--- In tiruvengadam@xxxx, "Sudarshan M.K." <sampathkumar_2000@xxxx>
wrote:
srimAn venkata-nAthArya kavi-tArkika kesari
vedantAchArya varyOmE sannidattAm sadAhrudi II
Dear friends,
Yesterday was 'purattAsi-sravanam'-- the 'tirunakshatram' of Lord
TiruvengadamudaiyAn of Tirupati and of our chief achAryA
'kavi-tArkika-simha, gnyAna-vairAgya-bhushana, vedAntAcharya" Swami
Venkatanathan.
As you all know Swami Venkatanathan (13-14thCE) lived and worked many
years in the little village of Tiruvaheendrapuram (Cuddalore,
T.Nadu). It was there on the sacred hillock of GarudAdri that he
experienced a direct vision of God --- of Lord Lakshmi-Hayagreeva,
the Deity hailed in SriVaishnava theology as the personified form of
'Supreme Knowledge'.
This Deity of 'Supreme-Knowledge' is known to the timeless Upanishads
as simply "Brahman" whom the Taittiriyam, for want of any more
eloquent words, simply defines as "satyam, gnyAnam, anantham" i.e.
"Being", "Knowledge" and "Infinitude". In a latter passage the same
Upanishad also describes Brahman as "aanandam", the primal and
ultimate source of spiritual Bliss ("aanandam brahmaNO
vidvAn...etc.).
It is to the direct experience of that very same infinite Brahman--
pure, plenary "gnyAnam" and "aanandam"-- that Swami Desikan testifies
in his famous hymn to Lord Lakshmi-Hayagreeva wherein the very first
words celebrate this Deity as 'gnyAnAnanda-mayam-devam'.
Tiruvaheendrapuram is the place where the "vedantAchAryA" attained
"brahma-gnyAnam". It has hence become a very eminent place of
pilgrimage to all followers of Swami Venkatanathan.
For many, many centuries now, it has also become a custom for
followers and admirers of Swami Venkatanathan to annually go on a
pilgrimage of remembrance to Tiruvaheendrapuram on the occasion of
his 'tirunakshatram'. This happens usually sometime in the month of
'purattAsi' (Sept-Oct) on the asterism of "sravaNam" or "tiruvOnam".
In my childhood I have witnessed throngs of SriVaishnava laity, in
and around Madras and its outskirts, congregate in great numbers on
that holy day atop the GarudAdri-Hill at Tiruvaheendrapuram to
celebrate the birth-day of their beloved AchArya.
The celebrations are usually held on a grand scale. The whole
village, the temple and shrines of Lord hayagreeva and Swami
Venkatanathan all wear a distinctly festive look. The local
population of farmers and simple peasants, their families and
children, all join in the proceedings as though the occasion were an
exciting annual folk-event. With festoons fluttering, pipers and
drummers belting out music and with the air filled with sounds of
scores of Vedam/Prabhandam chanteurs chorusing aloud, GarudAdri Hill
and indeed the whole of Tiruvaheendrapuram village appears surcharged
with a rare but palpable spiritual fervour.
To a devotee-onlooker the fervour will easily appear to gather dizzy
momentum as the large congregation of Swami's followers break out,
loudly and joyfully, into a well-orchestrated chant of the many
excellent hymns of praise ('stOtrA-s') in Sanskrit which he composed
in his lifetime. The "hayagreeva-stOtra", of course, will take the
pride of place but soon will follow the majestic recitation of
"dayA-satakam", the great 100-verse hymn Swami composed in worship of
Lord Srinivasa at Tirupati. Next, the "devanatha-panchAshatham" will
be sung and then "gopAla-vimshati", "raghuveera-gadyam",
"garuda-dandakam" and so on and on...
Nowhere else but in those special moments at Tiruvaheendrapuram can
one appreciate with greater force the magnificence of Sanskrit as
being truly the 'deva-bhAsha' of the world --- the "dialect of the
Gods" that was made known to man!
Those who have personally witnessed the 'tirunakshatram' event at
Tiruvaheendrapuram will also never be able to forget the final
crescendo to which the congregation will rise after it has exhausted
its repertoire of vedic passages, 'prabhandam' passages and Swami
Desikan's own religious compositions in Tamil (called
"desika-prabhandam"). The proceedings will climax to an event called
'sAttrumurai" which is a sort of a grand finale.
"Sattrumurai" is a concluding ritual in which the congregation
recites a select anthology of some of the most brilliant, most
profound and memorable passages from a vast array of scriptural texts
in the hoary Veda-Vedantic tradition. With a burst of energy the
assembly will break into a chant of the Vedic Yajur samhitas and
'aranyakA-s' to be quickly followed by a brief but mellifluous
rendering of a lilting strain from the Sama veda; then a short verse
from the Gita will be sung; a long passage from RamanujachAryA-s
"sri-bhAshyam" will be recited; next, a coda from Vishnu-Puranam;
then four magnificent shlOkA-s from Srimadh Valmiki Ramayanam; then
two verses from Desikan's "Rahasya-traya-sAram"; Two verses from the
"pAduka-sahasram"; then will follow passages from the Tamil
'dravida-vedam'; superb stanzas from Andal's tiruppAvai and
NammAzhwAr's "tiruvoimOzhi" will rent the air; a wonderful
Mani-pravAlam piece from "bhagavath-vishayam"; a piece from
'upadesa-ratnamalai'; a piece from 'pillai-andAdi' and so on and on...
