and one who never leaves his heart). How can my daughter do this? She does not realize that her daughter is sure of getting her man mainly due to piratti residing in his heart permanently for recommending parakala nayaki ( புருஷகாரம்). All the more reason for Parakala Nayaki's glory. 

Given the above, Parakala Nayaki has all the glory - both physical and otherwise!!

Now the stage is set to see the glory of Parakala Nayaki ... Please see below!!

Language, Culture and Philosophy

I guess this is a post on random thoughts, triggered by the Karnan Movie. Its been actually quite a gap before I saw a full feature film in Tamil, that too an old movie. A few first impressions...

(1) The dialogue and action may be alien to the current trends etc, but the language is fabulous
(2) The lyrics for the songs are just out of the world. I must admit that I have always loved Kannadasan's lyrics (Duh...)
(3) As usual, I had the usual conflicting emotions on seeing Sivaji on screen. Sometimes just brilliant and some times plain silly/funny. I guess its probably just me. As I can clearly see my dad getting annoyed whenever I speak about the silly/funny side of Sivaji's acting. Maybe we should just attribute it to the director. Didn't Bharathiraja get the best out of him by restricting what he did before camera?

Anyway.. coming to our main theme. Two things focused my attention. First one is on language.

The Scene.....

Karna replays to Kunti, the episode where he was playing dice with Bhanumathy (wife of Duryodhana). When Duryodhana enters (to the back of Karna), she tries to get up. Karna thinks that she is trying to escape from the game and grabs her. The pearls which are attached to her cloth rips open and scatters on the floor. Both Bhanumathy and Karna are stunned at this inappropriateness of Karna's action. Duryodhana is quiet/smiling, asks if he should "எடுக்கவோ  கோர்க்கவோ ". Basically he highlights that he trusts both his friend and wife.

When Sivaji as Karna refers to the cloth that Banumathy was wearing around her hip, he mentions மேகலை .

I thought back to இப்பால் கைவளையும்  மேகலையும் காணேன் . From the commentary I read, I knew this was a piece of cloth, more specifically one worn as a covering cloth. When this dialogue was playing, I understood that this is really a cloth worn around the hips and can get easily undone. When parakala nayaki says she lost her cloth, the commentary made more sense as the cloth can get easily exchanged with perumal when they are embracing/ கூடல் !!!

Till I read the commentary (and confirmed it with this movie), I knew Mekala as just a name for the ladies!! I never knew that this actually means cloth. Suffice to say that my knowledge mother tongue is very limited :-(

Moving to the கண்கள் எங்கே நெஞ்சமும் எங்கே, கண்ட போதே சென்றன அங்கே  song, this has straight contra-reference to the "Love at first sight" blog posting. It also has reference to the same pasuram நைவளம்  referred above for மேகலை .

Here both eyes and heart have left the heroine to go to the hero upon "sight". In Parakala Nayaki's case, the eyes feasted on the Lord  and இளையாழ்வார் in the previous திருநெடுந்தாண்டக pasuram (மைவண்ண ). She steps backwards thinking they are verily the gods and are too elevated for her to reach!!. However after seeing his simplicity / approachability (despite his infinite greatness), her heart first and then her eyes rushes to him  மனமும் கண்ணும் ஓடி .

You can also make a further argument that the heroine in this case was first impressed with Karna's valor in saving her from the chariot when horses run scot free. However the attraction here is only based on physical appearance and valor. In Parakala Nayaki's case, physical appearance and greatness makes here wonder if she can even approach such "gods". Attraction comes only when she realizes the simplicity/approachability of bhagavan and more importantly the importance Bhagavan attaches to reach out to her.

I guess in the human endeavors, eye takes precedence and the results are questionable!!

Causeless Mercy ... Contd!

Clearly after the previous blog post, this topic needed more introspection.That does not take you anywhere. So I triggered a mail chain on Causeless Mercy which got some interesting answers with reference to a lot of traditional material.

In my humble opinion, the traditional materials along with the commentaries seem more accessible than lesser mortals ability to explain them in a simple language (clearly referring to folks like myself). So I started a little reading of Srivachana Bhushanam with Mamunigal's commetary. Needless to say there is a separate section by Swami Pillai Lokacharya titled "பகவந் நிர்ஹேதுக க்ருபா ப்ரபாவம்".

I was not trying to get to the bottom of this. What I wanted was to just highlight a few suthras that defined "how we interpreted our current state" and "how this works" as per Swami's work and commentary by Jeeyar.

First on "how the jeevathmaas interpret bhagavan's Krupa".

Fantastic and appropriate analogy. When a child is playing in the streets and gets hurt by falling down, he/she does not pause to think why it happened or how? The immediate act is run inside the home, crying and hit the mother thinking it was because of her and she did  not protect!!! In Bhagavan's it appears more convincing as everything is part of him and he has the power to address this. It appears as if he himself causes suffering!!

When a child goes near an open well, the mother is expected to run and grab the child before he falls. If that does not happen and child falls, its as if mother herself pushed the child into the well. Replace mother with bhagavan, Child with jeevathmaas and well with this samsara.

So what actually happens? (I am skipping Suthras.. anyone interested should read thru in entirety..otherwise this may seem incomplete. I am only highlighting a few Suthraas).

Very simple... Karma causes suffering and Samsara and Grace causes relief/freedom from Samsara.

but how ... I dont see any grace. Atleast that is (was) my complaint. The next suthra addresses what happens if we misinterpret the above suthra. Two alternatives are given

(1) Freedom is due to my good deeds. My suffering is due to Bhagavan. - Will result in Bhagavan allowing you to get released due to your effort - And we know what happens next!!!
(2) Both suffering and freedom is due to Bhagavan. I have nothing to do here. Same results !! The next Sutra stresses this fact. When one is drowning and another is trying to help, it is as if the person helping is blamed for causing the drowning in the first place (just because he is in the right place/tme to help!!!!)

