SrI:
Dear Srimathy Jayashree Saranathan :
It is delightful to read your welcome
reflections
on the Concept of Kula Dhaivam .
The Kulam that we all have in mind is
VaishNava Kulam in all its elaborate coverage
including every one ( anya DEvathAs as well
).
AzhwAr has rightfully said " Kulam Tarum
,
Selvam tanatidum " about the power of
His mantram .
In my mind , our Oppiliappan and Lord VenkatEsan is
one and the same since our PerumAL is celebrated as
" JyEshta BrAtaa " of Thirumalai SrinivAsan .
The situation is like " Pazham Nazhuvi Paalil
VizhunthAr pOlE " for us . Therefore ,
Oppiliappan is
Yennappan , Ponnappan , MaNiyappan , Mutthappan and
ThiruviNNagar sErnta appan . " KaanminkaL ulaheer
yenRu
KaNNmuhappE nimirntha " PerumAn , YengaLappan
.
For Saint ThyagarAja , Raamachandran is sakalam
.
For LeelAsukhar , KrishNan is sakalam and He asked
Raamachandran to set aside His KOdhaNdam for
few minutes , take on VeNu in His hands and present
Himself
for recieving his AarAdhanam . For Srimath Azhagiya
Singars ,
Lord Narasimhan is sarvasvam . For Swamy Desikan
Lord VaradarAjan of Hasti SailAgram is
his " VAsthu Paithaamaham dhanam".
Let us enjoy the special Bhaandhavyam of
Saint ThyagarAja , who described His
relationship
to Ramachandra succinctly : " NeevEraa Kula dhanamu ,
NeevEraa Jeevanamu
".
Let us reflect on some of the other declarations
by Saint ThyagarAjA in this context :
1. Yamunaa KalyANi Krithi: " NaarAyaNa Hari
"
" Oh Raamachandra ! I am caught up in Your
grip
( as my Kula dhaivam).Let my eyes be fixed upon
your refined beauty and my heart be transported
with Joy".
2. Kannada Raagam : "idhE bhAgyamu
"
" This alone is the real blessedness to be
coveted--to worship incessantly at Your
lotus feet with the whole heart ( as my Kula
dhaivam
and Kula Dhanam) .
3. Raagam SupOshiNi: Kriti :
RamainchuvArEvaruraa?
" Oh RaghUttamaa! Who is there among the
beings
in the whole universe , who can trasport one to
transcendental joy but You ( my KUla
dhaivam ) ?
4. Raagam PantuvarALi : Kriti :
SaaramEgAni
About he power of the Kula dhanam's name
:
" saaramEgAni anyamArga vichAramEDikE
?"
Oh Mind! Raama naama alone is the precious
thing worthy to be coveted . Why bother
with
others 9 other thoughts) ?
5. The power of the Kula dhaivam's name
:
" Raama ! Raghukula jalanidhi
Soma !
lOkAbhirAma ! ---SaraNAgata jana rakshaka
!
DhAnta! SeetA Kaanta ! KaruNA svAnta
!
It is not possible for me to
describe
the joy one derives from the chanting
of
Your name ( inta soukhyamani nE jeppajAla )
.
"smaraNE sukhamu Raama Naama
",
" dhyAnamE varameina GangA snAnamu
( The dhyAnam of my Kula dhaivam's
name is itself the most efficacious
Bath in the holy GangA ) .
6. The uniqueness of his kula dhaivam
as his AarAdhana Murthy :
" VaadEraa dhaivamu manasaa !
( Oh My mind ! He alone is my God ).
" UndEdhi RaamudOkaduyUraka chEdipOku
manasaa " ( There is Raama , the One Lord !
Oh my mind ! do not get needlessly
ruined by
seeking after others)
7. Balahamsa Raagam : Kriti: Raama
yEva
dhaivatam "
Raama alone is my God .
8.Raama ! nee samAnamevaru
?
( Raama! Who is there equal to You ?).
KalyANi Raagam :
9.Kaaru vlpulu neeku sarikaaru ?
Oh Raama! No God of this
universe
can be equal to You .
10. In a Chaayaa tarangini raaga krithi
,
this Raama bhakthA asks : " Is happiness
possible of attainment thru other Gods ?
Oh Raama! to me, whose mind ,
without
harbouring any prejudices against other
faiths ,
is constantly and passionately in love with You
!
10. AtaaNaa / KaDDu jEsinAvu ; Raama Bhandhu
!
" You have cast the prohibitory spell
of
"Raama Bhandhu " on me , preventing me
from
straying into numerous other faiths
claiming
allegiance to other gods .
11. Bilahari : Naa JeevAdhAramu !
" Oh the prop of my Life ! Oh RaamA
!
