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Footnote to bhishma-stuthi-15

From the Bhakti List Archives

M K Sudarshan • July 9, 1997 


Dear "bhakti" members,

I have received from a dear and respected member (who does not wish to be
known) a most precious "feed-back" --- it fills me with extreme delight and
in fact awe too !

He has referred to the following 2 passages from "bhishma-stuthi-15" :
                    ************************************
"....Psychologists have shown that the development of a child's cognitive and
discriminative faculties first begins with its ability to "mentally
perceive" objects by "naming" them. Otherwise the world of objects would
make no sense to to the tender mind of a child without "names", "names" and
"names" being taught to it ! It is with the aid of "names" that a toddler
slowly comes to terms with the external world around it." 

".....without the aid of the Lord's many "nAmA-s" -- like
"vijaya-sakhE" in the "bhishma-stuthi" for instance -- without "nAmA-s" that
help us in realizing or "sensing" His Identity and His Reality, the world of
religious ideas or mystical experience that our great "AchAryA-s" have
created for our benefit, and which is far more complex and mysterious than
the ordinary world in which we live, would indeed appear even "darker, more
unreal, disturbing and incomprehensible" to us!! 
                   ******************************************

The dear member who wrote privately to me has suggested that the above two
passages are really "only vague echoes" of a verse from Sri.Tondar-adi-podi
Alwar's "tirumAlai" --- Verse # 11 --- and hence should carry it as a
valuable "footnote":

              oru-villAl Ongu munnIradaithu ullangagal-uyya
                cheruvilE arakkar-kOnai settra namsevakanAr
              maruviya periyakOyil madhiL tiruvarangamenAk
                karuvilE tiruvilAdhIr kAlatthai kazhikkinrIrE !

The member has pointed out to me that the words "periyakOyil mathiL
tiruvarangamenAk karuvilE tiruvilAdhIr kAlatthai kazhikkinrIrE ...."
clearly state that "one shouldn't even wait to be born as a child to recite
or utter the Holy "nAmA" of Ranga; one should proceed forthwith to do so
even while one is a "karuvi" i.e. even while one is an embryo or foetus in a
mother's womb!!".

I am simply amazed at this members's astute ear and sense for the "alwAr's"
real "anubhavam" !!!

I can never thank this gentleman enough for pointing out to me how the above
two passages of mine in my own post are really "only vague echoes" of what
our great Saint Tondar-adi-podi sang many centuries ago !!

Sir, I simply admire you and take my hat off to you !!!

One little "feed-back" like the one given me now is enough !! It will keep
me going in my efforts for many, many days !!

Thank you, indeed, very, very much !!

adiyEn/dAsan
sudarshan