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--- sampath kumar <sampathkumar_2000@xxxx> wrote:
> To: tiruvengadam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> From: sampath kumar <sampathkumar_2000@xxxx>
> Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 07:33:34 -0800 (PST)
> Subject: [tiruvengadam] Madras Diary - Dec 14'01- Jan 3'02
> Reply-to: tiruvengadam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> 
> Dear friends and members,
> 
> Adiyane returned to Kuwait y/day after a very pleasant and eventful
> fortnight in Chennai. I share below some impressions of the trip
> that
> may be of some interest to all of you.
> 
> At the outset I wish all of you and your respective family-members
> a
> very HAPPY NEW YEAR and offer prayers to our Lord of Tiruvenkatam
> to
> continue to shower his Grace and Blessings on all of us!
> 
> I thank Sri IVK Chary for filling in as group-moderator during my
> absence. Also it gives me great joy to see that SriChary has begun
> teaching 'gOdA-stuthi' to the students of the 'vedadhyAyana' class.
> We all look forward to listening to the group recite 'goda-stuthi'
> at
> the culmination of the 'mArgazhi' month on 15th January which also
> happens to fall on the auspicious asterism of 'sravANam'.
> 
> ********* ********** ***********
> 
> I arrived in Madras on the 14th Dec. On the 17th the city and its
> vicinity began to experience very heavy rainfall which continued to
> pour the following 3 days. The residents of the city were
> overjoyed.
> The reservoirs swelled; the wells filled up; the parched trees
> greened and urchins danced with glee in the dirty puddles of
> rain-water on the streets... The lurking fear, that had gripped the
> city's people for months recently, of yet another year of acute
> water
> scarcity vanished in the space of just 3 days of copious rain! 
> 
> Suddenly, and quite refreshingly, the immortal words of the
> "tiruppAvai" -- "teenginri nAdellAm tingaL mummAri-peyydu" -- began
> to ring true, loud and so mercifully over the entire city of
> Chennai!
> 
> 
> *********** ********** ***********
> 
> Rains in Madras during the month of 'mArgazhi' (15Dec-14th Jan) are
> considered not only unseasonal but also extremely rare. So the
> citizens all kept asking themselves what lay behind the munificence
> of the rain-god Varunan who had deigned at last to visit their
> parched city after so many months of anxious waiting.
> 
> One ready explanation given by some people was the controversial
> removal of the statue of the famous Tamil mythological character,
> Kannagi that had been erected on the beach-side roadway along the
> Marina way back in 1967. This statue had stood for well over 3
> decades, in all its ragingly magnificent splendour, overlooking the
> cramped city-quarters of Triplicane. All these years the
> dishevelled
> and furious figure of Kannagi, the celebrated heroine of
> "manimegalai", had come to be regarded as a truly soul-stirring
> symbol of Tamil culture. 
> 
> All of a sudden some quarters in the present ruling regime in
> T.Nadu
> felt convinced that the Kannagi statue, casting its dark and fiery
> sight upon on the Madras sky-line, was exerting a wholly malefic
> influence on the city. The pose, the positioning and the power of
> the
> statue was, from the viewpoint of the ancient 'vaastu-sAstrA',
> wholly
> inauspicious and fateful. The city's perennial problems with the
> rain-gods, they explained, were really the handiwork of Kannagi's
> malevolent ghost haunting her statue on the Marina.
> 
> It was hence no surprise that once the statue was removed, the
> rains
> began to pour from the skies over Madras!
> 
> ****** ******** *********
> 
> After listening to this curious theory of rain-making, adiyane
> became
> almost convinced the best way to ensure good rainfall for Madras in
> the years to come is probably to identify many more statues in and
> around the city and earmark them for permanent removal in the
> interest of the larger good of its citizenry. And if every such
> effort were to meet with the same success as the Kannagi statue has
> blessed us with, imagine what we might then be able to announce to
> the whole world! "Major new discovery in the science of modern
> rain-making: Remove all offending statues in your neighbourhood"!
> 
> ******* ******** ********
> 
> On a much more serious and respectful mien, adiyane soon reflected
> deeply upon the matter and came up with another personal
> explanation
> for the copious rains in Madras. It is an explanation borne of
> personal faith and I venture to share it here amongst you only
> because I believe you are all like-minded friends. 
> 
> In 1932 the great pontiff of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, late Sri
> Chandrasekharendra Saraswati, "peri-periyavAl" to millions of his
> followers to this day, established a small but by no means
> insignificant institution in one of the many narrow and crooked
> by-lanes of Mylapore called Pitchu-Koil Street, a stone's throw
> away
> from the famous Kapaleeswarar Temple. It is to this day known as
> MYLAPORE VEDADHYAYANA SABHA (MVS).
