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SriRangaSri List Archive: Message 00044 Dec 2003

 
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Dear friends,

One very valuable lesson to be learnt from a study of
AndAl's famous Tamil song of "tiruppAvai" is that
spiritual effort is more likely to be fruitful when
undertaken collectively than individually. 

The pathway to God is not necessarily a lonely one.
When we think of religious or spiritual men, our
immediate impression is of ascetics and hermits living
alone in forest or caves, doing practically nothing
all day but sit meditating upon their navels. AndAl's
'tiruppAvai' paints a contrasting picture. If there is
one clear message the simple maidens of the TiruppAvai
have for us, it is that religion need not always be a
reclusive pre-occupation. 

Worship can be, and is indeed an essentially
democratic or communal endeavour. The pilgrim need not
fear that his progress might only come through
ploughing a lonely furrow in life. He must know that
the pursuit of God is quite easily accomplished in the
pleasant and plentiful company of like-minded souls.
Spiritual activity is intense and rigorous, no doubt,
but it can be sporting and companionable effort too.
Hence take heart, says AndAl to the spiritual
aspirant, take heart for there is not only safety in
numbers but Salvation too! 

                  *********

Collective worship is called "satsangh". Members of an
Indian household, even in this day and times, can be
observed to assemble daily at a pre-determined hour in
the prayer-room to offer 'pujA' to a family deity.
They are said to constitute a household 'satsangh'. 

In village communities in India, it is usual for many
such households to get together for what is often
known as the weekly 'bhajana-sammiti'. Here they sing
religious songs, dance, clap their hands and happily
recount stories from 'pUrANa' and 'itihAsa'. This is
also a 'satsangh'. 

In the large temples of India, it is custom to
celebrate annual 'brahmOtsava' or 'mahOtsavams'. These
are grand religious affairs celebrated in the spirit
of mega-carnivals to which thousands of devotees
throng. These congregations are also large-scale
'satsanghs'.

The principle and practice of collective worship is a
timeless one in India. "Satsangh" is as old as the
very idea of Bhakti and the two are, in fact,
inseparable. If Bhakti is seed, 'satsangh' is soil. If
God is the destination and Bhakti is the journey, then
'satsangh' is the ticket. If Bhakti were regarded as a
holy game of life that God-seekers engage in, then
'satsangh' would be the field on which it is played.
And as in most games of the world, in this one where
the Almighty is the goal, it is team-effort that
accomplishes what is beyond individual capacity.

Mahatma Gandhi once echoed this very principle of
'satsangh' in truly stirring words:

"I want to find God, and because I want to find God, I
have to find God along with other people. I don't
believe I can find God alone. If I did, I would be
running to the Himalayas to find God in some cave
there. But since I believe that nobody can find God
alone, I have to work with people. I have to take them
with me. Alone I can't come to Him."

The preponderant theme of AndAl's Tiruppavai is a
joyous celebration of the 'satsangh' tradition.
Implicit in her song is the affirmation of what I call
the all-embracing 'collectivism' of the Vedantic
faith? best expressed in the words of the Mahatma --
"Nobody can find God alone, I have to work with
people. I have to take them with me. Alone I can't
come to Him."

In the final 30th stanza of her song, AndAl refers to
the 'tiruppAvai' as "sangha-tamizh-mAlai" (a garland
of the finest Tamil verses). The word "sangha", if we
reflect on it deep enough, is a significant pun: It
refers, on the one hand, to the marvelous classicism
of Tamil employed in the song. But on the other hand
and at a deeper, more meaningful level perhaps, it is
AndAL's own tribute to 'satsangh' -- the mode of
worship most preferred at all times by common people
all across India.      

                 ***********
              (to be continued)

Regards,

dAsan,
Sudarshan


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