DEIVATHIN KURAL # 24 (Vol # 5) Dated 17 July 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 24 (Vol # 5) Dated 17 July 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 last para on page No 147 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)
101. I told you about the story of ‘Yatoktakaari’ PerumaaL to drive home the point that the disciple does not have to go to God at all. If he has complete faith in his Guru, the Guru will do the needful and ensure that the disciple is not only protected wherever he goes but also guided in the right path. For the disciple, the Guru has to only wish or give his blessings and God will get the needful done! If Guru says ‘get up’ God will do so; if he says ‘run’ God will run and stop only when ordered by the Guru! Knowing this, there are many who simply rely on the Guru for all their needs to be fulfilled.
102. Similarly, if the disciple wants the God, the Guru will fetch him for you. For that our power of faith, belief and devotion is not enough. All that is required is total trust in Guru. It does not matter as to how he does that, by prayer or fighting on our behalf. The end result will be positive. Thus, there have been many great souls who having physically been the Seer, have enabled their disciple followers to have the same vision, starting from Sri KrishNa who gave the Vishwa Roopa Darshan to Arjuna!
103. We see this in the story of Somaasi Naayanaar too. He went to Sundara Murthy Swami and complained that he is not able to fetch Easwara on his own and so got it done through Sundara Murthy Naayanaar, though the relationship between Sundara Murthy and Somaasi Naayanaar cannot strictly be considered as between a Guru and a disciple. That reveals that a Guru who is very close to God can bring closeness between God and disciple too. Let us look at that story! We have heard the story of an Aazhwaar. Do we not have to hear the story about a Naayanmaar also? Moreover this story concerns not one but two Naayanmaars!
104. Somaasi Maara Naayanaar. Let not the word Somaasi give you visions of an eatable! (The Somaasi and Samosa both are made with an outer layer of wheat batter enclosing some filling, fried in oil or ghee. They differ in the matter of what is filled inside. The first one Somaasi has a sweet filling of grated coconuts amongst other things, while a Samosa is a savoury filled with boiled and mashed potatoes!) Here the word Somaasi indicates that he or someone amongst his ancestors have conducted ‘Soma Yaagam’. He is given the title of ‘Somayya Ji’ which gets worn out by time, usage and changes in the languages and becomes ‘Somaasi’!)
105. Amongst Naayanmaar-s there are people from all walks of life, castes and creeds. From Nanadanar who was working in the farms as a pariah labourer, to KaNNappar a hunter, Adipatta Naayanaar from the fisherfolk, Thiru Neelakandar a potter; the list goes on to represent all the castes and clans including some kings and ministers amongst the 63 Naayanmaar-s! There are 12 Vaidic Bramins in that list, in which Somaasi Naayanaar is one!
106. There is a place by the name PeraLam in Tamil Nadu. A short distance away there are two villages close to each other namely, Ambar and Ambar-MaakaaLam. This Somaasi Maran is from the Ambar village. In his Thiru Thondattogai, Sundara Murthy Naayanaar refers to him as ‘Ambaraan Somaasi Maaran’. Between Ambar and Ambar MaakaaLam there is a Mandapam (stone building) which is said to be the place where ‘a Sukhla Yajur Veda Brahmin is said to have conducted a Soma Yaagam, available till date as a mute witness. Once a year in the Aayilyam star of the month of Vaikaasi they conduct a festival in memory of that Yaagam at that place. There are some interesting features in the story about that festival. I was intending to talk about those things only. When we cannot invite or invoke God’s presence on our own, we could do that through our Guru or any elder in that position’ is the message in that story.
107. In Periya PuraaNam it is mentioned that Somaasi Naayanaar had the opinion that simply through conduct of Yaagas alone, one could attain to the feet of Siva. Periya PuraaNam further says that he went to Sundara Murthy Naayanaar at Thiruvaroor and through his good offices attained to Siva Saayujyam, that is the exalted status of oneness with the Lord Siva. Those are the bare details in brief available in Periya PuraaNam. It is from the Sthala PuraaNam of the place where this event occurred that we get to know about how he conducted the Soma Yaaga. So despite not being very popularly known, since locally it is well known and since till date there are conduct of festivals in memory of the event, we can see that the story is authentic enough. Even when not popularly known the authenticity of the Sthala Puranaas are not in doubt. (For example Dr. U.V. Swaminatha Iyer was a great scholar in Tamil who has unearthed a whole world of Tamil literature from a scientific study of palm leaf scripts and restored them for posterity. He lived here in Madras in Thiruvanmiyur near the present day Adayar, as recently as the middle of the 20th Century! Luckily there is a Library of his books and research papers in Kala Kshetra, Adayar due to the efforts of Mrs. Rukmini Arundale. But for that, if you ask anybody in the environs of Thiruvaanmiyur today, you may not find a single person knowing anything about Dr. U.V. Swaminatha Iyer at all despite the fact that he is known by the popular title of ‘Tamizh Thatha!’)
108. “Through conducting Soma Yaaga we should please Siva. It is not enough to believe that our offerings go to Siva through the medium of the Fire God. Easwara himself should come and receive our offerings.” Somaasi Naayanaar was thinking on these lines and he was very keen that Siva himself should come to his Yaaga. But he was not very confident about his own worth and ability to make his wish come true. But he was also not ready to give up. Then he was in search of someone who was close enough to God Siva and wished to seek that person’s help in this effort of ensuring Siva’s presence in his Yaaga. It was then that he heard about Sundara Murthy SwamigaL!
109. Sundara Murthy SwamigaL was residing in Thiruvarur those days. The more he heard about this Sundara Murthy SwamigaL, more was the sense of wonder and awe! He was much different as compared to any devotee of Siva. Normally these devotees of Siva would be very economical about clothing and accessories. Lean and thin they will be almost undernourished. Never caring for wine, women and wealth, they will be all the time lost to the world in chanting of the Panchaksharam. Sundara Murthy Swamigal was much different from these norms!
110. He was more like a man about town, well dressed, well fed and attractively groomed! Known to be a regular visitor to women of easy virtue, he was not easily to be identified as to what type of a character he is! But reportedly he could get his wealth and women with the help of the very Easwara whom we find not so easy to even comprehend, let alone approach! Reportedly if the women get annoyed with him who else but Siva himself goes as a messenger on behalf of this Sundara Murthy SwamigaL! Then he resolves the misunderstanding or conflict and re-establishes the liaison! It seems in all freedom this Sundara Murthy SwamigaL could even talk flippantly, when annoyed with Siva!
111. Once he knowingly lied and lost his eye sight as a result. For that also he could get annoyed with Siva and say words to the effect, ‘vaazhndu podeere!’ that is to say,“That I have lost my eyesight, go and be happy now”! (Every fourth line in the Padigam named ‘MeeLaavadimai’ ends in this phrase ‘vaazhndu podeere!’) Thus this devotee of God could tick off at will. The more surprising thing is that God is ready to dance to his every whim and fancy! Sundara Murthy’s eye sight was restored in double quick time!
112. In another occasion there was a theft as a result of which Lord Siva was told, “What is the use of your being there at all? ‘Etthukirundeer?’” But God immediately rounded up the thieves and all the lost jewels and other valuables were recovered, much faster than modern day Police! Normally devotees of God are well behaved and soft of speech. But this man seems to have got all his wishes by being rough and tough enough with God that he got the sobriquet ‘Van Thondar’ to mean the ‘harsh devotee’! In his case God was always obliging enough too!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.