> 
> MVS is being run by a very small band of Kanchi Mutt sishyA-s. Its
> primary purpose is to conduct 'adhyAyana' classes for all classes
> of
> students. The 'adhyApakA-s' are all supported by the Kanchi Mutt
> and
> they are doing wonderful work in teaching the Vedas to all students
> who come forward to learn. Many indeed, I learn, are the students
> who
> come here from all parts of T.Nadu.
> 
> This MVS for some years had been holding annual 'Krishna-yajur-veda
> sampoorna ghana-pArAyanam". It was a very solemn event when around
> 18-25 very learned 'ghanapAtin-s' jointly recite the
> 'sapta-kAndA-s'
> (7 chapters) of the entire 'krishna-yajur-veda' daily for about 8
> hours over a period of 24 days.
> 
> Due to many reasons and difficulties, adiyane learnt, such an event
> could not be held in the past many years. This year however,
> between 
> 13th Dec'01 until 10th Jan'02, the MVS was able to conduct the
> event
> successfully thanks to the initiative and support of a few local
> residents of Madras and other 'vaideeka'-minded 'asthikA-s'. 
> 
> A local friend in Mylapore thus invited me to witness the 'vedic'
> recitation at the MVS this year.
> 
> Adiyane attended the 'pArAyaNam' for 3 full days and had the
> supreme
> privilege of listening to 18 venerable 'ghanapAtin-s' chant about
> 403
> 'prashnA-s' from the 5th 'kAndA' of the 'yajur-veda'. It was one of
> the most thrilling and unforgettable experiences in my life. The
> chanting by the 18 'ghanapAtin-s' lifted one to sublime heights of
> feeling. The recitation was pure clockwork; the 'swarA-s'
> rock-steady; the intonation deep and resonant... like a timeless
> hymn
> travelling through God's endless heavens.

> It was no surprise to me therefore that in Madras where such 
auspicious 'veda-gOsha' now reverberates, the rain-gods are beginning
to be kind to its > citizens once more.

> It is very rare to witness a religious event these days whose main
> purpose is Vedic chanting. Usually, Vedic chanting in such
> occasions
> as marriages, 'upanayanam-s' etc. are restricted to the usual
> 'udhagashANti' recitations. Even in religious institutions like
> 'achAryA' ashramas or muttams Vedic chanting is occasioned only
> when
> some other main event like, say, 'achArya-tirunakshatram'
> celebrations or some 'utsavam-s' are held. Rarely, if ever at all,
> does Vedic chanting by itself figure as the chief event on any
> occasion. The MVS initiative adiyane witnessed was thus a welcome
> departure from the usual practice of relegating Vedic chanting to a
> sub-event or subsidiary event. People came to the MVS to do nothing
> but to quietly and solemnly listen to hours and hours of Vedic
> chanting. The concentration was undiluted by other 'loukeeka' or
> other lowly distractions.
> 
> The chanting of 'ghanam' is the most difficult amongst the various
> other methods of chanting the Vedas like 'pada-pAtam',
> "samhitA-pAtam", "jata", "mALA" etc. It requires years and years of
> apprenticeship at the feet of a master-adhyAyin. The masters I
> witnessed at MVS were consummate adhyAyin-s. The discipline, the
> sheer professionalism and the 'asAdya bhakti-shradda' they showed
> in
> displaying their Vedic 'pAndityam' was of the highest and most
> exemplar order. I could not help feeling a deep awe and respect for
> them. It was my privelege to have been able to offer them all my
> humble 'sambhAvanai'. By honouring them I felt honoured myself.
> 
> The SriVaishnava 'sampradAya' of Ramanuja-darsanam is called
> 'ubhaya-vedAnta-darsanam'... the "twin-fold approach to God"
> through
> the simultaneous pathways of both the Veda and the Tamil-veda.
> Today
> it is unfortunate that amongst SriVaishnavas the numbers of true
> 'ubhaya-vedAntin-s' are dwindling rapidly. There are far more
> "divya-prabhandham" masters amongst us than "vedadhyAyin-s", and it
> is for these reasons that we are often forced to invite
> smArta-vedaviths to chant the Vedas at our most famous temples even
> like Tirumalai. It is not that 'smArta' vedaviths are not welcome
> amongst us; of course they are; but what is sad is that there are
> not
> as many 'vedaviths' amongst we SriVaishnavas as amongst the
> 'smArtA-s'. If the present trend of neglecting Vedic study
> continues
> amongst us, the adherents of 'ramanuja-darsanam' may no longer then
> be able to proudly call themselves true 'ubhaya-vedAntins'.
