Karuแนai โ The Compassion That Found the Unworthy
(PART 1)
“The Lord’s grace reached me through the infinite compassion of Jagadฤcฤrya ลrฤซ Rฤmฤnuja. Long before I knew the road to Vaikuแนแนญha… he had already begun walking beside me.”
Yesterday…
my beloved companion Amฤnavan placed my trembling hand into the loving hands of ลrฤซ Viลvaksena, the eternal Senฤpati of ลrฤซman Nฤrฤyaแนa.
Standing beneath the resplendent Thirumฤmaแนi Maแนแธapam…
I watched him gently step aside.
Far ahead…
another radiant assembly slowly approached.
ลrฤซ Viลvaksena smiled.
“My child…before you behold the One who is the Goal of every soul…you shall first meet the one who taught you how to walk towards Him.”
My heart began to race.
Who could this be…
before whom even the eternal servants stood with folded hands?
Then…
something happened that no words can truly describe.
The entire atmosphere of Vaikuแนแนญha seemed to change.
The jeweled halls… the celestial breeze… the fragrance of Tulasฤซ…
the hymns of the Vedas… everything gently became still. Not silent.
Only expectant.
Then… from every direction… one sacred mantra arose. Softly at first.
Then like countless streams joining one mighty river. Thousands… perhaps millions…
of liberated souls joyfully chanted only one name.
“ลrฤซmate Rฤmฤnujฤya Namaแธฅ…”
Again…
“ลrฤซmate Rฤmฤnujฤya Namaแธฅ…”
Again… and again… the Eternal City echoed with that sacred remembrance.
I stopped walking.My entire being trembled.
That sound… How could I ever forget it?
For more than two decades upon Earth…
almost every dawn of my life had begun with these very words. Sometimes…
my eyes overflowed with gratitude. Sometimes… with repentance. Sometimes… with helpless pleading.
Sometimes… with silent surrender. Sometimes…
I had no words at all.
Only this mantra.
The sacred Rฤmฤnuja Gฤyatrฤซ, lovingly entrusted to me by my revered ฤcฤrya…
had become the very rhythm of my life.
How many lakhs of times had these lips uttered,
“ลrฤซmate Rฤmฤnujฤya Namaแธฅ…” Never counting.
Never expecting. Only hoping… that one day…
the owner of this Holy Name might glance upon this most unworthy soul.
Today…
that very mantra was filling eternity itself.
My lips moved without effort.
Almost as though they remembered their true home.
“ลrฤซmate Rฤmฤnujฤya Namaแธฅ…”
Suddenly… the chanting ceased. Not because it ended.
Because…
He had arrived.
The radiant assembly slowly opened like a lotus in bloom.
There…
stood Jagadฤcฤrya ลrฤซ Rฤmฤnuja.
I searched for words.
None came. How does one describe compassion itself?
His face shone with indescribable serenity.
His eyes held the tenderness of countless mothers.
His smile dissolved every lingering fear within my heart.
He was not majestic because of power.
He was majestic because every soul around Him felt completely loved.
I stood motionless.
Then… without even realising it… I collapsed at His Lotus Feet.
Not with dignity. Not with composure.
Like a little child who had finally found his father after wandering for lifetimes.
Tears flowed uncontrollably. Words refused to come.
Only one cry escaped my lips.
My “Emperumฤแนฤr…”
Before my forehead could remain upon His Feet…
two gentle hands lifted me.
“My child…”
He said.
His voice carried every kindness I had ever known.
“Why do you still weep?” I struggled to speak.
“Swamy…
because I know who I am.” “I know my countless flaws.
I know how often I failed. How often I became proud.
How often I forgot.
Yet… You never abandoned me.”
His smile became even gentler.
“My child… did you truly believe…
I was not listening?” Those words pierced my heart.
He continued… “Every morning… when you whispered,
‘ลrฤซmate Rฤmฤnujฤya Namaแธฅ’
whether with joy… with regret…
with tears… or with silence…
did you imagine they disappeared into empty space?”
He slowly placed His hand upon my head.
“Not one remembrance was lost.
Not one tear went unnoticed.
Not one sincere plea failed to reach Me.”
I closed my eyes.
The countless dawns of my earthly life flashed before me.
The quiet corner before my altar.
The sacred images of Perumal.
The fragrance of incense.
The soft recitation of my ฤcฤrya’s teachings.
The Rฤmฤnuja Gฤyatrฤซ.
Every morning…
the same prayer.
The same longing.
The same hope.
Today…
I realised…
I had never been praying alone.
He looked deeply into my eyes.
“My child…
do you remember your journey through the Pancha Nฤrฤyaแนa Kแนฃetras?”
My breath stopped.
“Swamy… You knew?” He smiled.
“I knew every dusty road. Every delayed bus.
Every lonely village. Every temple bell that filled your heart.
Every Divya Prabandham you sang while travelling.
Every folded hand. Every tear.”
I remained speechless.
He continued softly.
“You believed…
you were travelling to ancient temples.”
Then His eyes shone with infinite compassion.
“I was teaching your feet…
how to walk towards Vaikuแนแนญha.”
Those words entered the deepest part of my soul.
Suddenly…
every pilgrimage acquired a new meaning.
Tirumala… ลrฤซraแน gam… Badarikฤลrama… Melkoแนญe… the Pancha Nฤrฤyaแนa Kแนฃetras… the 106 Divya Deลams…
none had merely been destinations. Every journey had quietly become a lesson.
The ฤcฤrya had been preparing my feet…for this very path.
My tears refused to stop.
“Swamy… I brought nothing with me.”
“I was unworthy.” “I was empty.”
He gently smiled. His voice became sweeter than nectar.
‘Kฤrฤy Karuแนai Rฤmฤnujฤ…’
“The raincloud does not ask whether the earth deserves its water.
It simply pours. Likewise…
compassion never waits for worthiness.” I wept even more.
How often had I recited those sacred verses of ลrฤซ Rฤmฤnuja Nลซแนแนandฤdi…
seeing myself in Amudhanฤr’s confession?
Like him… I too had often wondered,
“What merit did I possess? Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.”
Yet..here I stood.Lifted…
not by my efforts. But by Karuแนai.
Infinite… undeserved… boundless compassion.
Our revered ฤcฤryas teach that Bhagavฤn’s grace reaches the soul through the compassionate lineage of the Guru Paramparฤ. For ลrฤซ Vaiแนฃแนavas, Jagadฤcฤrya ลrฤซ Rฤmฤnuja stands as the ocean of mercy who opened the path of prapatti to countless souls, not by measuring their worthiness, but by revealing the immeasurable compassion of the Lord.
Looking back upon my earthly life…
I now understand that every sacred pilgrimage…
every recitation of Divya Prabandham…
every Tiruppฤvai…
every Viแนฃแนu Sahasranฤma…
every morning that began with
“ลrฤซmate Rฤmฤnujฤya Namaแธฅ”
was quietly reshaping my heart.
The greatest miracle was not that I travelled to so many holy places.
The greatest miracle…
was that Jagadฤcฤrya slowly transformed an ordinary heart into one that longed only for the Lord.
“Grace never asks whether we deserve it. It asks only whether we are willing to receive it.”
“The greatest pilgrimage is not measured by the number of temples visited, but by the amount of pride left behind.”
“Every sincere repetition of ‘ลrฤซmate Rฤmฤnujฤya Namaแธฅ’ is another step taken under the shelter of boundless compassion.”
Perhaps…
the greatest miracle of an ฤcฤrya…
is not that he performs wonders.
It is that he quietly teaches broken hearts to hope again.
Long before we learn to love God…
he teaches us that God has never stopped loving us.
Jagadฤcฤrya ลrฤซ Rฤmฤnuja has taken my hand. His smile tells me…another forgotten memory is about to unfold.
A small piece of paper… four sacred words…
an unexpected visitor… and a lesson that would remain with me forever.
Tomorrow…
The Little Paper That Carried Hope.
“I thought I had been repeating His Name for twenty years…
Today I discovered…
His compassion had been repeating my name for far longer.”
“The soul does not leave the world behind by its own strength. It is gently led by the Lord until even the memory of separation disappears.”
Yesterdayโฆ
I bowed before four-faced Brahmฤ. The Creator himself folded his hands and blessed my onward journey. Then he pointed beyond the farthest limit of his own universe.
Todayโฆ
I stand where creation itself comes to an end.
Ahead flowed a river unlike anything words could describe. It was not made of water.
Nor of light. Nor of crystal. Yet it possessed the purity of all three. Every wave shimmered with an indescribable brilliance. No sun illuminated it. No moon reflected upon it. It shone by its own eternal nature.
This was Virajฤ. The sacred boundary between everything that changes….
and everything that never changes. I stood silently. For the first time since beginning this journeyโฆ I felt no desire to move. The river itself seemed alive. Not flowingโฆ but inviting. Then I remembered…..
Every morning during my humble Thiruvฤrฤdhana, while offering arghya and worshipping the Lord, I had invoked this very river.
How many thousands of times had I softly prayed…
“May the sanctity of Virajฤ purify this worship.”
Then came memories like gentle waves.
The sacred Kแนแนฃแนa River at Mattapalli, flowing before Lord Lakแนฃmฤซ Narasiแนha.
The majestic Kฤverฤซ embracing ลrฤซ Raแน ganฤtha.
The tranquil Sarayลซ and the sacred Gupta Ghฤแนญ at Ayodhyฤ.
The sweet waters of the Yamunฤ in Vแนndฤvana.
The holy Gomatฤซ at Dvฤrakฤ.
The Triveแนฤซ Saแน gam near Veraval, where Hiraแน, Kapilฤ and Sarasvatฤซ meet near the place sanctified by the Lord’s final earthly pastimes.
The countless Pushkariแนฤซs of the Divya Deลams.
Every Chakrasnฤnam during Brahmotsavams.
Every Kalaลa Pลซjฤ during homams, when I invoked all the sacred rivers into a single vessel before the Lord.
I had thought I was remembering rivers.
Today…….
I realised they had been quietly preparing me for this river.
As I gazed into Virajฤ…
I did not see my reflection.
Instead…
I saw every burden I had ever carried. Prideโฆ Egoโฆ The desire to be praised. The pain of criticism. Possessiveness. Anger. Jealousy. Fear. Attachment.
Even the subtle satisfaction of thinking,
“I have practised devotion.” One by oneโฆ they appearedโฆ only to dissolve without struggle into the brilliance of Virajฤ. Then I understood.
The river was not taking something away from me…
It was returning to the universe everything that had never truly belonged to the soul.
The jฤซva carries nothing into eternityโฆ except loving surrender.
Then a profound silence embraced me. No questions remained. No ambitions remained. No comparisons remained.
Only one prayer survived.
“O Lordโฆ Let me never again forget that I belong only to You.” And you only
Suddenlyโฆ the luminous attendants who had accompanied me thus far smiled. Without a wordโฆ
they gently led me across. There was no effort. No swimming. No crossing.
The Lord Himself carried what could never cross by its own strength.
The far shore was unlike anything I had imagined.
The very air radiated bliss. The fragrance could not be compared to any flower of Earth. Timeโฆ had vanished. For the first timeโฆ I no longer felt like a traveller.
I feltโฆ expected……
Welcomed. Known. Then I heard distant voices. Not singingโฆ Not speakingโฆ Yet every sound carried one Name
Narayana Narayana Narayana
Narayana Narayana Narayana
Narayana Narayana Narayana
Narayana Narayana Narayana
Narayana Narayana Narayana
Every particle of that eternal realm seemed to breathe His Name…….
Tomorrow…
We shall behold the sacred Viraja river and explore it’s glories
It was Namperumalโs divine plan to make Swamy Ramanujar leave Srirangam for a short time , and purify other places by placing his holy feet in Melnadu and retrieve Thirunarayanan who was worshipped by Sri Ramar and Sri Krishna during Tretha and Dwapara yugas .
Peria Perumal thus created a difficult situation by which Swamy Ramanujar had to leave Srirangam after taking Peria Perumalโs consent and thus proceeded towards north accompanied by Sri Mudaliandan Swamy.
After many days of travel and undergoing various hardships following the course of Kaveri, Swamy Ramanuja finally arrived in Karnataka where the local tribals served them.
En route he met his disciple kongu piratti and graced her
.
Check the url below for kongu piratti divine pastime with Swamy Ramanuja
The local people who were averse to Swamy Ramanujar conspired a plan to do away with him.
Swamy Ramanujar learning their evil intentions ordered Mudaliandan Swamy to place his feet in the drinking water pond in that area now called saligrama near Thondanur , which he politely obeyed.
At salagrama ,by partaking this Sripada theertham, the minds of the evildoers changed miraculously and they fell at Swamy Ramanujar lotus feet seeking forgiveness. Such was the greatness of Swamy Mudaliandan .
Ramanujar named this place as โSaligramamโ which is near to Melkote.
Even today this pond is maintained by the archakar family .
There is a small temple opposite to this pond in which Swamy Ramanujarโs lotus feet are worshiped.
Swamy Ramanuja had a large number of disciples at Melnadu .
Vangipurathu Achi , Vangipurathu Nambi , Thondanur Nambi , Marudhur Nambi, Malur Nambi , Anathazhwan were some of them in the large group of disciples he had at Melnadu.
Thondanur Nambi was a great bhagavatha , a saint and most respected scholar as he was close to the Royal family .
Thondanur Nambi , during his pilgrimage to Srirangam was attracted to Swamy Ramanuja .
He loved his approach and the simple teachings which leads to self realisation that takes one to godhead. He was one among the 74 Simhadhipathees .
Thondanur was the summer capital of the Hoyasala kingdom ruled by King Vittala deva who was a staunch follower of Jainism .
They were tolerant to other religions too . The King had a daughter who was possessed with an evil spirit .
No treatment could cure her illness . She was always under the possession of the evil spirit which made her do unnatural things .
She was almost dressed like a madwoman and was a big embarrassment to the Royal family . There was another tragedy , during a war the King lost his finger.
This earned him the name Bitti deva .
The King was very upset due to the deformity and the new worry of his daughter that took shape .
No treatment either medicines or tantric rituals could cure her .
The Jain monks also tried their best but nothing seemed possible to relieve her from the evil spirit .
Thondanur Nambi, the disciple of Swamy Ramanujar suggested to the queen that his spiritual master who arrived recently and staying at Saligrama was capable of restoring the princess to normalcy.
The Jain king pleaded Nambi to invite Swamy Ramanuja to his palace .