I want to include just one Suthra to highlight how Krupa works where Bhagavan picks random acts as Punya and triggers a chain of events to put us in the right path.  ( Can you imagine what this means.. For lesser mortals like us who think of ourselves as superior just becoz we have spent some little money to do something in some temple or otherwise .... it is very likely due to such a trigger as defined below than anything we deserve )

Ulagariyan uses this to give instances of how Krupa works. Going to Jeeyar's commentary.....

First episode - Story of Lalitha - A Queen of King of Kasi.

King of Kasi had multiple wives and Lalitha was one of them. She was the most beautiful of all and was also the king's favorite. She was extremely smart and had a brilliance around her. In addition she was very devoted to bhagavan and spent her time lighting lamps in the temple regularly.

The other queens were obviously impressed and queried her on the reasons behind her position. She responds!

• She was a small mouse in her previous birth
• She lived in a temple of Bhaghavan
• There was an oil lamp which was about to go out in the temple.
• The mouse wanted to grab the wick.
• At that moment, a cat came into the temple and made a sound
• Stunned by this danger, the mouse dies out of agitation
• Just before dying, the mouse triggers the flame in the lamp so that lamp continues burning

Bhagavan concluded that the mouse did a good deed and deserves help. So he made her born as a queen and more specifically with unique knowledge of her previous birth so that she can continue her path towards salvation!!

Concluding Suthra for this post.

Cause for fear - Thinking of all Karmas - both good and bad and worrying whats going to happen
Cause for getting out that fear - Thinking of Bhagavan's mercy - that irrespective of the Karma he is going to use just his grace to help us achieve Moksha.

Causeless Mercy

This is a very complex but philosophically significant topic. Needless to say it also raises significant conflicts of opinion amongst even learned/traditional scholars.

First of all, let me try to summarize the issue.

There are multiple references to salvation in Srivaishnava philosophy. Most if not all of them, refer to the fact that only Perumal has to decide if and when a soul can reach Paramapadham. After all he gives everything. Azhwars refer to his more than enough number of times to say there is nothing in our hands and its all his.

(1) If there is nothing that we can do and if its all in Perumal's hands, why is he not taking everyone to his abode? (சர்வ முக்தி பிரசங்கம்)

(2) If there is something the jeevathmas need to do, then is it just a payment for whatever you do? Is it as transactional as that?

Both seem to result in issues. So whats the deal? Though there are different schools of thought, there are enough references which transcend these two extremes or in fact bridge these two extremes. This is complex at best and needs in depth study under an acharya. But then this blog is about snippets from discussions and other hearsay points :-)

One learned swami was so vehement in his adherence to (1) that he said even Nammazhvar fits this criteria. Without perumals intervention he would have been as bad (or as good) as any one of us. On the point of why perumal does not do it for everyone, he retorted that you have no business asking as the owner can decide whatever he wants to do. While his sentiment is appreciated, this appeared as a weak argument to me. He further referred to the fact that in old days when a king dies without a heir, the பட்டத்து யானை will select the next king. No one can restrict the elephant from selecting whoever it pleases to. So perumal is like that. He will and can decide to select whoever he wants.

Another swami intervened and asked the question. What if the elephant places the garland on a rock or a dog? :-) Funny but significant!!

We have the concept of necessary and sufficient condition in Math. Similarly I have heard the below two analogies which try to reconcile this

(1) When a beggar gets food, does he get it because he begged for it or is it because of the grace/mercy of the one  who provided food to him. Beggar asking for food is a necessary condition but the sufficient condition is the grace/mercy of the provider

(2) Digging a pond or clearing up a village lake is a necessary condition. Rain is the sufficient condition to get water. Without rain a prepared pond or lake is useless. but without prepared pond or rain, the rain water gets washed away.

அத்வேஷம் and ஆபிமுக்யம்  are two attributes that provide the necessary conditions here.

(1) Non rejection of perumal
(2) A desire to reach him

Once this is there, the sufficient condition of Perumal's grace completes the picture.

So is this transactional in anyway? Acharyaas clearly say that's not the case. This is like taking a few lemons to meet the king and getting a fortune in return. Only a fool will think that the necessary conditions were significant enough to deserve the result!! No matter what you do, Moksha is so great that you essentially got it free, only due to perumal's grace.

This opens up another topic. Everyone understands the multiple births etc due to karma. One point of view is this. Its all part of your schooling to get you ready for Parama Padha. The only difference is that , this is an extremely customized school for each jeevathma. You keep repeating the school till you pass. Pass here is reference to one getting completely ready to reach the divine abode. Refer to my post on "That was just an angry lady.. this is what you really get". The reference to 5-8-5 on the devotee being asked to stay to fulfill his desires perfectly fits this situation. You are ready when you are really ready. Who was really ready...Azhwars (and Acharyaas)!!

Oh dear!! This is clearly a long road!! Its clear we need some cheats and short cuts to help speeding up the process and we are not even talking about the difficult routes of Karma, Gyana and Bakthi yogas. This travel is very well within the Saranagathi route (though ideally everyone who has undergone surrender to Perumal via an Acharya is supposed to have this mental state.. in fact this is a question which many of us have asked.. what happens if you undergo Samasrayanam but dont live according to the expected mental state .. the answer is simple.. if you dont even understand it, it does not mean anything...or does it?)

As always, comments are welcome.

Nayaki Bhavam... really?

As many of previous posts show, some of the most moving, dramatic and philosophically rich songs come in Nayaki pasurams of Azhwars. There are a wide variety of explanations given for this transition , starting from "when desire/longing becomes too much, azhwar slips into nayaki form " to "significance of different modes as mapped to Thirumanthram where Pranavam refers to self state, Mother mode refers to Namaha and the Nayaki mode to Narayana" and so on.

But why? How is this conceivable? How can a man feel and literally become a woman? As Parasara bhattar says மீசை அழிந்து முலை எழுந்தார் போல் .  How can Azhwar suddenly lose his moustache and develop breasts? Whats the background? Isn't this preposterous?

As its always the case, answers are there in acharyaas commentaries. The one in question is the commentary for திருநெடுந்தாண்டகம் . Out of the 30 songs, first 10 are as self, the next 10 are as mother and the last 10 are as Parakala Nayaki. The following question is posed.

