--- 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 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send FREE video emails in Yahoo! Mail! http://promo.yahoo.com/videomail/
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