He even promises that If his daughter is cured he will adopt Srivaishnava faith and surrender to Swamy Ramanuja..
Thondanur Nambi goes to Saligrama and surrenders to the lotus feet of Swamy Ramanuja and briefs him about the Jain Kings intentions .
It was a wonderful opportunity to grace the King and his people and induct them in the great srivaishnava sampradayam .
Swamy Ramanuja and Thondanur Nambi look for an auspicious time and leave to Thondanur to the Royal palace .
The Royal couple have the divya darshan of JagathAcharyar Swamy Ramanuja .
Both of them fall like uprooted trees looking at Swamy Ramanujas divine aura .
They welcome Swamy to their Royal chambers .
The whole Royal family pay their obeisanceโs to Swamy Ramanuja .
The mad princess who was irritating the members few minutes back suddenly leaves into another room when Swamy enters the chambers . With some cajoling the princess who is shabbily dressed is brought before Swamy Ramanuja .
Looking at the pitiable state of the princess , Swamy gives the holy water that was offered to his Lordships and applies the holy turmeric paste offered to Lord on her forehead .
The moment she sips the holy water and makes an eye contact with the great Acharya the evil spirit vanishes and she almost faints before him .
The princess is slowly brought back to senses by sprinkling some water on her .
To everybodyโs surprise she gets up , looks at herself feels shy and runs away to her chambers . She dresses herself elegantly and offers obeisances to Swamy Ramanuja amongst all the people .
The Royal couple are amazed with the sudden happenings . They accept that the great seer who is with them is a very pious soul who has incarnated to uplift them . Instantly they surrender to his lotus feet and beg to be taken into his fold .
Swamy Ramanuja asks them to offer prayers at Nambi Narayana Temple and meet him there .
At Swamy Nambi Narayana temple , Swamy Ramanuja conducts a discourse attended by many people . The King along with his Royal family too attend the discourse which speaks about the ultimate purpose of life as a srivaisnava .
. Attracted to his simple teachings the entire crowd adopt srivaishnavism . Amongst the citizens the King , Queen and all his family members are given Panchasamskara initiation .
The King is given a name a Vishnu vardhana after due initiation by Swamy Ramanuja himself . The celebration among st the citizens is multi fold .
All the citizens hail Swamy Ramanujas discourse and accept him as their Jagath Acharya .
Somewhere down the lane the Jain monks are upset with the happenings .
All of them march to the Royal Palace and argue with the king for taking such a foolish step
They convince the King that their proposed debate with Swamy Ramanuja will prove Jainism superiority and he must agree to their command .
The King knew very well that such thing can never happen .
However he along with the Jain monks in huge numbers walk up to the Yoga narasimhar temple located on a hillock as Swamy Ramanuja was staying there .
The Jain monks along with the King meet Swamy Ramanuja and invite him to a debate on the esoteric truths . All the Jain monks assemble and start posing questions .
The euphoria around makes Swamy Ramanuja to command his disciples to surround him with a curtain . Almost 1000 jain monks shoot questions on him without any break .
The divine incident of Swamy Ramanuja taking over one thousand Jain monks was relished by the disciples . Inside , Swamy Ramanujar was covered by a curtain and with his original form as Adisesha with 1000 hoods, he answers every question of the monk with patience and clarity .
Thus he defeats all the 1000 Jains at a time. One monk was inquisitive to find out why the curtain was put .He slowly managed to peep inside the curtain .
To his shock he could see JagathAcharyarโs viswaroopam and fainted . The Jain monks had no reply and were forced to accept defeat and adopt to srivaishnavism .This incident happened at Lord Narasimha swamy temple in Bhakta nagari (presently known as Thondanur).
Swamy MudaliAndaan who gave us the nectarian sloka DHAATI PANCHAKA in praise of Swamy Ramanujar at this place. This place is on the way to Melkote(about 16 kms) from Srirangapatinam.
The wonderful opportunity given by Swamy Ramanuja to Mudaliandaan is remembered even today . โDhati Panchakamโ speaks of the victory of Swamy Ramanuja over other philosophies โ both those that accept Vedas and those that donโt โ and his establishing the Visishtadvaita philosohpy that was built by Azhvars and Purvacharyas.
As the name suggests, it comprises of five slokas The word โDHATIโ means โattackingโ โ as this work shows the attack that Ramanuja carried over the other philosophies that were widespread at that time, it is an appropriate name for it.
Swamy out of his love composed a wonderful composition on Swamy Ramanuja called โDHATEE PANCHAKAMโ which starts with the introductory sloka ..
Our Varthamana swamy descendant of Swamy MudaliAndaan was kind to recite this sloka at our residence during his recent visit , a clip presented below and the sloka
Swamy Ramanuja is the only acharya who was referred with respect and followed by all other schools in vaishnavism like chaitanya, vallabhacharya, Swamy narayan as the margadayee .
Uyya Ore Vazhi Udayavar Thiurvadi!
(only way for spiritual up liftment is to take refuge in Yathiraja Padhuka)
Azhwar proceeded to Thiruvali his native place .Overjoyed to see the wonderful lushy green fields and the magnetic aroma of divinity sang several verses on the Lordships of Thirunangoor. He proceeded to Thiruvindaloor . Lord mischievously disaaperaed after appearing for few seconds sending Azhwar into grief . He recited the nectarine pasuram โฆ. Vasi vallir Indaloor Vazhude pom Nire โฆ and Lords heart melted .He reappeared and gave a graceful darshan relishing the nectarine pasuram. Proceeding further worshipping the Lordships he finally reached Srirangam. With the deep gratitude for the Supreme Lord Azhwar recited several glorification verses . The Supreme Lord was pleased and appeared . Lord with abundant mercy spoke , My dear son you have glorified us by going all along the borders and we bless you and the verses with effulgence in awakening pure love towards us . It is too tiring too for you travelling so long . We advise you to stay with us and take part in strengthening our temple by providing means for the bhagavathas to be taken care with ramparts corridors, splendid towers aisles and other structures for the benefit of the devotees and recesses to our holy premises
Azhwar was overjoyed for the kainkaryam ( services ) Lord bestowed on him . He invited all his friends to discuss the means to achieve this gigantic task in re modeling the temple . One relative who was his own brother in law Yatirasan suggested for visiting Nagapatnam for he heard that there was a priceless golden idol of Buddha . The information was welcomed with absolute joy and all accepted in one tone to proceed to Nagapatinam . Arriving at Nagapatinam Azhwar set about to enquire about the place . Fortunately a goodly woman made him understand it was a secret and she was told by her moher in law the whereabouts of the place but it had such secret passages and mechanical contrivances which was difficult for strangers to reach. However the architect lived out in the sea in a small island . Azhwar along with his men took a boat and proceeded to the shores of the island and discovered the Architects residence . Azhwar planned something different to extract more about that dwelling . Azhwar along with his men would loiter near his house as if way farers met and exchanged intelligence of other countries and ensured the architect was listening . They would wait for him to dine and stroll for a walk . Looking at him , they started โฆOh my friends !! what afate has has fallen on Nagapatinam. What a fall of gloom over the templeโฆ You know the temple has been reduced to dust by the invading mighty Turks. And that golden Buddha has been stolen by those ruffians . How sad โฆ. And am afraid what is more to come ..
This information was heard by the Archiect . The Archiect was shell shocked .He never expected this calamity . He shed tears and came running and said ..It cannot be possible ..Is it that easy to move that whirling wheel at the main entrance โฆ and that secret chain hanging from that top of the tower and invisible where a pin is hidden under the stone pavement under which that Go mukhee waters drop ? Impossible ..It was my design โฆHow can that be possible to enter the temple which has zig zaw entrances bringing the person to confusion except for the one who takes the path which is circular and has a underground entrance seeming to look like a pavement ..and he went Onโฆ even If he enters how will he walk into those invisible stairs looking like a painting โฆhe lamented โฆ. The Azhwars detectives learnt all the clues looking at each other secretly and laughing in their sleeves as their project was opening up with more information . They thanked internally for his lamentation and approached him . Take heart Oh good soul they consoled him ..Why must you cry over the spoilt milk .. Be cool ..Go home and relax .. We bid good bye to you ..Thank you and take care said the detectives of Azhwar โฆ.
Azhwar was briefed and they chalked a strategy . They arrived at the sea shore and saw a huge ship laden with areca nuts about to be displaced to Nagapatinam . A merchant was busy weighing the loads . Dressed as mendicants they approached him , blessed him and asked to give them a passage without any fare . He gladly accepted . En route on their travelling , Azhwar who was seated near the loads of Areca nut . Azhwar took a full nut , cut into two halves and dropping one half said to the merchant who was watching .. Sir .. Will you let me have my half the nut on arrival of destination ? Certainly said the Merchant .Azhwar smiled and said .. Please give me a written chit what you said . The chit HALF the nut is yours โฆ was handed over to Azhwar .
On arrivingat the harbor at Nagapatinam , Azhwar claimed half the load of areca nuts. The merchant remonstrated but Azhwar challenged .An appeal was put .But the elders seeing the chit as promised by the merchant to Azhwar favoured Azhwar was right . Very puzzled the merchant had to give half the ship load to Azhwar as agreed on the paper . The merchant presumed it was some pre natal debt with them . He consoled himself and proceeded . Azhwar blessed the merchant and entered Nagapatinam ,
They all hid themselves inside the temple enclosure . At midnight they slowly came out for conducting the plan . The heavy pavement stone was located .Slowly they lifted and found the secret pin and walked towards the zig zag raods and reached that invisible steps . They slowly looked down and released the chain . As they mounted over the tower the cap of which to which the chain was fastened was now freee . Slowly they opened and looking down could see the dazzling gold idol of Buddha almost shining like the sun .. Azhwar seeing the idol exclaimed .. Will Buddha who renunciated everything will be happy to be made in Gold ? Foolish fellows โฆ saying he watched closely . There was a teethed whirling wheel which was preventing in approaching the golden idol
Foolish fellows โฆ saying he watched closely . There was a teethed whirling wheel which was preventing in approaching the golden idol.They brought a number of plantain trunks and cast one after another at the wheel. The bark sticking to the teeth of the wheel got tangled and stopped the movement . Azhwar was looking for a person who can dare to go in and complete the formalities but must be quick . His brotherin law volunteered to get in . Yatiraja got down and when he put his hands on the idol it escaped and ran in circular motion . Yatirasan was sweating and he some how managed to drop his sweat on the idol thus polluting the idols mantra siddhee. The mantra power that gave the idol this motion vanished with Yatirajan throwing his sweat over the idol.
He clutched the idol and hoisted it up in the aperture for Azhwar to pick it up easily from the gopuram tower. Azhar lifted the idol and next pulled up Yathirajan ..But lowโฆ he couldnโt pass through that hole as it was too small . But in the process , put his head and the rest part of the body was hooked into the aperture as the hole was too small.
Azhwar was confused . Oh Rangaaaaaa
He said.. my dear what Am I supposed to do know โฆyou are stuck inthis hole ..Though mission is accomplished cant leave you like his โฆ And how will I go without you?
But I must go and must serve Lord Ranga as per HIS command โฆ but at what cost?
Rangaaa.. What is this litmus test ??
Yatiraja saw his brother in law. And said. Please donโt forget the divine command โฆHave you forgotten your mission on earth And is not our life in earth for lightining duration Is not the divine service our only purpose of life โฆ Is not this body perishable , subject to hunger disease and a series of calamities ? Is it not but a stinking mixture of flesh and nerve and blood and bones. My time has come to pass out of this dismal prison of urine and feces and pass in with a spiritual body to serve the eternal .. Please donโt worry ..My savior over there will take care . Please donโt feel pity . Please make me HIS victim in this mission . Am I not worth HIS service .. Please ..In this norrow pass please cut this head of mine once for all and let the mission be accomplished and escape the discovery of this event .
Azhwar with heavy heart says ..Oh Yathiraja โฆWhat will I tell my sister โฆThis is a big test for me โฆ
Holy saint โฆPlease extend your vision beyong matter and all temporal interests โฆ Please cut my head off once for all ..It is dawning already ..We may be noticed โฆ Let me be off to HIS eternal world โฆ
Ehirajan began to cry with a sense of love to Saint โฆ.The litmus test was being watched by all the great souls โฆand that moment was nearing โฆ. Repeatedly praying Lord Ranganatha to forgive him โฆ took superhuman courage and with tears said โฆ Oh My yathiraajaa if any one deserves heaven Its You and you only and Invoking Rangaaโฆwith his humble heart to come out of this divine ordeal โฆhe said โฆOh Rangaa in thy name I do this โฆ.he flashed his sword and in one stroke took Yathiraajas head off..
Merciful heaven โฆThis scenean unparalled martyrdom for the cause of LORDโฆ. All the above was being watched by the gods of blue celestium . Azhwar quickly came down with yathirajans head and the golden budha. The party now laid yathirajans head on stretcher covered it as a corpse and ranging themselves into funeral procession with a fire pot wood and sobblings sliiped into he Nagapatinam town as if nothing was noticed . Going far away beyond human sight they deposited yathirajans head safely in a thicket and carrying the gold idol proceeded their journey
Our Divine mother mercy Incarnate who stands as light to sun and scent to flower .. Our Sri Ranganayakee the mercy unlimited was embittered in her heart that one of her brave son should meet such a horrible death .. She marched to the chamber of Lord Ranganatha and expostulated with concernโฆ Swamy How can you be so cruel watching silently such things happening ? Have your omniscience and omnipotence taken leave of you ? Swamy Should I remind your valour bringing back all the vanaras of Sugriva camp after they were dead in the war due to Indrajits high handedness
And did you not bring back your Guru Sandipanis sons from the ocean? Like our Gajendra and Vibhishina my Yathirajan had no selfish motto except your glory and hence sacrificed his life . Strange indeed are your ways ..Am heartbroken seeing all this โฆAnd I cannot accept this and I can accept my child Andal to be made a widow โฆ. I plead I pray grant his life Oh Lord โฆ
The Lord became affected on hearing the pleadings of his tender hearted consort and summoning Garuda bid him to go to the tower of Budhas temple at once and rescue the trunk of Yathirajans body join it with his head and breathe life into it and review their journey .