ஆணான  இவர் ஒரு பிராட்டி நிலையை அடைவது பொருந்தவில்லையே?


அநந்யார்க சேஷத்வம் - Belonging to no one else but only to perumal. This is the typical case for a women with respect to her husband. Azhwar has the same dependency to perumal. So it is natural. Reference is provided to Sri Ramayana where Lakshmana says he will die if he is separated from Rama (similar to Seetha).

But how? Perumal's attributes of being the paramathma, chief of everything and everyone, ability to grant and accept offerings and so on, in turn provides the attributes for jeevathma to be sub servient, to be the  body to perumal etc. Similarly the sheer manliness of perumal makes every jeevathma a woman (before him). Here Azhwar does not become a woman because of physical attributes. Similar to love/desire that a woman develops towards a man, Azhwar develops love/desire towards perumal and so becomes a woman.

This is the most interesting piece in the commentary.

After all, we see women getting attracted to women and men getting attracted to men in this world!!   Reference is provided to Ramayana where Sri Rama's beauty attracts men and in Mahabharatha where Draupadi's beauty makes women wish they were men!!

:-) We are dealing with real religious philosophy here and so it is so refreshing to see that nothing is out of bounds as long as the context is set right!!

All of the above happens because of the sheer beauty of the source of attraction. Here perumal is புருஷோத்தமன். He satisfies all attributes of a target for love/desire and attraction. So Azhwar becoming a woman is natural.

In the material world, it is very natural for a man and woman to be attracted to each other. Similarly the very nature of Paramathma and Jeevathma is such that, Paramathma has to come out of his own volition to take the Jeevathma. Azhwar's attraction reflects this natural state of நிர்ஹேதுக கிருபை of perumal (Causeless Mercy).

Finally how do you explain flip flop between the self, mother and Nayaki modes of Azhwar? When a flooded river flows, it has enough water to reach the ocean but it also has enough to overflow the banks and fill the canals, ponds and other water bodies!! The different modes are nothing but the sheer volume of flow ... in this case - Bakthi!

PS: Causeless mercy referred above is a choice topic for another blog. Interesting (but strong conflicts) debates have happened due to this. Lets just try to see the different view points rather than try to conclude it :-)

That was just an angry lady!! This is what you really get....

The previous post was titled "suffering is what you get". Clearly the context was a pining Parakala Nayaki highlighting her state.

Lets come down a little bit. I was driving with one of my colleagues and he asked the following question.

"Salvation of the soul and Parama padam is what you will get if you pray to Perumal. He referred to the various statements which reduce focus on material wealth and so on (even some reference to how Perumal takes away the distracting wealth from beloved devotees. Given the life we are all in, can Perumal give money/wealth?"

I had not read the proper commentary. I referred to the below pasuram and said yes.. of course.

When I was thinking about the "potential" negative title I had chosen for the previous posting, this episode came to my mind and so this recall into the commentary for "What can you actually get"? :-) Lets see.

The Narayana namam provides all this. What are they ?

குலம் தரும் -  It will give you a supreme குலம் . Is Azhwar referring to someone becoming a Brahmin? No.. he is saying that irrespective of one's birth/deficiencies, he/she will get the supreme position of being a Srivaishnava.  This is so supreme that one cannot even try to imagine this being inferior to anything else. Specifically it is clearly stated that Srivaishnava is superior to that of being just a brahmana (of course in the caste system that hierarchy also refers to someone who is a brahmin not only by birth but by his actions!!) - Reference to Kaisika Puranam-Soma Sarma as Brahma Rakshasa and Nampaduvan.

செல்வம் தந்திடும் - Literally money but this refers to the selvam of Srivaishnavam. What is special is that when one just desires perumal (refer Parakala Nayaki in "suffering is what you get") and does not even care about Moksha, everything else comes to you including the material wealth!!!

அடியார் படுதுயராயினவெல்லாம் நிலம் தரம் செய்யும் - There are karma related sufferings which can be addressed via some ப்ராய சித்தம். There are some karma for which nothing can be done other than suffering. For one who has learnt and understood the thirumantra (and has surrendered to Perumal via this), all karma gets destroyed in this birth itself (note.. reference to Bhakthi yoga where you will be reborn till your karma gets exhausted).

நீள் விசும்பு அருளும் - The ultimate moksha itself

அருளொடு பெருநிலம் அளிக்கும் - With perumal's grace get the service to him in his divine abode.

வலம் தரும் - provide the strength to enjoy perumal in the divine abode

The above two statements are mixed to provide another special meaning (only for Boss's words :-). So much strength is given that, its as if the devotee himself gets the necessary strength to grant moksha to others!!!

மற்றும் தந்திடும் - provide the things which even the devotee is not aware. I was a little taken aback to read this in the commentary. There is a reference to a devotee who had darshan of perumal and wanted to go with him to Parama Patham. Perumal realized that he still had desire for women and so asked him to stay in this world for sometime and then come to him when he is fully ready!!! Reference to another song by Boss 5-8-5

(the key to note here is that Boss is not asking for the same thing. He is referring to the fact that Perumal provides what you need to get you fully ready even if you are not aware).

பெற்ற தாயினும் ஆயின செய்யும் - provides everything much beyond even what a mother provides (reference to the physical needs getting satisfied by mothers but even the needs for the soul is satisfied by Thirumantram)

நலம் தரும் சொல் - even if you just repeat the word without understanding the meaning, it gives bhakthi !!!

... And finally, Suffering is what you get!!

Another gem from the Boss!

Again as Parakala Nayaki but specifically talking about the following key 5 concepts

(1) Ultimate Goal
(2) Attributes of those trying to reach Perumal
(3) Nature of Perumal
(4) Limitlessness of Perumal's ability to protect
(5) Limitlessness of love of those trying to reach Perumal

But this is all nice. Where does the suffering come from?

Lets first cross out the list of 5 items and then enjoy the pasuram.

