BELIEVERS AND BELIEVERS

I have written a lot about belief in God and what change it brought to my life. I will go one step further and attempt to write my thoughts about believers. I will refrain from writing about the non-believers or atheists as they call themselves, because I never understood why someone should make so much noise about something, which they believe doesn’t even exist. It is about believers that I would dare to put down my thoughts. I seek your pardon if any of you find my writing to be arrogant or impertinent.

Believers, as we are called in general, don’t necessarily fall under one group. On the one end of the spectrum are believers who are fanatic enough to cause hurt and destruction in the name of their beliefs. On the other end there are those who would keep their beliefs to themselves, almost ashamed of admitting their belief in someone whom they haven’t seen heard or felt. But still they believe too, or it helps them in many ways to believe in a power that can do things which they can’t. I would leave the violent kind of believer out of this essay as I am of strong opinion that they shouldn’t even be called believers in God, because God would never want hurt to be caused to any one of His creations. I will only attempt to talk about the other believers, who would cause no hurt to others as part of their beliefs.

All believers basically aim at some form of communication with God. For many it is for seeking something from Him, mostly some kind of material benefit. For still others it is just to keep Him pleased so that their misdeeds are pardoned and they are not made to suffer for their actions. Then there are a few who will not seek anything from Him, but just thank Him for keeping them as they are. Whatever the purpose of seeking Him, we all feel the need to perform some sort of action to show this out. Not that He won’t understand our thinking and need without any action. But it is our need to perform some kind of action, for we feel the need to express our intentions through actions. These actions or activities are generally termed, sometimes wrongly, as religious practices or forms of worship. These practices are what generally come under criticism from various people or groups, if they are different from what they practice.

These practices vary with place, caste, family background and the Guru being followed. There are those who believe in the simple act of standing with palms together in front of God’s idol or picture in their homes, offering a flower or Tulsi leaves. Some believe in Shayana Pradakshinam or Anga Pradakshinam or in plain English rolling around a temple. Some believe in piercing metal objects through their tongue or their cheeks. Some may seek the help of God-men to lead them to God. There are many forms of offerings made to God including alcoholic drinks. All these form various practices to achieve the ultimate aim of communicating with Him for whatever purpose.

The main aim of writing this is to ask whether anyone has the right to criticize any form of religious activity, as long as it doesn’t hurt others in any way. We have seen one or the other form of religious activity being severely criticized in the media or social forums. Ironically, the most severe criticisms come from believers who themselves may be following one or the other kind of religious activity or worship. The most severe criticisms come from those who call themselves the “intellectual” or “evolved” believers. They form a group of persons who have read or claim to have read the scriptures. They take pains to point out that most of the practices are not mentioned in the scriptures and that this is not the right path to God. As we all know the original scriptures, at least as far as Hinduism is concerned, have been interpreted by various scholars and teachers and that these interpretations are not the same always. Nor are they understood in the way they were supposed to be. This being the case what right does one have to criticize the practices of another person? Forms of worship have changed over the centuries to suit the particular period and place. As long as the form of worship doesn’t hurt others, everyone should be allowed the freedom their way of reaching out to God.

Hoping that everyone would be tolerant to others’ practices, I dedicate this at the feet of my Guru, Shree Andaal and Shriman Narayanan.

THIRUPPAVAI - AN INTRO

Let me start this blog with an apology. The heading is in itself a misnomer. I am not knowledgeable enough to give an introduction to Thiruppavai. I am just penning down what I understood from the introduction given by my Guru Shree Velukkudi Krishnan Swamy. I have been attracted to Thiruppavai and its interpretations from when I started listened to the discourse by my Guru. The more number of times I listen to it, the more the joy in talking about it or writing about it. This is the reason for one more blog on Thiruppavai. Of course, how much ever it is being discussed, interpreted or talked about there will be no dearth for meanings and interpretations. It is an inexhaustible well of knowledge about Him and His ways, penned so succinctly by Aandal in just 30 stanzas.

Why did Aandal write Thiruppavai? How could a little girl of hardly 10 years put so much, in such language in so short a poetry? Her life on earth was only for a short period of around 12-14 years, before she achieved her union with the Lord. How did a little girl get so much knowledge? The answers lie in knowing who Aandal was.