Garuda was overjoyed to take up the service as he was going to see a martyr for LORDS cause . He atonce flew to the tower reverently lifted the trunk lying there and carrying it to where the head lay ..united them and breathed life โฆ
Yathirajaa opened his eyes out of a shock and seing the feathered GarudaAzhwar promptly fell at his feet and learning from him all the events which led to his rebirth โฆ
With tears filed eyes โฆ He said what a sinful creature I am โฆ I have been denied heaven now โฆ. Sobbing uncontrollable he thanked LORD for his abundant mercy โฆ Gardaazhwar simply lifted him and took him near Azhwar and safely dropped him and returned to Srirangam to give a full account to the Supreme Lord
Azhwars joy knew no bounds seing his brother in law . He and his men embraced him . They kissed him , wept with tears of joy and danced with him โฆ
Our Azhwar said โฆ. What is celestial joy after all joy of serving the Supreme Lord right here in this land of darkness โฆ Our Royalty is here ..Our life is for HIM and HIM only ..No force can sop us from our service to HIM โฆMaddened with outflush of divine enthusiasm they minded for the night and rose for the next day chanting Rangaaaaaโฆ..
To be continued....
Adiyen Ramanuja dasan
Pictures credits: Google images Uploaded by advanced devotees
Azhwar proceeded to Thiruvali his native place .Overjoyed to see the wonderful lushy green fields and the magnetic aroma of divinity sang several verses on the Lordships of Thirunangoor. He proceeded to Thiruvindaloor . Lord mischievously disaaperaed after appearing for few seconds sending Azhwar into grief . He recited the nectarine pasuram โฆ. Vasi vallir Indaloor Vazhude pom Nire โฆ and Lords heart melted .He reappeared and gave a graceful darshan relishing the nectarine pasuram. Proceeding further worshipping the Lordships he finally reached Srirangam. With the deep gratitude for the Supreme Lord Azhwar recited several glorification verses . The Supreme Lord was pleased and appeared . Lord with abundant mercy spoke , My dear son you have glorified us by going all along the borders and we bless you and the verses with effulgence in awakening pure love towards us . It is too tiring too for you travelling so long . We advise you to stay with us and take part in strengthening our temple by providing means for the bhagavathas to be taken care with ramparts corridors, splendid towers aisles and other structures for the benefit of the devotees and recesses to our holy premises
Azhwar was overjoyed for the kainkaryam ( services ) Lord bestowed on him . He invited all his friends to discuss the means to achieve this gigantic task in re modeling the temple . One relative who was his own brother in law Yatirasan suggested for visiting Nagapatnam for he heard that there was a priceless golden idol of Buddha . The information was welcomed with absolute joy and all accepted in one tone to proceed to Nagapatinam . Arriving at Nagapatinam Azhwar set about to enquire about the place . Fortunately a goodly woman made him understand it was a secret and she was told by her moher in law the whereabouts of the place but it had such secret passages and mechanical contrivances which was difficult for strangers to reach. However the architect lived out in the sea in a small island . Azhwar along with his men took a boat and proceeded to the shores of the island and discovered the Architects residence . Azhwar planned something different to extract more about that dwelling . Azhwar along with his men would loiter near his house as if way farers met and exchanged intelligence of other countries and ensured the architect was listening . They would wait for him to dine and stroll for a walk . Looking at him , they started โฆOh my friends !! what afate has has fallen on Nagapatinam. What a fall of gloom over the templeโฆ You know the temple has been reduced to dust by the invading mighty Turks. And that golden Buddha has been stolen by those ruffians . How sad โฆ. And am afraid what is more to come ..
This information was heard by the Archiect . The Archiect was shell shocked .He never expected this calamity . He shed tears and came running and said ..It cannot be possible ..Is it that easy to move that whirling wheel at the main entrance โฆ and that secret chain hanging from that top of the tower and invisible where a pin is hidden under the stone pavement under which that Go mukhee waters drop ? Impossible ..It was my design โฆHow can that be possible to enter the temple which has zig zaw entrances bringing the person to confusion except for the one who takes the path which is circular and has a underground entrance seeming to look like a pavement ..and he went Onโฆ even If he enters how will he walk into those invisible stairs looking like a painting โฆhe lamented โฆ. The Azhwars detectives learnt all the clues looking at each other secretly and laughing in their sleeves as their project was opening up with more information . They thanked internally for his lamentation and approached him . Take heart Oh good soul they consoled him ..Why must you cry over the spoilt milk .. Be cool ..Go home and relax .. We bid good bye to you ..Thank you and take care said the detectives of Azhwar โฆ.
Azhwar was briefed and they chalked a strategy . They arrived at the sea shore and saw a huge ship laden with areca nuts about to be displaced to Nagapatinam . A merchant was busy weighing the loads . Dressed as mendicants they approached him , blessed him and asked to give them a passage without any fare . He gladly accepted . En route on their travelling , Azhwar who was seated near the loads of Areca nut . Azhwar took a full nut , cut into two halves and dropping one half said to the merchant who was watching .. Sir .. Will you let me have my half the nut on arrival of destination ? Certainly said the Merchant .Azhwar smiled and said .. Please give me a written chit what you said . The chit HALF the nut is yours โฆ was handed over to Azhwar .
On arrivingat the harbor at Nagapatinam , Azhwar claimed half the load of areca nuts. The merchant remonstrated but Azhwar challenged .An appeal was put .But the elders seeing the chit as promised by the merchant to Azhwar favoured Azhwar was right . Very puzzled the merchant had to give half the ship load to Azhwar as agreed on the paper . The merchant presumed it was some pre natal debt with them . He consoled himself and proceeded . Azhwar blessed the merchant and entered Nagapatinam ,
They all hid themselves inside the temple enclosure . At midnight they slowly came out for conducting the plan . The heavy pavement stone was located .Slowly they lifted and found the secret pin and walked towards the zig zag raods and reached that invisible steps . They slowly looked down and released the chain . As they mounted over the tower the cap of which to which the chain was fastened was now freee . Slowly they opened and looking down could see the dazzling gold idol of Buddha almost shining like the sun .. Azhwar seeing the idol exclaimed .. Will Buddha who renunciated everything will be happy to be made in Gold ? Foolish fellows โฆ saying he watched closely . There was a teethed whirling wheel which was preventing in approaching the golden idol
Foolish fellows โฆ saying he watched closely . There was a teethed whirling wheel which was preventing in approaching the golden idol.They brought a number of plantain trunks and cast one after another at the wheel. The bark sticking to the teeth of the wheel got tangled and stopped the movement . Azhwar was looking for a person who can dare to go in and complete the formalities but must be quick . His brotherin law volunteered to get in . Yatiraja got down and when he put his hands on the idol it escaped and ran in circular motion . Yatirasan was sweating and he some how managed to drop his sweat on the idol thus polluting the idols mantra siddhee. The mantra power that gave the idol this motion vanished with Yatirajan throwing his sweat over the idol.
He clutched the idol and hoisted it up in the aperture for Azhwar to pick it up easily from the gopuram tower. Azhar lifted the idol and next pulled up Yathirajan ..But lowโฆ he couldnโt pass through that hole as it was too small . But in the process , put his head and the rest part of the body was hooked into the aperture as the hole was too small.
Azhwar was confused . Oh Rangaaaaaa
He said.. my dear what Am I supposed to do know โฆyou are stuck inthis hole ..Though mission is accomplished cant leave you like his โฆ And how will I go without you?
But I must go and must serve Lord Ranga as per HIS command โฆ but at what cost?
Rangaaa.. What is this litmus test ??
Yatiraja saw his brother in law. And said. Please donโt forget the divine command โฆHave you forgotten your mission on earth And is not our life in earth for lightining duration Is not the divine service our only purpose of life โฆ Is not this body perishable , subject to hunger disease and a series of calamities ? Is it not but a stinking mixture of flesh and nerve and blood and bones. My time has come to pass out of this dismal prison of urine and feces and pass in with a spiritual body to serve the eternal .. Please donโt worry ..My savior over there will take care . Please donโt feel pity . Please make me HIS victim in this mission . Am I not worth HIS service .. Please ..In this norrow pass please cut this head of mine once for all and let the mission be accomplished and escape the discovery of this event .
Azhwar with heavy heart says ..Oh Yathiraja โฆWhat will I tell my sister โฆThis is a big test for me โฆ
Holy saint โฆPlease extend your vision beyong matter and all temporal interests โฆ Please cut my head off once for all ..It is dawning already ..We may be noticed โฆ Let me be off to HIS eternal world โฆ
Ehirajan began to cry with a sense of love to Saint โฆ.The litmus test was being watched by all the great souls โฆand that moment was nearing โฆ. Repeatedly praying Lord Ranganatha to forgive him โฆ took superhuman courage and with tears said โฆ Oh My yathiraajaa if any one deserves heaven Its You and you only and Invoking Rangaaโฆwith his humble heart to come out of this divine ordeal โฆhe said โฆOh Rangaa in thy name I do this โฆ.he flashed his sword and in one stroke took Yathiraajas head off..
Merciful heaven โฆThis scenean unparalled martyrdom for the cause of LORDโฆ. All the above was being watched by the gods of blue celestium . Azhwar quickly came down with yathirajans head and the golden budha. The party now laid yathirajans head on stretcher covered it as a corpse and ranging themselves into funeral procession with a fire pot wood and sobblings sliiped into he Nagapatinam town as if nothing was noticed . Going far away beyond human sight they deposited yathirajans head safely in a thicket and carrying the gold idol proceeded their journey
Our Divine mother mercy Incarnate who stands as light to sun and scent to flower .. Our Sri Ranganayakee the mercy unlimited was embittered in her heart that one of her brave son should meet such a horrible death .. She marched to the chamber of Lord Ranganatha and expostulated with concernโฆ Swamy How can you be so cruel watching silently such things happening ? Have your omniscience and omnipotence taken leave of you ? Swamy Should I remind your valour bringing back all the vanaras of Sugriva camp after they were dead in the war due to Indrajits high handedness
And did you not bring back your Guru Sandipanis sons from the ocean? Like our Gajendra and Vibhishina my Yathirajan had no selfish motto except your glory and hence sacrificed his life . Strange indeed are your ways ..Am heartbroken seeing all this โฆAnd I cannot accept this and I can accept my child Andal to be made a widow โฆ. I plead I pray grant his life Oh Lord โฆ
The Lord became affected on hearing the pleadings of his tender hearted consort and summoning Garuda bid him to go to the tower of Budhas temple at once and rescue the trunk of Yathirajans body join it with his head and breathe life into it and review their journey .
Garuda was overjoyed to take up the service as he was going to see a martyr for LORDS cause . He atonce flew to the tower reverently lifted the trunk lying there and carrying it to where the head lay ..united them and breathed life โฆ
Yathirajaa opened his eyes out of a shock and seing the feathered GarudaAzhwar promptly fell at his feet and learning from him all the events which led to his rebirth โฆ
With tears filed eyes โฆ He said what a sinful creature I am โฆ I have been denied heaven now โฆ. Sobbing uncontrollable he thanked LORD for his abundant mercy โฆ Gardaazhwar simply lifted him and took him near Azhwar and safely dropped him and returned to Srirangam to give a full account to the Supreme Lord
Azhwars joy knew no bounds seing his brother in law . He and his men embraced him . They kissed him , wept with tears of joy and danced with him โฆ
Our Azhwar said โฆ. What is celestial joy after all joy of serving the Supreme Lord right here in this land of darkness โฆ Our Royalty is here ..Our life is for HIM and HIM only ..No force can sop us from our service to HIM โฆMaddened with outflush of divine enthusiasm they minded for the night and rose for the next day chanting Rangaaaaaโฆ..
To be continued....
Adiyen Ramanuja dasan
Pictures credits: Google images Uploaded by advanced devotees
The Five Sacred Marks of Grace โThe Lord calls the soul through many voices. But one dayโฆ He sends an ฤchฤrya, and from that moment the journey Home truly begins.โ Yesterdayโฆ upon the sacred hills of Tirumalaโฆ I watched the long-awaited meeting. The venerable ลrฤซ Periya Nambi, carrying the final wish of ลrฤซ ฤlavandฤr, hadโฆ
The month of ( March โ April ) in tamil (Panguni ) is sacred as it is the appearance month of โ Lord Ranganatha on Revathi star and Goddess Sri Ranganayaki Thayar on Uthiram star both occur during the same month. The most important and the oldest festival called as โAdi Brahmotsavamโ is performed duringโฆ
The month of ( March โ April ) in tamil (Panguni ) is sacred as it is the appearance month of โ Lord Ranganatha on Revathi star and Goddess Sri Ranganayaki Thayar on Uthiram star both occur during the same month.
The most important and the oldest festival called as โAdi Brahmotsavamโ is performed during this month for 10 days and culminates on the day of Panguni Uthiram .
About 800 years ago ……………………………………………
an unusual incident occurred which has remained as one of the most cherished brave effort by our Acharyas for protecting and leaving us the legacy of our great srivaishnava sampradaya and our Lordships…
Almost 800 years ago , the festive mood was vibrating with splendor. At the banks of Kollidam river preparations were being made for Lord’s arrival with pomp and show . The stage was decorated with wonderful flowers and the best decorative lamps .
A huge golden throne decked with diamonds and costly jewels, attracted the venue. The devotees were discussing..
Who else except Lord of the Lords is going to preside now.
Devotees from far off arrived in large numbers to attend the great festival .It was a darshanam not to be missed .
It was customary for the Lord to alight and have Abhishekam done amongst the huge gathering of devotees
. The entire stage was decorated. Milk , Curd , Honey, Coconut water , Rose water , sandal oil , various types of perfumes , flowers , holy basil leaves garlands was set in order for the Lords ceremonial bath .
The feast for the eyes was about to begin …
Finally the time arrived …amongst the mangala Nadaswaram and the priests chanting Azhwars prabhandams Lord of Lords arrived in majestic style .
The great Acharya Swamy Desikan , Swamy Sudarshana suri along with several disciples accompanied the Lordships and were guiding the priests in conducting the rituals . Mangala haarathee was offered amongst the huge crowd .
All the devotees in one voice chanted loudly clasping their hands on their heads …..
G O V I N D A ….. G O V I N D A G O V I N D A โฆ.G O V I N D A…… R A N G A
Among the most revered Acharyas , Priests and devotees , a distinguished very old devotee aging around 85 years or more ,was contemplating on the various divine pastimes of the great devotees who had served Lord in all aspects , even sacrificing their lives for the Lordships .
Silently glorifying the great Jatayu who served Lord Rama , and Lord Rama performing funeral rites for Jatayu , Lord Krishna preferring to dine with Sri Vidura even though he had the option of dining with exalted elders such as Drona or Bheeshma the episode of ThiruppAN azhvar, LOkasAranga Munithe the great kulasekhara azhwar attachment to Lord , Sri Periya Nambi and his attachment to Sri MaranEri Nambi, Swami Ramanuja and his deep devotion to Sri Thirukachchi Nambi he was silently cherishing …
His thoughts were with pure devotion overflowing ….
