For the bhagavath bhakthas, certain siddhis will arise and this is normal. Even though they do not desire for such siddhis but due to their bhagavath bhakthi, such siddhis automatically are bestowed upon them. The siddhis that happen for an yogi and the siddhis that happen for a bhaktha are the same. The only difference is that for the yogi the siddhis came only due to their effort at attaining them but for bhakthars such siddhis automatically come to them purely based upon bhagavath kripa. One person having worked day and night and saving the money by spending very less becomes a rich man. What is the reason for one becoming a rich man? It is because of his hard work day and night.
Not only that he reduced his expenses and being stingy has saved money and therefore become a rich man. Like this also certain people become rich. For some, suddenly someone gives them a lot of money and next instant they become very rich. Both are rich but the difference is the way they became rich. One got by obtaining it and for the other automatically happened all by itself.
Not only that he reduced his expenses and being stingy has saved money and therefore become a rich man. Like this also certain people become rich. For some, suddenly someone gives them a lot of money and next instant they become very rich. Both are rich but the difference is the way they became rich. One got by obtaining it and for the other automatically happened all by itself.
His or her grandfather were very rich and once they died all their inheritance and property came to them. This is the same difference we can see between the yogi and the bhakthas. An yogi would do prAnayama and control his breath, try as much as he can to control his breath sitting up straight with asana siddhi. Like we sit straight usually, this is called sukAsanam. If we sit putting the right leg up, it is called the veerAsanam. If we sit by putting up both legs then it is called padmAsanam. If we switch over the padmAsanam in a different way then it is called banthapadmAsanam. Likewise asanams like the peacock, crow - mayUrAsanam. If one sits in such asanams the mind will become stand still says the yogasastram. While performing dhyanam one must fold both the hands intertwined together says the dhyAnasastrams. There are dhyAnams with chinmudra, keeping fingers of both hands in chinmudra on either sides. In the body five pranas travel in different directions as said in our sastras. The prana going up the body, down the body, prana going around the body - pranan, apanan, dhyanan, udanan, samanan. How this pranan can be controlled is described in the sastra called prAnAyAma. Just like how an obstinate horse is being brought under control. Nadi siddhi is the term used for the control of the prana going inside or outside of the body. If the prana can be kept under control inside the body then it is called the antarmukha kumbakam. Prana should be taken out and not brought in for a period of time which is called bahirmukhakumbakam. Again in hata yoga, dhyAnam will be performed keeping all the five indriyas under control. Like some child keeps making tantrums and is obstinate on wanting something, we say "hatam" or "pidivAtham". So controlling the pranam with a pidivAtham is called hata yOgam. With hata yOgam, one can fly in the air, walk on water, whatever thing one needs can be got in hand. But there is no relationship to all this with the bhagavan. Bhagavan wont be seen with all this and is there mukthi with this not at all. But such siddhis do exist. In the siddhis the astamAsiddhi is the most famous. One making himself very small or very big, heavy or light, giving different images to different people by sitting in a single place. Also in dhanur vidya it is said that one can become invisible to the other. Being able to look inside the earth and tell what is inside. Like this there are so many siddhis. After reading and seeing so many people, I have found that there are so many siddhis and so many varieties, no one can understand what all this is. It will be amazing that all these can be done. But 8 of the siddhis among them are very famous also called as ashtamaha siddhi. Finding what others are thinking with their minds, what happens in a far off place, these are also some siddhis. For bhagavath bhakthas such siddhis come on their own primarily due to the kripa of the bhagavan. The great thing is that even with having such siddhis come to them automatically, they choose to ignore them and dont care about these.
To the home of a bhakthar, an yogiswarar came and due to the power of yoga he had acquired many siddhis. Looking at the bhakthar being poor and always performing bhagavath bhakthi and bhajan, the yogi thought that this bhakthar being such a good person with so much bhakthi not having any siddhis. He assumed that is the reason why this bhakthar was poor. If at all he had some siddhi, then he could have used this with the people and earned some money with that, the yogi thought. Since the bhakthar being a good man, the yogi thought that he could teach a couple of siddhis. He called the bhaktha and told him that he could teach a siddhi that will suddenly in the presence of people show him to be as huge as an elephant. With another siddhi by controlling the prana and all that, you can suddenly reduce to the size of a mosquito and can dissappear. The bhaktha asked why should one struggle so much becoming an elephant or controlling the prana to become the size of a mosquito, if one just does some papas it is enough. If one does lots of papams itself one can be born as a elephant, cat or a mosquito. The bhakthar then says he might have been born as an elephant or a mosquito and might have taken many such births and only because of the bhagavan nama not having borne fruit, I am being born as a human and says that siddhis are not very amazing and likewise offers advise to the yogishwarar.
