HINDUISM

Navarathri for peace and prosperity

‘Kalabooshanam’ Chelvatamby Maniccavasagar

Navarathri fast or Sakthi worship or Saraswathy pooja in honour of the Hindu Pantheon of Goddesses namely Durgai, Lakshmi and Saraswathy will be celebrated for nine nights starting from today. In fact, this festival which is dedicated to Devi worship will conclude with Vijaya Dasami on Thursday October 9, 2008.

In Hinduism the supreme Lord is represented by Maheswara and His power is represented by His consort Sakthi. Sakthi is the embodiment of power. She is the supreme power by which the world is made to function. As such Navarathri is also called Sakthi worship.

In one of the poems T. S. Eliot has described the predicament of man who with all the progress and success had made in science and technology finds that “Endless inventions and endless experiments bring us knowledge of motion, but not of stillness, knowledge of words and not of the word.”

Lord Shiva without Sakthi is all stillness. it is Sakthi which stirs Him to motion and speech. Shiva is the word, it is Sakthi which moves to words. The union between them is represented by the image of Shiva as Aradhanariswara, half man and half woman. Shakthi herself takes different forms. Sometimes, she is stern and formidable. Of the many Gods in Hindu pantheon none is revered more than Mother Goddess.

In fact, Navarthri is a period of prayers and meditation for moral, material and spiritual upliftment. In the Navarathri pooja the glorious mother in her aspect as Durgai is first worshipped for three nights in order that the evil nature in man could be destroyed. She is the Samhara Sakthi, the all destroying power of God Shiva as Rudra.

Durgai astride a lion and it is the symbolic annihilator of evil. She fought the demon Mahisasha and killed him and is referred to as Mahishasura Mardini.

Lakshmi is the Goddess of Wealth. She is the consort of Lord Vishnu. Vishnu represents the power of maintenance. In order to maintain anything in life, one must possess the wealth to do so. Lakshmi is worshipped on the second set of three days in Navarathri pooja.

Further, Lakshmi is expressed as Swarnahasta by virtue of the fact that she pours out wealth to the community. This wealth is gained by invoking the Goddess Lakshmi. Lakshmi is sometimes represented with four arms, but more often with two. She is described as seated on a lotus.

She also holds a lotus in her hand. The realisation of the self is the supreme goal to be gained by man. This is symbolised by the Lotus in the hand of Goddess Lakshmi.

During the final three nights the Mother her aspect as Goddess Saraswathy is worshipped by devotees. She is the creative power of God Brahma and worshipped as the Goddess of knowledge.

Goddess Saraswathy is depicted seated on a white lotus draped in a white saree, playing the veena indicating that she sings the melody of life inviting devotees to merge into the Naada Brahma. Further, Goddess Saraswathy’s appearance connotes purity and transcendence. The white swan is a symbol of spiritual transcendence and perfection. She is worshipped for knowledge - the wisdom which will guide and on the onward march to the final goal of liberation.

Further, one who has thus cleansed one’s inner personality of the negative qualities and substituted them with nobler traits, alone can benefit by the invocation of the Goddess of knowledge.

The study of Upanishads is futile and it can not bring about a spiritual awakening unless one’s heart is pure. The false value of desire, lust and passion must be weeded out and the positive qualities like self control, love, kindness etc. must be cultivated before actual learning begins with the dawn of spiritual wisdom, the little ego in man, his lower nature is destroyed.

The burning of an effigy on the tenth day following the nine-day Durga puja commemorates the destruction of the ego. This day is also called the Day-of-Enlightenment, Vidyaramba.

On the tenth day which is called Vijayadasami special and colourful rituals are observed in temples where the battle between Durga and the Demon is re-enacted. This ritual is referred to as Maanampu.

The arrangements of Durgai, Lakshmi and Saraswathy in the Navarathri pooja conveys a significance truth, a revelation of an actual law and the return journey of the embodied soul to merge with the Paramatman.

 Hindu Saints and Bakthi Cult – 2:

Sundarar a servant of Lord Shiva

T. V. Wijeyaratnam

Sri Chakravarthi Rajagopala Acharyar (Rajaji) the first C-in-C of independent India wrote a book on St. Lawrence called “Tholamaiyogam” which means the Yoga of Comradeship. In the case of Saint Sundarar too, he worshipped Lord Siva treating Him as a ‘Tholan’ - comrade. In his hymns the concept of comradeship runs like a silver streak through the cantos.

