Premika Bhavanam, Chennai

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Sri Swamigal has been rendering ‘Upanyãsam’ (discourses), in Tamizh, in Premika Bhavanam. This is being brought to you here.

There may appear to be variations in the ‘tense’ of the language. This is due to the fact that great effort has been taken to maintain the original style of the ‘Upanyãsam’. Therefore, we request you to keep this in mind while reading the translated ‘words’ of Sri Swamigal.

Sri Swamigal,

"JAI JAI GOVINDA JAYA HARI GOVINDA!
JAI JAI GOVINDA JAYA HARI GOVINDA!"

"Rangesamãmpãhi! Rangesamãmpãhi! Rangesamãmpãhi! Rangapprabho!
Rangesamãmpãhi! Rangesamãmpãhi! Rangesamãmpãhi! Ranganãthã!"

"HARE RÃMA HARE RÃMA RÃMA RÃMA HARE HARE
HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE"

" In the foruth Pãsuram ‘Ãzhi mazhaikanna’ Nãchiãr who speaks of the power of and the strength of the arms of Bhagavãn (‘pãzhiyam tholudaiya Padmanãbhan kaiyil’) says, ‘ãzhipol minni’ - the lightning should glisten like the Chakra in Bhagavãn’s hands. The Swamy in his commentary says, “Mahalakshmi who resides in Bhagavãn’s chest also shines like the streak of lightning (‘minnal kodi’)! Another lightning, indeed. The Swamy here speaks of how Bhagavãn pours forth His compassion. While speaking of ‘Ãzhi mazhaikanna’ we said that it could be taken as ‘Ãzhimazhaiku anna’ or ‘Ãzhi mazhaikanna’. In his sattvic imagination the Swamy points out an interesting feature while wondering wherefrom Bhagavãn pours down the rains throughout the world. Where has Bhagavãn stored all the water?

Nandanar (the devout bhakta of Lord Siva) deeply yearned to visit Chidambaram (the Holy Place of Lord Siva). He lived in a neighbouring village. As Nandanar was in the habit of telling everyone he met that he was leaving for Thillai (Chidambaram) the next day he came to be known as ‘Thirunãlaipovãr!” (one who was leaving for Thillai on the morrow!) If he was asked, “Nanda! When do you plan to go to Thillai?” He would reply, “Tomorrow!” He possessed deep Bhãva Bhakti.

The (high) state (‘uthkrishta’) of one who possesses deep Bhãva Bhakti is absolutely incomprehensible. Even hearing the Name of his Lord will be unbearable to such a Bhakta! A deep desire to hear the beloved Lord’s Name repeatedly will be felt. He will feel horripilation. Even the very name of the Kshetra of the Lord will bring joy to him. He will experience thrill at the very sight of any object related to His Lord. Let’s say he is a Krishna Bhakta. The very sight of a river will bring the thought of Yamuna to him, the sight of a mountain will remind him of Govardana and little children of the play-mates of his beloved Krishna. Anything and everything will create only the thought of their Bhagavãn. It is this that is called the highest degree of Love (‘Prema uthkrishtam’). Radha hears about Krishna. She hears the sound of Krishna’s flute; and she ‘sees’ a form of Krishna in her mind’s eyes. She is perturbed, “By listening about Krishna my heart goes out to him! Listening to the sound of the flute my heart goes out to the one who is playing it! And there is the form of a ‘Purusha’ (Man) that is being ‘seen’ within quite naturally! Are these three different?” But, ultimately she learns that all these three are one and the same! So, in such kind of deep unfathomable love the sound of his beloved Lord’s name, the name of the Lord’s Kshetra or any object connected to the Lord will create strange and limitless joy in the Bhakta’s heart. This joy cannot be explained in words and can be comprehended only through experience.

Such a Bhakta was this Nandanar who kept repeating, “I am going to Chidambaram tomorrow!” Poor Nanda is criticized by everyone and he earns the name ‘Thirunãllaipovãr’! While he worked on the fields someone would come and enquire of him, “Thillai ambalathukku pogumo ivazhi?” (“Does this road lead to Chidambaram?”) Instead of replying to their query Nandanar would say, “ ‘Innum oru dharam solungallaiya.’ ("What did you say? Did you say ‘Thillai’. Please say it again!”). The reason for this is the very name ‘Thillai’ was melodious to his ears due to his deep desire to have darshan of Lord Nataraja (Siva). Those who had stopped to enquire would leave mistaking him to be a crazy fellow!

