DEIVATHIN KURAL # 01 (Vol # 5) Dated 01 Jun 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 01 (Vol # 5) Dated 01 Jun 2011

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by PeriyavaaL of Kanchi Kaamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are proceeding from the first page of Vol 5 of the Tamil original. The readers may note that herein 'man/he' includes 'woman/she' too mostly. These e-mails are all available at http://Advaitham.blogspot.com updated constantly)
DEVARUM THOZHUM DEIVAM – TO WHOM GODS PRAY
1. At the time of the first day every new year, it is the custom amongst Indians especially the Hindus to read the ‘Panchaangam’ (that is the Hindu Almanac) with some predictions for the 27 Galaxies of stars that are grouped equally into 12 Raasis. At that time a sloka is read, “vaakeesaadyaas – sumanasas – sarvaartaanaam upakrame I yamnatvaa kruta krutyaasyu: tam namaami gajaananam II” As the sloka has finished with ‘gajaananam’ you must have understood that it is addressed to ‘PiLLaiyar’ that is ‘GaNesha Bhagawan’! What does the sloka say about him? It says that, “I am also prostrating in supplication to that elephant faced God Gajaanana, to whom starting from Brhma, all the Devas (Celestials) become ‘kruta krutya:’, as good as – having – finished – their – mission, just by doing prayers!”
2. It is not that only the human beings of limited abilities pray to PiLLaiyar, the mighty powerful Devas too pray to Him. It is not that occasionally they pray to Him like once a year on Ganesha Chathurthi day but everyday whenever they start any work, Gajaanana is prayed to! Then the slokam says that they get the complete effect of their prayers immediately, at once! It is not as though they prayed and PiLLaiyar just accepted them! Whatever the work at the commencement of which they started praying to PiLLaiyar, that work gets done successfully and they become ‘kruta krutya:’ meaning ‘doneacts’, if I may coin a new English word! ‘Vaageesaadyaa:’ means, ‘Vageesa and others; ‘sumanas’ means divine beings.
3. Malarum Manamum. The direct meaning of the word ‘sumanas’ is to have a good mind. Good mind is divine and bad mind is of the ogres! In a plant or a creeper the flower is like its ‘sumanas’. As there is fragrance and nectar in the flower, in a good mind there will be love, kindness and warmth. Whether the fruit in the later stages is sweet or bitter, earlier the nectar in its flower is always sweet! In a plant or creeper, the most attractive part is the flower that is also soft to the touch, beautiful to look at, fragrant to the smell and its nectar is sweet to the taste! Thus the flower directly gives a sense of pleasure to four of the five senses namely, touch, smell, sight and taste. For the ears, the pleasure is added by the humming sound of the honey bees, which are attracted by the nectar of the flowers!
4. The word ‘sumanas’ has another meaning as beautiful. Thus ‘sumanas’ has four meanings namely, good mind, beauty, divine beings and flower. There are many slokas making use of all these meanings of the one word. In the Mahishasura Mardini sloka being popularised by Ananta Rama Deekshidar, amongst many alliterations of many words, this one ‘sumanas’ occurs four times continuously with the meanings of, ‘celestials, beauty, flowers and sweet’! As it says that PiLLaiyar is venerable by celestials, it makes it clear that Ganesa is worthy of adoration for everybody with a clean mind and heart. If the devotee has a clean mind, the one to whom he is devoted must also be good, is it not so?
5. There is an episode which clearly brings out that PiLLaiyar has a clean mind! If there is someone whom anger can never approach and in whose presence even the quick to take offence will become the very embodiment of peace and tranquillity; such a person must be clear hearted with love and kindness towards all living things, is it not it? Who is loving all forms of living beings from the ants or germs to a mammoth elephant or a whale? Such a being is the Mother of all existence, AmbaaL Akhilaanda Janani! At one point in time she had assumed a horrendous form in Jambukeswaram (that is Thiruvaanaikka) looking at the depraved state of morality in the modern world. As She is all powers rolled in one, the very pleasant Lalitha Parameswari may at times in anger assume the ‘Ugra Swaroopa’ (ferocious form)! This was one such occasion!
6. Our AachaaryaaL who had come to this world as an Avatara of Parameswara could visit AmbaaL anytime in whatever form. Making use of such an opportunity, he intended to make the world realise the very loving nature of PiLLaiyar and his power of appeasement. He installed a huge statue of PiLLaiyar directly in front of AmbaaL in the KaaLi roopa, but as far away as the outer ramparts wall of the temple. That is all! In no time immediately after installation of the Mother’s Pet’s statue, her anger was gone! Amongst many names of PiLLaiyar, there is one as ‘Chella PiLLaiyar’, meaning the ‘favourite son’! Because of his influence AmbaaL became full of ‘vatsalyam’ (parental love) instead of anger.
7. So that Ambaal’s ferocious form may not return back to Her, our AachaaryaaL attracted the negative powers of anger in to two ear rings and annulled them forever. Then he arranged for those to be worn as jewels by AmbaaL as a ‘Thaadangam’! Thaadangam is considered as a sign of a woman’s being a ‘Sumangali’ that is, a blessed person whose husband is alive, hale and hearty. In the sloka No 28 of Soundarya Lahari, our AachaaryaaL raises a question as to how, at the time of Maha Pralaya when all the celestials despite their having partaken the elixir of life Amirtam, are decimated, destroyed and cancelled; the one man who has partaken the poison known as ‘Haala Haala Visham’, continues to survive and flourish? Then he answers his own question most succinctly that it is due to the power of Ambaal’s Thaadangams! He says, “tava janani taadanga mahimaa”!
8. Thus this cancellation and internment of the ferocious anger in to AmbaaL’s Thaadangas (which are indicative of Her faithfulness and integrity), was subsequent to, our AachaaryaaL’s arrangement to appease AmbaaL by positioning her favourite son in front! The two place names of that religiously important station are ‘Jambukeswaram and Thiruvaanaikaa’ are both closely connected to PiLLaiyar. Jambu stands for the ‘Naaval Maram’ a tree that bears a berry fruit with dark purple colour and slightly sweet and sour taste. In this station, Naaval tree with white barks is the ‘Sthala Vruksham’ and for this baby elephant PiLlaiyar it is his favourite fruit! He is fond of the juice of that fruit, as it says in one of his famous slokas, “kapitta jambu phala saara bhakshitam”. PiLLiyar’s best of devotees, Avvaiyar when she was accosted by Subrahmanya Swami as a cowherd, in a semi desert terrain it was under this very tree, when he offered to drop some fruits! The other name of the place after Jambukeswaram is ‘Thiruvaanaikka’, where also there is an elephant as ‘aanai’ (as underlined) to remind us of the baby elephant God!
9. It is something special that Easwara when he took Avatara as our AachaaryaaL, in front of ‘Ugra roopa’ of KaaLi that is, in front of Easwari, the Mother of the whole Universe in a ferocious form; so as to appease Her, installed their favourite son PiLLaiyar in front of Her! Though She is always a ‘Shanta Swaroopi’ blessing all the worlds with kindness, on the rare occasion She was in an awful mood, PiLlaiyar had the power to cool Her instantly! Not by any special mantra or something! Just by being there, happens to be noticed by AmbaaL and her anger is cancelled, pronto! He has such a good mind! This ‘sumanas’ PiLLaiyar is prayed to by Vaageesa and other golden hearted saints and celestials who are also ‘sumanas’. They get their wishes fulfilled just by prostrating before PiLlaiyar! Who is Vaageesa?
(We will answer that question in the next edition. To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.