What have I done for the Lord ??? for his mercy in being among this august gathering . His face exuded serenity and was in total peace.
Caught up in these devotional thoughts and having darshanam of Lord Ranganatha he was lost in a different world full of bliss …
He had slowly forgotten the world around him.
That great personality was none other than our Jagath Acharyar Swami Pillai Lokacharya .
The proceedings were being conducted smoothly .All of a sudden among the august gathering a person rushed to the old Acharyar .
He was sweating .
He took courage and said …
Acharya , I was washing clothes on the banks of Cauvery river when my donkeys ran away suddenly hearing some unusual noise .
I attempted to find what was the reason .
Slowly I climbed a small hillock to see what was that frightening my donkeys .
Much to my surprise I noticed a large battalion of men on horses with ammunition marching towards our direction .
With their attire I guess they should be the moslem invaders .
I am told by my relatives that many temples around us were being looted and desecrated by these invaders.
Acharya , I am scared ..
What would happen to our temple and our Lord Ranganatha .
I am afraid for our families .Please do something .
Swamy Lokacharya was taken aback . He closed his eyes and said ..Don’t worry ..Our Lord will take care ..
He got up majestically and walked towards the deities . Prostrating to Lord seeking his grace He looked at that man and said โฆ
Just go and continue with your routine work . But ! Just keep watching the invaders movements and inform as soon as possible
Swamy Desikar , Swamy Sudarshana suri and other Acharyas assembled and met Swamy Pillai Lokacharyar and concluded it was Ulugh Khan the army commander sent by Tuglak . They had to take a quick decision .
All of them informed the priests for staying beside the deities at all cost , and gave some important tasks to be completed without any delay .
They briefed them about the unexpected calamity that may take place any time and hence instructed the priests to secretly carry the Lordships to the temple without the regular Abhisheka .
The devotees who had assembled were slowly coming to know about the sudden change in the programme as the news spread like fire .
All the assembled devotees silently marched back to their respective homes cursing the enemies who created this unholy trouble.
The Lordships were silently taken back inside the temple . Swamy Lokacharyar called the Chieftain and the Elders of the temple and advised them what could be the steps that may have to take facing the invader.
The objective was not to confront the enemy but to focus their efforts to ensure that the moola virat was not desecrated.
All of them decided that they shall form three groups .
One group shall be headed by the eldest Swamy Pillai Lokachariya, who shall carry the deities of Lord Ranganatha and His concerts in a covered palanquin and proceed southward with few disciples .
Swamy Sudarshana suri took up the task of erecting a stone wall in front of the main sanctorum to misguide the invaders .
A stone wall was constructed with support of many disciples in a short time ..
The third team was to provide cover for the team lead by Swamy Pillai Lokachariya [the team with the deities of our lord and his consorts so that swami had enough time to maintain safe distance from the enemy.
Swami Desika who was the youngest among the Acharyas was requested by Shri Sudarsana suri to go with the third party and somehow save himself so that he at least might be left to propound Sri Vaishnavism and the teachings of Jagatha Acharya Shri Ramanuja.
Shrutaprakashika was the work that was made out of generations of learning’s from Acharyas and an elaborate commentary on JagathaAcharyar Swamy Ramanujaโs Sri Bhasyam .
Sudharsana Suri entrusted his two young sons and manuscript “SrutaprakaasikA” to Swami Desika Swami Desika had an earnest desire that this great work must at any cost be saved . Swami as instructed immediately took up the directions from Sudharsana Suri and was about to leave towards northward with the little boys .
At the temple town , all of them decided in one voice that they will not oppose the army , but behave as if nothing is so serious .. There was a regular update about the Invaders who were approaching . The people were in two moods whether they should remain in town or flee.
Who was to decide and advise them? The people were utterly confused .They decided to take counsel from Lord Ranganatha himself then decided to appeal to the LORD Himself .
They all dropped chits (Tiru Ulla seettu) expressing their opinion and with devotion they drew up one chit which said that all could remain at Srirangam itself.
They decided in was the Lordโs order and remained facing the situation bravely.
The same evening, the invaders marched inside the Srirangam town from Samayavaram .
Thousands of the town’s citizens were harassed and injured .
The terror in which the enemy looted the prosperous town speaks about the bravery of the srivaishnavas there .It was a very sad plight and the bloodbath that followed who resisted will make one cry for our great forefathers who sacrificed their lives . This had been recorded in the History of Srirangam Temple known as Koil-Ozhugu .
The great bloodshed of 12,000 Sri Vaishnavas at Sri Varahaswamy Sannidhi makes it the worst day in the temple town .
Inside the Hall , Swamy saw heaps of corpses lying around .
He somehow braved the boys to lie down unnoticed to give an impression that no one survived .
The little boys stretched underneath along with some of them and our dear Swami also lay down next to them along with the holy book.
Swamy Desikar thus concealed the two boys and himself amidst a heap of corpses and passed the night with caution .
The enemy troops assumed that they were corpses and did not bother to probe. Observing the enemy troops moving away , Swamy slowly took the frightened boys before dawn unnoticed in North-Westerly direction towards Satyamangalam .
He was completely exhausted and was worried with LORD and the other revered Acharyas .
At the other side of the temple , while the enemy was invading the town, the old Acharyar dutifully carried the Lord’s deity with a small group of disciples with utmost caution braving the worst scenarios of terror with fear .
Leaving Srirangam, he had to suffer many hardships during the journey. He had to be wary of the enemy attack while he also had to protect himself and his party from robbers.
He was constantly praying LORD for his mercy and keeping his disciples motivated with LORDโs divya charitam . All of them decided that whatever sufferings may befall them, Lord Ranganatha’s should not face any danger or desecration. After an arduous trek, they reached Jyothishkudi near Madurai. Lokacharya was a man strictly adhering to religious modes of conduct and manners.
He was finding it difficult to secure accommodation and catering facilities on the way. These troubles were common to people in those days but the Acharya had to face more severe hardships as he had to carry Lord Ranganatha without any hardships to the Lord . All through the journey, they had to pass through possible attacks from invaders and thieves. They had to trek hundreds of miles on foot. In spite of all kinds of hardships, the Acharya carefully kept the Lord Ranganatha in his personal possession.
He was particular that the traditional daily worship of Lord Ranganatha should not be missed and therefore carried the deity himself with greatest care and devotion and proceeded towards the south. Trekking several miles with constant fear of the enemy lack of food and rest had adversely affected the Acharya’s health. Also enroute , he had to face the enemies wrath some occasions injuring him too .
Swamy Pillai Lokacharyar accepted all the sufferings for our LORD .He was mentally distressed about the future . His mind refused to continue living on this earth seeing the tragic state in which Ranganatha had to be kept often hiding here and there .
He wept several times with the unexpected turn of events .
It was like Jatayu the great devotee of Lord Rama injured by Ravana while the latter was carrying away mother Sita, he wept helplessly.
He proceeded to a village called jyothishkudi, which was surrounded by the Anamalai mountains adjoining thick, dense forests. They found a dilapidated mandapam (ceremonial hall), and decided to retire for the night.
He was exhausted and came to know it was time for him to leave his body. He was surrounded by his great disciples .
Looking at LORD sweating , he said to his disciples , Please fan the Lord as he is also tired coming along with us .
The disciples were sad to see their Acharyar completely exhausted and had tears watching the scene when he was fanning the Lord with those injuries in his body ..
There was a pin drop silence ..With tears He meditated on his Acharyar and father, Swami vadakku thiruveedhip piLLai , pleaded them to forgive him as He could not able to protect Lord Ranganatha .
He could see numerous ants in the small place .
He touched all of them, for the reason they also would be in srivaikuntam along with him , as it is believed that any living being touched by the hands of a Sri vaishnavA is assured mOksha .
He was always pining, ‘Let this body and soul of mine be sacrificed for Lords sake!’ and had his wish fulfilled. He sought nothing for himself, amassed no earthly riches, and laid down his life for a Noble cause and became Lokacharyar .
He once again justified his name as the universal guru, for he delivered even ants and insects until his last moment!!
The most amazing incident was when we can observe millions of ants in that region even this day who could be the descendants of the ants that Swami delivered by his touch.
Lokacharya was one of our esteemed teachers and philosophers who preached equality of men irrespective of caste, place of residence, etc.
After the disappearance of Pillailokacharya the disciples performed the last rites and continued their journey along with Lord Ranganatha towards south passing through a very long route covering Thirukoshtiyur ,Jyotishkudi .Srivalliputhur ,Calicut , Gundulpet , Chittoor Melkote , Sathyamangalam and finally Tirumala in the present Sriranganatha Mandapam where LORD stayed for 60 years .
Click the appended blog post below for details of LORD meeting our Nammazhwar and the divine pastime of Swamy Srisailer with Azhwar and Lordships
The great Iyppasi sravana ( October โNovember ) festival is celebrated as a mark of respect for Acharyar Pillailokacharya’s sacrifice even today .
He attained the lotus feet of his Acharyar in the tamil month of Adi, on the dwAdasi day. On reading this wonderful divine pastime we need to believe that…
May be our LORD wanted to see himself being protected by his devotees and glorify our respectful Acharyas who had done everything as HIS kainkaryam ..
Who or How else can we explain the need to “save” our Lord!!! who is beyond every thing .
All glories to Swamy Pillai LokaAcharyar
lOkAchAryAya guravE krushNapAdaSya SUnavE |
SamSArabhOgiSandashta jIvajIvAtavE nama: ||
All glories to Swamy Sudarshan suri
All glories to Swamy Desikar…………
“shrImAn venkaTa-nAthAryaH kavitArkika-kesari | vedAntAcharya-varyo me sannidhattAm sadA hridi | kavithArkika simhAya kalyANa guNa Saline Srimathe vEnkateSAya vEdhAntha guravE namaha
There lived a devotee named โ Lakshmi Narayana โ in this holy place . Narayana spent his entire life doing services to Lord Aramudhan. He was the one who built the Rajagopuram which is app 44-m tall, 11-tiered tower by collecting small small donations from devotees and strived hard to finish the task . ย
With me goes my entire flock โฆ.the flocks have more merit than the shepherd .. Shatruguna had more merit in following Bharata and Bharata had more merit in following Lord Rama , and our Madhurakavi Azhwar had more merit in following Nammazhwar .. \and Andaal had more merit following Peria Azhwar
Lord Sriman Narayana incarnated in different avatharas in this world, for spreading the message of the liberation for the jeevatma from this material bondage . Unsatisfied , LORD summoned His serpent couch, the nitya-soori (eternally free soul) . Adisesha, and instructed, My dear Adishesha ! โGo down to the mortal world and live there forโฆโฆ
Oh Lord !! Tirupati Venkataramana! Could you not remove the screen, the screen of anger, delusion ,arrogance and jealousy, which is taking a firm stand within me, Oh Lord ! that screen which keeps me out of the reach of dharma and other four Purusharthas Dharma ,Artha, Kama and Moksha? Oh Lord !!! This screen [โฆ]
It is revealed when Acharyarโs gracious eyes falls on a person , his salvation is for sure even if he is deaf or dumb , fool or wise , old or young , man or woman . Swamy Ramanuja was showering his mercy on all the mortal beings at Srirangam few hundred years ago . [โฆ]
Swamy Parasara Bhattar ย had a new disciple ย . The disciple wanted to know ย how ย to ย identify a srivaishnava ย ? Swamy sent his ย newย disciple from Srirangam to Tirumala to ascertain from the great devotee Ananthazhwan as what was ย the quality of a srivaishnava . ย The disciple though bit amused with his Gurus instructions proceeded [โฆ]
Aย true seeker of LORDย willย always respect the devotees of Lord .ย Heย will never distinguishย about their inheritanceย ofย birth and caste while seeking their association ย . A devotees gloryย can be seen withย that deep ย knowledge andย practices ย which takes them nearer to LORD .ย ย ย Elders advise us that It would be a [โฆ]
When one thinks ofย the holy place Pandharpur , mind races to have darshan of Lord Vittala and when the questย to know aboutย his devotees beginย ,ย theย biography of the great saint Santh Tukaramย brings tears . Santh Tukaram appearedย duringย the year 1608 A.D in ย aย small villageย Dehu in Pooneย [โฆ]
Sundare sundaro ramah โฆโฆย Sundare sundari kathaโฆโฆโฆ. Sundare sundari sita โฆโฆโฆโฆย Sundare sundaram vanam, Sundare sundaram kavyamโฆโฆ.Sundare sundarah kapih โฆโฆโฆ Sundare sundaram mantramโฆโฆ.Sundare kim na sundaramโฆโฆ. The fifth kaandam in Sriramayanam known as โSUNDARA KAANDAMโ is the most popular kaanda.ย Unlike names of other kandams which are self explanatory, this kandam is known as โSundaram-beautifulโ as everything [โฆ]
Tears roll continuously โฆ. This day is very special for us , It was a prized darshan โฆ distant dream come TRUE Thanking LORD repeatedly for the mercy praying ardently hearing the vedic chants my eyes look at the divine beauty โฆ Am in a trance suddenly โฆโฆโฆ.the soul in me rejoices โฆ..Before us stood [โฆ]
Theย reveredย Azhwars and Acharyarsย 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 Rishiโs curse a saint was consigned to the nether region , the hellish planets [โฆ]
The saints believed that God is within all living beings .An important spiritual practice followed by them was the chanting of Lordโs holy names . Remembering Lord and repeating his Holy Name was most important . Another ingredient for the spiritual life was kirtana or bhajans, the singing of hymns of praise of the Lord [โฆ]
Thirukannapuram ย Divyadesam ย Sowriraja Perumal Temple is located 30 KM from Kumbakonam on the way to Thiruvarur, Tanjore District, Tamilnadu which is one among the Five Krishraranya Kshetrams. The Main Deity is glorified as ย Thiru Neelamega perumal ย along with ย Sridevi and Bhoodevi Thayar . The Processional deity ย is worshipped ย as ย Lord Sowriraja perumal. Lord Sowriraja [โฆ]
Theย ardent desire of any devotee is to seek an everlasting darshan of Lord Venkateshwara at Tirumalaย andโฆ ย If this darshan isย without any ย physical disturbance or interference by the volunteers ,ย the soul dances in ecstasy. There is no dearth of pilgrims whoย wouldnโtย stop gushing about their opportune darshan lasting for even aย fraction of second [โฆ]
Originally posted on kazhiyur varadanโs blog: Swamyย Nampillai was the fourteenth Acharya in ย the ย prestigious Guruparampara lineageย of Srivaishnava sampradaya . ย One day Swamy Nampillai asked his Acharya Nan Jeeyar the most relevant question of present day.ย He submittedย to his ย Acharyarย humbly ย and askedย Swamin !! How can ย one confirm that ย heย hasโฆ Characteristicsโฆโฆ
A divine pastime happened few hundreds year agoย ย near the banks of Cauvery river. One sunny day few srivaishnava boys were playing on the banks of Cauveryย river . As they inherited theirย parents daily rituals , the boys smartly erected aย small temple and installed an idol out of the Cauvery mud from the [โฆ]
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 [โฆ]
LORD RAMA ANSWERS A BRITISHERโS PRAYER It was during the period 1795 to 1799 a British officer called Colonel Lionel Blazehe was Collector of Chengalpattu District . Colonel Lionelย on his routine survey had witnessed two cracks to the huge tank in Madurantakam taluk. The enormity of the problem can be appreciated only when weโฆโฆ
Appearance day of โLalitha Sakhi ” is Sashtiโ which occurs two days before Radhashtami. She appeared at a place called Karhela to Visokha and Sarada devi . Her parents later shifted to Ooncha gaon where there is a big temple dedicated to her. Ooncha gaon is 2 kms from Barsaana.
