THIRUADIPOORAM 13 AUGUST 2018
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Goda and her friends are ready to start the sacred ritual. When they arrive at the banks of the Yamuna, they notice that their ten friends are missing. They go in search of their ten friends.
The essence of ThiruppAvai is that ANDAL observed the month-long Paavai vratam to perform eternal service to Lord Krishna and gain the ultimate fruit of gaining Lord Krishna as Her husband.
Everyone should learn the essence of the Bagawad Gita but, with over 700 slokams in the Bagawad Gita, it's not an easy text to study; but, what if there was a simpler way to learn the Bagawad Gita? Thiruppavai - Goda's Gita offers an easier way to learn the essence of the Bagawad Gita.
A short preview of the book is given below.
The essence of ThiruppAvai is that ANDAL observed the month-long Paavai vratam to perform eternal service to Lord Krishna and gain the ultimate fruit of gaining Lord Krishna as Her husband.
Everyone should learn the essence of the Bagawad Gita but, with over 700 slokams in the Bagawad Gita, it's not an easy text to study; but, what if there was a simpler way to learn the Bagawad Gita? Thiruppavai - Goda's Gita offers an easier way to learn the essence of the Bagawad Gita.
A short preview of the book is given below.
PREDAWN
The much-awaited morning finally arrived. Goda had been unable to sleep as she was filled with sweet anticipation. Outside, the sky was still dark like soft velvet. The stars twinkled like diamonds sewn on a lush velvet cloth. The moon was lower on the Western horizon. Soon, the sky will be filled with a rich medley of yellows, pinks and orange hues. Goda rushed outside with joy. Her friends also rushed out of their homes. The grass felt soft and moist to touch. The cool air from the Yamuna embraced them and welcomed them once again welcomed them to her bank.
As before, Goda took her place under a tamala tree. The silence which is a characteristic of the predawn hour was broken by animated chatter. The girls had been unable to sleep after the meeting and the hour seemed to crawl by. The meeting had finished quite late and even though they returned to the banks of the Yamuna in just a few hours, the girls didn’t look sleep deprived. They felt vibrant and energized.
They were asked to stand together in groups of ten while Goda took their headcount. ‘Four hundred ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred ninety,’ said Goda. ‘That doesn’t sound right,’ she said as she recounted. ‘We are missing ten,’ she announced with concern. ‘We have to wait for them.’
‘Why?’ asked Padma. ‘We had announced that everyone should gather here at this hour. Why should we wait for the latecomers? It’s their fault!’
‘We need them,’ said Goda. ‘Our team is not complete without them. We have gathered here not to perform a ritual but, to submerge ourselves in the ocean called Krishna. We are here to experience the auspicious qualities of Krishna. When we bathe in rivers and large water bodies, we make sure that we go with a spotter so that someone is there to pull us to safety. ….’
‘That’s true for regular rivers,’ interrupted Padma. ‘Why should we need a spotter to take a holy dip in the lake called Krishna?’
‘Krishnanubhavam too can overwhelm us suddenly. Too much joy is also difficult to handle by an ordinary person. This is why we form a group to experience His divine qualities. Also, each one of us experiences Krishna in a unique way and when we share our experiences, the end result is a very vibrant and unique one.’
‘That may be true but, I don’t think we should unnecessarily delay the start of the ritual just because these ten girls are missing!’ said Shyama.
‘Shyama, ‘said Goda. ‘At Sri Vaikuntam, the nithyasuris enjoy serving Paramapada Nathan and yet they are eager for more people to join them from samsara. When even the nithyasuris work to help us attain liberation and don’t feel satisfied with their service until their experience is shared with all of us, shouldn’t we wait for our friends? The best things are enjoyed when we share with everyone.’
‘What should we do now?’ asked Padma. ‘How long should we wait?’
‘Why do you think they are late?’ asked Champaka Latha. ‘Are they still sleeping?’
‘They are not sleeping,’ answered Goda. ‘They are meditating upon Krishna in solitude. They are submerged in their experience that they haven’t realized it is morning. A few of you come with me; we will go to the girls homes and bring them here. There is no point in waiting for them here. They have to be awakened from their experience. Who is the first one on our list?’
As before, Goda took her place under a tamala tree. The silence which is a characteristic of the predawn hour was broken by animated chatter. The girls had been unable to sleep after the meeting and the hour seemed to crawl by. The meeting had finished quite late and even though they returned to the banks of the Yamuna in just a few hours, the girls didn’t look sleep deprived. They felt vibrant and energized.
They were asked to stand together in groups of ten while Goda took their headcount. ‘Four hundred ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred ninety,’ said Goda. ‘That doesn’t sound right,’ she said as she recounted. ‘We are missing ten,’ she announced with concern. ‘We have to wait for them.’
‘Why?’ asked Padma. ‘We had announced that everyone should gather here at this hour. Why should we wait for the latecomers? It’s their fault!’
‘We need them,’ said Goda. ‘Our team is not complete without them. We have gathered here not to perform a ritual but, to submerge ourselves in the ocean called Krishna. We are here to experience the auspicious qualities of Krishna. When we bathe in rivers and large water bodies, we make sure that we go with a spotter so that someone is there to pull us to safety. ….’
‘That’s true for regular rivers,’ interrupted Padma. ‘Why should we need a spotter to take a holy dip in the lake called Krishna?’
‘Krishnanubhavam too can overwhelm us suddenly. Too much joy is also difficult to handle by an ordinary person. This is why we form a group to experience His divine qualities. Also, each one of us experiences Krishna in a unique way and when we share our experiences, the end result is a very vibrant and unique one.’
‘That may be true but, I don’t think we should unnecessarily delay the start of the ritual just because these ten girls are missing!’ said Shyama.