You are the fruit of my penance , the
brilliance
of my eyes , the fragrance of my nose
,
the embodiment of the letters that I chant ,
You are the flower of my worship
.
12. Yadhukula KaambhOji: Nee dayachE
Raama
nityAnandhadhaiti
"Oh Raama ! By Your grace , I have attained
the everlasting bliss !
13. VaraaLi Raagam : Dharanu nee
saridhaivamu
gaanaraa Raghuvara !
" I have not found in this universe a God like You
.
Oh RaghuveerA ! --Your blessed feet are the
sole
object of my meditation and Your mercy
is
my wealth and eternal bliss !
14. Hari KaambhOji : YentarAni
" Whatever may come to me or go
away
from me , I will never allow myself to
be
seperated from YOu .
15. NaagasvarAvaLi Raagam : " SrIpathE
!"
" Oh Sripati ! Meditation on Your holy feet is
the very life and sustenance to the bright -hearted
ThyAgarAja !
16. In a most beautiful Raama Priyaa krithi
,
ThyagarAja asks : " Oh Raama ! Pray clear
my sandEham ! Are Your holy feet great or are
Your elegant sandals (Paadhukais) great
?
17. PunnaagavaraaLi Raagam : "Tava DaasOham
Daasarathy "
" Oh Son of Dasaratha! I am Your servant
...Convinced
that there is no other God like You in the world ,
I have
taken refuge in You ."
18. Vijaya Vasantaa Raagam: Nee chittamu
naabhAgyamu !
"Oh Raamachandra! Your will is my fortune and I
am
Yours . Realizing that it is ineffective to be
brooding ,
I have once and for all taken refuge in You .
Whenever
I see or think of other Gods , I only see You
shining
in them .
Raajillu SrI ThyAgarAja vinutha
SrI Raama JayarAma SrungAra Raama !
daya sEyavayyaa sadhaya Raamachandra !
Raama! neepai tanaku prEma BhOdhu !
NeerajAksha ! Naa JeevAdhAra!
Raaga Rasika ! Raaga rahita !
ninnu vinA sukhamu gaana !
tapasu yOga phalamu neevE !
bhAnuvamsa Tilaka! Aadhi DEva !
PrANa Naatha ! SuguNaBrundha !
Saadhujana Jeevana! Sanaatana !
Dayaraani ! Dayaraani !
Daasarathi RaamA!
ThiruviNNagrappan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam
,
Oppiliappan Koil V.Sadagopan
---- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, December 26, 2008 12:01
AM
Subject: [Oppiliappan] Re: kula
deivam
I read with interest the discussion on Kula deivam.
There are some clear cut concepts given by Maharishis such
as Parashara and Jaimini
on Kula deivam that guides
a family for generations
and the Phalana deivam that
guides an individual in a particular birth.
One must know the Kula deivam as one that has been
worshipped for generations
or at least in the last 3 generations.
Apart from the Kula deivam, one will be guided by a Phalana
deivam.
Some people are fortunate to have both kula deivam and
Phalana deivam as the same.
It happens to them like this without any conscious thinking
or efforts,
due to their past good karma.
In that case there is no confusion and the spiritual
journey goes on smoothly.
But there are many who run into confusions at times.
And there have been instances where we see that the deity
worshipped
in the last 3 generations was not the Kula deivam.
That will be reflected in the horoscopes of subsequent
generations.
In the case of Srivaishnavites,
such a deviation is least likely to happen as they must
have been praying some
from of Vishnu –group deities only.
The confusion comes when deities other than Vishnu's forms
are worshiped
in the family.
A person grasping this deviation will anyway look for who
his kula deivam is.
In such cases, we ask them to worship Venkatavan as Kula deivam,
as He is the Universal Kula deivam.
It is also possible to know one's phalana deivam, from the horoscope.
For this, one must identify the Athma karaka in the natal horoscope.
The planet that has traveled long degrees in a rasi is the
Athma karaka.
The 12th house from that planet in the Navamsa
is the Jeevan mukthamsa –
that shows the Lord that is guiding one towards Mukthi.
The lord of this house, or the occupant of this house of
the planet aspecting this house
must be studied in that order for their strength.
The stronger of them will indicate the Guardian God in
one's life.
According to Parashara,
If the planet is Sun, the Phalana deivam is Rama.
For moon, it is Krishna,
For Mars, it is Narasimha,
For Mercury, it is Vishnu,
For Jupiter, it is Vamana,
For Venus, it is Parashurama,
For Saturn, it is Kurma,
For Rahu, it is Vraha and
for Ketu it is meena
When we come across person of faith in Gods other than
Vishnu,
we follow the Jaimini
recommendation.
According to Jaimini,
If the planet is Sun, the Phalana deivam is Shiva.