How was Nandanar’s ‘thãbam’? Today we speak of Nãma Siddhãnta. It was Nandanar who first started Nãma Siddhãnta. He gathered the people in his slum and pleaded with them to sing the Name of the Lord. He pleaded with them, “Chant Nama Sivãya! Nama Sivãya! Chant Uma Pathe! Chant Sãmbasivãya!” The people of the slum object to chanting the Name of the Lord of the Brahmins(! ) while they had their own Gods viz. Kãthavaraya, Muneeswara, etc. - “Nanda! Why do you insist on our chanting Names which are tongue twisting”. But Nandan was not to be bogged down by their disinterest. Amidst them lived a dumb girl who was addressed by everyone as ‘oomacchhi’ (dumb girl). Nandanar advised the people, “Call ‘oomacchi vã’” (oomacchhi! Come!). So, they all called out, “Oomacchivã! Oomacchiva!” and it turned to sound ‘Uma Siva!’ Nandanar thus succeeded in making the Lord’s Name play on the tongue of those who could not even utter it! Thus all the people began chanting the name of the Lord.

There was a place nearby by name Tirupungur. This is 3 to 4 kms from Vaitheeswaran Koil (Tamizh Nadu, South India). This is the place where Nandi (the Bull of Lord Siva) had moved so that Nandanar and his people could have the Lord’s darshan. The Lord’s name here is Sivaloganãthan. One day Nandanar gathered all the people from his hutment to have darshan of this Siva here in Tirupungur. There is a Ganesha (‘Pillaiyãr’) here who is known by the name of ‘Kulam vettiya Vinayakar’ (one who dug a pond) as he dug a pond for them so that they could all bathe! In those days the people from the slum were not permitted to enter temples. So they had to see the Lord from the gate. But the Nandi blocked their view. Gopalakrishna Bharati has sung ‘Chatre vilagiyirum pillãi sannidhi maraikudu’ (Oh! Nandi! Please move aside for you are blocking the Sanctum Sanctorum!). But what do the Mahãns say? “It is not Nandanar who requested Nandi to move aside but it was Lord Siva who made the request as He desired to ‘see’ His Bhakta! This is the reason that the Nandi here sits aside even today.

Ever since people joined Nanda in singing Nãma Sankirtan none went to attend to their work on the fields on time. So those affected by this tried to bring ‘sense’ into Nanda through a local leader of their hutments. All of them joined together and approached Nanda. “Nanda! You are forever singing the Nãma. Will singing the Nãma earn food?” (‘Nãmam pãdi kondirundãl soru kidaikuma?’) What does Nanda reply? “Even the dog eats food. But can it chant ‘Bhagavan Nãma’ - the Name of the Lord? (‘Nãyum kooda soru thinnum Nãmam pãdumo?’) Bhagavãn has blessed this ‘Manushya janma’ (human birth) with the gift of speech only to utter His Name as He is a ‘stotra priya’ (loves to hear His Praises being sung). Bhagavãn has given us the ability to speak only for performing Kirtans on Him.

Nandanar who was possessed with the deep desire to visit Chidambaram sought the permission of his employer. It was only that very day the vast fields had been ploughed and seeds sown. It would take at least another six months for harvest. To keep him off from his repeated requests for permission to visit Chidambaram, the employer told Nandanar, “Let the harvest be done and the very next day you may leave for Chidambaram!” Nandanar went to bed with deep disappointment and grief. In a divine dream he saw that the grains had grown to full and the fields of his employer were all set for harvest! He immediately rushed to the fields and found it to be true and not just a dream. He showed the harvest-ready fields to the employer and then left for Chidambaram!