நிலயாளா நின் வணங்க - Without any other thoughts or distractions, only to reach you - The ultimate goal

வேண்டாயே ஆகிலும் - Even if you are thinking that (the above) should not be the case - No matter what, the means rest with Perumal. Everything else is inappropriate.

என் முலையாள ஒரு நாள் - We will see in detail below. Essentially Parakala Nayaki is requesting a hug from perumal. Describes the nature of those who are seeking perumal

சிலையாளா - Perumal's limitless power and and the fact that only he needs to be surrendered to!

மரம் எய்த  - limitlessness of perumal's ability to protect and to indicate the love/desire of a jeevathma to reach perumal

Lets first enjoy parakala nayaki's desire here.

She is basically saying that Perumal needs to think that .. yes.. parakala nayaki should reach me to serve me eternally in my abode. Without that, nothing happens. But he is not doing that because "may be" he does not want that. Even so, cant he just give her a hug with his huge wide chest to cover her breasts (indicating the suffering nayaki is undergoing because of her bakthi)!! How can this happen when he does not seem to like her?

Parakala nayaki is saying that atleast for one day he should just think of others instead of just him and he can keep his heart with someone and just give his chest to her :-(

சிலையாளா- After all in the Rama Avatar, you were carrying you bow and arrow just to prevent the sounds of people suffering calling out ... meaning you were carrying those to protect people. In a way, this is the same situation. Why dont you protect me as well?

மரம் எய்த திறலாளா - Sugriva had his doubts about you and wanted you to demonstrate your power and so you used one arrow through seven trees. So you do act for people who doubt you but here I am longing for you and you dont do anything.

On top of all this, you are waiting for us @ திருமெய்யம் to continue your work of Rama avatar for folks like me in this yuga.

நீயாள வளையாள மாட்டோமே - when you were away, we pined and slimmed down and lost our bangles. When you came and hugged, we literally grew big with happiness and the bangle exploded.

So we will never have the bangles...

A very moving anecdote from our acharyas like on this topic. Fantastic lesson too ...

An Acharya called Ammangi Ammal was in his death bed suffering due to disease. Swami Nanjeeyar went to visit him along with Swamy Nampillai. He was enquiring about how such a person who was devoted to perumal and his own acharya can suffer like this. How is it fair?

For that, Swami Ammangi Ammal responds.. Parakala Nayaki has said நீயாள வளையாள மாட்டோமே. So its inevitable to suffer when you are a devotee and are blessed by perumal.

Can such a mindset ever be achieved?

Missing the forest for the trees ....

I know I am taking a detour after "Of Oracle, Spirit and Possession - Part 4". But some of the background commentary is distracting me (I guess in a positive manner). Kid in a candy store is something I can very well  understand now.

So of we go into another fascinating insight.  Thirumangai Azhwar's choice of words and intent (as explained by the Acharyas via the commentaries) are really special as he is not the one to mince words. Moksha or Veedu is always defined as the ultimate goal. In சிறிய திருமடல்  Azhwar minces no words about how   the ultimate goal is sometimes misunderstood. The first set of couplets in this  is blistering (of course sarcastic) in its description of Moksha.

To describe the people of world he first describes  பூமி . He provides 6 special attributes in describing பூமி  பிராட்டி :-) Why... Parakala Nayaki is treating her as சக்களத்தி and contrasts her splendor with the despair that Parakala nayaki is in :-). The key point to note is that, Parakala Nayaki is not concerned with the multiple competitors as that is acceptable :-)  - aka infinite jeevathmas for the single paramathmas!! The only issue here is that how can Piratti be full of splendor and happiness when Parakala Nayaki is suffering.. Fair point :-)

காரார்  வரைக்கொங்கை - Cloud surrounded mountain like breasts!! The two hills are திருவேங்கடம் and திருமாலிரும்சோலை . Why cant he refer to himalayas ... after all he is attributing the best as analogy? Parakala Nayaki wants to use appropriate analogy and the reference has to be the dwelling place of perumal which is what Bhoomi Piratti will like.. and so Thiruvengadam and Thirumalirunsolai malai :-)

கண்ணார் கடல் உடுக்கை - The oceans are her beautiful saree..

சீரார் சுடர் சுட்டி - Sun itself is her  நெற்றி சுட்டி 

செங்கலுழி  பேராற்று - The rivers and the colored flow reflect her jewels

பெருமா  மழை கூந்தல் - Black clouds (filled with water) as reference to her beautiful hair

நீரார வேலி - Being the queen ( பட்ட மகிஷி ) she needs to be in a secure location. So he says she is surrounded by ஆவரண ஜலம் .

The people who belong to such a world (of பிராட்டி) say  there are 3 goals - புருஷார்த்தம்  - They are அறம் , பொருள் , இன்பம் .

ஆரார்  இவற்றின் இடை அதனை எய்துவார் - There are folks who said that the இடை refers to middle and concluded that whoever has பொருள் can achieve தர்மம் and  காமம்/இன்பம் . But Azhwar says காமம் is the best புருஷார்த்தம்  as whoever achieved this would definitely have the other two (சீரார் இரு கலையும் எய்துவர்).

So how can காமம் be good? Azhwar refers to பகவத் காமம் rather than others. So its a mute point.

Now he starts blasting the so called ultimate goal - Moksha :-) (not exactly but we will see what he means)

The people of the world do refer to some thing else other than these three and it goes like this.

காரார் புரவி ஏழ்  பூண்ட தனி ஆழி தேர் ஆர் - The chariot with 7 horses which rides on the clouds

நிறை கதிரோன் - The brilliant sun (who rides such a chariot defined above)

மண்டலத்தை கீண்டு புக்கு - blasting thru the sun god's world to go beyond and then

ஆரா  அமுதம் அங்கு எய்தி - achieve the ultimate domain of the பரம புருஷன் with unlimited bliss

and more than that never to come back to this suffering.....

அது நிற்க - Let it be there...

The commentary refers to a sarcastic reference here ... Azhway seems to say all the above seem preposterous and out of the world/reality (literally)!!!