The 'sAtrumurai' will then finally end in a great song of benediction
being sung in dedication to the memory of Swami Venkatanathan after
which solemn offerings of money and kind would be made in accordance
with the ritual of "bhagavath-achArya sambhAvanai". Thereafter the
congregation will joyously break into a song of 'pallAndu',
'vAzhi-tirunAmam' and 'mangalam' bringing the 'tirunakshatram'
celebrations to a magnificent close.
The assembly will disperse for a sumptuous feast and then bid each
other hearty farewell.
******** ********** *********
Adiyane has just returned from Bahrain where yesterday, under the
auspices of Swami Desikan followers there (and elsewhere too in the
Middle-East, notably Kuwait) a grand 'tirunakshatram' festival was
conducted to commemorate the asterism of 'purattAsi-sravanam'.
It was a collection of about 60-70 'desika-astikA-s' (I refrain from
using the word "sriVaishnavas" because we had wonderful people from
all religious backgrounds in the assembly on that day) at the
residence of SrimAn Azhagappan, one of the senior-most residents in
Manama, a 'parama-sAtvika' gentleman and an ardent 'sishya' of the
present Ahobila Mutt Jeeyar, Srimadh Azhagiyasingar.
Sri.Azhagappan is fortunate indeed to have around him a circle of the
most resourceful friends adiyane has ever seen: Sri.N.R.Ananthan,
Sri.Venkat and Sri.Sampath (to name only a very few among the many
others who wholeheartedly extended helping hands).
These 'kainkarya-siromani-s' organized a 'tirunakshatram' celebration
event yesterday that truly matched the fervour of
'tiruvaheendrapuram' of adiyane's boyhood memories. Everything that
one might have witnessed at Tiruvaheendrapuram was present at Bahrain
yesteday.There was "veda-pArAyaNam"; there was almost one full hour
of the finest group recitation of Desikan 'stOtrA-s' that adiyane has
ever heard;there was a torrent of 'prabhandam' chanting from the
choicest of Azhwars' 'pAsuram-s'; there was almost a 'blitzkrieg'
(please excuse the expression as adiyane cannot find another one
suitable enough to convey my feelings) of readings from the wonderful
Tamil works of Desikan called "Desika-prabhandhams"... And all
rendered in true traditional style by the solemn gathering of ladies
and gentlemen there.
Above all, the 'veda' and'prabhanda' 'sAtrumurai-kramam' which one
witnessed yesterday verily brought tears to ones eyes and a nostalgic
lump in one's throat. SrimAn IVK Chary of Kuwait did full and
fantastic justice to the rite of "sAtrumurai".
To lend further solemnity and authenticity to the occasion we had
none other than the venerable SrimAN Vellukudi Krishnan Swami (who is
presently on lecture-tour of Bahrain) who, out of great kindness,
graced us with his presence and performed the 'tiruvArAdanam' rites
himself. Thereafter, he regaled the gathering for a little over an
hour with a scintillating discourse on Swami Desikan's gem of a hymn,
"nyAsa-dasakam". Truly it was the climactic piece of the day.
Of course one cannot but mention the wholesome and delicious
'ekAdasi' fare that Srimathi Azhagappan and all her other good
friends were kind enough to serve to all 'bhaktA-s'.
******** ********* *********
Adiyane boarded the last plane last evening from Bahrain to Kuwait.
As belted myself up to my seat, and as the aircraft took off for
home, for a brief moment I could once again recall to mind the
magnificent sounds of the 'pallAndu' and 'vAzhi-tirunAmam' recited by
the assembly of devout followers and admirers of Swami Venkatanathan.
At that moment adiyane felt a strange sense of un-reality. "Here
I'm", I thought to myself, "thousands and thousands of miles away
from my real homestead. Away from "tiruvaheendrapuram"! And yet how
wonderful that after these few hours spent in Bahrain in the company
of 'vaideeka-s' and 'bhAgavatA-s', listening to them sing the
glorious songs of the 'kavi-tArkika-simham', adiyane does not miss
anymore the physical reality of 'garudAdri' or 'tiruvaheendrapuram'!"
Adiyane then told myself, "If Desikan lives today amongst us, he
lives not only in some little village deep south in Tamilnadu. In a
far more real sense, he lives wherever -- be it in Bahrain, in Kuwait
or in Timbuctoo -- he lives wherever there are at least half-a-dozen
of his followers who never tire of singing a verse or two from his
"daya-satakam" or his "adaikalapatthu"!
kavitArkika simhAya kalyAna gunashAlinE
srimathE venkatEsAya vedAnta guravE namaha II
dAsan,
Sudarshan
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