How did these fields get ready for harvest overnight? The Lord is omnipotent. There is nothing that is impossible for Bhagavãn. However, an interesting feature is shown here. The Ganesha by name, Mukkuruni Pillaiyar exists in Chidambaram, Nagapattinam and Madurai. He is a very huge Ganesha. Three ‘Kuruni’ (a measure) of grains are used to make ‘Kozhukattai’ (a dish made of rice flour) for offering to this Ganesha. Hence, he is known as ‘Mukkuruni Pillaiyar’. In Madurai, this Pillaiyar is found on the path from Meenakshi Sannidhi to Chokkanãthar Sannidhi. In Chidambaram, he is found in the start of ‘Therku veedhi’ (South Street). In Nagapattinam, Maha Periyava, had a single huge ‘Kozhukattai’ made out of the entire flour and offered it to the Pillaiyar. A sack full of rice was ground into flour and one huge ‘kozhukattai’ was prepared out of it! Parameswara and Parvati teased Pillaiyar for sitting idle and asked him to find a job! Pillaiyar approached a devotee of his who was working on the fields and helped him in his work. In return he got a small amount of grain as pay (‘coolie’). Parvati said to the son who brought it to her, “Such earnings do not please me. It is only the father who would be pleased if the son earns. So give the earnings to your Father!” Parmeswara who is a ‘Pithhan’ (crazy fellow) knows not what He is doing. He took the grains from Pillaiyar and sprinkled them on his own head. Parameswara’s head bears thick hair; He had already borne sand on His head in return for receiving ‘Pittu’. There once occurred a flood in river Vaigai. The Pandya king of Madurai ordered that each family should send a person to help in the construction work of a dam to stop the flood. There was a bent old lady (‘kooni’) who sold ‘Pittu’ for her livelihood. Everyday she would take the first handful of Pittu and keep aside for ‘Chokkan’ (Lord Siva) and the rest she would sell. She lived all alone and as such there was none to be sent from her home for the construction work. She was too old to do the job herself. When she wondered if someone would work on her behalf for a wage a young man came up to her doorstep. He asked her, “Do you wish to hire a help?’ She said, “I do not have any money with me to pay you. But I will give you this ‘Pittu’ as hiring charge.” The young man happily agreed, “It is for this ‘pittu’ that I have come” and went to work on her behalf. However, while all the people were at work this young man played around on the sand. The King who came there for inspection was very angry with him and struck him on the back with his whip. Everyone present there felt the lash! Immediately everyone realized that the young man was none other than God Himself.

Neelakanta Dikshitar was an ardent devotee of Ambãl and.a great poet. He lived in Madurai. He was a minister in the court of Tirumalai Nayakar. In Lalitha Sahasranãma the Goddess is praised as ‘Aparna’ - ‘Aparnãyai Namah’. The term ‘Aparna’ means one who pays off the debts of the devotee! Before he became a Minister in the king’s court he had incurred several debts. From his life history we learn that he used to chant Lalitha Sahasranãma daily during his puja to the Goddess. He was in deep debt and the people whom he owed money stood at his doorstep everyday demanding repayment. One day while he offered flowers in ‘archana’ uttering this ‘Nãma’ - Aparna - he admonished the Goddess, “You are being called one who removes the debts of the devotee. I owe so much to all these people but you don’t seem to be lending a helping hand. So, from this day I will not utter this Nãma for you!” Hearing this Ambãl Herself paid off all his debts!

The construction of Tirumalai Nayakar’s huge palace, which stands even today was under the supervision of Neelankanta Dikshitar. In those days even sculptors possessed ‘divya drishti’ (divine sight) and enjoyed the deep grace of Bhagavãn. A sculptor was sculpting the statues of the King (Tirumalai Nayakar) and the Queen. While sculpting the Queen’s statue he found that a black mole seemed to appear on the sculpture's thigh. He replaced the stone with a fresh one and sculpted. The same thing happened again. He was at a loss when the black mole appeared in every new stone he took up to sculpt afresh. He then reported this to Neelakanta Dikshitar. The Minister closed his eyes for a while and then said, “What you have sculpted is right. Let it be so!” When the King came for inspecting the statues before their installation he found the black mole in the Queen’s statue and questioned the sculptor about it. When he heard from the sculptor about Neelakanta Dikshitar’s pronouncement that it should be kept so for it was the truth, the King’s mind suspected the conduct of his minister and his own Queen. He immediately decided to blind the minister. But at that very moment the minister who was performing ‘Karpoora Hãrathi’ (Camphor ãrati) to Ambal blinded himself with it and said, “Please inform the King that I have accomplished the work that he intended to execute.” The King was taken aback. Later, Dikshitar’s eyesight was restored by prayer to Ambãl!

