Month: September 2016

The  revered  Azhwars and Acharyars  take up upon themselves the burden of saving men who LORD gives up hopelessly for the reluctance in seeking HIM .

Do Acharyars really possess these virtue ?

An example is quoted from scriptures

By a Rishi’s curse a saint was consigned to the nether region , the hellish planets   . The saint he was continued to follow his  devotional  practices with all sincerity .

The demons  noting that the person could be a  faction from devas , harassed him with their weapons . But as he was a devotee of LORD Sriman Narayana he proved invulnerable to them .

The worried demons approached their guru Shukra for a suggestion to wound the  arrived devotee .

Shukra suggested ,

My dears !!

Begin by abstracting his love for Sri Hari  and rest is assured for him to be in your grip …

The demons put on the disguise of devotees and making friendship  with the saint practically explained that Sri Hari had neglected him so far even down to his confinement in the nether regions  and hellish planets ,  and thus could certainly not be worthy of worship .

They spoke ill about Sri Hari relating to his  deep misfortune .

All the efforts to rob his love to Sri Hari  proved futile , but parallel y the saint exhibited a great compassion in his heart for the demons at sight  of the profundity of their sinfulness.

The saint  supplicated  LORD to exhibit his abundant mercy on these  sinful men  for their offenses . The saints prayers had instant effect .

The demons turned into friends and were anon taken to Lord’s abode of bliss .

Thus the power of salvation vested in LORD manifests itself with redoubled vigor in the members of HIS holy  abode …

 Kulasekshara Azhwar wonders at the propensity of people to live lives steeped in sin, when there is any number of the Lord’s names, which one could chant and think about, capable of instantly cleansing of them of all sins.

Why could one not say

“Ananta”,

“Vaikunta”,

“Mukunda”,

“Krishna”,

”Govinda”,

“Damodara”,

“Madhava”  and several holy names ……

which are incredibly sweet on the tongue and also act as purifiers, wonders Azhwar in the verses of ” Mukunda mala”

“ananta Vaikuntta Mukunda Krishna GOvinda DAmOdara MAdhava iti

vaktum samartthOpi na vakti kaschit ahO! JanAnAm vyasana abhimukhyam!”

We have seen how terrifying hell and  the demons  were in the episode ..

Azhwars speak of an occasion when the entire  hell was transformed into a heavenly abode.

How could this be possible ?

  Azhwar elaborates in the following  “TirumAlai ” pAsuram—

 

“namanum Murkalanum pEsa, narakil nindrArgaL kEtpa

narakamE Svargam Agum nAmangaL udaya nambi

 In a glowing tribute to the glory of the Lord’s holy names, Sri Tondarappodi Azhwar recounts the episode of a conversation between Mudgala and Yamadharma raja. Mudgala was a  wicked person, guilty of several sins.

On one occasion,  unknowingly , he gifted a cow to a brahmin , accompanying it with the words,

“Let this be for Krishna” (“KrishNAya nama:”) as he heard this verse many times from others .

When he  left his mortal coils , and reached YamalOka,   Yamadharmaraja   received him with all respects and  honour .

Mudgala was surprised and  sought the reason for the unusual reception given to him .  Yamadharmaraja  replied ,  the single word “Krishna” uttered by  you  during the “GodAnam”  , had got  rid him of all  the evil.

 The beneficial effects of the single utterance of the Krishna nAma did not stop with Mudgala.

Those residing in the hell  who listened to the conversation between Yama and Mudgala, and heard  Krishna nAmA, were instantly absolved of their sins. What is more, the entire hell was immediately transformed into heaven, lock, stock and barrel.

 Such indeed is the efficacy of the holy name of the Lord, which is capable of benefiting even those who utter or listen to it, by sheer accident, without any instinct of devotion or adulation.

For those who are unable even to utter the short and sweet names of the Lord, Azhwar has another prescription for saving them from the fires of hell.

A mere mention of the hallowed abodes of Emperuman would, by itself, ensure that none goes to  Hell , indeed, if everyone were to just say the name of a divyadesam once, it would render the hellish worlds uninhabited and desolate, says Azhwar in the following pasuram—

“arivilA manisar ellAm arangam endru azhaippar Agil

poriyil vAzh narakam ellAm pullezhundu ozhiyum andrE”

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Pics : Credits Google images

Video Credits : manumithra and singer sri Udayalur kalyanaraman

Few hundred years ago at Srirangam the capital of SriVaishnavam , the King of Ascetics , Jagath Acharyar Swamy Ramanuja showered his mercy on several citizens . Far away from the Srirangam temple there was a poor peasant named Pattini Perumal born in the fourth varna . An ardent devotee of LORD Ranganathar he used to sing the Azhwars pasurams with devotion and was always immersed in the depth of his emotions .