> 
> ********* *********** ***********
> 
> Adiyane came across a wonderful book, written by one AchArya
> Narasimha (Minerva Press (India) Ltd. 2001 Price Rs.395), being a
> faithful English translation of Parashara Bhattar's famous
> commentary
> on the Vishnu-sahasranAmam titled "bhagavadh-guna-darpaNam".
> 
> For all those who cannot read Bhattar's commentary in the original,
> this ENglish translation will be of immense use. It is curious to
> note that no information is carried about the author himself except
> to say that he is a follower of SriRamanujachArya tradition.
> Adiyane
> would like to know more about this author who has performed such a
> fine 'parOpakAram'.
> 
> Adiyane also came across a very old LIFCO publication on the
> SahasranAmam which is a veritable treasure-house of information on
> the sacred text.
> 
> Adiyane will post some very interesting excerpts from the above 2
> books later on.
> 
> ******** ******** ******** 
> 
> Adiyane and family travelled to Tirumala and had wonderful
> 'darshan'
> of our 'tiruvengadamudaiyAn' after offering prayers to 'thAyyAr' at
> TiruchAnur. As always a visit to Tirumalai is memorable no matter
> how
> often it is undertaken.
> 
> ******* ********* **********
> 
> Adiyane had the good fortune that on my visit to Madras this time,
> Srimadh Azhagiyasingar Sri NarAyana yatindrar was camping at
> Selaiyur
> near Tambaram, Madras. I hastened to present my 'dandasamarpaNam'
> to
> his holiness.
> 
> Azhagiyasingar looked a little more wan than when I met him last in
> 1998. He told me that due to his frail physique these days he is
> unable to go on continuous 'sanchAram' as he used to before. The
> 'achAryA' who in 1998 performed adiyane's 'samAsrayanam' was so
> kind
> to shower me with 'kuchala-prashnam'. He was curious to know about
> all the activities of the Tiruvengadam Group in Kuwait and had many
> encouraging words to say. This great 'achAryA' is so full of
> 'saulabhyam' that even a rank ignoramus like me felt at ease in his
> august presence.
> 
> Azhagiyasingar then presented me with an autographed copy of his
> excellent treatise on "SriVaishnava dinAchAra nirnAya Ahneeka
> grantha" which he wrote way back about 20 years ago in his
> 'purvAshramam'. It is a splendid book on the
> 'nitya-anushtAnachArA-s'
> that a SriVaishnava must observe in daily life. He asked me to
> study
> it carefully and absorb its message. Adiyane took it as his
> 'upadesam' or "deeksha" to me on the occasion and for which I shall
> be eternally grateful to His Holiness.
> 
> The 'achAryan' then presented my 'saha-dharmAcharini' with a golden
> medal of 'mAlOla-murthy' and a lavish "ponnAdai" for me. 
> 
> I took leave of the beloved 'AchAryan' with a supremely heady
> feeling
> of being knighted. Actually, I am still glowing under the benign
> influence of the 'achArya's' "anugraham" showered upon me on that
> day.
> 
> Later on I had the 'bAgyam' of worshipping Lord MalOlan, the
> "dolOtsava-murthy", the merciful Deity who travels ceaselessly for
> the sake of all of us.
> 
> ********* ********** **********
> 
> Adiyane had one moment of intense sadness while in Madras. The
> usual
> trip to the 'tiru-mAligai' of Sri.Mukkur Lakshminarasimhachariar
> could not be made since the 'mahAn' left us all in May last.
> Adiyane
> could only wallow in the nostalgic recollection of the wonderful
> times spent in the company of that great departed soul.
> 
> The next best thing to meeting Mukkur Swamy himself was to be able
> to
> receive copies of the CDs on "Mukkur Nruhari-hrdayam" from SrimAn
> Sunder Rangachari, a friend of our Sri.Srinivasan Rajagopalan, the
> architect and 'kartA' of the Mukkur CD project. Thanks to these two
> gentlemen the memory of Mukkur Swamy lives on through the CD, which
> is a wonderful tribute to the 'mahAn'.
> 
> Adiyane collected the CD copies for distribution to other friends
> in
> Kuwait who had contributed to the Mukkur Trust. (If any more of you
> are interested in the CD please let me know as I can easily arrange
> for it through our good friend Sri.Sunder at Madras).
> 
> ********* ******** **********
> 
> Finally, adiyane was exremely happy to be present in Madras on the
> occasion of the RR Sabha, Mylapore conferring the title of "KALA
> RATNA" on my beloved 'thAyyAr' Sangita Kalnidhi Srimathi.Mani
> Krishnaswami. I realized that her music is an inspiration to so
> many
> rasikAs who turned up on the grand occasion. 
> ******** ********* *************
> 
> 
> And now another new year begins.... another chapter, another
> milestone to cross... May God be with us all!
> 
> Thanks and regards,
> dAsan,
> Sudarshan


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