This Neelakanta Dikshitar accuses Lord Siva of being unjust. Why Lord Siva was accused of injustice? The ‘Pittu’ given by the old day was eaten by Lord Siva. “While the whiplash was felt by all around the taste of the ‘Pittu’ was enjoyed only by you. If everyone had enjoyed the sweet taste of the ‘pittu’ then it is justified. The sweetness was enjoyed only by you but the whiplash by all! So, you are not really crazy but act as if you have gone crazy!”

So, when Lord Ganesha gave the grains to his father Lord Siva, the latter threw it all on His own head. His head was already filled with sand as he had played on the banks of Vaigai during the construction work while carrying sand for the old lady devotee in return for the ‘pittu’. In addition to it, the River Ganges was on Lord Siva's head and with the grains thrown onto this Head of His, it sprouted up! So, while he wondered what to do with these, Nandanar’s dire requirement came in and the Lord blessed him with these!

Swamy Periavachhãnpillai gives an interesting explanation to the term ‘Ãzhi mazhaikanna’, “Wherefrom this Krishna obtained rain bearing clouds?” Sri Ramanuja, the Acharya of Vaishnava tradition, was born in Sriperampudur in answer to the ‘Purusha Sukta Homa’ performed by his parents to Lord Parthasarathy of Triplicane, Chennai(Madras), India. He studied under the teacher Yãdavaprakasa of Tiruputkuzhi and subsequently offered ‘Teertha Kaingarya’ in Sri Varadaraja Perumal temple. Every day, he used to bring water from the ‘Nãzhi kinaru’ (well) for the Lord’s ‘Thirumanjanam’ and ‘Ãrãdhanam’. It is service of the Lord that is predominant in Vaishnava tradition. So, Sri Ramanuja was gladly offering service to the Lord. Poonamallee that we find near Chennai is the twisted name of the original ‘Poovirunda valli’ (a place filled with flowers). It was once a garden of flowers. It is in extension of this that even today we find Malaipattu, Mãhãnyam filled with flower gardens. It was in Poonamallee that a Mahãtma by name Kachhiappanambi lived. He offered ‘Pushpa Kaingarya’ (offering flowers in service) to Sri Varadaraja perumal. Everyday he would take flowers from here to Kancheepuram. When he became too old for walking all the way to Kancheepuram from Poonamallee, the Lord instructed him to live in Kancheepuram and offer ‘alavatta kaingarya’ (fanning the Lord in His ‘Sayana graha’ - rest room) to him. This is. It was while Kachhiappanambi was offering this service to the Lord that Sri Ramanuja was offering the ‘teertha kaingarya’ here.

Before Sri Ramanuja’s fame spread all over the world as ‘Jagat Acharya’ there was an ardent devotee of his by name Koorathãzhwãr. Kooram, Toopul, were villages. Since he was born in Kooram he came to be known as Koorathãzhwãr. Koorathãzhwãr realized the greatness of Sri Ramanuja. With the desire to have darshan of this Great Mahãtma every day, Koorathãzhwãr shifted his residence to Sri Varadaraja Sannidhi Street at Kancheepuram. He was a very wealthy man. What should one do with everything that the Lord has blessed us with? They should be offered to the Lord Himself. If one is rhetoric one should speak the Lord’s Gunas; with good voice one should sing the glory of the Lord; if blessed with wealth one should use it to serve the Lord; a strong body should be used for carrying the Perumal's Vãhana (the Lord’s palanquin) during Purapadu (procession). Only by offering these blessings to the Giver Himself do they become fruitful. So, Koorathãzhwãr used his wealth to offer food (‘anna dhãna’) in the ‘Anna Chatra’ to all the visiting Bhãgavats.