ஏரார் முயல் விட்டு காக்கை பின் போவதே - Why do run for crow instead of rabbit?

Crow - it flies high and difficult to catch. even if you catch the meat is pathetic ( Hey - Azhwar knows better:-))

Rabbit - runs in the land so is easier and meat is better. 

So basically why run behind something that is difficult to catch and even if you catch which is pathetic instead of getting hold of rabbit?

Crow - Paramapadham - Vaikundam!!!

Rabbit - All the Divya desams where perumal is waiting for us to come !!

PS: need to keep in mind that Azhwar is pleading with perumal to take him away. What the above refers is the higher status Azhwar accords to the Divya desams where lesser mortals like us can enjoy perumal due to his ease of approach and availability.

Do pets help you heal? - Azhwar says "yes"

We have all heard of incidents/episodes on how pets help a sick person to either heal or maintain emotional balance/stability to recover and so on.

Does it seem a surprise that Azhwar refers to this and says unequivocally "yes".  Definitely Azhwar's objective was not to just to present this concept but from a pure artistic appreciation of philosophy this is one of the top examples.

திருநெடுந்தாண்டகம் is the glorious climax of Azhwar. As we saw in the posting (on சிறிய திருமடல்) after threatening to destroy Perumal's attributes and Vibhava (Rama, Krishna avatars), Azhwar starts his bigger madal as perumal is still not responding. In பெரிய திருமடல் Azhwar says he is going to destroy all divyadesams and to make sure that perumal ceases to exist (talk of enraged lady!!). Now perumal does not have a choice as Azhwar himself will get destroyed if he ceases to exist and so appears before him in full splendour (having extracted all the divine songs with the exception of the final one). Now Azhwar is happy and compiles திருநெடுந்தாண்டகம் outlining how perumal reached out to him, gave him knowledge of the three tatvas and finally ends it saying he has obtained the ultimate abode.

In this set of 30 songs, the first 10 are from Azhwar singing as himself, the second 10 as the mother of Parakala Nayaki and the last as Nayaki herself.

The songs in question for this topic is number 13 and 14.

This is a background song for the next one (as it is usually). Here Nayaki is down due to her separation. In previous songs the Oracle and Nayaki's mother have said the divine names of Perumal to boost her confidence and brings the parrot which is Nayaki's pet near her. The parrot had been trained by Parakala Nayaki to say the different names of Perumal திருநாமங்கள் . But the parrot is shy to say anything before Parakala Nayaki. The underlying concept being  - you do not open your mouth  before your acharyan before you are asked to say something.

So Nayaki herself (having obtained strength from the chanting of  names by the oracle and Mother in songs 11 and 12) asks the parrot to repeat the names.

கல்லெடுத்து கல்மாரி காத்தாய் - As Krishna , used govardhan to save people from the stone rain

மல்லடர்த்து  மல்லரை அன்று அட்டாய் -  defeated Kamsa's wresters... and so on

Listening to the fact that perumal saves everyone with his prowess, Parakala nayaki feels even worse as perumal does not seem to save her. While asking the parrot to repeat, she is overcome by despair

துணைமுலை மேல் துளிசோர  - her tears have drenched her breasts!! Another interesting query and answer in the commentary. Azhwar sings in parakala Nayaki bhavam. But this despair is as if his மீசை அழிந்து முலை  எழுந்தார்போலே  - he has truly become a woman ( moustache disappearing and developing breasts!!). no.. his endocrine glands are intact :-) .. the moustache indicates independence which in this case is not going to take the jeevathma anywhere and Breasts indicates absolute and sole dependence (which translates to matured knowledge a.k.a Bakthi) on perumal.

A very special note here in the commentary on our beloved azhwar kaliyan. Other azhwars are like erstwhile folks in the old Malayala country. There is a reference to ஊட்டுபிறை which are like places where food is served to travellers. The travellers will eat a lot during journey so that they can live on that for a few days till the next food becomes available. Basically meaning, other azhwars will enjoy perumal when he comes and then keep crying when he is away. But they survive. Kaliyan (Thirumangai azhwar) is so soft natured that he can neither "store" food nor  can he bear separation :-)

So basically parakala nayaki is down  and out, unable to say anything more. Now the parrot realizes that the mistress is very weak and time has come to intervene.

The parrot realizes that the divine names will help Parakala nayaki to recover and starts reciting the names one by one..முளைக்கதிரை  - குருங்குடியில் முகிலை  and so on.

Nayaki slowly recovers and realizes that her beloved parrot has recited and helped her. So she says

வளர்த்ததனால் பயன் பெற்றேன் . I have gotten the benefit for having you and teaching you the divine names. Then she asks the parrot to come near - வருக என்று

She first closes her hands as in கை கூப்பி . The parrot becomes shy on seeing this and then realizes that this is done out of love and comes near. பரகால நாயகி now prostrates வணங்கினாளே .

In the commentary there is a reference to Periya Nambi (acharya of Ramanuja) prostrating to Ramanuja when he was coming with his 100s of disciples. Ramanuja just keeps walking without acknowledging it as if he acknowledges it, it will be accepting his pranam. Periya nambi did it because it reminded him of his own acharya.

So pets do help in recovery :-)
PS: Another side comment here. When something is done out of love, "appropriateness" does not count ;-)

of Oracle, Spirit and Possession - Part 4 - Oracle reveals the spirit

When the old ladies were talking about getting an Oracle, there she arrives without anyone inviting her.

கட்டேறி  - The Oracle gets possessed now!!தெய்வ ஆவேசம் கொண்டு

- சில நெல் பிடித்தெரிய   - Throws a few paddy seeds on the ground. This is probably like throwing some சோழிகள் before predicting the nature of things or future. They pair the seeds in twos and depending upon one is left or two a decision is taken on the prediction

-வேரா  விதிர் விதிரா  மெய் சிலிஇரா கை  மோவா She sweats, spins around and gets goose bumps, smells her hand - and pronounces

பேர் ஆயிரமுடையான் என்றாள்  - He has a thousand names!!

