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Thiruppavai Acharya Param - I

From the Bhakti List Archives

Mohan Sagar • January 13, 2003 


Our Acharyas teach us that Andal's 30 sweet verses of Thiruppavai are
the seed of the Veda, the very essence of the all of the Vedic texts,
Upanishads, ItihAsas, and PurAnas.  Needless to say, Thiruppavai's
literal meaning, which in and of itself is very beautiful, really only
touches the surface of the vast depth of the poem and the levels of
spiritual experience that are contained within it.

While most traditional studies of Thiruppavai center on its revelations
about the nature of the jeeva and Sriman Narayana, one unique
explanation brings out what is considered to be the most important
aspects of Sri Vaishnavam, the relationship of the spiritual seeker with
the AchArya, the spiritual Teacher.

Sri VPS Varadhan, a respected scholar and devotee of Kanchipuram who is
currently visiting his family in the USA, has been blessed to learn this
Acharya param understanding of Thiruppavai as revealed by the revered
Sri P B Annangaracharya Swamy, and has been very kind to share this with
all of us in a weekly series of teleupanyAsams.

This is a crude attempt to summarize the wisdom contained in Sri Varadan
Swamy's talks.  I humbly seek forgiveness from Sri Varadan Swamy and all
other devotees for any inadvertent errors in these words, which are
solely due to my own ignorance.

Sri Varadan began his series with an examination of the pAsuram that is
considered to be the essence of Thiruppavai, mArgazhi thingal:

mArgazhith thingal madi nirainda nannAlAl
nIrAdap pOduvIr pOdumino: nErizhaiyIr
sIrmalgum AyappAdi selvachchiru mIrgAl
kUrvEl kodunthozhilan nandagOpan kumaran
ErAranda kanni yasOdai iLam singam
kArmEnichchengan kadir madiyam pOl mugaththAn
nArAyananE namakkE parai tharuvAn
pArOr pugazhap padind  ElOr empAvAi

'ma:rgazhith thingal madi nirainda nannAlAl'  - the month of mArgazhi is
auspicious because it defines the mArgam, the Way.  Good days have come
to those who recognize the AchArya as being the Way.  It is important to
note here that since all Sri Vaishnava AchAryas identify themselves as
being merely the instrument to the Feet of Bhagavad Sri Ramanuja, the
term "AchArya" in this discourse can in fact be interchanged with the
name of our True AchArya, EmperumAnAr, Sri Ramanuja.

'nIrAdap pOduvIr pOdumino: nErizhaiyIr' - Neerattam, sacred bathing, is
mentioned several times in Thiruppavai.  This bathing is a metaphor for
immersing  ourselves in the Divine Experience of the AchArya and his
teachings.  Because of the AchArya's compassion for this world, the
opportunity to immerse ourselves in His Wisdom is open to anyone and
everyone, irrespective of race, caste, or gender; this is implied by the
term 'pOduvIr pOdumino:'

' sIrmalgum AyappAdi selvachchiru mIrgAl' - Ayyapadi is more than just
Brindavana, it is this Universe, this samsAram.  The wealthy girls that
Andal says reside there are a treasure to this Universe, for they are
the mumukshus, the prapannas, those who strive to surrender to the
Lord.  It is these people, the devout seekers of God, who bring the
wisdom of the AchAryas to this world.  To describe what is offered by
the AchArya to these rare souls, the term  'nArAyananE namakkE parai
tharuvAn' can be mentioned here:

'nArAyananE namakkE parai tharuvAn' - Possessing all wonderful
qualities, the AchArya is the personification of Sriman Narayana's Grace
to all those who know him to be the Way, and who seek to serve him and
learn from him in spite of living in this world of ignorance.  It is
this Acharya, who through his blessings, provides them with all the
material things needed for life in this world, and also the paratma
jnAnam (knowledge of the Supreme Being) and sambhanda jnAnam (knowledge
of our Eternal Connection to Him) that make them qualified to be
receptacles to His Grace and Compassion.

'kUrvEl kodunthozhilan nandagOpan kumaran'  - 'kUrvel kodun thozhilan'
refers to the AchArya's grace coming to us in the form of the
panchasamskAram, the five-fold sacrament that initiates one into the
fold of SriVaishnavas.  One of these sacraments is the investment with
the sacred symbols of Sriman Narayana, the Sankham (the conch) and the
Chakram (the discus), which the AchArya places upon the devotee's
shoulders with two hot iron disks.  These are likened to the sharp spear
of Nandagopan.  And, just as Sri Krishna is loved by his father,
Nandagopan, unconditionally, without any effort on His own part, the
nirhEtuka kripai of Sriman Narayana (His Unconditional Love) comes to us
in the form of the AchArya to redeem us, without any effort on our
part.   The term 'kumaran' refers to the AchAryas spiritual strength to
retain and impart the wisdom of the Veda and Divya Prabhandam, which is
likened to the spritely strength of a young person.

'ErAranda kanni yasOdai iLam singam'  - The term 'kan' refers to wisdom,
which the AchArya has in abundance.  The term 'kanni' can also mean
mAlas, garlands, in reference to the sacred garlands that the AchArya
adorns while serving the Lord, and while sharing his wisdom with all of
us through his upanyAsams (discourses).  The AchArya is likened to
Yashoda, Sri Krishna's mother, because just as she was able to directly
experience Him and all His Divine Activities, he has also fully immersed
himself in the Divine Experience of Him.  The AchArya is both like a
lion, majestic and commanding, and yet like a little one, easily
accessible and approachable to all those seeking to learn the Eternal
Truth.

kArmEnichchengan kadir madiyam pOl mugaththAn - The teachings of the
AchArya are straight and direct, not crooked with contradictions and
errors.  The eyes of the AchArya are reddish because they are filled
with tears of compassion for the world.  His skin is described to be
dark in complexion, because, from his ever-constant meditation on Him,
he has taken on Sriman Narayana's Own qualities.  The AchArya is cool
like the moon when expounding on Bhagavad vishayam, divya prabhandam,
and all other sacred texts that reveal to us the Eternal Truth of the
Supreme Lord.  Yet, he is hot-tempered like the sun to those who are
apathetic to Sriman Narayana, and approach him only for the fulfilment
of selfish desires.

'pArOr pugazhap padind  ElOr empAvAi'  - If we simply serve and follow
the AchArya faithfully, everyone in this world will praise us!

--Continued--

adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan
Mohan



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