One day as Kachhiappanambi was fanning the Lord he heard the Lord ask His consort Mahalakshmi, “What is this big tinkling sound?” Even today if there is ‘sãnidhya’ (Holy Presence) in a temple it is not because of the puja performed by the ‘archakãs’/’Bhattãchãryas’ with Bhakti. Does that mean that there is there no ‘Sãnidhya’ in the temples today? Of course, it is very much present because Devas come down to the earth to worship the the Lord in the Temple. If the Holy Presence has not waned in Divya Desam temples today, it is because Siddas, Yakshãs, Kinãrs and Devas are still worshipping the Perumal here. Even if man has forgotten the worship in these temples, they have not.

There once lived a great Jnãni by name Thiruvalam Swamigal. Thiruvalam is the name of a village near Ranipet in South India. He was a dhobi by caste. Once, Maha Periyava while speaking on the Jnãnis who existed at that time said, “Thiruvalam Swamigal though born in a dhobi family is a great Jnãni”. He used to wear just a loincloth with a sack cloth! This Swamigal used to perform tapas sitting in the temple. In the morning he would speak of all that had occurred in the temple at night. How Siva went into Ambãl’s Sannidhi, how Ambãl went into Siva’s sannidhi, the Devas worship of the Deities, the flowers used by them in their worship, etc. Mahãtmas can see all these. Sometimes this Swamigal would say, “See the gold on the floor, see the ‘sampangi’ flower strewn on the floor!” But none could see them. It was visible only to his eyes. Devas worship of the Lord with gold was visible to his eyes. So, even today the temples in Kshetras such as Tiruvannamalai, Tirupathi, Rameswaram worship is performed by the Devas.

There were no restaurants in those days. Every house had a pyol on the outside only for the pilgrims or visitors to rest there. In those days before closing the door at night the people of the house would check to see if any visitor (anyone from outside their village) was resting on the pyol outside. If so, it was a practice to enquire, “Have you had food? Wherefrom have you come?” Only after making sure no guest was on the pyol would the doors be closed. However, before going to bed they would keep some food and a small pot of water in the kitchen. One should not keep the vessels in the kitchen empty of cooked food. This is because the ‘pithrus’ (the dead ancestors) come at night seeking food. It is said that the house where the vessels are emptied is cursed to poverty. So, one should always leave a little food and water in the kitchen before going to bed at night.

Koorathãzhwãr who was running an ‘anna chatra’ (a house of charity) checked outside to see if anyone needed food. There was none. So, he closed the doors for the day. It was at this time that the Perumal asked His consort Mahalakshmi, “What is this big tinkling sound?” Piratti explained, “Our Koorathãzhwãr has just closed the doors after offering food to all those who had come in today.” She further said, “Is there any dearth of wealth for Koorathãzhwãr?” Kachhiappanamabi was highly pleased to hear this because even while a little wealth is considered the blessings of Lakshmi (the Goddess of Wealth) here Mahalakshmi Herself declared, “Is there any dearth of wealth for Koorathãzhwãr?” How blessed is Koorathãzhwãr! Can there be anyone better blessed? In the early hours of morning Kachhiappanambi hurried to Koorathãzhwãr’s place to pass on this piece of great news to him. This piece of news did not bring joy to Koorathãzhwãr instead he writhed in pain, “Did not the Lord and Piratti speak of my ‘Achãrya Bhakti’ (devotion to the Guru) and my ‘Achãrya Nishtai’ (one pointed thought of the Guru)? Did they not tell that I am the dust of the Feet of Sri Ramanuja? Did they not call me the ‘ecchhal’ of Ramanuja? Did they not call me the ‘Dãsa’ (slave) of Ramanuja? If instead of these they have spoken about my wealth it only goes to show that I do not possess any ‘Achãrya Bhakti’. One always speaks of only the foremost ‘Guna’ present.” Immediately Koorathãzhwãr sacrified all his wealth and embraced Sanyasa ashrama.

It was while this Koorathãzhwãr was here that Sri Ramanuja was performing ‘teertha kaingarya’. All the water offered by Sri Ramanuja was collected and reserved by Varadaraja Perumal and poured forth here as rains. So, ‘Ãzhi mazhaikanna’! - writes the Swamy in his commentary. The innumerable pots of water offered by Sri Ramanuja is now being poured forth as heavy rains by the Lord! "

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NOTE: Any discrepancy/lapse in the translated version of the Upanyasam is the sole responsibility of the person/s who translated the work from Tamizh into English.

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