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Ramanuja List Archive: Message 00045 Dec 2002

 
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Sri:
Srimathe Ramanujaya nama:

Dear BhAgavatAs,

Humble pranams to all. "Of the months,I am the mArgashIrSha" 
says the Lord in BG 10.35. This is the precious month and this is the 
month our incomparable ANdAL composed her grand work TiruppAvai 
observing the fast/nOnbu for the union with the Lord. Unfortunately I 
never had the bhAgya to listen to upanyAsms by great SV AchAryAs on 
ANdAL's(and others' too!) works but TiruppAvai and vAraNamAyiram were 
the two prabandhams that I learnt first in my life. I would like saha 
bhAgavatAs to share their knowledge of listening to AchAryAs on "why 
ANdAL excels over others especially periyAzhvAr,parAnkusa nayaki and 
parakAla nayaki?"

Something strikes my mind about ANdAL's greatness over others
(10 azhvArs)and would like to share and also receive feedback too.

NammAzhvAr says in TVM 1.7.8,that "Lord can not afford to 
leave me because I am a slave to Mother Nappinnai who is ever 
associated with and inseparable from Him(agalagillEn)". Because of 
this mediatrix role of thAyAr,NammAzhvAr is very sure of reaching the 
Lord's lotus feet. 

ANdAL is an amsa/incarnation of bhUmA devi. The ten AzhvArs
(as per Upadesa Rathna MAlai)were nityasUris and sent by God Himself 
to correct and liberate jIvAtmAs. ThAyAr/Sri is above nityasuris in 
our RAmAnuja Darshanam. By this itself ANdAL is superior to all 
others. Although NammAzhvAr and ParakAlan imagined themselves as 
nayaki pining over the nAyaka/Lord,their's is an assumed 
role,something artificial. The love between man and woman is natural 
and has extra dimension that is lacking in that of man-man. That's 
how the Lord has created us. Hence ANdAL didn't have to put any 
effort to transform herself to nAyaki role and her love for Him is a 
spontaneous smooth flow as she got that swabhAva(to love)from Sri 
herself. ANdAL considered herself as the foremost gOpikA and gOpikA's 
love for KrShNa is spoken in volumes in Srimad BhAgavatham. 

Once RAdhA visited KrShNA's palace and He wasn't home and 
RukmiNi happily welcomed her with hospitality and paid her humble 
respects(as she was the devotee of her husband). RukmiNi,out of 
affection, gave hot milk to RAdhA and RAdhA without saying anything 
drank it. After chit-chatting for sometime RAdhA took leave of 
RukmiNi. Then our Lord enters and when RukmiNi was about to do pAda 
pUja for Him,noticed boils on His feet and questioned Him(how He 
got). KrShNa replied: "RAdhA keeps My lotus feet in her heart and 
worships Me. Since the milk you gave her was very hot,it burnt her 
heart and that's why I have got boils on My feet". RukmiNi 
says "RAdhA didn't say that it was hot". KrShNA replies that 
obviously she would not as she was a great devotee of Me and would 
not want to hurt anyone's feelings. This shows the greatness of 
gOpikA's love for the Lord. So,ANdAL excels over NammAzhvAr and 
ParakAlan's love for God. 

How is her love superior to PeriyAzhvAr's love(YashOdA's 
role)? Whenever Lord incarnates,He has to enter some garbha
(eg:kausalya,devaki) and is born but Sri/thAyAr, being the Universal 
mother is unable to find a better mother than Herself,and thus 
incarnates Herself without undergoing that ordeal. Since ANdAL is an 
amsa of thAyAr(by swabhAva),her love is universal. She infact accrued 
fame to PeriAzhvAr by becoming his foster-daughter! Just like Janaka 
maharaja and Samudra rAja,PeriAzhvAr also got the fortune to become 
His father-in-law. 

Since she being the universal mother,knows very well of our 
shortcomings,knows the methodologies to correct her children/us in no 
time. She is a born teacher unlike others. She left the "great" 
and "ever-happy" nitya vibhUti and above all she left Him and came 
down to bhUlOka to redeem us. Who can surpass her love???

PS:I don't know if RAdhA-RukmiNi-KrShNa's incidence is mentioned in 
Srimad BhAgavatam as I'm still in the first canto itself. But I have 
heard about it(could be wrong also!)

Whatever came to this little mind is just reflected here and seek 
pardon for unforseen and unintentional errors.

"pAdakangaL thIrkkum paraman adi kAttum
vEdam anaiththukkum viththAgum
kOdaith thammizh ay ayndhum ayndhum aRiyAdha mAnidarai
vaiyyam sumappadhum vambu"

ANdAL TiruvadigaLE saraNam
AzhvAr EmperumAnAr Jeeyar TiruvadigaLE saraNam
NC Nappinnai 





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