Saint Sundarar, according to legend was serving Lord Siva in the heavens. Once when he was in the garden, he heard the voices of two maidens who were attending on Lord Siva’s consort Parvathy. He peeped over casting loving glances at the maidens. Lord Siva bade them be born on earth and lead a normal life till they became fit to re-enter the kingdom of heaven where austerity is the password.

So Sundarar was born to a Saiva devotee Sadaiynar and his wife Isaignaniyar at Thirunavalur. They were a family of temple priests in the present South Arcot District. The name Sundarar means beautiful, handsome.

The local ruler on one of his rounds saw this beautiful child playing. He took a fancy for him and with the permission of the parents took him to the palace and brought him up in the royal tradition and also bringing him up in priesthood.

When Sundarar reached marriageable age, a bride was chosen for him by his parents.

When the marriage ceremonies were about to begin, an old brahmin appeared and declared that Sundarar was his slave. Sundarar called him a mad man (Pitchan). The old man produced a document wherein Sundarar’s grandfather had pledged himself and all his progeny to be eternally slaves to the old man.

Sundarar tore the document. The old man laughed saying it was only a copy and that he had to original safe and produced it. The elders admitted it as authentic and so Sundarar had to anandon the suptial chamber and follow his old master.

When asked where his house was, he took the young bridegroom along with all those assembled there, walked into the sanctum sanctorum of the local shrine and disappeared. That was Divine intervention to win back Sundarar to the celestial abode where he belonged.

As he was tempted by the two women, when in heaven, he and the two maids were born as mortals to go through life and when spiritually mature would be taken into the fold in heaven.

There was an oracle commanding Sundarar to sing a hymn in praise of Lord Siva. As he called him a lunatic “Pithan”, Lord Siva wanted him to start the song with that word. So Sundarar sang his first hymn:
“Pitha piraisoodi
perumalai arulala
Ethan maravathe
ninaikindren
manathunnai
Vaithan pennai thenpal
vennai Nalluraruthuraiul
Atha unakkalai ini
allelenalamai.”

The song in brief -
Lunatic, with a crescent in
your crown
I will always keep you in
my mind
With the good woman
beside thee
Thou abideth at Nallur
Oh father I cannot survive
if I don’t see thee

From that day started his long spiritual journey in the world. Sundarar went to many shrines in the country singing the hymns in praise of the incumbent Deity. His hymns included the duty of man to serve God Siva. There were many miraculous happenings in his life.

Now one of the celestial nymphs whom Sundarar had seen in his heavenly abode was born in a place called Arur by the name of Paravai. As decreed by Lord Siva, they met at a temple and fell for each other and by divine intervention they were married.

As mentioned earlier Sundarar placed himself in the role of the friend and comrade of the Lord God Himself and this is very vividly seen in the hymn he sang at Thiruvaroor. He takes liberties with Lord Siva -
A permanent slave to thee
Thy devotees are in
distress
thou who dost see this
take not any action
So live thee well at
Thiruvaroor
What cares thee
About the suffering
devotees

He is almost accusing Lord Siva of ignoring the suffering devotees, like he would any friend.

Once there was a famine. One of the devotees of Sundarar was a wealthy man named Kundaiyurkilar who used to send provisions for Sundarar. He was very unhappy that due to the prevalent famine he could not do so. He himself abstained from taking food. The next day by the grace of Lord Siva, there was enough and more paddy heaped in his house for Sundarar. Now Sundarar had no means of taking the paddy to his wife Paravaiyar at Thiruvaroor. He worshipped Lord Siva and sang the human meaning:
Thou art ever in my
though
To save my wife from
starvation
Thou hast sent the paddy
But Lord I have no means
To take it to Thiruvaroor -

Lord Siva heard his plea and sent His spiritual minions who are always beside Him in the Astral form to have the paddy transported to Thiruvaroor - such intimate comradeship existed between the devotee and the Lord God. Sundarar was bound eternally to the Supreme Lord, yet he played with Him, treated Him as an equal and even ordered him about more like Krishna and Arjuna in Mahabaratha.

Many miraculous incidents happened to Sundarar during his sojourn on earth.

Of the two celestial nymphs Sundarar saw in heaven, Kamalini was born as Raravaiyar first. Later at Thriottiyur, he met another young woman called Sangili who was actually the celestial nymph Aninditai born on earth due to divine decree.

She had decided to marry only a Siva devotee. Owing to the connection in their previous existence in heaven, Sundarar fell in love with her. He prayed to Lord Siva to unite her to him. The Lord appeared in her dream and instructed her to marry Sundarar. When she said he was already married, He told her that he (Sundarar) would promise never to leave her.