Swamy Ramanuja used to take the route to the kaveri river bank daily along the side of his hut . One day listening to the divine outpourings from the poor man , he stopped and went inside the hut to see the great devotee . Pattini perumal was shocked to see Jagath Acharyar entering his hut .

He offered his obeisances and seeked blessings .Both of them were immersed in the sweet ecstasy of Azhwar hymns not knowing how time passed .Swamy Ramanuja advised Pattini perumal to join the Ashramam for his devotion which was unexpected . Thus Acharyar had a congregation of great devotees of LORD irrespective of caste and creed .

One more interesting incident is chronicled as having taken place at the holy temple of Srirangam. At the ashram , the washerman employed to wash the clothes of agraham , one day washed LORD Ranganathar’s royal garments as well . The obedient washerman showed the clothes to Swamy Ramanujar with all humility .

Swamy was immensely pleased with his services .

He at once took him inside the temple and walked directly inside along with the washerman.

The washerman was overjoyed with Swamy’s mercy .

Swamy Ramanuja with all humilty prayed and said .

Oh .Lord! Jagathrakshaka …!!

Look at this man’s service to your royal highness .

He has been so careful in washing your garments and our Agraharam garments and been very eager to serve the temple on many occasions .

Please shower your abundant blessings on this soul for his upliftment ..

Lord smiled ! and replied ….

My child Ramanuja ……………………

For the loving services rendered to us this day by him , we forgive the offence of his ancestor the washerman during our Krishna avataram.

And to this day it is the custom for the LORD to receive the royal clothes from the washerman just as he brings them and use it for the Lord .

 

No approach thus attaches to the glorious Acharyas in upliftment of a seeker .

No case of caste , creed and colour enter their judgements .

They are benevolent to the fallen souls and their only service to LORD is by uplifting the fallen souls .

Such incidents though trivial are fraught with great significance and important issues as affecting and moulding the society ..

Every man / woman regardless of caste colour joined Swamy Ramanuja’s vasudeva kutumbam community ..

Jagath Acharyar Swamy Ramanuja with His towering personality, Fair complexioned- with dwAdasa oordhva pUndram (12 ThirumaN kaapu ), the pristinely pure saffron yati (sanyaasi) robe (that adds beauty to the fair complexion further), the dark tresses curly hair of sikhA which is so charming on His moon like divine smiling face laden with compassion ( dayA) on us, (Charming and most graceful Thirumukham), the white bright pooNool (yagnOpaveedham), the strong thridhaNdam, the lovely Lotus feet..

Oh Lord! What a sight ………

It could have been, to those Srivaishnavas must have been blessed with!

How fortunate must have the citizens been those days to be graced by Acharyar walking so gracefully with such an enchanting personality, with great revered disciples Swamy KooratthAzhwAn, MudaliANdaan, Embaar, young Bhattar, Kidaambhi Acchaan, Nadathur Azhwan, Thirukkurugai piraan pillan, Ananthazhwan, kidambi Acchan, seven hundred Yathis , seventy four simhadhipathis who have given us abundant wealth of knowledge ..

As the dear disciple of Swamy Ramanuja , Thiruvarangath Amudanar quotes ,

kaNdukoN dEnem iraamaa NnusanRannai kaaNdalumE
thoNdukoN dEn_avan thodtar_poR RaaLil_en thollai ven^n^Oy
viNdukoN dEn_avan seerveLLa vaariyai vaaymaduththin
RuNdukoN dEn,innam uRRana Othil ulappillaiyE….

Having seen Swamy Ramanuja- what a sight it is indeed, which makes one eager to serve the golden feet of his devotees;

Now that taken just a sip from this ocean of auspicious qualities all my past karmaas have been destroyed.

Satyam satyam Punah Satyam, YathirAjO Jagath Guru…………………

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Pics : Credits Google images, cover pic : credits : JET

video credits : Melkottai Emprumanar Thirumanjana kattiyam by Prasanna Swamigal ( Thirukoshtiyur vembu) Sri Ranga padmanabhan , sri venkata krishnan

The Priest was about to  perform Mangala Haarathi  and he was amazed to notice  Lord Shrinathjis head bowed.

 

Nallan was a disciple of Swamy Ramanuja .He was an ardent devotee of LORD VARADAR at Kancheepuram . Attending classes at Ashram of Swamy Ramanuja , his bhakthi towards Lord Varadar increased manifold . Any services for his Acharyar was cheerfully obeyed .

Once it so happened , Swamy Ramanuja had to leave Kancheepuram on an important  mission .  Nallan accompanied till the banks of the river vegavathi and seeked permission to return .

