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Some thoughts on Siriya TiruvaDi

From the Bhakti List Archives

A.Bharat • April 11, 2000 


Dear BhagavatOttamas

This medium has been literally flooded with
beautiful thoughts re PerumAL,PirATTi and
Siriya TiruvaDi these last few days thanks
to the kindness of Sri Sadagopan,Sri Madhava
Kannan and others.Today being the day of the
apex event Sri Rama Navami aDiyEn also felt
impelled to share a few thoughts in the same
vein though not with the same expertise.

Sri Madava Kannan has been regaling us with the
gems from Sri Tirumangai Mannan's Periya Tirumozhi
thro these years,and aDiyEn would refer now to
one of the outstanding padigams of that great
work- the 10 verses beginning with "Ezhai Edalan.."
Sri Periya VAchhAn PiLLai's commentary on this padigam
spans more than 60 pages in the printed text.He literally
overwhelms us with the anubhavam of our PoorvAchAryas
and the SAstrArtha which is imbedded in every word
of the text.

ADiyen would like to relive with you all, a scanty few
out of the treasury of great thoughts found in this
masterpiece.

The second verse "VAta mAmagan" deals with Siriya TiruvaDi(ST).
Both ST and AzhvAr are Bhaktas AND AchAryas par excellence.
But both consider themselves the lowest of the low when they
think and speak.And it is this aspect which is highlighted
in this pASuram.Hence all the matter which is going to be
mentioned should be strictly taken to be THEIR opinion and
not ours about them!And Sri PVP also writes his gloss in
the same vein.

ST literally melts in tears when reflecting on PerumAl's
Neermai guNam.Who else would even look at an animal,that
too a monkey,originating from VAyu,which birth would
alone would endow it with great ego- let alone shower 
ultimate Grace on it,like PerumAL did? An animal per se
has habits totally unconnected with accepted AchAram.
And even there, a monkey stands apart;if you feed a cow
it will eat gratefully,whereas if you offer anything to
a monkey it'll rather snatch it from your hand rather
than wait for you to give it.Similarly we,to whom the
Lord bestows His Grace thro NirhEtuka Kripa,think it is
thro our own efforts that we have achieved it!

And there is a common explanation as to why PerumAL
chose ST from among the millions of monkeys belonging
to SugrIva's army,to give his signet ring; because He
felt that ST was the most competent person among them
all and  hence most likely to meet PirAtTTi.Well,it's
the wrong reason,says ST.

PerumAL just picked him up out
of the lot to shower His Unreasoned Grace;He made ST
great,because He wanted to do so.Just as He wanted
in His next Avatara to make Arjuna great.It's like
a father wanting to to see his son come up with flying
colours.He arranged events in such a way that ST alone
among the millions of monkeys could return triumphantly
shouting,"I have seen Her! I have seen SItA!"
And not contented with that,says ST with tears in his eyes,
He was overcome with happiness and said,there's nothing
I can give you in return which would equal what you've done for
me and Sita.You have saved our lives!

Then He said,the only thing I can give you is this
embrace.and He embraced me with His Divine Body
giving me thus what a Mukta ultimately gets-the
enjoyment of His Divine Body.

So,ST says,when I have in this life itself,with this
mortal body itself obtained what a Mukta hopes to 
get in Sri Vaikuntham,why would I wish to let go
of this life or this body? I'll not go there .I'll
stay here itself eternally.

Thus Siriya TiruvaDi became one of the Chiranjeevis.

This series of benefits all originating from nothing
other than the Lord's love and Grace towards him,was
made to appear to the world as rewards due to a great
Bhakta and Achiever.

But don't you beleve it,says Siriya TiruvaDi (and AzhvAr
also sees thro the Lord's Game);It is nothing but His
NirhEtuka Kripa- for which there is no recompense possible from
our side.We can only bow our heads in gratefulness and
emulate Siriya TiruvaDi and-

Yatra yatra RaghunAtha KIrthanam
Tatra tatra Krita-mastakAnjalinm
BAshpa-vAri-paripUrNa-lochanam
MArutim namata rAkshasAntakam.

Sri EmberumAnAr TirunaDigaLE SaraNam!


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