கார் ஆர்  திருமேனி காட்டினாள்  - gestures about the dark cloud like body of the spirit

கையதுவும்  சிரார் வலம்புரியே என்றாள் - gestures about the Sankhu in his hands

திருத்துழாய் தாரார்  நறுமாலை  - Gestures about the sweet smelling garland of basil leaves

After gesturing the oracle starts talking.....Don't be afraid..ஆரானும் அல்லன்  whoever is possessing your daughter is not any demi god or one of the "gods" or lesser spirits. I will tell you who that is....

He is basically the one who....

ஆரால் இவ்வையம் அடியள புண்டதுதான் - measured the worlds

ஆரால்  இலங்கை பொடி பொடியாய் வீழ்ந்தது - shattered Lanka to pieces

ஆராலே கல்மாரி காத்தது - saved all the folks with Govardhan

that purushan also took care of the cows and by the way* manifests and takes into his stomach during Pralaya the entire universe!!

The beautiful, well dressed Yashoda spent hours இடை நோவ collecting the cream from the milk, placed in another vessel hanging from the roof. During this time and till she leaves home, he was pretending to be asleep பொய் உறக்கம் . Then he gets up and puts his entire hand till his shoulders into the vessel and eats all the butter தடந்தோள்கள்  உள்ளளவும்  கை நீட்டி ... as if that was not enough ... kicks the pots containing just the buttermilk as it is without "essence".

By the way how did Yashoda know that he put his entire hand till his shoulders into the vessel?

Sri Parasara bhattar answers this. The chandhan that he had in his chest and upper body was all over the vessel !!!!

Of Oracle, Spirit and Possession - Part 3

Now Parakala Nayaki (actually Gopika) says பைத்தியம் பிடித்தவள் வாயில் வந்ததை பிதற்றி கொண்டு கிடந்தேன். With full compassion my mother comes down to console me.

செழும் புழுதி காப்பிட்டு  - She takes the dust below the feet of Srivaishnavas to put on Nayaki as protection to ward off her disease! While this is definitely something that is agreeable (taking the dust of Srivaishnavas feet), mom does something unacceptable as well out of her love for her daughter. She makes her daughter prostrate to a deity that wears red kurinji flowers. Nayaki says even when I did that (which I have never done in this life), my disease was not cured. In the commentary Nayaki is feeling so revolted to admit that she ended up prostrating to another diety that she indirectly says நேராதன  ஒன்று நேர்ந்தாள் .

Interesting commentary for நறுமாலை சாத்தற்கு . There is a reference to Sastha (which has morphed to Sattharku in Tamil) which is another name for புத்த தேவதை. At this point I am not sure if it refers to "the buddha".

Seeing this suffering, some of the old ladies come over and say the following:

You are trying to treat a disease without understanding what is the root cause :-). To find that out you need to get the கட்டுவிச்சி or குறத்தி. She will be able to find out what is causing this disease - குறி சொல்லுவாள்

Setting stage for Oracle!!

Of Oracle, Spirit and Possession Part 2

Since it is a madal, acharyas suggest that Azhwar was in his Nayaki mode right from the beginning. There is another school of thought which suggests that the Nayaki mode starts from the below portion. Lets jump right in...

Parakala Nayaki (actually  a gopika who wants to enjoy குடமொடு கூத்தன் ) says the following:

Please listen beautiful damsels (with young breasts!!!) as to what happened to me! I had dressed up like this. Made up my beautiful black hair into a bun, wore tight Kachai around my brilliant breasts, wearing a beautiful chain with precious stones, wore mascara around my beautiful black eyes and was playing with a ball. At that time, with beautiful red eyes like a lotus in water, to the happiness of  the folks around the world, with drums playing (பறை ).. திருமால் .... was juggling the two குடங்கள் and dancing, challenging everyone. Seeing this all the young girls and their mothers asked me "why are you not joining" and forced me to go. When I went I lost my bangles and the blue color (from a previous experience with the lord) and basically lost my mind.

Playing ball refers to Azhwar suggesting that he was involved in worldy pleasures and others are troubling him  by trying to get him involved in பகவத் விஷயம். :-). The bouncing ball refers to the jeevathma bouncing between the worlds (சுவர்க்கம் / நரகம்) due to karma bondage.

The constant reference to breasts may seem a little off but this has significance from Azhwar's point of view. Acharyas commentary refers to this analogy as follows: From a pure Nayaka/Nayaki கூடல்  perspective, this is an object that facilitates the அனுபவம் . From a jeevathma's perspective in its கூடல் with Paramathma, this refers to பக்தி without which this cannot happen. Breasts are allegory for Bakthi. There are deeper definitions for Bakthi. For simplicity of understanding lets use the standard definition of "matured knowledge" here.

Azhwar even says it was bad times (வல் வினை ) for him as he was forced by the other ladies to go and meet the lotus eyed Thirumal and had to leave behind all the games and worldly enjoyment!! The Nayaki suffers from காம நோய் and the she is unable to listen to anyone.

Thats when her mother comes for help

Stage set for the enormous, powerful spirit possessing Nayaki.

Of Oracle, Spirit and Possession - Part 1

After quite a gap, I got the opportunity to enjoy both the மடல்கள் at the Pomona Ranganatha temple during the Chariot festival. I am referring to சிறிய திருமடல்  and பெரிய திருமடல். My thoughts went back to the commentary I had very briefly explored a few years back. I revisited this and thus this blog on a small piece of சிறிய திருமடல்.

Thirumanghai Azhwar (by his own account) was going about his life getting involved in worldly matters. When perumal decided to get him back on track, he decided that advice /discourses would not help as Azhwar was a devotee of beauty. So perumal revealed his beauty and hooked him. After that he wanted to enforce it as a pure emotional hook can always loosen and so revealed thirumantra and through that the nature of everything to Azhwar. Azhwar was hooked and started his outpouring of pasurams. 