‘Shyama, ‘said Goda. ‘At Sri Vaikuntam, the nithyasuris enjoy serving Paramapada Nathan and yet they are eager for more people to join them from samsara. When even the nithyasuris work to help us attain liberation and don’t feel satisfied with their service until their experience is shared with all of us, shouldn’t we wait for our friends? The best things are enjoyed when we share with everyone.’
‘What should we do now?’ asked Padma. ‘How long should we wait?’
‘Why do you think they are late?’ asked Champaka Latha. ‘Are they still sleeping?’
‘They are not sleeping,’ answered Goda. ‘They are meditating upon Krishna in solitude. They are submerged in their experience that they haven’t realized it is morning. A few of you come with me; we will go to the girls homes and bring them here. There is no point in waiting for them here. They have to be awakened from their experience. Who is the first one on our list?’
Pasuram 6
Goda followed by some of her friends went in search of the first girl on their list. The dark, black sky slowly started turning into a velvety dark blue colour. The birds started to stir in their nests and the early morning silence was broken by chirping sounds.
The group soon arrived at the girl’s house. They gently knocked on the front door.
‘Chirp, chirp, chirp,’ tweeted some birds from a nearby tree as if in response to Goda’s knock.
‘I can’t believe this girl is still sleeping!’ said Champaka Latha. ‘I know her very well. She is very enthusiastic and is crazy about Krishna!’
‘That’s the problem,’ said Goda. ‘As she is inexperienced but, keen on meditating upon Krishna, she doesn’t realize that one must share their experiences with other devotees. This is why there are group prayers and rituals to bring devotees together.’
‘She reminds me of Chintayanthi,’ said Padma. ‘Do you remember Chintayanthi?’
‘Who can forget that dear girl!’ answered Goda.
‘She was too shy to join us when Krishna called us by playing on His flute. She had just been married and she wasn’t born in our village. She was a newcomer and was very shy. She was afraid to leave her house as her in-laws were home. She wasn’t plucky, but, her heart ached to be with Krishna and her heart melted while she listened to Krishna’s flute. She enjoyed the divine music and the more she listened to the sweet tunes, her punyas just melted away. At the same time, she also felt unhappy because like us she hadn’t been brave enough to run after Krishna. Her distress at not being with Krishna melted her papams and before the end of the night, she left this world and attained salvation! Both punyas and papams prevent us from attaining Perumal.’
‘We can understand that sins i.e. papams are hurdles which prevent us from attaining Perumal but, how can merits i.e. punyams create obstacles in the path of bakthi?’ asked Radha.
‘Didn’t you hear what happened to Madhumangala and Upendra when they went on a pilgrimage to Kanchipuram?’
‘What happened to them?’
‘They had reached the outskirts of Kanchipuram when they met Subala a friend of Upendra. Subala had just returned from his trip to a foreign country. As it had been many months since he had last seen Upendra, he took Upendra with him so that he could show him all the goods he had purchased as souvenirs. Madhumangala decided to proceed to the temple. He was travelling through a coconut grove when suddenly he was attacked by a group of robbers who beat him and tied him to a coconut tree. As the coconut grove was in a desolate area, it was quite some time before some pilgrims travelling through the grove rescued Madhumangala.
Upendra in the meantime had a swell time with his friend Subala but, his heart was at Kanchipuram. He felt bad that he had missed darshan of Sri Varadaraja Perumal that day. The next day when the two friends met, they found out that neither of them had obtained darshan of Sri Varadaraja Perumal. Subala who had taken Upendra with him is like punyams. Upendra had an enjoyable time with Subala but, he was prevented from worshipping Perumal. Madhumangala had a horrible time because he was beaten by robbers and he too was prevented from worshipping Perumal. The robbers symbolize papams and the friend, Subala symbolizes punyams. Those who accumulate punyams in this world are taken to heaven by Indran and thus, they miss bagawath anubhavam at Paramapatham. Everyone knows what happens to sinners. Now, do you understand how punyams too prevent us from obtaining salvation?’
The girls again knocked on the door.
‘Who is it?’ asked a girl from inside. She sounded annoyed at being disturbed from her sleep.
‘It is us!’ said Goda. ‘Come on, it is already late and we have to go to the Yamuna.’
‘It is not late!’ protested the girl. ‘It is still night. Go away and come back at dawn.’
‘But it has dawned!’ exclaimed Goda.
‘How do you know it has dawned?’ demanded the girl without getting up from her bed.
‘Can’t you hear the birds chirping in their nests? Chirping sound is an auspicious sign. When Sita Piratti was worried after Ravana had given Her an ultimatum, she heard melodious chirping sound. She saw that the birds perched on the tree branches were chirping merrily without any fear. It was then that She met Lord Hanuman. The birds signaled to Sita Piratti that Lord Hanuman had arrived. Thus, birds by their chirping indicate to the jeevatma the arrival of the acharyan. Listen how merrily the birds are chirping. Arise as it is time to attend spiritual discourse rendered by our acharyan. ’
‘Yes, but they are chirping because you have disturbed them. You are worse than Parankusa Nayaki!’ she said, ‘like her, you do not sleep at nighttime and neither do you nap at daytime. You spend your waking hour thinking about Krishna and submerged in your experience, you do not pay any attention to your surroundings! You are very eager to start the ritual and blinded by your keenness, you are not even able to see that it is still night! Neither do you sleep nor do you let anyone sleep! You have not only woken me but, you have also disturbed the birds!’
‘We didn’t disturb them. They are up because it is dawn. They are summoning all devotees to worship Perumal and to attend kalakshepam.’
‘Do birds attend kalakshepam too?’ questioned Padma who was standing outside with Goda.
‘Haven’t you heard about the two swans who advised King Janashruthi to learn Samvargha Vidhya from Sage Raikvar?’
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