Its always a pure devotee who wins by his bhakthee and Lord always proves this repeatedly that HIS bhaktha is dearest to HIM . Bhakthisarar Thiruvadigale sharanam
Villidasan instantly fell in love with those large, beautiful eyes, for which nothing in the world is even a pale comparison. Villi prostrated at Sri Ramanujarโs feet proclaiming his slavery to the saint. โฆโฆโฆโฆโฆโฆโฆhttps://kazhiyurvaradansblog.co.in/2015/08/26/the-wrestler-and-the-most-beautiful-eyes-2/
Once , Swamy Ramanuja proceedsย along with his disciples to Azhwar Tirunagari near Thirunelvelli , ย the appearance place of Swamy Nammazhwar andย offersย his obeisances to Lord Aadi deva perumal .ย ย Further he proceedsย towardsย Thirukkolur with the object of having darshan of Lord Vaithamanidhi Perumal . Divyakavi Pillai Iyengar in 108 Tirupati Andhadhiย [โฆ]
Amongst the several revered disciples of Jagath Acharyarย Swamy Ramanujar Swami ย AmudhanArย earlierย known as Peria Koil Nambiย wasย transformedย ย disciple ofย JagathaAcharyar .ย ย Nambiย appeared in โmungirkkudiโ onย ย Panguni Hasthamย day inย Srirangam whichย coincides to be today March 22 2019.ย He became the mostย dearestย disciple of Swamy Ramanuja . ย However [โฆ] [โฆ]
venkaTAdri samam sthAnamย brahmANDe nAsti kincana; venkateSa samo devoย na bhUto na bhaviSyati This slokaย taken from the Puranasย claims ย โฆโฆโฆโฆ There is no place in the entire universe that equals Venkatadri, the place whereย the Lord resides and there is no God, neither in the past nor in the future whoย equalsย Lord Venkateswara. Everything begins and ends [โฆ]
When protecting Perumal became the only purpose of a life
After walking back to the world from the experiences of my Acharya Yฤthirai, I found myself looking again at the road I had travelled.
There were so many Acharyas.
So many lives.
So many ways in which a human being could surrender his entire existence to the service of the Lord.
But one name kept coming back to me.
Swamy Piแธทแธทai Lokฤcฤrya.
I had already heard his name many times.
I had even travelled to places connected with him.
But perhaps hearing about an Acharya and standing before the memories of his life are two very different things.
During my Yฤthirai, I had the fortune of having darshan of Swamy Piแธทแธทai Lokฤcฤrya at Srirangam, at Jyothishkudi, where he is traditionally associated with leaving this world, and later at Melkote.
Yet I still feel that I have understood very little.
Perhaps that is how it should be.
The more I learn about our Acharyas, the more I realise how little I know.
A day of celebration that suddenly changed
One of the episodes I came across while trying to understand the life of Swamy Piแธทแธทai Lokฤcฤrya left a deep impression on me.
It was a festive occasion at Srirangam.
The atmosphere was filled with devotion.
The Lord was about to arrive for the ceremonial worship.
Milk, curd, honey, coconut water, rose water, sandal preparations, perfumes, flowers and tulasi garlands had all been arranged.
The devotees were waiting eagerly.
Among the Acharyas present was Swamy Vedanta Desika, along with Swamy Sudarshana Suri and several others.
And then I noticed something in the account that touched me deeply.
There was an elderly devotee standing among that great gathering.
He was not thinking about himself.
He was looking at the Lord.
And as he stood there, his thoughts turned towards all those devotees who had served Perumal through the ages.
Jatayu.
Vidura.
Thiruppฤn ฤแธปvฤr.
Lokasฤranga Muni.
Kulasekhara ฤแธปvฤr.
Periya Nambi.
Mฤranฤri Nambi.
Rฤmฤnuja.
Thirukkacchi Nambi.
His heart was overflowing with gratitude.
And he wondered within himself:
โWhat have I done for the Lord?โ
He had forgotten everything around him.
He was simply immersed in the Lord’s presence.
That person, according to the account I read, was our Jagadฤchฤrya Swamy Piแธทแธทai Lokฤcฤrya.
I paused there for a long time.
What kind of heart must one have to stand in the middle of such greatness and still ask:
โWhat have I done for the Lord?โ
I looked at myself.
And I had to ask the same question.
Then came the warning
Suddenly, a man came running towards the Acharya.
He was frightened.
He had been washing clothes on the banks of the Cauvery when his donkeys suddenly ran away after hearing an unusual sound.
He had climbed a small hillock to see what had frightened them.
And what he saw terrified him.
A large army was approaching.
The news of invasions and destruction of temples had already begun spreading.
He came to the Acharya and asked in fear:
โWhat will happen to our temple? What will happen to Lord Ranganatha?โ
I found Swamy Lokฤcฤrya’s response deeply moving.
He did not panic.
He did not think of his own safety first.
He simply turned towards the Lord, offered his obeisance and placed his trust in Him.
โDo not worry. Our Lord will take care.โ
Then he asked the man to continue his normal work but to keep watching the movements of the invading army and report back.
What a lesson.
Faith does not always mean doing nothing.
Sometimes faith gives us the courage to do exactly what has to be done.
The impossible decision
Swamy Lokฤcฤrya, Swamy Desika, Swamy Sudarshana Suri and the other Acharyas understood the seriousness of the situation.
They knew that the temple could be attacked.
The Lord’s sacred presence had to be protected.
The objective was not to fight the invading army.
The objective was much simpler.
Perumal must not be desecrated.
Three groups were formed.
One group would take the Lord’s deity away towards the south.
Another would take measures to protect the sanctum.
The third would move in another direction with sacred texts and the responsibility of preserving the teachings.
I was struck by the thought that these Acharyas were not merely preserving stone structures.
They were preserving a living tradition.
They were protecting the Lord’s worship.
They were protecting the granthas.
They were protecting the knowledge received from their Acharyas.
And they were protecting something that did not belong to them personally.
It belonged to generations yet unborn.
Carrying Ranganatha
Swamy Piแธทแธทai Lokฤcฤrya took the responsibility of accompanying Lord Ranganatha.
What followed was not a comfortable pilgrimage.
There were no roads as we know them today.
No vehicles.
No secure accommodation.
No certainty about food.
No knowledge of what danger might appear around the next corner.
They travelled hundreds of miles.
There was always the possibility of attack.
There were robbers.
There was hunger.
There was exhaustion.
And yet the Acharya remained concerned about one thing.
The Lord’s daily worship must not stop.
The account describes him carrying the deity with the greatest care and ensuring that the traditional worship continued despite all the difficulties.
I read that again.
The Lord whom we approach today with folded hands…
The Lord whom we ask to protect us…
Was being carried and protected by His devotee.
It almost sounds strange when we say it aloud.
How can the Supreme Lord need protection?
Perhaps He did not.
Perhaps He chose to accept the protection of His devotee so that the world could witness what devotion really means.
I am only sharing what I felt while reading this.
I do not know the deeper meaning.
But that thought stayed with me.
Jyothishkudi
The journey eventually brought them to Jyothishkudi, surrounded by mountains and dense forests.
By then Swamy Lokฤcฤrya was physically exhausted.
His body had suffered enormously.
The account says that even while injured and completely tired, his concern remained with Lord Ranganatha.
And then came the moment that broke my heart.
The Acharya realised that his time on earth was coming to an end.
He was surrounded by his disciples.
He looked at Perumal.
Swamy Pillai Lokacharya
The Lord Himself appeared tired after the long journey.
And the Acharya asked his disciples to fan the Lord.
Imagine that scene.
An Acharya whose own body was exhausted.
An Acharya who had suffered injuries.
An Acharya who knew that he was about to leave this world.
And even then his thought was:
โPerumal is tired. Please fan Him.โ
What was left of his life belonged to the Lord.
Not to himself.
Even the ants
Then I came across another part of the traditional account which touched me in a completely different way.
The place was filled with ants.
Swamy Lokฤcฤrya saw them.
He touched them.
The traditional account associates this with the belief that those touched by a great Sri Vaishnava receive the Lord’s grace and attain liberation.
Whether I can understand the depth of such an act is another matter.
But I could understand one thing.
His compassion did not stop with human beings.
Even in his final moments, his heart was turned towards other living beings.
And suddenly the name Lokฤcฤrya seemed to acquire a different meaning for me.
The universal Acharya.
What did I learn?
I have read about great scholars.
I have read about Acharyas who defeated great philosophers.
I have read about those who composed extraordinary granthas.
I have admired their knowledge.
But Swamy Piแธทแธทai Lokฤcฤrya made me look at another form of greatness.
Service without asking what I will receive.
I keep asking Perumal for protection.
He showed me an Acharya who spent his last strength protecting Perumal.
I ask for comfort.
He walked through forests carrying the Lord.
I worry about my small difficulties.
He faced dangers that I can hardly imagine.
I sometimes wonder whether Perumal has remembered me.
But the Acharya’s life makes me ask a different question:
Have I remembered Perumal when He needed my service?
Perhaps that is where the mirror has turned towards me again.
My three darshans
During my Yฤthirai, I made sure to have darshan of Swamy Piแธทแธทai Lokฤcฤrya at three places.
Srirangam.
Jyothishkudi.
Melkote.
At Jyothishkudi especially, I stood there thinking about the journey that had taken place centuries ago.
The forests.
The fear.
The exhaustion.
The Lord being carried from place to place.
And finally the Acharya leaving his body.
I stood there quietly.
I could not think of anything profound to say.
Only one prayer came.
โSwamy, please teach me to serve.โ
Not to become great.
Not to be recognised.
Not even to understand everything.
Just to learn how to serve.
The interest that later grew in me to read the eighteen Rahasyas of Swamy Piแธทแธทai Lokฤcฤrya also feels, in retrospect, like another small mercy of the Acharya.
Walking with the Acharyas
As I continue this journey, I am beginning to understand why I do not want to write these posts as though I am explaining the great Acharyas.
Who am I to explain them?
I am only walking behind them.
Sometimes I see a footprint.
Sometimes a signpost.
Sometimes a story.
Sometimes a word from a grantha.
And sometimes, during a pilgrimage, I stand at the very place where something happened and feel my eyes becoming wet.
That is enough for me.
Swamy Piแธทแธทai Lokฤcฤrya has left me with one question that I cannot easily escape:
If everything I have belongs to Perumal, what have I really done in His service?
Perhaps that question itself is another step on my journey within.
Oh ! Lord Sreenivasaa
When I ask You to protect me,
teach me to remember those who protected Your kainkaryam.
When I ask You for comfort,
teach me to remember those who carried You through hardship.
When I become anxious about my own little problems,
bring before my eyes the life of Swamy Piแธทแธทai Lokฤcฤrya.
Let me not merely admire our Acharyas.
Let me learn one small virtue from them.
Let me become a little less concerned about myself.
Let me become a little more useful to Your devotees.
And when my journey finally comes to an end,
may I have at least one small answer to the question:
โWhat have you done for the Lord?โ
ลrฤซmate Rฤmฤnujฤya Namaแธฅ
Adiyen Rฤmฤnujadฤsan
Pictures : Courtesy Google Images
to be continued
Previous posts of the above series is appended in the below links
There comes a moment in every journey when we have to turn back.
The road that took us away from home slowly brings us back.
The temples become memories.
The darshan becomes something we carry in our hearts.
The voices of the priests become distant echoes.
The prasฤdam lovingly offered by someone we had never met is already gone.
And yet, something remains.
Something that cannot be packed into a suitcase.
Something that cannot be photographed.
Something that quietly follows us home.
That is how I felt when my ฤchฤrya Yฤthirai began to come to an end.
I was walking back to my ordinary life.
But I did not feel quite the same person who had started the journey.
I had gone looking for them
I had travelled to places where our ฤchฤryas had lived, worshipped, taught and served.
I had stood before the sannidhis of great personalities whose names I had heard all my life.
I had entered Thirumaligais.
I had sat before priests and elders.
Sometimes I had gone with a specific question.
Sometimes I had gone simply because my heart wanted to see the place.
And many times, I received much more than I expected.
A priest would open a door.
Someone would offer prasฤdam.
An elderly person would narrate a pastime.
A young Archakar would patiently answer my questions.
A garland would somehow come into my hands.
A few words would remain in my mind for days.
Looking back, I wonder whether these were really coincidences.
Or whether the ฤchฤryas were simply being kind to a very ordinary seeker.
The road behind me
As I travelled back, my mind began walking through the Yฤthirai again.
I remembered Srirangam.
I remembered the many Thirumaligais.
I remembered Periya Nambi.
Parasara Bhattar.
Nampiแธทแธทai.
Piแธทแธทai ฤthan.
Piแธทแธทai Lokฤcฤrya.
Koorathฤแธปvฤn.
Swamy Rฤmฤnuja.
And so many others whose lives I had been trying to understand.
Each story seemed to have left something behind.
One showed me humility.
Another showed me service.
Another showed me Bhฤgavatha prema.
Another showed me the danger of ego.
Another showed me what it means to put Perumฤแธท before one’s own life.
