Thirumaalai(57)

Sri Parthasarathi thunai,

Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha

 

“ Mattrondrum vEinda 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”

 

Pranams,

 

Paasuram-37 (contd)

 

eliyathOr arulum andrE en thiraththu empirAnAr:  Alwar called emperuman
to be everything but shouldn’t emperumAn accept the same?  Yes he does. 
Since emperuman is waiting for such an opportunity to accept the
jeevatmas.  Like a parent who accepts their child irrespective of the
deficiencies in the child, emperuman also accepts the jeevatmas as his own
irrespective of our papams.  Even before we realize like alwar and call
him our only bandhu emperuman showers all his krupai on all of us.

 

Bhagavan in geetha says, “abhichet tu durAchAraha:”(I accept even those
who are filled with bad characters).  He proved the same in Ramayana
when he accepted guhan and Hanuman without thinking them to be “Azhai
Adhalan keezhmagan”(poor, lowly born person etc) or “vAdhamAmagan
margadam”(an animal, that too a monkey).  When bhagavan who was such an AchAra
seela in rAmAvatAram accepts everyone without looking into any of the
above criteria and keep them close to him will he not accept us too? 

 

Though I am a simple, lowly person still I wish that emperuman should
shower his divine grace on me, says alwar.

 

aliyan nam paiyal ennAr ammavO! kodiyavArE!:  Alwar says, “what I
really want is, perumal to call me “nam paiyal” (he is my boy).  But what to
say about my fate?” laments alwar.  When someone goes to perumal and
asks, whom this alwar was? Shouldn’t perumal reply that he is my boy?
Thinks alwar.  If perumal says so that is the ultimate.  Then we all will
gain extra energy.  We feel proud of many things in this world, but the
actual pride lies in belonging to emperuman only.  The unfortunate part
is we jeevatmas do not realize this, instead we make perumal, the
supreme being to beg in front of us.  In Ramayana, perumal says,
”tavAsmeethicha yAchathE”(Cant you all say once, that I belong to you?). 

 

What a sad part this is?  We are all incapable and are into innumerable
miseries and hence destined to beg him for help but the whole thing is
totally reversed and perumal begs us to come and help us out in some
way.  We jeevatmas are very strong in not letting him to help us, out of
this samsAra sAgaram.  Here we have to get to our memory the dialogue
between the jeevatma and namperumal beautifully portrayed by Sri
parAsara bhattar, which is delivered as kattiyam even today before the
thirumanjanam to namperumal.

 

But here alwar is not like the other jeevatmas instead he wants to
become a belonging of emperuman and hence begs for the same.  Alwar
considers him to be a beggar and emperuman, a king.  Will it be very difficult
for a king to give some money for a beggar?  Similarly, alwar just
wants the kataksham of emperuman.  Alwar wants the abimAnam alone.  This is
the actual saranagatha svaroopam.  Here one important thing has to be
noted.  Who should have the abhimAnam?  Is our thinking of perumal to be
ours (emperuman) important or is it the perumal’s abhimAnam on us more
important?  In this paasuram alwar clearly states that it is perumal’s
abhimAnam on us, which is the most important (aliyan nam paiyal ennAr). 
If we have a pet in our house, at one time we may get angry and kick
the dog out but the dog never leaves our feet.  It always stays with us. 
A saranAgathan should be like that dog.  Why does the dog do so?  That
is because the person who kicked the dog now earlier proudly said that
the dog is ‘my dog’ equal to saying ‘my child’.  So the dog respects
the man’s abhimAnam towards it and hence always stays in his feet
irrespective of his anger.  Inturn the person likes the dog’s abhimanam on him
to be its master.

 

In our guru paramparai, there is one interesting story.  One person
came to thirukkanamangai aandan and questioned if perumal will give moksha
if just a person does saranAgathi and sits without doing anything? 
Aandan wanted to explain to the person in an appropriate manner and hence
kept quiet for that time.  Another person came with his dog to aandan’s
house.  All 3 were sitting outside aandan’s house and were chatting. 
Suddenly a street dog came and started barking at the pet dog.  The
owner of the dog immediately threw his stick on the street dog and
protected his pet.  Now aandan turned to the first person and said if this man
who is in possession of this dog just for the past few days and has not
much use of the dog has so much abhimanam towards the dog and runs to
its rescue will not perumal who is sarva loka rakshakan and our bandhu
in all janmas, not save the saranagathan who believe that emperuman is
everything and is always waiting only for his krupai? 

 

The same thing has been expressed by alwar in the above paasuram.

 

AzhwAr emberumAnAr jeeyar thiruvadigaLE saraNam

Adiyen Ramanuja Dasyai

Sumithra Varadarajan