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thiru adhyayana sEvai - part 21 - nAttam othukkiyE naduvOm arangamE !

From the Bhakti List Archives

Sampath Rengarajan • December 4, 1999 


Srimadh Azhagiya singar thiruvadikaLE saraNam
Sri RanganAyikA samEtha Sri RangarAjan thiruvadikaLE saraNam

thiru adhyayana sEvai - part 21 - nAttam othukkiyE naduvOm arangamE !

Dear bAgawathAs,

thudikkum minnal thoorigai Oviyam
padikkum pinnalil  Oriru kAviyam
thOttam sethukkiya thondar kulAmE
nAttam othukkiyE naduvOm arangamE !

meaning:
The ligtening is quivering. It is suffering  and  throbbing such,
in mental agitation due to its separation from Sri  Arangan. Such
thudippu or "pulse" is so powerful such that it is using its beam
as its thoorigai  or  paint  brush  and  is painting an Oviyam or
sirpam in the sky. Such Oviyam is very beautuful. This  Oviyam is
nothing  but a reminder for all jivAthmAs  to  surrender  to  Sri
Arangan. The most  beautiful  women  of Srirangam have their back
combing or "pinnal"  in  a  classic  style.  Even  that  "pinnal"
resembles the minnal and as well tells us a kAviyam or two on the
perumAi  or speciality of doing saranagathi to Sri Arangan. Those
thoNdars who do nurse, trim  and  chisel  a  garden (of bAgawatha
koottam) for Sri Arangan's thiru nanthavana kainkaryam, we appeal
to  you  all. Oh! thondar kulAmE, let us all unite and keep aside
our misunderstanding in the  form of  "nAttam"  on other lowkeeka
vishayAs  and  let  us  all  seek  to  surrender to our  pradhama
AchAryAL Sri Arangan. It also mean those  bAgwatha  utthamAs  and
AchAryA purushALS  who  treasured and  nurtured  by kAlakshEbhams
the vyAkyAna granthams of poorvAchAryAs  such as Sri periavAcchAn
pillais, will always  keep aside anyother nAttam  and   seek   to
Sri Arangan's  thiru AruL all the time. They do so  through   the
path or upAyam  shown  by  poorvAchAryA'L and Sri ANDAL's and Sri
nammAzwAr's granthams.

AchArya thatthuvam, oru SiRu viLAkkam:
Many  times  one may  argue that substance is more important than
symbol etc.  But the substance sometimes "appear" as  symbol. One
has to see this using their own Athma swaroopam  to  see that the
substance is in the disguise  of  symbol  as  well.  So, when the
symbol itself becomes a substance one  cannot  ignore it. In this
episode  it is important to note the bearer of the lamp or deepam
as pointed by Sri Arangan to Sri thiru mangai AzhwAr himself. The
deepam can be substance and the  bearer  can  be the symbol.  But
then why would peria perumAL show Sri Utthama nambi to AzhwAr and
makes Sri utthama namabi do the upadEsam about the upAya rahasyam
of  Athma  samarppanam  to AzhwAr?

The  word  utthama means  superior. It also means suddha satthvam
or "sath", because suddha  saththuvam  is  superior to other. The
word "nambi" (*)   means "AchAryAL".  Together  these tamil words
"utthama" and "nambi", mean a sadhAchAryAL. So it is not  a  mere
symbol  that  one  may  ignore  Sri utthama nambi's  presence  in
this  episode  altogether. It is considered in manyways that  Sri
nAmmAzwAr is thiru mangai's AchAryAL though thiru mangai received
mantra upadEsdam from the pradhAna AchAryAL peria perumAL HIMself.
On  realising  the importance of the AchAryA thatthuvam Sri Thiru
mangai immediately wanted to invite HIS AchAryAL  Sri nammAzhwAr.
It is interpretted by some that by making one's Athma  *directly*
as "suddha satthva Athma" one can enjoy mOkshAnubavam  as similar
to nitya sooris in Srivaikundam.  Such interpretations  sometimes
mean ignoring AchAryA sambandham altogether for obtaining mOksham.
While  reading  the   term   suddha   sathvam  often   in    such
interpretation one should note that one cannot attain it by their
own efforts. Or else AzhwAr could have used some other means  for
"attaining suddha  sathva   AthmA"  and  could  have  avoided  an
AchAryAL  altogether.  AzhwAr  didnot merely interpret the thiruk
kArthigai deepam as one's own effort to make his athmA as "suddha
sathva AthmA.  He didnot  merely  sought  to  make  his  AthmA as
"suddha sathva AthmA" through "some other" means  or on  his  own
efforts. Though he is an  AzhwAr  himself in order to show us the
AchAryA thatthuvam he sought to Sri  nammAzhwAr, his  (mAnaseeka)
AchAryAL. Hence the presence of Sri Utthama nambi is  interpreted
by Sri thirumangai's  own "conduct" (of inviting Sri  nammAzhwAr).
The  interpretation  is  such that the sadAchAryA  sambhandam for
mOksham through prapatti  or saranagathi is very  important.

Srimadh Azhagiya singar thiruvadikaLE saraNam
Sri RanganAyikA samEtha Sri RangarAjan thiruvadikaLE saraNam
thiruk kudanthai Rengarajan

note: For a quick reference, please read from Bhakti archives  on
some simple meanings for Nambi written by adiyEn.
http://www2.be.com/~mani/bhakti/archives/may98/0124.html
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