Aandal appeared on earth as a little child in the garden of Shri Vishnu Chittar, or more commonly known as Periyaazhvar. Periyaazhvar was of Brahmin birth and did the service of growing flowers and making garlands out of them for the Lord. He lived in Sreevalliputhur in Tamizh Nadu. He is one among the ten aazhvaars who are in fact the human incarnation of the ten adornments and accompaniments of Lord Narayana. Periyaazhvar is the avatar of Shree Garudaththaazvar, the vehicle of Sriman Narayanan. Periyaazhvar has a special place among the Aazhvars in that he is the only one blessing Lord Narayana and praying for His well being, while all other Aazhvars have written in praise of the Lord.

Aandal appeared in the garden of Periyaazhvar on the day of Pooram Nakshatram in the month of Aadi. She was the incarnation of Shree Bhoo Devi or Mother Earth herself, who is one of the three consorts of Shriman Narayanan. The sole purpose of her appearance on earth during the Kali Yuga was to reassure us that the Lord is ever merciful and that once we totally surrender ourselves to Him, He will certainly lead us to salvation, notwithstanding the sins we may have committed. This is what Lord Krishna had promised to Arjuna in The Gita – that, He shall pardon our sins and lead us to salvation.

From a very young age Aandal was filled with love for the Lord, the knowledge in her soul that she is the consort of Lord Narayana Himself, expressing itself as love for the Lord.

It was Periyaazhvaar’s daily chore to pluck fresh flowers from his garden, make them into a garland and dedicate to Lord Shree Rangamannar. One particular day he saw that the garland he had made for the Lord was worn by Aandal. He admonished Aandal, made a fresh garland for the Lord. The same day Lord appeared in Aazhvaar’s dream and advised that he should not to get angry with Aandal and that he shall be adorned with the garland after being worn by Aandal. The Lord continued to tell Aazhvaar that Aandal was born to be united with Him and that He shall accept her at the right time. Every day, from then on, the Lord was dedicated the garland that was worn by Aandal. She came to be known as “Soodi Kodutha Nachiyar”.

Meanwhile the love of Aandal for Shriman Narayana was so intense that it struggled to find a way of expression. It was at that time she heard from a religious preacher that during the time of Krishna the women of the cow-herd clan had observed a period of fast and asceticism praying for union with Krishna. Aandal decided that following the same rituals would somewhat give vent to the intense feeling of love that she felt. In her mind and in her actions and behavior Aandal had become a woman of the cow-herd clan. Her imagination manifested itself as the divine poetry Thiruppavai. Through Thiruppavai Aandal not only tells us the procedure of the fasting period but also on how to worship the Lord and what we shall seek of Him. She goes on to conclude that the only aim in our life should be that of serving Him at all times and seeking salvation. By portraying herself as a woman born in the cow-herd clan, without any knowledge of religious procedures, she aims to tell us that the Lord does not expect us to be of high spiritual knowledge to grant us His blessings. All one needs to do is to surrender to Him unconditionally, and to Him alone.

Thiruppavai consists of 30 stanzas, which can first be divided into two parts – one of 29 stanzas and another of the last one. In the 29 stanzas Aandal portrays herself as a woman of the cow-herd clan. In the last stanza Aandal reveals her true identity as the daughter of Periyaazhvar and tells us that reading the Thiruppavai daily can in itself get us His blessings. In the 29 stanzas Aandal tells us of the Lord’s greatness, His mercy, His love for us and His mastery over all things. She also tells us how we can seek His favour and what we should ask of Him. She assures us that once we have admitted our inability to perform without His guidance and help, and once we have surrendered ourselves to Him, He will take it as a duty to protect and guide us.

The above, totally inadequate, introduction to such a divine creation was not in any way to show my knowledge. It was just a manifestation of my love for the Lord and my respect for Shree Aandal. I seek pardon at the feet of my Guru and Shree Aandal for all the deficiencies in my writing.

Let me conclude by paying obeisance at the feet of my Guru, Shree Aandal and Shriman Narayana.