Pearls of Wisdom ~ Azhaikindran Arangan Episode August 20th 2012

We will not like two types of people. We will not like the one who does not tell the good things we do to others. Likewise, we do not like one who always tells others about our mistakes. "I am doing so much good and see this fellow sitting next to me is not telling others about it. Can I tell myself? Should not this person tell someone something good about me. Then why is he with me", one usually thinks. Another person whom we don't like is one who keeps on advising us that this should not be done like this or that, not only would we not like the advise, we will even not like the person himself. By and large, people will keep association or talk with those who will say "yes" to all that they do. Even listening to music is not that great as being compared to hearing about ourselves proclaimed in front of others. This is the most sweetest of talks one likes to hear. 
"Who is like you, so great and good etc.,". If one is able to freely take on the mention about his doshams and wrong doings, that itself is a great gunam for one to have!. 

Azhwar starts with this pasuram very beautifully, "soodhanAi kalvanAgi dhoordharOdu esaindha kAlam mAdarAr kayarkanennum valayul pattu azhundhuvEnai pOdharE endru solli pundiyutpugundhu thanpAl Adaram perugavaiththa azhaganoor arangamandre"

The greatness of Perumal. 
Suppose there is a great person out there, one wonders as to "will he tell me about what will happen to me, the future happenings, rid me of my difficulties, if he touches, will I get some vibration. People will generally see only the mahimai or as to whether they will get some fame or money. But Azhwar says "azhagan oor". In the second pasuram, he dwells on the beauty of the perumal. He says that the place where this arangan is present is called the "azhagan oor". What did this azhagan do, in the kshetram called Tirumanangudi on the banks of the river Cauvery, that is where this azhwar manisfested. 

In the earlier pasuram, he describes about the life of a human. It is clear, that from the time of birth, man keeps on craving for food to satisfy his hunger. He craves for food and cries for food even. The new born child cries as well, with the lips movement for mothers milk. The newly born cries like anything for milk. While dying also, man cries for rice to be placed in his mouth. During birth, he cries for food likewise during death also, he cries for food. For some people being in ekadasi fasting, he will still cry as to how he will be without food for that single day. Not because of hunger, but he thinks, "why miss the food for that day". He will feel that this is a great loss, having lost food for a day. He is not able to relinquish this. 

In villages of yonder times, there will be a person who will come to blow into a coal stove, one side where there will be just the coal and from the other side, the heat will come out....this is called "thuruthi". Likewise, our body inhales and exhales air which is called "thuruthi" and for this, just like feeding the coal into the coal stove, we need to feed it the food. This whole body is just annamayakosham. The body grows mainly because of food. This body consisting of skeletons, flesh, blood, mind and the indriyas grows mainly because of food.

The azhwar, residing in Tirumanangudi and always being attached to the perumal has to perform a kainkaryam. This azhwar makes out a beautiful garland for the beautiful looking perumal and desires very much to perform kainkaryam. 

So he leaves his birth place of Tirumanangudi and comes to Srirangam itself. In the entrance of the temple along the river banks of Cauvery, he established a beautiful flower garden. In that garden he planted and grew various varieties of beautiful jasmine flowers, chaMpakaM, punnAgaM, ashokaM, saugandhigam, marikozhundhu, tulasi and saving them, he constructs a beautiful garland for the perumal to perform kainkaryam by presenting this at the temple. 

Just as Vishnuchittar did the flower kainkaryam in Srivilliputthur, this azhwar did the flower kainkaryam for Sri Ranganathar at Srirangam. He will get up early and perform the morning bath, japam, anustanam and singing the thiruppaLLiyezucchi as "kathiravan kuNathisaich sikaramvan thaNainthaan kanaviru LakanRathu kaalaiyam pozhuthaay, mathuvirin thozhukina maamala rellaam vaanava rarasar_kaL vanthuvan theeNdi, ethir_thisai niRainthana rivarodum pukuntha irunkaLiR Reettamum pidiyodu murasum, athir_thali lalaikadal pOnRuLa thenkum arankaththam maapaLLi yezhuntharu LaayE."

Like that he will do paLLiyezucchi for the perumal in the morning, and he will start to go for the kainkaryam, always in his mouth chanting bhagavannnama all the time. 

"rangesa mampahi rangesa mampahi rangesa mampahi ranganatha."

Going into the garden collecting some flowers and creepers, he will also remove the dried flowers, water all the creepers and plants, taking care not to breathe into the flowers, taking care not to sprinkle the saliva from his mouth, taking care not to let the hair fall from his head, he will carefully and neatly pluck the flowers. Some flowers are being plucked from the fragrant flowering trees like Shenbagam, jasmine from the creepers, some flowers from just the plants, some flowers from water like the Lotus, white Lotus. With these many varieties of flowers, he will offer them to the perumal. 