I had begun the Yฤthirai thinking that I was collecting stories.
Slowly, I realised that the stories were collecting me.
They were entering somewhere deep inside.
What had I really gained?
I asked myself this question while returning.
Had I become a great scholar?
No.
Had I suddenly understood our granthas?
No.
Had all my weaknesses disappeared?
Certainly not.
If anything, I had become more conscious of them.
And strangely, that itself felt like a blessing.
Earlier, I might have looked at an ฤchฤrya and simply admired him.
Now I was beginning to ask:
What is there in his life that I am supposed to learn?
That was a completely different question.
The Yฤthirai had slowly changed the question inside me.
I had started by asking:
โWhat can I see?โ
Now I was asking:
โWhat can I become?โ
From the ฤchฤryas to the ฤแธปvฤrs
And then, somewhere along the return journey, another thought began to grow.
I had spent so much time travelling to the places of the ฤchฤryas.
But where did the treasure they protected come from?
What was the source of the Divya Prabandham they treasured?
Whose words had inspired them?
Whose pasurams had they preserved, taught and carried from generation to generation?
The answer was waiting for me.
The ฤแธปvฤrs.
Perhaps the road was now asking me to turn back even further.
Back to the source.
Back to those extraordinary souls whose hearts melted in their love for Perumฤแธท.
A place I could not forget
One of the places that began to occupy my thoughts was ฤแธปvฤr Tirunagari.
We had travelled there as part of our ฤchฤrya Yฤthirai.
The place itself had a different atmosphere.
The quiet Tamiraparani flowed nearby.
We took a dip in the river, remembering the great devotees associated with its banks.
But our real destination was ลrฤซ Rฤmฤnuja Chaturvedi Maแน galam.
I wanted to have darshan of the Bhaviแนฃyad ฤchฤrya associated with Swamy Rฤmฤnuja.
The priest narrated the beautiful traditional account connected with Madhurakavi ฤแธปvฤr and Swamy Nammฤแธปvฤr, and how this sacred place came to be associated with Rฤmฤnuja even before his appearance.
I stood there listening.
My children were also eager to hear the story.
And I suddenly felt that something very special was happening.
I had come looking for Rฤmฤnuja.
But Rฤmฤnuja was taking me back to Nammฤแธปvฤr.
That thought stayed with me.
A chain of love
The more I listened, the more beautiful the connection seemed.
Nammฤแธปvฤr.
Madhurakavi ฤแธปvฤr.
Rฤmฤnuja.
The ฤchฤryas who came after him.
And now, generations later, a simple seeker like me standing in that same sacred atmosphere.
I began to see something that I had perhaps never understood before.
The sampradฤya was not simply a succession of names.
It was a living chain of love and service.
One generation received.
One generation preserved.
One generation passed it on.
And another generation received it again.
I was standing at the far end of that long chain, wondering whether I had done anything worthy of what had been handed down to me.
The question that followed me home
I remembered the words that had touched me so often during this Yฤthirai.
What have I done for the Lord?
That question now seemed to take on another meaning.
I had received so much.
The Divya Prabandham.
The teachings of the ฤchฤryas.
The stories of the Bhฤgavathas.
The opportunity to visit Divya Desams.
The opportunity to sit before learned devotees.
The opportunity to hear the words of our elders.
What had I given back?
Perhaps very little.
And yet, perhaps the Lord does not ask us to become great.
Perhaps He asks us simply to preserve what we have received and pass a little of it forward.
Walking back to earth
The journey was ending.
The car was moving towards home.
The temples were disappearing behind me.
The familiar roads were returning.
My ordinary life was waiting.
But something had changed.
I had gone looking for the footprints of the ฤchฤryas.
I returned carrying their stories.
I had gone looking at their places.
I returned looking at myself.
And now the road was quietly pointing somewhere else.
Towards the ฤแธปvฤrs. Towards Nammฤแธปvฤr.
Towards those divine pasurams that had inspired the very ฤchฤryas whose lives had just humbled me.
Perhaps this was not the end of the Yฤthirai after all.
Perhaps I had merely reached another bend in the road.
*
The road turns
There is something deeply moving about this to me.
I had started this journey with Swamy Rฤmฤnuja.
His name had awakened something in me.
His temples drew me towards him.
His life made me search.
His devotees taught me.
His ฤchฤryas showed me mirrors.
And now, after walking through that world, I was being led back to the person whom Rฤmฤnuja himself revered so deeply.
Swamy Nammฤแธปvฤr.
Perhaps the road had come full circle.
Or perhaps it was only beginning to reveal where it wanted to take me.
I do not know.
I am only walking.
Looking at the signposts left behind by our ฤchฤryas.
Trying to understand them.
Trying to follow them.
And hoping that somewhere along the way, I may become a little less of myself and a little more worthy of the path they showed us.
A small prayer
Oh Lord Sreenivasaa
Thank You for the Yฤthirai.
Thank You for every temple.
Every priest.
Every devotee.
Every ฤchฤrya.
Every story.
Every unexpected kindness.
Please don’t let them remain only beautiful memories.
Let them slowly become part of my life.
I went looking for the places where the ฤchฤryas walked.
You made me look at the way I walk.
I went looking for their stories.
You made me ask what I am doing with the story of my own life.
And now, as I turn towards the ฤแธปvฤrs, please give me the humility to listen.
Let me not approach their pasurams merely as poetry.
Let me try to understand the love that poured through them.
The road has brought me back to earth.
But perhaps…
the journey within has only just begun.
To be continued
ลrฤซmate Rฤmฤnujฤya Namaแธฅ
Adiyen Rฤmฤnujadฤsan
Pictures : Courtesy Google Images
Previous posts of the above series is appended in the below links
Theย ardent desire of any devotee is to seek an everlasting darshan of Lord Venkateshwara at Tirumalaย andโฆ ย If this darshan isย without any ย physical disturbance or interference by the volunteers ,ย the soul dances in ecstasy. There is no dearth of pilgrims whoย wouldnโtย stop gushing about their opportune darshan lasting for even aย fraction of second [โฆ]
Swamy Parasara bhattar replied .. I shall not trouble you with all that , for when I shall quote one authority , to which we commonly agree . The first sutra of Apastamba Dharma which says Wise practices of our wise elders are our best authority . Only after this comes Vedas .. Adiyens father [โฆ]
โSome journeys take us to places where our ฤchฤryas walked. Some take us back to the place where our own spiritual journey quietly began.โ
Mamandur โ Where the Evening Remembered Me
It was a cool evening.
I was sitting on the pial of the outer boundary of the temple at Mamandurโmy birthplace.
The sun was slowly preparing to disappear.
The cows were returning home after their day’s grazing.
I watched them walking leisurely along the village paths.
Their bells were ringing softly around their necks.
The dust rose gently beneath their feet.
Somewhere nearby, the little calves were waiting eagerly for their mothers.
Birds were returning to their nests, their chirping slowly changing into the music of dusk.
The crickets had begun their evening whispers among the green fields.
For a few moments… I forgot the world.
I was no longer the person sitting there after decades of life.
I was once again the little boy who spent his holidays in this village.
The same temple. The same surroundings.
But a completely different life.
Almost five decades had passed. And yet…
the evening seemed unchanged.
The Stick I Once Held
Suddenly, another picture appeared before me.
My grandfather.
I used to hold his stick horizontally and walk with him to the temple.
He would slowly make his way towards the sannidhi.
The priests would watch us.
I still remember his words:
โThis boy loves the temple. One day he will keep up my name.โ
I did not understand what those words meant then.
I was only a child.
For me, the temple was simply a place of wonder.
The Perumal was someone I loved.
The priests were familiar faces.
The village was my world.
But perhaps… my grandfather had seen something that I could not yet see.
Fifty Years Later
And now…
I was sitting on almost the same pial.
My grandfather was no longer there. The village had changed.
Many old houses had been reconstructed in modern style.
The life of the village had changed.
But the temple remained.
And I was sitting there asking myself:
How did our elders live as ลrฤซ Vaiแนฃแนavas in those days?
What did it mean to them?
What did they understand that we have forgotten? What did my grandfather see?
Why did he bring that little boy to the temple again and again?
I had come to Mamandur as part of an ฤchฤrya Yฤtrai.
But suddenly… I felt that I had come here to meet my grandfather.
ย And Then He Arrived A car stopped nearby.
An extremely old priest slowly got down.
His son had brought him.
He was finding it difficult to get out.
Without thinking, I moved towards him.
I extended my shoulder.
He placed his hand on me.
I supported him.
He looked closely at my face.
He stared for a few seconds.
Then his eyes brightened.
His toothless smile appeared.
And he asked:
โAre you Gindan’s grandson?โ Varadachaary? I mean
My heart stopped. I replied softly: โYes, Swamy.โ
He smiled. And said:
โI can see your grandfather in you, dear.โ
I cannot explain what happened within me.
It was as though someone had suddenly opened a door to my childhood.
I had gone to support an old priest.
Instead… he had supported me.
Walking Into the Temple
I gently held his hand.
We slowly walked inside.
His steps were difficult.
Mine were steady.
But spiritually…
I felt that he was taking me inside.
Not merely into the temple.
Into a forgotten part of myself.
His son was parking the car elsewhere.
I was in no hurry. I wanted to hear him.
For some reason…
I felt that the Lord had arranged this meeting.
I had questions.
Questions about our tradition.
Questions about what makes a person a true ลrฤซ Vaiแนฃแนava.
Questions that had been arising throughout this entire ฤchฤrya Yฤtrai.
And here, in my own birthplace…
an old priest had appeared.
โYour Grandfather Used to Speak About These Thingsโ
After I brought him some water, he looked at me again.
He said: โYour grandfather used to speak about many things.โ
Then he paused.
โThere is one thing he used to speak about that you would like to hear.โ
I became completely attentive. He continued: โHe used to speak about what it means to be a ลrฤซ Vaiแนฃแนava.โ
My heart began beating faster.
It was as though my grandfather had returned through this old priest.
The Question of Swamy Nampillai
The priest then narrated an incident from the teachings of Swamy Nampillai and Swamy Nanjeeyar, as preserved in the Bhagavad Viแนฃayam tradition.
Swamy Nampillai asked his revered Acharya Nanjeeyar a question that remains extraordinarily relevant even today.
He asked: โSwamin, how can one know with certainty that he possesses the qualities of a ลrฤซ Vaiแนฃแนava?โ
What a question!
After everything I had seen during this journey…
I felt that this was perhaps the question I myself had been carrying.
Not:
โWho is a ลrฤซ Vaiแนฃแนava?โ But:
โHow do I know whether I am one?โ
Nanjeeyar’s Answer
Nanjeeyar gave an answer that the old priest repeated with great affection.
He described three essential qualities.
Three signs by which one could examine oneself.
And suddenly… my entire ฤcฤrya Yฤtrai seemed to converge into these three teachings.
1. Archฤvatฤra Abhimฤnam
The first quality is:
Arcฤvatฤra Abhimฤnam
A deep and unwavering conviction that the Lord present in His Arcฤ formโin our temples and in the Perumal we worship at homeโis truly the Supreme Lord Himself, possessing the same supreme powers and glory.
Not a symbol.
Not merely a representation. Not merely a stone or metal form.
But Bhagavฤn Himself, who has out of compassion made Himself accessible to us.
Suddenly I Understood My Childhood
I remembered my grandfather taking me to the temple.
Why did that little boy love the temple?
Perhaps he did not know philosophy.
He did not know Vedฤnta.
He could not explain Arcฤvatฤra.
But something in that little heart knew:
โPerumal is here.โ That was enough.
The child did not ask:
โIs He really here?โ He simply loved Him.
Perhaps that was the beginning.
The ฤแธปvฤrs Lived This Truth
The priest explained that our ฤแธปvฤrs possessed this extraordinary vision.
They travelled to the Divya Deลams.
They sang before the Lord.
They experienced Him.
They spoke to Him.
They complained to Him.
They praised Him.
They loved Him.
For them…
the Archฤ form was not an abstraction.
He was alive.
And as I remembered my own journeys to the Divya Deลams, I understood why every temple had begun to feel different to me.
The Lord had never been merely a deity I went to see.
He had become someone I went to meet.
2. Bhฤgavatha Prema
Then came the second quality.
Bhฤgavatha Prema
Love for the devotees of Bhagavฤn.
The priest explained it through a simple comparison.
A person normally loves his own child intensely.
But if he can love a ลrฤซ Vaiแนฃhแนava with that same depth of affection…
that becomes a sign of Bhฤgavata prema.
I became silent.
How easy it is to love those who belong to us.
Our children.
Our family.
Our friends.
But can I love another devotee simply because:
โHe belongs to Perumal?โ
That is a completely different standard.
The Journey Had Already Taught Me This
Suddenly so many episodes came back.
Periya Nambi and Mฤraแนฤri Nambi.
Rฤmฤnuja and Dhanurdฤsa.
Kลซrathฤแธปvฤn and the devotees around him.
The lessons at Pettai.
The warnings about Bhฤgavatha Apacฤra.
Everything was connected.
The Acharyas were not teaching us merely to love Bhagavฤn.
They were teaching us:
Love those whom Bhagavฤn loves.
3. Bhฤgavatha Kaแนญinokti Bhogyathฤ Buddhi
Then came the third.
Perhaps the most difficult.
Bhฤgavatha Kaแนญinokti Bhogyathฤ Buddhi
The ability to receive even the harsh words of a Bhฤgavata as something beneficial.
The priest explained it simply.
Suppose a ลrฤซ Vaiแนฃแนava rebukes me.
Suppose his words are sharp.
Suppose I feel hurt.
What does my mind immediately say?
โHow dare he speak to me like that?โ
The ordinary mind reacts.
The ego defends itself.
But the true ลrฤซ Vaiแนฃแนava asks:
โWhat is Perumal trying to correct in me through these words?โ
That Was Difficult to Hear
I sat silently. Because this is where spirituality becomes uncomfortable.
It is easy to say:
โI love Bhagavฤn.โ
It is much harder to say:
โI will accept correction from His devotee.โ
It is easy to wear ลชrdhva Puแนแธram.
It is harder to allow someone to expose our ego.
It is easy to recite. It is harder to be corrected.
And perhaps that is why this third quality is so profound.
The Three Jewels
The old priest repeated the three qualities slowly:
Archฤvatฤra Abhimฤnam
Deep love and faith in Bhagavฤn’s Arcฤ form.
Bhฤgavatha Prema
Love for His devotees.