For moon, it is Gowri,
For Mars, it is Skanda,
For Mercury, it is Vishnu,
For Jupiter, it is Shambashiva,
For Venus, it is Lakshmi,
For Saturn, it is Vishnu,
For Rahu, it is Durga and
for Ketu it is Ganesha.
Another school of Thought identifies Hanuman for
Saturn.
A person may be following a God as told in Jaimini system.
But he will gradually move over to the Vishnu group of
deities
as told by Parashara because Narayana is the Moksha
saadhanam.
This shift may happen in one generation ,
may happen with a conscious effort or by experiences or
may happen over a series of
generations.
But this knowledge does give an awareness of mukthamsa.
For a Srivasihnavite, already fortunate to be born in a
family of Narayana –worshipers,
the 'SennoyOngu' pasurams
of Periaazhwar give an interesting food for thought.
These are about the 3 Gods besides 'kula deivam', spoken by
the Periaazhwar
in 'SenniyOngu' 10, - the bhava of which is
a 'moksha-saadhanam'
according to Mumukshuppadi.
Though the aazhwar makes references to other names of
Sriman Narayana,
he has specifically mentioned about
Thiru Venkatavan (Srinivasa of
Thirumalai)
Kula deivam,
Rama and
Krishna.
The 1 st verse starts with a reference to Thiruvenkatavan .
The azhwar then proceeds to glorify Sri Rama in the 6th verse
and completes with worshiping Sri
Krishna in the phala-pasuram in the 11th.
In between, he calls up 'Kula daivam' in the 3 rd verse.
"emmanai, en kula
deivamE, ennudai nayaganE".
Who is this kula deivam that
periyaazhwar is referring to?
It is obvious that it is some Vishnu- deity as he was born
in a family of Vishnu-worshippers.
From 'Pallandu' pasuram (6th verse)
we understand that it must be that deity worshiped by his
parents,
grand parents and all those in his previous generations.
(endai, thanthai,
thantahi tham mootthappan..Thirupplaandu -6)
Then who is this specific deity?
The clue to this question lies in the first verse.
Any act or worship must begin with
the worship of kula deivam.
In the first verse, Azhwar begins with a salutation to
Thiruvenkatavan
(Srinivasa of Thirumalai).
So the kula deivam he
mentions must be Thiruvenkatavan only.
One information of importance is that Srinivasa of
Thirumlai
is the kula deivam for many people or for all people.
This is known from Naanmugan
Thiruvandhathi and
the vyakhyaanam (commentary) by Periyavaachaan pillai.
The 48 th pasuram 'venkatame vinnor' tells
how Thirumalai is the abode for everyone including nithya
suris
and ordinary persons.
The Lord of this abode protects them all,
removes the physical ailments and karma afflictions as well
and
enables them to live happily by suppressing the asura
vargas. (Periya vachaan pillai).
He protects all for generations and is therefore the Kula
daivam for all.
('sarvarkum Thirumalaiye
praabhyam' - Appillai urai)
Periyazhwar recognises Thiruvenkatavan as Kula daivam in
the 3rd pasuram
after concurring with the above notion (that He removes all
Vinai) in the 2nd pasuram.
Kula daivam is the Lord who protects one for many births or
protects the kulam for many generations
from afflictions of the body and of karma-vinai
('vemkatangal mei mel
vinai muttravum' - Nammazhwar).
Even the name "Venkadam" means churning out the heat (vemmaiyai
–k- kadaithal)
The Lord in this abode churns out the heat of bad karma
from us and frees us off them.
After praying to Kula deivam,
Periyaazhwar prays to Rama in the 6 th verse.
On reading this verse,
I used to wonder whether Rama was the phalana deivam
(Guardian God) of periyaazhwar.
It is because the description found in the 6th pasuram
(Unnudaiya vikramam..)
wherein the azhwar prays to Lord Rama,
is more to do with how Rama giving
rakshakam (protection) to the devotee.
The mention about valor and victory over Lanka (victory
over evil),
if read with Periya vaachaan pillai urai (commentary) for
the 47 th pasuram of
Nanmugan Thiruvandhathi gives the lead about
how one has to fashion one's life while living.
According to his urai (commentary),
Thirumalai is the place that protects one.
But it is Rama who protects one wherever
one is.
Wherever one lives, that place must be considered as
Ayodhya
('ayodhya matavim
viddhi').
(Interepreted as – if you worship Rama in your pooja room,
that place is the Ayodhya)
Raman must be considered as one's father who leads, guides
and protects.
('Ramam dhasaratham
viddhi').
Sita must be considered as the mother, so tells Sumithra to
Lakshmana.
(Maam viddhi
janakaathmajaam')
Periyavaachaan pilaai says that all these apply to the
nithya suris who live in Thirumalai.