While returning on the banks of the river he found some object floating from a far distance .He moved near the banks and saw a  corpse floating . He looked closely and found the corpse bore vaishnava symbols of discuss and conch on its shoulders . Nallan immediately jumped into the river .He carefully brought the corpse to the shore .

With deep respects he carried out the funeral rites . The ceremony went on well with his  dedication . However his relatives abandoned him . During the final rites  when food was to be  served to the brahmins . No one supported his noble en devour  in taking places .

Exhausted , he prayed his adorable LORD VARADAR to help him ……………………

All of a sudden ,  an  attractive  vedic priest  approached  him . He was looking very handsome  showering opulence .

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Braving himself , he offered his obeisances and requested him to  accept the food being served . The priest smiled  at him and  accepted the honors .

Nallan could not move his eyes from his radiance .He had tears gushing on the priests  humility in accepting his service when the entire village were aghast with his noble act .

At the end , he took his blessings and  thanked him for considering his request , when the whole village were  against him  .The priest replied with a bewitching smile …….

.. Nattuku Pollan ..Namakku nallavan ….. …. ….meaning ….

 Though the whole world is against you ..We are always for  you … and then vanished in thin air ……..

Nallan understood …

It was Lord Varadar who walked down to save him …

 Another incident similar to this took place in Maharashtra few hundred years back . Santh Eknath was an ardent devotee of Lord Panduranga  of Pandharapur . An advanced saint who moved with all  the people seeing Hari in every one .

One day Eknath was performing his ancestral rituals. Two strangers   happened to pass by his house and understood that a feast was being prepared smelling  the aroma in the surroundings . They were discussing that it would be good if they could get this food. Eknath on listening , called them and  offered them the food that was being prepared. They were pleased with Eknaaths humility .

The invited  Brahmans who had come for the ceremony  could not digest the respect given to the strangers  .They immediately left the place on seeing this.  The news spread like a fire .

All  the Brahmins in the village on  hearing  this started speaking ill  for  distributing  the food that was prepared for ancestral ceremony to some out castes before completing the ceremony.

They decided that no one  shall attend the  ceremony . They then  decided  that none  in the village would mingle with him and  have any contact with him .

Eknath had to prepare food again for the ceremony  though it was getting late .  Eknath was now worried that he would not be able to feed the Brahmans after the ritual is over as no one would come to his house .

Eknath  offered prayers to Sri Hari and  started performing the rituals . As no one was prepared to attend the ceremony , he kept the 1st kurcham thinking of Sri Hari .  Lord Vitthal  arrived  and sat down to have the food.

As soon as LORD arrived , other  demi gods  along with  his forefathers who were  invited  during the ceremony came down and took the food directly. After the ceremony ,  they blessed Eknath  and disappeared.

. Another  incident in the life of Santh Namdev is related to illustrate this truth. Namdev along with fellow devotees once undertook the pilgrimage  and brought  the holy water of the Ganga  on return .

This pilgrimage was undertaken at a time when there was no transport available and devotees often undertook the entire journey on foot. The weather was unbearably hot and the terrain they had to traverse tested the endurance of even the most faithful among them.

When they had almost reached their destination they came upon a frail donkey on the verge of dying due to thirst. Everyone except Namdev passed by without any consideration for its predicament but not the saint. He stopped and alleviated the donkey’s misery by quenching its thirst with the holy Ganga water he was carrying with him.

All his friends were taken aback by his act and ridiculed Namdev for throwing away all the merit he would have gained by completing the pilgrimage. No sooner had they chided Namdev the donkey became transformed  to the wonder of his friends. The saint had seen only the Lord suffering in the form of the donkey and hence did not hesitate to offer it water.

True to the unitize vision Namdev had,  LORD HARI  appeared to him at the spot   as he made his offering……

Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita  says , “  A  Yogin is the  one who, out of a sense of identity with others on account of the perception of the same Self in all, feels their joy and suffering as his own………………………

Adapted from a discourse shared by an advanced devotee 

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Pics : courtesy google images 

 The Lord of the seven hills is the Lord of the universe. The special significance of Lord Venkateswara temple at Tirumala lies in the fact that it is the oldest religious institutions in the world where unbroken religious worship is being carried on for over 1,500 years by revered Acharyas and millions of pilgrims  reach the holy abode more than any other temple in the world .The temple is held in high  veneration by many devotees.

The average number of pilgrims who seek  Lord’s darshan  ranges from  50,000 to 1,00,000 and more   daily and on festivals double this .The emotional outpourings of the great Azhwars makes one rush to this sacred hills to have  HIS  darshan . Mere listening to the emotional  compositions of his noblest and humblest devotees, like Annamacharya  Tyagaraja  and Purandara Dasa suffices. They combine the quintessence of the Vedas and the Upanishads.

