DEIVATHIN KURAL # 38 (of Vol 3) Dated 04 Jan 2009

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 38 (of Vol 3) Dated 04 Jan 2009

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by Periyavaal of Kanchi Kamakoti peetam, over a period of some sixty years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of last century. These have been published in Tamil by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each, as Deivathin Kural. To day we are proceeding from the first para on page number 162, of Vol 3, of the Tamil original. The readers are reminded that herein the word 'man' includes 'woman' too. )
(Note:- These e-mails are all available at http://advaitham.blogspot.com constantly up-dated.
224. In the district of Tanjavur alone, we formed 2000 Sanga-s, identified suitable Mudradikari-s and his assistant as Upa-Mudradikari and listed the names of volunteers. We formed a committee each for the Taluq, Circle and Village. Each Circle or Koshtam had four village. In Cities we detailed a Mudradikari per street. Mostly in Tanjavur, in each village, the Kamakoti Matam had a piece of land in its name, as allotted by the Kings of yore. All the income from such lands were assigned to the Mudradikari. More than 5,000 volunteers worked with great fervor and involvement. Morning till evening and at times on moonlit nights for longer hours, people worked very keenly.
225. It was always a spectacle to see thousands of people working , digging a pond or dredging an existing one, all of them chanting God's names! When people of four villages worked in one village, next year in the same period, they would work in the next village, completing the cycle in the fourth year. Thus the co-operation and camaraderie continued at least for four years. In that district, since there was a period of four months in which the whether was dry with no rain; this work known as 'Khadam' was a much needed one. Not only in the village proper, but also in the 'Cheri' or the place where relatively poorer sections of people were residing. On some occasions, the digging was also done in the non agricultural, grazing grounds for the sake of the cattle. It was very good to do it for the animals which are incapable of spoken expression!
226. As per the Saastraa-s, each person having a dip in the pond is required to first dredge four handfuls of earth from the bottom! If such simple directions are followed, I suppose many of the problems related to water shortage would reduce. In Koneri Rajapuram, there was a Brahmin family, who were ready to pay half the cost for digging of a pond in any place, as long as one condition was met. The condition was that, out of the four sides of the pond, one side was to be left with a natural slope, devoid of stone steps, so as to enable ease of access to the cattle! I wish that as representatives of our Matam, Farmers and Harijans should dig such small ponds for the cattle around their villages.
227. We did this in all districts of Tanjavur other than Pattukkottai. In that district, every house was almost a forest with water level being rather low. If there is Land Owner's house, from the Pannaiyar to the last worker, all their residences will be located within a fenced area, with plentiful water supply. So there was no need for digging for water as a 'ThiruppaNi'. So the used to collectively lay roads. Generally in the Mudradikari-s plan, reading of Purana-s on ever fortnight on Ekaadasi night and digging of ponds in each Koshttagam every year, were successfully carried out for quite some time!
228. There were many positive returns out of such ventures. The society benefited in terms of availability of water or roads. The very hard work gave physical fitness and 'Chitta Suddhi', to all the participants. More than all this, in doing such activities collectively, there was tangible proof of greater understanding and co-operation between people from different walks of life, status and castes. Instead of individual Paropakaaram, this collective effort was quite effective and an antidote for the Dravida Kazhaga and Communist party politics! Social Service with no smell of politics was the best, it was found.
229. Just because of the need for involving as many people as possible, does not mean that we should call it an Association, detail a Chairman, Secretary, Governing Body and so on! That will give raise to status, position and hence competition. The biggest return out of Paropakaaram should be the sublimation of individual 'Ahankaara'. So, we should not let any talk of post, position or office, come in between.
230. Weekly Prayers. For long I have been repeatedly telling everybody that, in every small village or township, there should be a 'weekly prayer meet'. The idea is to get all the people together for prayers in a nearby temple. People of other religions are already doing this. Christians do that every Sunday. Muslims have namaz five times a day and every friday they invariably attend the prayer in the mosque. It is due to that, they are getting everything, starting from a new independent nation. As far as we Hindu-s are concerned, we are gradually losing day-by-day all the respect and prestige that we had in the minds of the whole world! I am convinced that our people too should shed all the quirks of their character and dissolve their selves and minds in the divine being of God, if this nation is ever to reawaken and regain even a fraction of its past glory! It is with this purpose that in many places such 'weekly prayer meeting sangh' have been organized. It is for them to take up suitable joint social actions too as and when necessary.
231. In Mayavaram the Thiruppavai - Thiruvempavai group has been taking up many such activities. Their main purpose is to popularize these two devotional sets of songs amongst the public, especially the children. For this, they are distributing the printed books free, conducting coaching classes. hold competitions and give prizes. Further, they are taking up the following activities namely, a) Issue prayer songs to prisoners in jails and conduct Bhajan-s in the jails; b) Distribute prasadams and prayer books to patients in the hospitals; c) Assist and help any voluntary organizations conducting sat-sangs; d) Carry out the final obsequies for orphans; e) in places where God's statues are installed but lying uncared for, to give it a roof with some space around and make arrangements to light a lamp at least, if thrice a day pooja is not possible; f) Take care of gardens of the Temples; g) Take care of grazing grounds for cattle; h) Install granite pillars at places to enable cattle to rub their bodies; j) Once a week assemble at a nearby temple, do pradakshinam, followed by a period of silence, dhyanam, smaranam, naama sangeertanam, pravachanam etcetera.
232. Please do not come to me with a complaint, "Swami, how can we spare one day a week for combined prayers and another day a week for social service? We get only one holiday in a week?" You cannot be doing social service work for the whole day, nor can you spend all your time in prayer like activities! Combine both in that one day and still you can have some time to spare!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.