They got married. Sundarar was reminded of his marriage to Paravaiyar when during spring, the Panguniutharam festival was on at Thiruvaroor. He forgot his promise to Sangiliyar and left her to go to Thiruvaroor.

As he reached the boundary of Thiruottiyur, he lost his eye sight-a punishment for breaking his promise to Sangiliyar, with Lord Siva as witness. Grieved and penitent, Sundarar beseeched the Lord to have pity on him and give a blind man’s staff.

He got what he wanted and wended his way to Thiruvenbakka. When he reached the famous city of Kanchi he got back the vision of his left eye. He reached Arur, prayed and had his sight restored in the right eye too.

In the meantime Paravaiyar got to know of his second marriage and refused to see him. He pleaded with Lord Siva to intervene and make firm patch up with Paravaiyar. Lord Siva went twice to her as Sundarar’s messenger and ultimately Paravaiyar relented.

Another Siva devotee named Kalikamar thought it was outrageous that Sundarar should treat Lord Siva as a messenger. Lord Siva wanted the two to be friends. He made Kalikamar to suffer from a severe colic and told him that only Sundarar could cure him.

Kalikamar thought Sundarar was sinful in that he had the audacity to employ the Lord for setting his family problem. He would rather die rather than go to Sundarar. He stabbed himself with a dagger just as Sundarar came on the scene obeying Lord Siva’s order. He knew that Kalikamar killed himself because of his great devotion to Lord Siva. Sundarar too wanted to kill himself when Lord Siva intervened and brought back Kalikamar to life. The two men became friends by the grace of God.

Another friend of Sundarar was the ruler of the Seranadu-Seraman Perumal. Seraman also was a canonized Saint. The life of Saint Sundarar was much more complex than the lives of Appar and Sambandar. In his life Sundarar revealed to the world the immanence and the transcendence of God. He lived in and 700 (Sic) - c 690 to 708 a.d.

Saivaism, like the other branches of Hinduism, has the doctrine of Karma as the root of all its philosophy. Everyman has to reap the fruit of his actions. Sundarar too was no exception. He failed to have self-control when he set eyes on the two celestial maidens, attendants of Goddess Parvathy. So the three of them had to be born as mortals to expiate their actions in being fascinated mutually.

Although Lord Siva was fond of this young devotee, Sundarar has to pay for his unethical conduct in heaven. His great devotion to Lord Siva could not spare him - Divine Justice took its course. This is actually a lesson for all. His life simply points out the fact. “One reaps what one sows” and no one, even Ozymandias can escape Divine Justice which hangs like the Sword of Damocles above one’s head.

Sundarar is supposed to have sung about 38 thousand poems in praise of God. These religious songs are sung in a tune called “Pann” - raga.

In Saivaite parlance Yoga is the union of the Jeevatma (individual self) with the Paramatma (cosmic self). In other words the union of the soul at the Lotus feet of God.

Sundarar was by no standards a recluse. Appar and Sambandar and Manickavasagar lived in a state of absolute renunciation, surrender and self-effacement. Sundarar on the other hand was brought up in luxurious surrounding in the palace and enjoyed all the luxury meted out to a prince. Besides he married twice.

He always felt Lord siva beside him, and granted his needs whenever he wanted. While calling himself a servant to Lord Siva, he was never meek. In his hymns he was taunting, challenging and commanding his Divine Comrade, and Lord Siva answered all his prayers. He was in a state of total surrender to God and he could demand and command at will per virtue of his endless affection for his friend - Lord Siva. The time was ripe for Sundarar.

He felt that life had no meaning. He turns to God and implores Him to take him back. Renunciation came easily to him. All that mattered was that God was his only refuge.

The Lord and Master grants all the wishes of his true devotees. Sundarar sought no more of the illusory pleasures of earth. And so Sundarar having lived on earth, married according to his desires, went through untold miseries in life was finally enlightened on the worthless life on earth and realised that only salvation was at the feet of God, and on an auspicious date and time and under a favourable star Swathy in the Tamil months of Aadi (mid July - mid August) he reached his former abode, from where he started on his tiresome soujourn on earth.

Kolam competition

The Hindu Association of Lake House organised a Kolam competition on Saturday in view of the Nawarathri festival which begins today. It was held at Vivekananda College, Colombo 13. Around 75 participants took part in two different types of kolam competitions - ‘Ma kolam’ and ‘Rangoli’. (Kolam is a floor decoration with flour, dried coconut or coloured rice). Here S. Parasuraman, Consultant of the Association distributing a certificate to a participant. Pictures by Ananda Muramudali