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Thirumaalai-1

From the Bhakti List Archives

varadarajan_tcs • Wed May 22 2002 - 14:47:46 PDT 


Sri Parthasarathi thunai,
Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha

Pranams,

By the divine grace of the Sriya:pathi Sriman Narayanan let us all 
now enjoy the beautiful meanings in the Prabhandam of Sri 
Thondaradipodi Alwar's, THIRUMAALAI.  Adiyen's posting will
be based 
on the upanyasams of Sri Sri Krishna Premi anna on Thirumalai based 
on Sri Periyavaachan Pillai's Vyakhyanam.  This is a great task
which 
adiyen hopes to complete successfully by the divine grace of Sri 
Parthasarathi emperuman.  I beg the pardon of the members for any 
errors which may arise due to adiyen's ignorance and lack of 
knowledge.

" Mattrondrum Venda Maname Madhilarangar
  Kattrinum meitha kazhalinai keezh- uttra
  Thirumaalai paadum seer Thondaradipodi Emperumaanai
  Eppozhudum peesu"

" Srimat Krishna samahvaya Namo yaamuna soonave 
  yetkadakshai kalakshyanam sulabha: Sridara: sadaa"

The charitram of Sri Thondaradi podigal is known to all.  Emperuman 
played his leela on this Alwar and changed Vipra Narayanan to Sri 
Thondaradi podi Alwar.  After experiencing the hardship due to the 
kama of worldly pleasures alwar realizes the ultimate joy In bhagavat 
vishayam.  This is the summary of the prabhandham we are going to 
talk about.  Book knowledge is valid only to a  level, experience is 
absolute.  When even for a lowkika job experience is asked for.  
Similarly to attain  kainkarya of bhagavan in paramapadam also we 
need experience in this world on the same.  Alwar thus advices us to 
fall under the divine feet of emperuman, telling us his experience of 
miseries in this world and also the joy he got from bhagavat 
bhaagavata sheshatvam. Let us all plunge into the divine arthas of 
the prabhandham.

When there are so many other prabhandhams why chose Thirumaalai. Let 
us just look into this first.  This prabhandam is not very short like 
Amalanaadhipiran  nor is it very big like Thiruvaimozhi or Periya 
thirumozhi.  It is a prabhandam which is short and sweet in easy 
tamil.  But since I say easy tamil it doesn't mean  the standard
of 
tamil is less, it is in Sanga Tamizh only.  Any person born in this 
world as a Tamizhan that too a Srivaishnavan should surely byheart 
this prabhandham.  It is not difficult , even a small child can 
byheart this very easily.  Within this small prabhandham alwar gives 
almost all the essential arthas.  It doesn't contain Vedanta like 
Thiruchandavirutham but contains all the necessary arthas for the 
upliftment for any jeevatma. Alwar talks the parathvam of emperuman 
in such a superb manner that we can say  no other alwar has so 
explicitly talked about the same.  Though this prabhandam is 
basically to prove only the thirunAma magimai.  Alwar talks about the 
govinda nAma at large.  Suddenly the alwar gets involved in the divya 
mangala vigraham of the bhagavan when he says "pachaimaamalai pol 
Meni" etc. Then he does Jnana and vairakya upadesam to samsaris
like 
us.  He also condemns the durmathangal and establishes the vaideka 
matham that too the vaishnava matham . Then he preaches bhakthi and 
prapatti.  He even teaches us how to sing/cry in front of the 
bhagavan whole heartedly("Voorilane Kaaniyillai vuravu 
mattroruvarellai"). He gives us the jist of how a bhagavat
bhaktha 
should be.

Sri Periyavaachan Pillai whose glory cannot be explained with words 
has  given an excellent vyakhyanam to this prabhandam.  When we read 
alwar's prabhandam we feel that we understand the meaning(due to the 
easy tamil used by alwar) but when we go through the vyakhyanam of 
Sri PVP we will surely find many more arthas(inner meanings) that can 
never strike our mandha bhuddhi. That is why our acharyas always talk 
only with respect to the vyakhyanams  and others who talk as they 
feel are considered as moorkhas.  As Sri Mamunigal says
"Thanjenjil thoondrinadhaye solli edu suttha upadesa vaarthai enbaar 
moorkaraavar".  

We all think that we are undergoing so much miseries in this world .  
Very often people curse bhagavan to have put us into such 
difficulties and think what ever effort they do is great but actually 
emperuman undergoes more pain by seeing his children suffering and 
tries to take us out of this in some way or the other.  But we 
samsaris stick to the world and refrain from even going near 
bhagavan.  Even though Emperuman is Sathya sankalpan and has all 
divine qualities we prove to be more powerful and so we make it a 
point not to give bhagavan even a small chance to release us from 
this samsarakadal.  As she Nammazhvar said we prefer to eat and say 
here itself("atthai thindru ange kidakkum").
So Sri PVP starts his avadharikai asking who is a samsari?  Why does 
PVP ask such a question?  He could have asked who is a Jnani who is a 
Nityasoori etc since we cannot find many Jnani here or a Nitya soori 
but why does he ask who is a samsari?  We will find the answer to 
this in the next posting.

Adiyen Ramanuja Dasyai
Sumithra Varadarajan




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