Bhฤgavatha Kaแนญinokti Bhogyathฤ Buddhi
The maturity to receive even the difficult words of His devotees without resentment, accepting them as beneficial correction.
Then he smiled.
โIf a person possesses these three, he may understand within himself that he has the qualities of a ลrฤซ Vaiแนฃแนava.โ
I Could Not Speak
I had been searching for answers throughout the Yฤtrai.
I had travelled to great temples.
I had listened to Acharyas.
I had read stories.
I had written about them.
I had tried to understand the lives of our Pลซrvฤcฤryas.
And now…
in the temple of my own birthplace…
an old priest had given me three simple tests.
I felt as though the Lord had placed a mirror before me.
And the Mirror Asked Me…
Do you truly believe Perumal is present before you?
Do you love His devotees as you love your own?
Can you accept the harsh words of a Bhฤgavata without anger?
I could answer only the first with some confidence.
The second…
I still had much to learn.
The third…
I had even more to learn.
The Boy and the Grandfather
Then I remembered my grandfather again.
His stick.
My little hand holding it.
Our slow walk to the temple.
The priests watching us.
His voice: โThis boy loves the temple.โ
Perhaps he was right.
But he had added:
โOne day he will keep up my name.โ
What does it mean to keep up his name?
Not merely to remember him.
Not merely to write about him.
Perhaps it means to preserve what he tried to give me.
Love for Perumal.
Love for Bhagavatas.
Humility when corrected.
I had once thought that keeping up my grandfather’s name meant achieving something in the material world.
Today I understand differently.
If I can preserve even a little of his love for the temple…
If I can maintain my relationship with Perumal…
If I can respect Bhagavatas…
If I can accept correction without ego…
perhaps then… I am truly keeping up his name.
That evening I had not planned to meet an Acharya.
I had not made an appointment.
There was no elaborate discourse.
There was simply:
An old priest.
A village temple.
A fading evening.
A memory of my grandfather.
And three teachings.
Yet I felt that Perumal Himself had arranged the meeting.
The priest had come from elsewhere.
But his words had brought my grandfather back.
And perhaps…
through my grandfather…
the Lord was reminding me why I had begun this journey.
A Pilgrimage Comes Full Circle
At the beginning of this series, I spoke about how I was once merely religious.
I followed what elders told me.
I performed what I was expected to perform.
But slowly… through the grace of Acharyas…
the journey from religiosity to spirituality began.
Today I see another transformation.
From:
โI visit temples.โ
to:
โI must see Perumal in the Arcฤ form.โ
From:
โI respect devotees.โ
to:
โI must love Bhagavatas.โ
From:
โI accept advice.โ
to:
โI must learn to receive even difficult correction without ego.โ
That is the real journey.
Three Questions I Now Carry
I have decided that these three questions should accompany me for the rest of my life.
1. When I stand before Perumal, do I truly feel that He is here?
2. When I meet a Bhagavata, do I see someone who belongs to Him?
3. When a Bhagavata corrects me, can I accept it as His mercy?
If I cannot answer these honestly…
then my spiritual journey is not complete.
The evening had become darker. The cows had reached their homes.
The birds had settled. The bells had become silent.
The old priest had finished speaking.
I remained seated for a while.
I looked towards the temple.
And silently prayed:
โPerumal…
Let me never lose the love that little boy had for Your sannidhi.
Let me love Your devotees more than I love my own pride.
When Your devotee corrects me, give me the wisdom to see Your hand in those words.
Let me not merely call myself a ลrฤซ Vaiแนฃแนava.
Let me slowly become one.โ
โThe little boy loved the temple before he knew theology. Perhaps that was his first lesson in Arcฤvatฤra Abhimฤnam.โ
โTo love Perumal is beautiful. To love those whom Perumal loves is the next step.โ
โThe harsh word of a Bhagavata may hurt the ego, but it may heal the soul.โ
โMy grandfather once took me to the temple holding his hand. Decades later, an old priest took my hand and brought me inside. Perhaps the journey was never mine alone.โ
As I finally rose from that old pial…
I looked back once.
The temple stood quietly in the evening darkness.
The same temple. The same village. The same earth.
But I was not the same boy who had walked there holding his grandfather’s stick.
The little boy had come looking for Perumal.
The grown man had returned looking for his identity.
And the answer had come through three simple words:
Archฤvatฤra Abhimฤnam.
At HIS holy feet
Bhฤgavatha Prema.
Bhฤgavatha Kaแนญinokti Bhogyatฤ Buddhi.
Perhaps… this was another milestone in the journey from being born a Vaiแนฃแนava…
SRIMATHEY RAMANUJAYA NAMAHA Srimad Ramayana, the great Indian scripture (Ithihasam) composed by Sage Valmiki, narrates the incidents in the lives of Lord Rama and Mother Sita who were the incarnations of Sriman Narayana (Perumal) and Mahalakshmi (Thayar) elaborately. This epic comprising of 24000 slokas has been divided into seven kaandams-Balakandam, Ayodhya Kaandam, Aaranya kaandam, Kishkindha [โฆ]
Many years ago there was a severe drought in melnadu located near present coimbatore The drought continued for almost 12 long years . An old couple who were living there decided to leave to the banks of cauvery and reside near the holy Sri Ranga Kshetra . They shifted their camp near to the Lordโs [โฆ]
Braj Bhumiย is the most sacred dham spread overย 168 miles-ย 42 miles on each direction with ย Mathura as the center.ย The holy place ย comprises of Mathura,ย Goverdhan, Gokulam Barsana ,Vrindavan and theย surrounding ย 12 forests.ย The Supreme Lord manifested Himself as Lord Krishna along with HIS attendants and enacted various pastimes 5000 years ago [โฆ]
The Treasure I Carried Away โ When an ฤchฤrya Gives More Than We Came Seeking
โWe went searching for the footprints of our ฤcฤryas. We returned discovering that the greatest pilgrimage was the transformation of our own heart.โ
The Yฤthrai Was Not Yet Over
There are moments in a pilgrimage when one feels that the journey has reached its conclusion.
We had travelled to places sanctified by Jagadฤchฤrya ลrฤซ Rฤmฤnuja.
We had stood where he had walked.
We had visited the places connected with Swamy Mudali Aandaan, Kลซrathฤแธปvฤn, Periya Nambi, Mฤraแนฤri Nambi, Parasara Bhaแนญแนญar, Periya Tirumalai Nambi, Anantฤแธปvฤn and so many revered ฤcฤryas.
We had listened to priests and elders who narrated these incidents not as dry history, but as though they had personally witnessed them.
And at Pettai, the discourse had left another deep impression upon us.
I thought perhaps the Yฤtrai had given us all that it could.
But the Lord had one more lesson waiting.
And this time…
it came through our own lineage.Our ฤcฤrya Yฤtrai eventually took us to Swamy Mudali Aandaan Thirumฤligai.
For me, this was not simply another destination.
It was a return to the source of my own ฤcฤrya sambandham.
I stood before the sacred lineage of Acharyas and felt that I was standing before generations of grace.
My mind travelled to my forefathers.
I remembered my birthplace.
I remembered the Perumals worshipped by my ancestors.
I remembered ลrฤซ Sundaravalli Nฤyikฤ Samฤta Lakแนฃmฤซ Nฤrฤyaแนa Perumฤl of Mamandur, connected to my mother’s lineage.
I remembered our Kula Daivam, ลrฤซ Yatirฤjavalli Nฤyikฤ Samฤta ฤdhikeลava Perumฤl of Kazhiyur.
And I remembered Mudumbai, the sacred place associated with Swamy Piแธทแธทai Lokฤcฤrya, from where, according to our family tradition, the Perumals were eventually brought and established at Kazhiyur.
I could only stand there silently.
Every breath seemed to say:
โHow fortunate I am.โ
Not because of anything I had accomplished.
But because I had inherited a relationship that I did not deserve.
The Darลan That Fed the Soul
Our ฤcฤryar kindly instructed the priest to take us inside for the darลan of the Perumals worshipped there.
The priest led us into the sacred space.
I cannot adequately describe what happened within me.
For years I had been reading.
For years I had been travelling.
For years I had been listening to Acharyas.
But suddenly…
all those years seemed to converge in one moment.
I felt as though my soul had finally been given the nectar for which it had been thirsting.
โRecite the Thaniyanโ
The priest asked us to recite the thaniyan of Swamy Mudali Aandaan.
โI bear upon my head the feet of Dฤลarathi, Mudali Aandaan, who are known as the Pฤdukฤsโthe sandalsโof Yatirฤja.โ
I had heard this before.
But standing there… it felt different.
This was no longer merely a verse I was reciting.
I was standing before the lineage of the one whom the sampradฤya reveres as the Pฤdukฤ of Rฤmฤnuja.
Then the priest began narrating.
Not hurriedly.
Not like someone reciting a prepared history.
He spoke with affection.
He showed us the vigrahas of the Acharyas.
One by one…
their names…
their lives…
their services…
their sambandham with Rฤmฤnuja…
their contributions to the lineage.
I felt as though the walls themselves had become a living history.
Swamy Mudali Aandaan
The Pฤdukฤ of Yatirฤja
The priest explained the glory of Swamy Mudali Aandaan.
He is revered as the mลซla-puruแนฃa of the Vฤdhลซla-gotra lineage, associated with the Kandฤdai tradition.
He was Dฤลarathi, the nephew of ลrฤซ Rฤmฤnuja.
But that bodily relationship was only one part of the story.
His greater relationship was spiritual.
He was the servant of Rฤmฤnuja. The tridaแนแธam of Rฤmฤnuja.
The support without which the Acharya would not move.
That is why Rฤmฤnuja could say, in essence:
โJust as a Sannyฤsi cannot be without his tridaแนแธa, I cannot be without Aandaan.โ
What greater expression of an Acharya’s love could there be?
Aandaan’s Obedience
The priest then narrated the episode of Tirukkoแนญแนญiyลซr Nambi.
Rฤmฤnuja had sought the secret meanings of the great rahasya teachings.
When Mudali Aandaan also desired to learn the meaning of the Charama ลloka, Rฤmฤnuja sent him to Tirukkoแนญแนญiyลซr Nambi.
And there… Aandaan waited.
Days became weeks. Weeks became months.
For nearly six months, he remained there without demanding an audience.
Finally Nambi taught him the great lesson: Knowledge. Wealth. Lineage.
All three can become sources of ego.
The true qualification is humility.
And Aandaan returned to Rฤmฤnuja transformed.
The Cook Who Was a Scholar
Then came another episode that deeply moved me.
Rฤmฤnuja once asked Mudali Aandaan to accompany Atthuzhai, the daughter of Periya Nambi, and serve her household.
Aandaan obeyed. Not for a day. Not for a week. For months. He performed the work of a cook.
Yet he was a great scholar.
One day a learned ลrฤซ Vaiแนฃแนava gave a discourse and made serious mistakes in explaining a Vedic passage.
Aandaan could no longer remain silent. He respectfully corrected him.
The learned man was astonished. He discovered that the person he had regarded as merely a cook was a profound scholar.
The story reached Rฤmฤnuja. Aandaan was called back.
The lesson was unmistakable:
True greatness does not need to announce itself.
The Tridaแนแธam
The priest then explained the profound symbolism.
The tridaแนแธa carried by a Sannyฤsi represents the three fundamental realities:
cit, acit and ฤชลvara.
Aandaan became Rฤmฤnuja’s living tridaแนแธa.He supported the Acharya.
He obeyed him.
He administered what had to be administered.He served the temple.
He protected the institutions entrusted to him.
He became the trusted administrator of ลrฤซraแน gam.
And when Rฤmฤnuja travelled northward…
Aandaan carried the responsibility of the great temple.
The Pancha Nฤrฤyaแนa Kainkaryam
The priest reminded us of another magnificent chapter.
When Rฤmฤnuja was in the Hoysala country and the great work of establishing ลrฤซ Vaiแนฃแนava temples unfolded, Mudali Aandaan was entrusted with the installation of the Pancha Nฤrฤyaแนa temples.
We had ourselves visited some of these sacred places during our journeys.
Suddenly those temples appeared differently in my mind.
They were not merely ancient structures.
They were monuments to the trust Rฤmฤnuja placed in his tridaแนแธam.
Then Came the Question From My Daughter
My daughter had been listening carefully.
She asked about one particular practice.
Why, in this Thirumฤligai, was ลrฤซpฤda Tฤซrtham given in addition to the regular tฤซrtham?
The priest smiled.He knew that another beautiful chapter was about to unfold.
Salagrฤma The Water Sanctified by Aandaan
Swamy Mudali Andaan
During Rฤmฤnuja’s journey toward Melkoแนญe, he and Mudali Aandaan reached a place called Salagrฤmam.
The people there were hostile.
Rฤmฤnuja instructed Aandaan simply to enter the water source from which the villagers drew their water and return.
Aandaan obeyed.
The water that had been sanctified by contact with his feet was subsequently taken by the villagers. Something changed.
Their hearts softened. Their hostility disappeared.
The very people who had resisted Rฤmฤnuja came and sought refuge.
The priest looked at us. And explained:
โThat is why even today ลrฤซpฤda Tฤซrtham is administered here.โ
I Was Speechless
I had read about ลrฤซpฤda Tฤซrtham. I had heard about it. But now…
I was sitting in the very lineage of the Acharya whose feet had sanctified that tradition.
The concept of Acharya sambandham suddenly became tangible.
Not intellectual. Not theoretical. Living.
The Story of the Kandฤdai Lineage
Then the priest took us further into the lineage.
He explained how the family became known as Kandฤdai.
Swamy Mudali Aandaan had remained without children for a long period.
Once, while discussing this with Rฤmฤnuja, he expressed his sadness.
Around the same time, Rฤmฤnuja received temple prasadam associated with the fragrant garment worn by Perumal.
He indicated the auspicious sign to Aandaan. Soon a son was born.
And the lineage became known as the Kandฤdai family.
I listened with fascination. A family name itself had become part of a sacred memory.
Kandฤdai Aandaan
The priest then introduced us to Kandฤdai Aandaan, who learnt:
ลrฤซ Bhฤแนฃya…Veda… ลฤstra… Divya Prabandham…
and the deeper teachings of the sampradฤya.
He had the extraordinary devotion to seek permission from Rฤmฤnuja to install a statue of Rฤmฤnuja at Sriperumbudur, the Acharya’s birthplace.
Rฤmฤnuja agreed. And the tradition of worshipping the Acharya’s sacred form there was established.
As I listened… I thought of my own journey to Sriperumbudur.