Perumal shows him the limitations of this life due to its limitations and so Azhwar starts to literally beg perumal to take him to the divine above @ the end of Periya Thirumozhi. Why does not perumal do that? The traditional commentary of the acharyas go like this. When a child recovers from digestion issues and starts feeling hunger again, the mother does not give the best items (சர்க்கரை  பொங்கல் ) immediately. She waits to make sure that the recovery is full and proper before doing that. Perumal does the same thing here. He waits to make sure that Azhwar's desire is complete.

When some is thirsty (say wandering around in a desert) and finds a pond or a small stream, he basically goes overboard, splashing water all over him and drinking just a little. Azhwar does the same in திருகுருந்தாண்டகம் enjoying perumal's attributes and so on. Once you do something like that, the thirst hits you again. Same for Azhwar and feeling desolate again, surrenders to perumal in திருவெழு கூ ற் றிருக்கை.  Perumal waits for some more time, setting the stage for the BOSS to throw spectacular tantrums :-) (sorry for the crude description but I guess I am jumping around trying to type this).

He gets angry and thinks that if perumal does not pay heed, whats the point in him existing!! And so decides to destroy perumal's attributes and his divine dwelling places in the different Divyadesams!! Talk of revenge!!

So the sequence is this. (1) பெரிய திருமொழி ending in Azhwar begging perumal to take him away from this world (2) திருகுருந்தாண்டகம்  - Where enjoys perumal's attributes and ends up feeling desolate again (3)  திருவெழு கூ ற் றிருக்கை - Azhwar surrendering to Perumal again (4) சிறிய திருமடல் - Azhwar getting angry and trying to destroy the attributes and divyadesams of perumal.

Naturally he takes the Nayaki form, more specifically, the one from திரு ஆய் பாடி of a gopika who wants to enjoy the குடமாடு கூத்தன் and undertakes ம்டல்.

When Nayaki is separated from Nayakan or vice versa, depending upon who the culprit is, the other one undertakes madal. There are lot of details around this in literature .. examples involving the Nayakan sitting on an animal (bullock or Donkey) with unruly hair going around the town saying the Nayaki had let him down  and so on. Such an extreme is not allowed for Nayaki in tamil literature. There are obviously very restrained reactions for the Nayaki as allowed in the culture. But Azhwar is so mad that he takes up the Sanskrit literature as reference even though he is singing in tamil, where the Nayaki goes the whole way :-)

Setting the stage for சிறிய திருமடல் !!!

God and Religion!

Man (and Woman) being the first animals capable of thought, looked around, observing things.... Life (humans, animals, plants), elements (wind, water, sky, fire), weather (rain, thunder, lightning), Mountains, Volcanoes and other such natural phenomenon, Sun and stars... tried to understand what it all meant...

With the limited resources and intellect, he thought something very big, very powerful should be behind it. Considering how thunder, lightning and other such things would have appeared to him, they could easily be attributed to the presence of such an omnipresent entity.

On top of all this was the ultimate.. disease, sickness and ultimately death. That has a definite absoluteness behind it. It is the fear of unknown, yearningness to have something more lasting .... Why not look to appeasing this powerful entity to give a longer and hopefully ever lasting life or at least after life.

Give the above thousands of years and the prodigiously increasing capacity for the grey matter - resulting in language, poetry and so on.

Enough of this. I assume you get the picture. The question is this. Is God and religion just this?

It is a fact that earlier humans had a shorter lifespan, riddled with disease - refer to beginning of sacrifices to the diety to let some one else go. It is also interesting to note that almost all the earlier religions have stories of extra ordinarily longer life span for key persons, divine interventions and special deals. All references to a superior civilization (not just plumbing) had no serious evidence. Even the extraordinary references to superior metal work etc were used to just create monuments than anything useful.

This is what the likes of Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and so on say (and brilliantly so If i may add.. though some of the arguments are strawman taking specific violent, difficult episodes in human life).

Till now it is the so called rational aspect of things. Coming down to the philosophical side of things.

How do you explain the sheer consistency and philosophical depth of the Azhwar pasurams? After all even historically everyone accepts that they were separated by centuries. Yes there are deep questions that can never be answered by anyone. For example the proof behind certain things will never be shown. The analogy to astrophysics and big bang does not help because the proof there ...  while complex , is demonstrated to some extent by applications on a smaller scale via devices which normal people can use (Micro waves:-)). Whats the equivalent of that in philosophy? I cant see anything short of say.. a flashing of lightning in the middle of a clear day during a perumal procession! Or Kaliyan himself correcting a Goshti if they chant something wrong :-) (Imagine that ... that would rattle a lot of folks!).

It all boils down to Faith ... isnt it? Good Philosophers never try to prove god as Good Atheists never try to disprove god. Is "I really dont know" for Atheists and "I really dont care" for Theists a good position? The conflict then is just this. For Atheists, since they cant prove the existence of god, they dont do anything. Rationale - I cant also prove existence of aliens so I dont go around doing stuff around them (except may be make movies - I can as well make movies about an imaginary entity called god). For Theists, it is difficult. You do everything in life around god knowing that you really cant prove anything till it is revealed.

I know it seems childish. How can I ignore such beauty, poetry, meaning and the philosophical reach just because it cannot be proved. The Atheists say that we dont need to ignore them. Just read them like you read Shakesphere or other works!!! How about this? All of this is considered dangerous because "My god is better than yours" attitude. Can this just be at a level where it is just "I like this. I cant prove it. I also understand why some one else can think of the same issue differently with a different book and organization. Like Chinna Jeeyar says.. worship your own, respect others or simply just ignore others". Its not your job to validate and rank religions. is it?

I think now I seem to understand how "Shunya Vadha" would have come about :-). They just decided to name the entity "Null". How about that?

Can readers really post your comments or if you are shy, send me an email. I would love to hear opinions on this.

PS: I am looking forward to the coming Vaikasi Utsavam @ Tiruvali and to have darshan of Kaliyan after a two year gap :-) Who knows ...  I may get some answers!!

Karma and Grace...

