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SriRangaSri List Archive: Message 00075 Dec 2002

 
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Dear friends,

The 3rd, 4th and 5th stanzas of the TirrupAvai evoke 3 different
perspectives of Rain. 

The first perspective is ecological. In the 4th stanza AndAl mentions
Rain with the words "Azhi-mazhaik-annA... vAzha ulaginil
peyydhidaay!" AndAl entreats the Rain-god to be kind and generous to
the entire world. The Tamil word "ulagam" means "world" or "earth".
Hence, the phrase "vAzha ulaginil peyydhidaay" has a global, or what
we might call, an ecological context. 

All Life on Planet Earth ("ulagam") is sustained by that most
precious of natural resources, Water ("peru-neer")... And Rain is the
sole source of it. The whole ecology of the world, its many flora and
teeming fauna, the diverse and complex environments in this planet
and everything that lives and thrives here draws sustenance
("vAzhvu"), whether directly or indirectly, only from Rain. No Rain,
no Water. And no Water, no Life... Period. This is the stark fact of
life on earth!

Over the ages, the ingenuity of Man may have invented many incredible
wonders of science and technology, but there is no hope, not even the
faintest one, that someday Man might succeed in mass-manufacturing
Water too and thereby rid Planet Earth, once and for all, of its
abject and absolute dependance on the Rain-gods. Until such a
discovery is made, if ever at all, the World (this vast "ulagam"),
the TiruppAvai reminds us, has simply no choice but to pray earnestly
and constantly ("vAzha-ulaganil pEyydhidaay") for the blessing of
God's showers upon earth! Rain is the sole source of Water... the
true elixir of Life upon earth... and there is really nothing else
known to Man, other than sincere prayer, that can fetch it.

This worldwide view of AndAl's phrase ("vAzha-ulaganil pEyydhidaay")
in which Rain and Water are seen as precious life-giving,
life-nurturing ecological agents, is actualy an echo of the
Upanishad. 

The PrashnOpanishad (2-10) said:

"yadAtvam abhivarshasi atemAh prAnEt prajAh
AnandarUpas tishTavti kAmAyannam bhavishyatiti"

"When you pour down, O Rain, these creatures of the world begin to
breathe and go into a state of bliss! For they know then there is
hope of Food! And there is hope of all Desire being sated!"

Long before man and civilization appeared on earth, the timeless
"sruti" had also already recognized the essential fragility of Life
upon Earth. The Upanishad knew well enough, even without science or
technology to aid it, that all of the world's great eco- and
bio-systems hang together in a delicate but symbiotic balance between
Rain, Food and Life: 

"... yABhirAditya-stapati rashmiBhis-tAbhi: -
parjanyE-nowshaDhi vanaspataya: prajAyanta-
OshaDhi-vanaspatiBhir-annam Bhavathyan-nEna prANA: ..."

("mahA-nArAyaNa-upanishad")

"From the rays of the Sun, Rain is born,
>From the Rains, come herbs and trees,
>From trees an' herbs, comes Food,
And thro' Food, verily, is all Life nourished ..."

At first glance, the Upanishad seems to be making more of a statement
of obvious fact above rather than one of any great insight or wisdom.
But any student of the Upanishads would know that they often embed
the subtle within the obvious. Here too, in the case of the above
verse, the Upanishad is stating what is apparently obvious only
because it wants us to deeply ponder upon the obvious so that we 
grasp the subtle within:

If it is such an 'obvious' fact that Rain is the giver and sustainer
of all Life upon earth; and 'obvious', too, it is that Man will never
be able to make Rain by his own means; and, again, if it is 'obvious'
fact that Man shall forever remain dependent upon agents other than
human for the blessing of Rain upon earth... Now, if all these facts
are indeed so "obvious" then, 

-- Why is it that mankind is unable to see Rain for what it truly
represents: the greatest Miracle of God upon earth! Why doesn't man
ever stop to reflect, "What have I done to deserve this miracle upon
earth called Rain? What good did I do that I should be rewarded with
the blessing of Rain?"

-- Why is Man skeptical of the fact that it is the power of Prayer
alone that fetches this world its greatest Reward of Rain? Why does
Man not heed AndAL's example, raise his hands to Providence in the
skies and utter those humble but most powerful words in the entire
TiruppAvai:

"Azhi-mazhai-kannA.... vAzha ulaginil pEyydhidaay!" 

********* ******** *********
(to be continued)

regards,

dAsan,
Sudarshan


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