Suddenly that darลan had gained another dimension.
Kandฤdai Thozhappar Then came Kandฤdai Thozhappar.
His name itself carried affection.
The Lord of Kanchipuram, ลrฤซ Varadarฤja Perumal, is said to have considered him a friend and hence the name Thozhappar.
He installed ฤแนแธฤแธท’s statue at Kanchipuram and conducted her divine wedding festivities.
The priest then showed us the sacred Perumal known as:
ฤแธปaithu Vฤzhviththavar The very Perumal connected to this lineage.
I stood looking at Him… wondering how many generations had worshipped Him before us.
Appฤchiyฤr Anna
Then the priest pointed to another revered Acharya.
Swamy Appฤchiyฤr Anna.
A direct descendant of Mudali Aandaan.
The priest spoke of the immense reverence shown to him by Swamy Manavฤแธทa Mฤmunigaแธท, who affectionately addressed him as:
โNam Appฤchiyฤr Anna.โ He also explained his connection with the sacred vigrahas received through the Acharya lineage.
Appฤchiyฤr Anna lived at Kanchipuram, performing daily worship and continuing the kainkaryam connected with Sฤlaikkinaru.
Again… the same thread.Service.
Generation after generation.
Swamy Annavilappan
Swamy Pillai Lokacharya
Then came another name that made my heart tremble.
Swamy Annavilappan. He lived at Singaperumal Koil, serving ลrฤซ Pฤแนญalฤdri Narasimha Perumal.
The priest narrated how Lord Narasimha appeared to him in a dream and instructed him to restore the sacred abode that had become covered with sand dunes.
He obeyed.
He established the necessary arrangements. He created a place where kainkaryaparas could live.
And he spent his life in the service of the Lord.
And Then Came My Own Miracle
The priest continued speaking.
But my mind suddenly travelled elsewhere.
To Hyderabad. To our own Thirumฤligai.
To the sacred deities that had come to us.
To the moment when our Acharyar arrived with the deities worshipped by the lineage.
I had always wondered:
Why us?
Why should such grace come to our home?
Why should we be given the opportunity to worship such sacred Perumals?
Standing there in the ancestral Thirumฤligai…
I understood. Perhaps it was not my fortune.
Perhaps it was the continuation of their kainkaryam.
โThe Acharyas taught us how to serve Bhagavฤn. But sometimes, the greater lesson was learning whom we must never hurt.โ
Our ฤcฤrya Yฤtrai had already taken us through so many sacred places.
We had met revered Acharyas.
We had stood where our Pลซrvฤcฤryas had walked.
We had listened to their divine pastimes from priests and elders who had inherited those memories through generations.
Every place had given us something.
Every Acharya had left a lesson.
Yet when we reached Pettai, the place associated with the appearance of Swamy Mudali Aandaan, something happened that I still remember with immense gratitude.
It was evening.
There was a discourse by our Acharyar.
And for me…
that discourse became the silver lining of the entire Yฤtrai.
Until then, much of the journey had taught me:
What should I do?
How should I surrender?
How should I serve?
How should I remember Bhagavฤn?
How should I follow my Acharya?
But that evening…
I learnt something equally important.
Perhaps even more difficult.
What should I NEVER do?
Our Acharyar began by taking us to the final days of Jagadฤchฤrya ลrฤซ Rฤmฤnuja.
On the sacred occasion of Pฤแน guแนi Uttiram, when Periya Pirฤแนญแนญi and Periya Perumฤแธท were together, ลrฤซ Rฤmฤnuja performed the Gadya Trayam.
The Acharyar explained how Rฤmฤnuja had already performed Prapatti earlier, when he received Paรฑca Saแนskฤra from Periya Nambi at Madhurฤntakam.
Then why did he surrender again?
The answer itself reveals the extraordinary humility of Rฤmฤnuja.
He expressed the concern that considerable time had passed since his earlier surrender and that, through continued association with worldly life, perhaps his resolve had weakened.
He therefore prayed again.
Not because he distrusted the Lord…
but because he wished to remain completely dependent upon Him.
What humility!
The Lord then granted his prayer for eternal service at His lotus feet.
But Rฤmฤnuja did not stop with his own liberation.
He prayed for all those connected with him.
That was Rฤmฤnuja.
He never thought only of himself.
As his earthly departure approached, his disciples became inconsolable.
They could not imagine life without their Acharya.
Some even wished to give up their own lives along with him.
But Rฤmฤnuja firmly commanded them not to do so.
He wanted them to live.
To continue the sampradฤya.
To continue service.
To continue the path he had shown them.
And during those final days…
he gave his disciples several profound instructions.
Among them was one teaching that our Acharyar explained to us that evening.
It concerned one of the greatest dangers in spiritual life:
Bhฤgavata Apacฤra.
Insulting…
judging…
belittling…
or causing pain to a devotee of Bhagavฤn.
As the Acharyar spoke…
I suddenly realized something.
We spend so much time learning:
โHow should I pray?โ
โHow should I perform kainkaryam?โ
โHow many times should I recite a mantra?โ
โHow should I conduct myself?โ
But perhaps the first discipline is even simpler:
Do not hurt a Bhฤgavata.
Do not judge a devotee.
Do not measure another soul by worldly standards.
Do not allow the ego to make us feel superior to another servant of Bhagavฤn.
And then came the twelve forms of Niroopanam.
I listened…Immediately took my diary and noted the points which is a must for me to practice
and my heart became increasingly uncomfortable as I penned down
Because every one of them seemed to be asking me including my inner being …
โHave you ever done this?โ
Twelve Ways We Must Not Judge a Bhฤgavatha
Our Acharyar explained that Rฤmฤnuja had warned his disciples against analysing a Bhฤgavata through various worldly considerations.
The teaching is extraordinarily radical.
We are not asked merely to tolerate another devotee.
We are asked to respect the Bhฤgavata without reducing him to his external identity.
Janma Niroopanamโฆโฆ. Do Not Judge His Birth
Do not ask:
โWhich caste was he born into?โ
Do not decide the spiritual worth of a devotee based upon his birth.
The body has a birth.
The ฤtma does not belong to a caste.
The soul is the eternal servant of ลrฤซman Nฤrฤyaแนa.
This lesson connected directly with the question I had been carrying since the previous day.
Caste or virtue?
The Acharya’s teaching took the question much deeper.
2. ลarฤซra Niroopanam โฆ..Do Not Judge His Body
Do not decide the worth of a Bhฤgavata based upon whether the person is:
male… female… young… old…
or even upon the form of the body itself.
The body is temporary.
The soul is eternal.
Why should the outer vessel determine our reverence for the one who belongs to Bhagavฤn?
3. Bhฤva Niroopanam โฆ. Do Not Judge His Stage of Life
Do not look at a devotee and think:
โHe is only a child.โ
โHe is young.โ
โHe is old.โ
โHe has not reached maturity.โ
Spiritual worth cannot be measured by the number of years a body has existed.
4. ฤลrama Niroopanam ..Do Not Judge His Status
A devotee may be: a bachelor… a householder… a recluse… a sanyฤsi…
or belong to another stage of life.
Do not imagine that the external ฤลrama alone determines the depth of his devotion.
The Lord looks at the soul and its surrender.
5. Avayava Niroopanamโฆ. Do Not Judge Physical Form
Do not look at bodily defects.
Blindness… physical limitations… differences in appearance… or any other bodily condition.
How can we judge a soul by something that belongs only to the temporary body?
This brought back memories of Kลซrathฤแธปvฤn.
The world saw a blind man. The Lord saw one of His greatest devotees.
6. ฤlasya Niroopanamโฆ Do Not Judge External Cleanliness or Appearance
The Acharyar explained that we must not measure a Bhฤgavata merely by external appearance or by how agreeable he may appear to our eyes.
The true devotee must be respected.
The teaching was not an invitation to abandon personal discipline.
It was a warning against looking down upon another devotee because of external appearance.
And I understood: How easily the eyes become judges.
How quickly the mind creates categories.
7. Vฤsa Niroopanamโฆ.Do Not Judge Where He Lives
Do not ask: โWhere does he live?โ
Is he in a Divya Deลam?
Is he in a village?Is he in a distant countryside?
Does he live near a temple?Or far away from one?
Bhagavฤn is not restricted by geography. A heart filled with devotion can become a sannidhi.
8. Bandhu Niroopanam โฆ Do Not Judge His Family Connections
Do not belittle or elevate a Bhฤgavata merely because of his family relationships.
โHis family is important.โ
โHis family is ordinary.โ
โHe is related to an Acharya.โ
โHe has no such connection.โ
These calculations have no place when we are looking at a servant of Bhagavฤn.
The only relationship that ultimately matters is:
Bhagavฤn sambandham.
9. Prakฤลa Niroopanam โฆ. Do Not Measure His Spiritual Recognition
Do not decide the importance of a devotee based upon whether the world recognizes him.
Some Acharyas became famous.Others lived quietly.
Some were surrounded by thousands.
Others served almost unnoticed.
The absence of public recognition does not diminish a Bhฤgavata.
The Lord knows. That is enough.
10. Prakฤra Niroopanamโฆ Do Not Compare His Service
One devotee may perform temple service.
Another may clean. Another may cook.
Another may recite Divya Prabandham.
Another may quietly serve devotees. Another may have no visible service at all.
Do not create a hierarchy of Bhagavata worth based merely upon the form of service.
The Lord knows the heart behind the service.
11. Vardhana Niroopanamโฆ. Do Not Judge His Profession
A devotee must live in this material world.
He may have a profession.
He may be a scholar. A farmer.
A businessman. A worker. A scientist. A priest.
Or someone performing an ordinary occupation.
Do not measure his spiritual worth by the profession through which he sustains his body.
The profession belongs to the material circumstance.
Bhฤgavata sambandham belongs to the soul.
12. Doแนฃa Niroopanamโฆ.Do Not Make Another’s Fault Your Weapon
This was perhaps the most difficult teaching for me.
A devotee may have shortcomings.
A human being may make mistakes.
Do we then make those mistakes the basis for denying his Bhagavata identity?
The Acharyas warn us against this tendency.
Instead of magnifying another’s faults…
we must remember our own dependence upon Bhagavฤn’s mercy.
Who among us is without defects?
I Suddenly Understood the Question
The previous day I had been thinking:
โIs it caste or virtue?โ
Now the question had transformed.
The Acharya had shown us that even virtue itself must not become a reason for ego.
If I say:
โI am more learned.โ โI am from a better family.โ
โI have more devotion.โ โI have done more kainkaryam.โ
โI know more ลฤstra.โ โI have visited more Divya Deลams.โ
โI belong to a great lineage.โ Then…
I have missed the lesson.
Because the very things that should make me humble have become reasons for pride.
The Great Paradox
The more we learn from the Acharyas… the less qualified we should feel to judge others.
The more we understand Rฤmฤnuja… the more we should bow.
The more Divya Prabandham we recite…
the more our heart should soften. The more we receive from the Acharya…
the more we should become servants.
That evening at Pettai… I felt this truth with unusual force.
โWhat Should We Never Do?โ
Our Acharyar’s discourse had given me the answer.
Never reduce a Bhฤgavata to:
his birth.
his body.
his age.
his ฤลrama.
his appearance.
his residence.
his family.
his recognition.
his service.
his profession.
his shortcomings.
And perhaps…
never reduce yourself to these things either.
The Lesson Behind All Twelve
When I looked at the twelve teachings together, I saw something beautiful.
They were all telling us:
Stop looking at the covering.
Look at the ฤtma.
Look at the Bhagavฤn sambandham.
Look at the Bhฤgavata sambandham.
And above everything… look at our own ego.
Because the greatest danger is not that another devotee may be imperfect.
The greatest danger is that I may become proud because I think I am better than him.
Swamy Rฤmฤnuja’s Final Compassion
As our Acharyar concluded the discourse, I imagined Rฤmฤnuja in those final days.
He knew he was leaving.
He knew his disciples were grieving.
He knew the world would continue without his physical presence.
Yet what did he leave behind?
Not merely philosophy.
Not merely institutions. Not merely books.
He left a way of living. A way of seeing Bhagavฤn.
A way of seeing the Acharya.
A way of seeing the Bhฤgavata.
And a warning:
Do not commit Bhฤgavata Apacฤra.
The Silver Lining
That evening at Pettai became one of the most important memories of our entire ฤcฤrya Yฤtrai.
We had come to see the place associated with Swamy Mudali Aandaan.
We received something more precious.
We were shown the boundaries within which a ลrฤซ Vaiแนฃแนava must live.
The previous lessons had taught us:
What to do. This lesson taught us:
What never to do. And sometimes…
knowing what not to do is what protects everything we have learnt.
A Personal Confession
I returned from that discourse unusually quiet.
I began remembering people. People I had judged.
People I had misunderstood. People whose behaviour I had analysed.
People about whom I had formed opinions. And I wondered:
How much of this was Bhagavata Apacฤra?
I could not answer. I could only pray.
โSwamy Rฤmฤnuja, please forgive me. Teach me to see Your devotees through Your eyes, not mine.โ
The Prayer of a Pilgrim
I do not want to become a person who merely knows the terminology of ลrฤซ Vaiแนฃแนavism.
I want to become someone whose conduct reflects it.
Let my speech not hurt a Bhฤgavata.
Let my eyes not judge a Bhฤgavata.
Let my mind not compare Bhฤgavatas.
Let my ego not make me feel superior to another servant.
Let me remember:
The person before me may be someone whom Bhagavฤn loves infinitely.
How then can I treat that soul lightly?
โThe greatest danger on the spiritual path is not ignorance of Bhagavฤn. It is pride about knowing Bhagavฤn.โ
โDo not ask who a Bhฤgavata was born as. Ask whose servant he is.โ
โDo not measure a devotee by the body. The body belongs to prakแนti; the soul belongs to Bhagavฤn.โ
โA true Vaiแนฃแนava does not climb above others. He bends lower to serve them.โ
โThe Acharya taught me what to do. At Pettai, he taught me what I must never do.โ
The Journey Within
That evening… as the sun slowly disappeared…
I realized that our ฤcฤrya Yฤtrai was no longer merely a journey through history.
It had become a mirror.
Every Acharya… every incident… every teaching…
was showing me something about myself. The journey was slowly stripping away the outer identities.
Until only one remained:
โI am Rฤmฤnuja Dฤsa.โ That is the identity I want to carry.
Not above anyone. Not against anyone.
Only… at the feet of my Acharya Jagath Aharyar Swany Ramanuja