What should the bhagavan's devotee eat?. Whatever we eat, a part of it turns into the mind. So in order to keep the mind clean, a clean chittha, the first and foremost thing we need to do is to eat clean food. Our kitchen should be very clean, we need to clean our hands and prepare our food, there should be no garbage nearby, no cobwebs, the vessels we prepare food from should be washed very cleanly. With this kind of cleanliness, the body will be very healthy, however the mind will not. 

If the mind needs to be clean the quantities of salt, sour, spicy food should be very very less at all costs, not only that we should do "thiruvAradhanam" of this food to the perumal. If perumal acknowledges this food offered unto him, this sadham (food) becomes prasadham (prasad). If we eat this prasadam, in our chittam, there will be very good thoughts. Even if we go to some foreign place, we should mentally offer this food to Lord Ranganathar, atleast, in the mind we should offer and this habit should be developed and come to us everyday. Even if we go to another house, though, we are a guest there, we should make it a habit of first showing the food to the perumal in their pooja room and then only eat. Such a practice should come and for this, only then  we will get chitta suddhi. 

In the nandavanam, having put up a tent, azhwar will go to the temple to perform kainkaryam. He will not prepare food in his tent, but he will instead eat the food offered as prasadam in the temple for his daily meal. Because he needs to perform seva to the perumal and needs strength, he will eat the prasadam offered. He will always be performing namasankeerthanam all the time, although there are several namas already in the Thirumazhai, the ashtakshara mantram is always "Narayana". But in this Thirumazhai, Govinda nama prabhavam is being told. A name containing 3 letters from which "Kathira bandhu paraangathi kandukondan!" is also being told. 

In the Thiruppavai, as told by nacchiAr even amongst the 12 pasurams, whence the 12 namams is being prominently said, its the name of "Govinda" that nacchiAr has used 3 times repeatedly in the Thiruppavai.

The nama of Narayana tells about the paratattvam whereas the nama of Govindam tells about the saulabhyam. The greatness of the perumal is that of being a cowherd, not as a vaikuntapathi. What is the perumai, being a vedhavedhyan, being in ksheerabdhi this is something that has been confirmed in the upanishads, but HE, who has come as a cowherd to tend to the cows as "Govinda" is far more greater. Similarly varaha perumal has a name called Govinda, Go - meaning earth, lifting the earth and keeping it upright and therefore called he is called "Govindan". Even Ramar also is called "Govindan" as he ruled the earth. But for Krishna being called "Govinda" is not just because he tended to the cows, but also at the anger of Indra when there was this thunderous rain aimed at destroying the whole clan of Gokul, our Lord Krishna with just his little finger and being just a 7 year old lad, lifted the huge mountain and protected the inhabitants of Gokula. What more prominence can be said about the bhagavan than this?

Everyone comes and does saranagathi now as there is flood everywhere and everyone has come out, even the cows and animals have all come out to kutti Krishna and perform saranagathi - Govindam sharanam yayu! The bhagavan sees such great faith in them. It was only the bhagavan himself who did not want to perform the yaagam, he did not want to, mainly because he wanted to destroy the ego of Lord Indra. Everyone can blame and say that only because of you, krishna, all this flood has come, cant they? They did not, instead they believed in the faith that the lord will protect them. The little Krishna with just his little finger lifted the great mountain. When we lift even a bag, the arms stretch and the weight is visible in the face. But 7 year old krishna, while lifting the huge mountain, he  did not even stretch a bit or show the difficulty in any part of his body. The smile (mandahasam) in his face never faded and what can be said of HIS greatness and therefore he is called "Govindan", having saved the inhabitants of Gokula from Lord Indran's fury. This name as "Govinda Pattabhishekam" is conferred by Lord Indra himself. While this is happening, the cow kamadhenu comes running and says that until now, I was with Indra, but now will not go to him anymore. Why because, this same Indra has tried to destroy the cows and calves in Gokula and how can I stay with him now. Since its you, krishna, who saved my dynasty, I will live with one who saved the cows. Also Airavata, the elephant of Indra bought the akasa ganga. With the milk of the Kamadhenu cow, Lord Indra registers the name for ever "Govinda" performing the pattabhishekham. Therefore azhwar, in all the pasurams always tells the greatness of the Govinda nama. In the name of "Govinda" itself, the bhagavan has lots of love.

Even when eating, taking bath, walking, living life, always by telling the name of "Govinda", no sins will get attached to him as told in the sastras. Therefore, in the Thirumazhai, it's the greatness of the Govinda nama which is being told much. Thus it is being said in the pasuram "soodhanAi kalvanAgi dhoordharOdu esaindha kAlam", the azhwar as if telling his own charithram, has made this pasarum beautifully.

Subham!
Radhe Radhe
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