One bhagavatha has sung lots of songs on Sri Ranganathar called thiruarangatHu-andAdi, thiruarangatHu-mAlai, thiruaranga-kazhambakam, thiruranga-nAyakiUsal, thiruvenkata-mAlai, thiruvenkatu-andhAdhi, azhagar-andhAdhi, 108 thirupathi-andhAdhi, vaikuntanAtharsannidhi like this many many granthams have been made as well. There also has been a grantham made combining all the 8 books and has been named as ashtaprabhandham. Also another grantham has been made by the name of parabrahmavivEkam. Who made all this? His name was pillaiperumal iyengar, though his parents named him as azhagiyamanavazhadAsar. He was an expert in both sanskrit and tamil language as well as well versed in the knowledge of the sastras. He would write lots of poems and books. In those days the kings were great lovers of art and poetry. Wherever they could find these vidwans, they would be invited to the court of these kings as they thought that it would give respect and prominence to the court. In the court of the king, say for example there would be lots of people who would be experts in music, people adept in speaking would also be present, those who have read the sastras will be there, those who know the art of dance, advisors to the king will be there, advisors on how to run the kingdom will be present etc. All these people will form part of the court of the king. A king does not mean that he will just be sitting on the throne all by himself. In the kings darbar, there will a lot of art performances, dance performances, debates held by vidwans. Then the king will say a first word and ask for a poem beginning with that and likewise with the last word, he will ask a poem to be formed. He will give a thing and ask a poem on that. Given a poem he will ask what is the thing it represents. Given a first part of the sentence, he will ask for its completion. Like this all vidwans will be encouraged. Encouraging their talents and that is what the king will do. Pillaiperumal iyengar being an adept in many arts, the king had given him a big place in his court. He had so much bhakthi towards Sri Ranganathar with much bhakthi towards periyaperumal. Having performed raja sevai and being a well educated vidwan, knowing all languages including tamil, possessing the intelligence to write poetry. Like this one day when the darbar was going on in the raja sabha, pillaiperumal iyengar says "oh my god, there is a chariot festival happening in srirangam" and was speaking to himself. "Perumal is coming in a chariot..." like that as if he is seeing it live in front of himself. Whilst the perumal is on the chariot, the person holding the torch has now come very closer, like this he kept narrating to himself. Because the torch bearer has come very close to the chariot, the cloth has caught on fire he then said. He then brings his upper garment down on the fire as if putting out the fire and says thankfully he has now put out the fire. People watching all this started wondering if anything has happened to him or he has gone mad. Next day they go to the king to let him know all this that had happened in the raja sabha the other day. On enquiring, the king found that all these details were exactly correct and on that particular day, perumal was being brought out in the chariot. Then to find out if indeed the cloth had caught fire inside the chariot on that day, the king sent out a person to find out. He came to know that it had indeed happened exactly as described. The king is amazed and then sending another person, he asked him to find out how they put out the fire. Through him he came to know how in the thiraichAlai of the perumal chariot, the fire was put out with the upper garment cloth of pillaiperumal iyengar. They told that in fact pillai perumal iyengar was very much present there and he took out his upper garment and put out the fire. The king could not believe all this and having found that pillaiperumal iyengar was indeed present in his court on that exact date and time. Not one or two people but everyone present there mentioned that pillaiperumal iyengar was with the rathOthsavam and accompanied them throughout the festivities. The king was afraid that this pillaiperumal iyengar could be a mahapurushar and since he had only thought of him as an ordinary poet or vidwan, now he came to know him as a mahapurushar and wondered that keeping him in employment would be a risk. If he did something or said anything contrary or unknowingly said something wrong to this person it would become a bhAgavatha apachAram. Then the king gets a dream in which pillaiperumal iyengar after having his bath in the river cauvery goes to the sannidhAnam of Sri Ranganathar to see HIM, and in that dream the king finds that pillaiperumal iyengar never returns back after that. The next day the king calls pillaiperumal iyengar and tells him that without knowing his bhakthi and greatness he had kept him in employment thinking him to be just an ordinary poet or vidwan. "What a great bhagavath bhakthar are you?", he exclaimed, "If I have unknowingly committed any wrong towards you, please excuse me. If you need anything from me, I am ready to offer my services". Pillaiperumal then asks of the king that he needs a permanent place in the temple of the periyaperumal, within the temple of Sri Ranganathar temple itself. The king becomes very happy on hearing this and then makes all the necessary arrangements and accommodation for him. A song that pillaiperumal iyengar had sung on Sri Ranganathar rathOthsavam is still known to all and practiced in a pracheena way in the temple of Srirangam even today."onrum ariAtha umaikAl thenarangar indru thiruthEril yErinAr..." As bhagavan is coming in the rathOthsavam, he says to all the bhakthas and rangavAsikas in Srirangam if you desire the vaikuntam then catch hold of the chariot here. "nindru vadam pidikka vArungazh vaikunta nAttil idam pidikkam enrakAl" and the bhagavan being very pleased with this poem, appeared as thiruvenkatamudayan and asked for these songs to be written and took it, that is why it is called thiruvenkatu-andhAdhi and thiruvenkata-mAlai. Today if we go and see the Sri Ranganathar koil, in the then pakkam near the rajamahendran thiruchutrizh there is a big picture of the thiruvenkatamudayan. At exactly this place our pillaiperumal was given darshan by thiruvenkatamudayan. From that we come to know that he had written the thiruvenkatu-andhAdhi thiruvenkata-mAlai. Then in the AzhinAdar thiruchutrizh in the kelakku pakkam a cow came and hit him he attained the paramapadam. The information that it will happen so was already known to pillaiperumal iyengar as well which is the greatness of it all.
Subham
Radhe Radhe
Read more translations of the other episodes at: http://aranganinarumai.blogspot.com/
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