The inference is that Rama is in the image of Srinivasa at
Thirumalai,
protecting everyone.
To explain this in today's parlance,
worship at Thirumala comes like a
package.
Srinivasa ensures that your 'vinai' (karma) of body and
mind of
previous birth and present birth are burnt off
and in addition, Rama's protection also is assured!
Rama is
the 'kaakkum deivam'.
In other words, the 'Guardian
God' for everyone!
The jiva thus protected has to aim for the final fruit.
Who else, but 'Ayar
yeru' (11th pasuram) leads us all to make us 'anukkargal'.
This is corroborated in the 50th pasuram of Nanmugan
Thiruvandhathi,
"kootramum
saara.." that speaks about
'kannan kadal kidakkum
maayan urai kidakkum'.
The Mayan urai is nothing but the Charama slokam of Mayan, the Gitacharyan.
(sarva dharmaan ….
The sloka asking us to renounce even the fruits of our
action and surrender unto His feet)
When the jivas realize that it is only by taking refuge in
His feet
by giving up all dharmas,
they can be said to be moving in the right direction.
Thus in my opinion, though Sriman Narayana had been the
object of worship
for Periyazhwar in his pasuramas,
he has also indicated Srinivasa as his Kula deivam (rather the kula deivam for all)
and the glory of the two forms of Narayana, namely,
Rama as Protector
(phalana deivam for all) and
Krishna as Liberator (Moksha sadhanam for
all)
There is no mincing of words as to who his or everyone's
Kula daivam is.
It is Thiruvenkatavan for all,
to protect one, for all generations to come and in all
births to come.
His chief concern is protection of one in body (mei) and in
karma (vinai)
There is no mincing of words as to who his or everyone's
phalana deivam is
It is Rama who is to be worshipped as the protector in
life.
Krishna is the upaya (means) for moksha.
In worship, Periyaazhwar sees Him as Jyothi in his heart
('sudaroliyai nenjinulle thondrumen Jyothi nambhi' -10th
pasuram).
But if we attempt to find out who his 'Ishta devatha' (God he desired)
could have been,
we may think that it was Vatapatra saayi
to whom he did daily kainkaryam!
The Lord whom he and his daughter Andal saw every day and
paid personal adorations and worship was
Vatapatra saayi of
Srivilliputtur.
I may perhaps be right in referring this Lord as his Ishta devatha.
In this was I am led to think that that Lord at Oppiliappan Koil is
our moderator Swami's
Kula deivam (worshiped for more than 3 generations),
Phalan deivam as he had grown under Him
and Ishta deivam as he had delighted in nithya kainkaryam
to Him.
However, I may be permitted to say, that
Thiruvenkatamudaiyaan is
Kula Deivam for all of us
'sarvarkum Thirumalaiye praabhyam'
as told by Sri Appillai and indicated by Aazhwars.
-------------------------------
--- In Oppiliappan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,
"Dr.V.Sadagopan" <yennappan@...> wrote: > > SrI: >
> Dear SrI Lakshmi Narayanan : > > Gotram has nothing to
do with Kula dhaivam . > Kavi Venkataadhri of ArasaNippAlai >
belongs to Atreya Gotram and his kula > dhaivam was Lord Venkatesar
. > > One does not need to have a Kula dhaivam . > Usually
Lord of Thirumalai is Kula dhaivam > for many . In my case , the
EmperumAn of > ThiruviNNagaram ( Oppiliappan Koil) > is our Kula
dhaivam . I was born under the shadow of > this temple in Sannidhi
Street and for many generations , > our family has worshipped here
. Therefore , we do not > know of any other dhaivam to identify as
Kula > Dhaivam . > > V.Sadagopan > -----
Original Message ----- > From: Lakshmi Narayanan
> To: oppiliappan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Sent: Thursday, December 25, 2008 11:22
AM > Subject: [Oppiliappan] Fw: kula deivam > >
> > > ---
On Thu, 25/12/08, Lakshmi Narayanan <narayananlakshmi1@...>
wrote: >
> From:
Lakshmi Narayanan
<narayananlakshmi1@...> >
Subject: kula
deivam > To:
oppiliappan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
Date: Thursday, 25 December, 2008, 4:19 PM > >
>
Namaskarams to everyone. >
>
If we did not know who our kula deivam is how can we find out. is it
true if we belong
to >
Athreya Gothram, is Arasanipalai temple is our gula Deivam. Does the gothram
has something to do with kula deivam. >
>
please give your answers. >
>
Jai Sriman
Narayana >
thank you all. > > >
__._,_.___
Oppiliappan Koil Varadachari Sadagopan
http://www.sadagopan.org
__,_._,___
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