Footnote to bhishma-stuthi-15
From the Bhakti List Archives
• July 9, 1997
Dear "bhakti" members, I have received from a dear and respected member (who does not wish to be known) a most precious "feed-back" --- it fills me with extreme delight and in fact awe too ! He has referred to the following 2 passages from "bhishma-stuthi-15" : ************************************ "....Psychologists have shown that the development of a child's cognitive and discriminative faculties first begins with its ability to "mentally perceive" objects by "naming" them. Otherwise the world of objects would make no sense to to the tender mind of a child without "names", "names" and "names" being taught to it ! It is with the aid of "names" that a toddler slowly comes to terms with the external world around it." ".....without the aid of the Lord's many "nAmA-s" -- like "vijaya-sakhE" in the "bhishma-stuthi" for instance -- without "nAmA-s" that help us in realizing or "sensing" His Identity and His Reality, the world of religious ideas or mystical experience that our great "AchAryA-s" have created for our benefit, and which is far more complex and mysterious than the ordinary world in which we live, would indeed appear even "darker, more unreal, disturbing and incomprehensible" to us!! ****************************************** The dear member who wrote privately to me has suggested that the above two passages are really "only vague echoes" of a verse from Sri.Tondar-adi-podi Alwar's "tirumAlai" --- Verse # 11 --- and hence should carry it as a valuable "footnote": oru-villAl Ongu munnIradaithu ullangagal-uyya cheruvilE arakkar-kOnai settra namsevakanAr maruviya periyakOyil madhiL tiruvarangamenAk karuvilE tiruvilAdhIr kAlatthai kazhikkinrIrE ! The member has pointed out to me that the words "periyakOyil mathiL tiruvarangamenAk karuvilE tiruvilAdhIr kAlatthai kazhikkinrIrE ...." clearly state that "one shouldn't even wait to be born as a child to recite or utter the Holy "nAmA" of Ranga; one should proceed forthwith to do so even while one is a "karuvi" i.e. even while one is an embryo or foetus in a mother's womb!!". I am simply amazed at this members's astute ear and sense for the "alwAr's" real "anubhavam" !!! I can never thank this gentleman enough for pointing out to me how the above two passages of mine in my own post are really "only vague echoes" of what our great Saint Tondar-adi-podi sang many centuries ago !! Sir, I simply admire you and take my hat off to you !!! One little "feed-back" like the one given me now is enough !! It will keep me going in my efforts for many, many days !! Thank you, indeed, very, very much !! adiyEn/dAsan sudarshan
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