I have given some thought on this topic for quite some time. I know that this deserves a deeper study of the various themes but all broadly originating in India broadly from early religions, Vedic, Buddist and Jain. I consciously did not use the word Hinduism as it does not convey anything relevant. Interestingly there is a suggestion amongst (non traditional :-))scholars that the concept of Karma and reincarnation might have had its origins in the pre buddist and Jain traditions which continued into buddism and Jainism. The Braminical orthodoxy also accepted these principles.
A few common points on the definition

(1) Karma is basically the deed or act (actions) and its causes
(2) Buddism and Jainism attribute this to be just a natural law with the consequences and the individual bearing the sole responsibility
(3) Though deed and act are routinely used, "thought" as well contributes to this. Jainism particularly emphasizes this. If my memory serves right, a definition of Ahimsa refers to thought as well. Imagine saying we are all for non violence when we kill almost the entire universe in our thoughts :-)
(3) Vedic / Vedhanthic concept introduces an attribute that the God head can intervene with his will (though it is under very special circumstances - just to make it clear).

I always had this issue. When physicists talk of big bang, the common retort is "what was before that"? That must have been god. So what was before Karma? Typical answers are the following (not an exhaustive list)

• It is Anaadhi (no beginning or end). Imagine scientists saying anything like that :-)
• No reference as it is just corollory to existence of souls and deeds
• Judeo Christian religions refers to original Sin as the starting point. But then there seems to be a starting block which opens up a larger issue of how did the equivalent of "Karma" impact souls which came later!! If they are impacted by the original sin, it seems to be a simple case of guilt by association.

Given my background/interest, I jump to the concept of Baddhatma, Mukthatma and Nithya Suris in Srivaishnavam. It basically talks of (1) Souls still experiencing Karma (2) Souls who have broken the Karmic bondage and attained Salvation (3) Souls who never had Karmic bondage.

There is a reference to the concept of Aadhi Karma or Free will. But frankly it is pretty convoluted. If there are souls who never experienced Karmic bondage, what were conditions to achieve that? Was it divine grace? I recall a swami answering this question when I posed this. Why Bhagavan decided to retain a soul called Aadhiseshan with him permanently can never be answered? It was his will. My only question is "Why not me?". How did I ever get into this " mess " from an undefined "Aadhi Karma"?

It is said that the grace flows on everyone like a rain but if you figuratively hold an umbrella, you dont get drenched. When I dont know if that is grace and I am ignorant, should the grace not flow through the umbrella and drench me anyway (as most of the rain water typically do:-)).

The concept of reincarnation is typically used to justify the wide differences at birth. Kids being born rich/poor, healthy/rich, safe homes/abusive homes etc etc. (Figuratively, )what if these are different solution points for a mathematical construct? I know we are being pretty mechanical without emotions, souls and all those esoteric and "feel good" concepts. After all, statistically we dont seem to have any difference in life parameters between a so called believer or otherwise. Everyone seems to get rich or poor, get cancer or not :-).

As Carl Sagan said in "Contact", should god not have made "Crosses" orbit earth instead of a moon or Sanghu and Chakram for that matter. That would have solved most of the issues.

Oh dear! This is so difficult ... while all this thinking makes sense so does the one below. After all who else than our Kaliyan to ask the questions that we have but with such authority and passion. (if you get a chance read the commentary for the below decad.. the glowing end of Periya Thirumozhi).

Revisiting ... Naivalam

In an old post I have referred to this song from Thirunedunthandagam of Thirumangai Azhwar referring to Dog/Stone, Lover etc. Having spent some time going over a summary of the traditional commentary, I was particular that I share my thoughts.

Each of the 4 sets of lines convey something very interesting. Very unique blend of Romanticism, philosophy and word play... since I am partial I can say this.. Who else than Kaliyan to do this?

The background goes like this. In the previous song, the Lord comes before Thirumangai Azhwar (who is now in his feminine form Parakala Nayaki) as Rama along with Lakshmana. I dont want to go into this song now as it deserves a separate post. Needless to say that the sheer appearance and beauty stuns Parakala Nayaki. She moves away from them wondering if they are verily the gods and is in awe!!

Then comes this song. Perumal is unsure of what to do now as Parakala nayaki is moving away, stunned by the sheer splendor. Instead of attracting the beautiful lady, it is causing her to move away. So he is frantic :-) "Nice piece of advice from Azhwar to attract ladies, I guess"

So Perumal thinks about this and decides that like in Krishna avatar, where he mesmerised everyone with his music, he decides to sing. Naivalam is a paNN (raga) which will melt both the singer and listener!! Upon hearing this Parakala Nayaki melts however using supreme effort controls herself from expressing her emotions (!). Perumal is stunned and he does not know what to do and is literally shamed into frantic thinking.

நாணினார் போல் இறையே நயங்கள்

So he starts talking with a view to convince her and does not understand what to say and ends up saying whatever (:-)). I guess ladies make even perumal like this!! Seeing this contradiction of such a majestic person ending up speechless liternally, Parakala Nayaki melts.

The choice of words in the traditional commentary is very interesting and funny.

Now comes the most interesting piece...We always talk of Love at first "sight". Azhwar says மனமும் கண்ணும் ஓடி .. First his heart /mind (?) runs away followed by his sight!! Almost as if his heart knows who is standing before him and even though the sight has already seen him, his heart takes precedence. I guess this reflects the limitations of the physical senses in spirituality! Though the intent of Perumal is to hug Parakala Nayaki, she ends up prostrating to his feet

திருவடிக்கீழ் அணைய

The next two lines are very special and my old post covers them. I just want to highlight another interesting piece. Typically when தலைவி is away from தலைவன் she suffers and becomes lean and so the bangles fall down :-). Here Parakala Nayaki is with the lord but still says கைவளையும் காணோமே. How is that explained? The commentary says that the Nayaki is overcome by happiness that she literally grows and the bangle shatters!!!

Last point before closing (from the previous post)... Here the bangle and cloth refers to Ahankara and Mamakara - feeling of me/myself and Mine - Parakala Nayaki says that to realize and see the lord, these two needs to disappear.

Rest later

The previous post