Everything begins and ends or is reduced to sunyam (nothingness) before him, while the infinite world pens to the sincere seeker with an infinitesimal offering. This is because spiritual wealth through devotion is the basis of life .

VenkaTAdri samam sthAnam  brahmANDe nAsti kinchana

venkateSa samo devo    na bhUto na bhaviSyati!

There is no place in the entire universe that equals Venkatadri ,

the place where …

Lord resides ……..

.and there is no Lord,

either in the past nor in the future…….                                                           

who  shall equal   our Lord Venkateswara.

  Tirumala is one of the seven Swayam Vyaktha Kshetrams .

Tradition has it, that hands of man did not work for the dhruva bera   ( Main deity  )  of Lord Venkateswara .

Lord out of His own will, and abundant mercy had appeared at TIRUMALA and continues to stay here for this age Kaliyuga

  This ageless temple of Lord Venkateswara is located a top the Tirumala Hill at an elevation of 3,000 feet .

The abode of Lord Venkateshwara  stands unique as an embodiment of man’s eternal quest for the divine and  seeking His infinite grace.

A pilgrimage to the sacred Hills is a soul-stirring experience cherished by every devotee. Even atheists and rationalists admit a sense of humility and the presence of the Lord here .

As one approaches the  inner sanctum ,  a strong pull towards LORD is experienced.

The soul identifies its existence in this body and regrets its foolishness in remaining in several bodies for several births and ignoring HIS love for us.

Lord Venkateswara is  glorified as Pratyaksha Daivam (manifest divinity) who  helps all  his devotees in distress .

 The great  saint  Swamy Nammazhwar categorically relives his musings in a verse…

pOkinRa kaalangaL   pOya kaalangaL*    pOku kaalangaL,

* thaay thandhai  uyi-raaginRaay*

unnai _naan adaindhEn viduvEnO,?

paaginRa tholpugaz moovulakukkum*

naathanE! paramaa,*

thaNvENGkadam mEkinRaay*

thaNdhuzaay virai_ naaRukaNNiyanE.

At all times past, present and future ……..

Oh Lord!!! 

You are my mother, my father my very life itself

…and …

your holiness having reached you, 

Oh Lord!!

Will I ever let you go?

Oh lord of the three worlds …  

Oh Supreme One!

With your eternal fame,

so far-reaching, with the fragrant cool garland of tulasi leaves …….

You grace the cool Venkata hill.

  Few come out with rain of tears and a few feeling relived, and a few want more to just be there looking at HIM.. ….

doing  nothing more ……like an infant cuddling in the arms of his mother asking nothing ……………………………

All men irrespective of religion, status, caste, and creed make several trips in their lives to worship the LORD, as they are our divine parents for ever.

 At Tirumala  apart from having sarva darshanam , devotees participate in   daily  Arjitha sevas such as Suprabatha seva  , Thomala seva, Archana Seva , Kalyanaotsavam,  Arjitha brahmotsavam, dolotsavam, Sahasradeepalankarana seva , vasanthothsavam, Ekantha seva conducted at different times in a day .

            Apart from the daily seva , weekly sevas  that comprises of Vishesha pooja on Monday ,  Ashtadalapada padmaaradhana on Tuesday , Sahsrakalshabhishekam on Wednesday, Thiruppavada sevai on Thursday and   Abhishekam             ( Vastralankarana sevai ) on Friday   conducted in a grand manner .

Among all the above darshanams ,the Vastralankara seva   ( Abhishekam )/(Thirumanjanam)  on Friday early hours  is most cherished  darshan for any devotee , as  one has the great fortune to be in the temple inner sanctum for more than two hours having  continuous uninteruppted darshan of the Supreme  Lord amongst vedic chants and  azhwars’s  divya prabhanda sevakalam

For this wonderful darshan the devotee is supposed to report one day in advance on Thursday.

We had the great fortune to attend this wonderful darshan few years ago by Lord’s abundant mercy …

Appended below is a brief  submission for being selected few in having the darshan………

On Friday early hours around 2 AM, the ubhaydhaare reports at Vaikuntam queue complex for Arjitha seva ticket verification.

 Hearing suprabhatam being recited inside the temple and silently chanting the same………

we walk in the queue………….

. ( the origin of the suprabhatam or wishing of  an auspicious dawn was penned by His holiness sri P.B.Annan 600 years ago * the divine pastime is shared in the below appended post )

Continue reading “At Tirumala …. Lord Venkateshwara Abhisheka vaibhavam …….. VenkaTAdri samam sthAnam brahmANDe nAsti kinchana … venkateSa samo devo …. na bhUto na bhaviSyati……..” →