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Ramanuja List Archive: Message 00019 Jun 2003

 
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Sri:
Srimathe Ramanujaya nama:
Dear bhAgavathAs,
Accept my praNAms. Just as we had series of posts on 
nirhEthuka krpa by not getting the message across,I strongly feel it 
is going to happen to sharing even AzhvArs experiences. Because one 
has to know the hidden meanings of those hymns. AzhvArs unianimously 
proclaim ONLY nirhEthuka krpa of the Lord! We can always talk about 
bhAgavathAs and it is more appropriate as our sampradhAyam gives 
importance to primarily a bhAgavatha and secondarily a bhagavad 
kaimkaryam. We don't have to talk about the bhAgavatha "nampaduvan" 
of kaisika purANam(and quote related SVB aphorism) and so on. We can 
share the experiences of bhAgavathAs whom we have met in our life. 
This "does not" require the knowledge of any "rahasyams". So,I am 
going to share my experiences and whoever wants to join the 
bandwagon,is most welcome and it will be great.

WHen I was in sixth grade,there was a competition in Tamizh 
and whoever recites certain things,would be rewarded a silver coin. 
The student can recite the entire ThirukkuraL(collections of sonnets 
type?) of the poet ThiruvaLLuvar or the ThiruvAymozhi of NammAzhvAr(I 
don't remember what other options were there!). My mother chose 
ThiruvAymozhi for me and I hardly knew the greatness of it,although I 
had heard about AzhvArs. So I roted the entire TiruvAymozhi and got 
the silver coin also from Swami Jayendra Shankaracarya! But I have 
forgotten most of them(as there was no continuity) with the exception 
of Koil ThiruvAymozhi.

The first bhAgavatha who had a tremendous influence is a 
telugu srivaiShNavaite(not a brahmin though and for me he is an 
AcAryan too) and that uncle's name is JagannAThan. He was new to our 
colony and both of us would visit the nearby Srinivasa temple
(alongwith sanniDhis for thAyAr,Lakshmi Narasimhar and Hanuman) with 
a special sanniDhi for emperumAnAr(what else one can ask for?). I 
have to cross his house on teh way to the temple and initially we 
would be walking few furlongs apart. As soon as he enters the 
temple,he will sing loudly that he does not need any mic.

He used to sing "mannu pugazh kausalai","kangulum pagalum 
kaN thuyil" etc so beautifully that I fell flat for those pAsurams 
and also wanted to befriend him and learn from him. I can befriend 
anyone but then I somehow refrained myself from doing. We used to 
smile at each other but never got a chance to introduce ourselves. 

Within a few days, in the temple,right infront of Ramanuja 
sanniDhi(we two and one more bhAgavatha would compete to sit infront 
of R),he said "I see you coming to the temple daily,it's very good 
blah blah blah and asked me if I would be interested in joining him 
in chanting prabanDham". I grabbed the opportunity like a Pavlovian 
dog and I was waiting for that moment only. That's how I started 
learning Koil ThiruvAymozhi(not like sEvAkAlam but rAgam based) and 
other AzhvArs pAsurams(but I have a long way to go to finish the 
entire 4000!!!)and my younger sister also joined me slowly and 
initially she used to feel shy to chant loud infront of everyone but 
she overcame. That bhAgavatha sings with so much bhAvam that even an 
atheist will be slightly shaken and will get goosebumps. I really 
envy him for that.

He was the one who watered the plant(it is not enough if it 
is sowed) called "love for AzhvArs & God". My love for Ramanuja and 
sampradhAyam is very deep from my childhood that I(& all my folks) 
would not even step into non-SV temples. I'm eternally indebted to 
him for creating that interest in me towards AzhvArs. He always tells 
my father/sister whenever they meet,that he really misses me and lost 
his right hand. I miss him a lot too. He would always say that "for 
us Sriman Narayanan is everything;we don't have to worry about 
anything;He will take care of us". This incidence is also an example 
for nirhEthuka krpa of the Lord! I didn't seek out this bhAgavatha. 
He himself came to me and helped me.

I just can't explain my feelings beyond this. Only God and 
myself know how much I am indebted to this hbAgavatha. He sports 
a "pattai TK thirumaN" that sometimes people start laughing. He 
graced my elder sisters weddings and some guest were passing remarks 
and I couldn't control myself and blasted them. I would not spare a 
person who says bad things about someone whom I regard and respect 
very high. If I have to go to hell,I don't care. It's so funny how 
people go by the standards of society and status quo. People are more 
bothered about what others think of them than what they think of 
themselves. Who is my next bhAgavatha? He is very precious, like a 
jewel, to me and he is the one who made me realise the greatness of 
our sampradhAyam. I even cried nicely when he told me his story. 
Everyday I thank God for sending such a great bhAgavatha(again an 
example for nirhEthuka krpa) who voluntarily sent the first personal 
mail to me and said "whatever doubts you have,ask me. Adiyen will 
help you out". Yes,he is none other than our dear Sri Tirunarayanan 
Parthasarathy Iyengar. 

AzhvAr emperumAnAr jIyar thiruvadigaLE sharaNam
NC Nappinnai





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