Friday 17 June 2016

PeriavA’s speech on Appayya Dikshitar and his work आत्मार्पण स्तुति



கேட்டதில் பிடித்தது

பெரியவா திருவடிகளே சரணம். நாளை அனுஷம். பெரியவாளின் அனுக்ரஹ பாஷணத்திலிருந்து சில பகுதிகளை பகிர விரும்புகிறேன்..

Tomorrow (18th June 2016)  being anusham, let me bring some synopsis of mahA periavA’s speech on Appayya Dikshitar’s  AtmArpana Stuti”.

PeriavA’s speech of various subjects has been released and it is available in you tube also.  Though limited, one of his speeches  on Appayya Dikshitar’s (AD) (1520-1592)  AtmArpana Stuti. (AS),  merit mention here as it shows how our saints of yesteryears lived their life and how they spread bhakthi, which is unique for our State.

periavA’s speech is interluded with humor, a touch upon simple Sanskrit and of course a strong message of the core subject. ……

Before he goes into the main subject, he says “a person of unsound mind is free from sins and for him, mOksha  is certain.   People who come to me to cure the unsound minded person to a normal person are ignorant of the fact that once the unsound becomes a normal, he starts doing sinful acts thereby accumulating sins, resulting in a confirmed “berth”  in hell.   If  he continues to be unsound for 4 years, he continues to refrain from doing sinful activities for 4 years.  There are two sets of people who are free from sins- one Child, another is unsound minded persons”

He speaks high about AD as a great scholar in Sanskrit and  made literature in 104 grandhams.  A staunch Shivaite, as his Shaiva Sidhdhantam has been well appreciated by one and all.  His book on Ramanuja Sidhantam is still lauded by the Vaishnavaites and has been considered as one of the best books on Vaishnava Siddhantham.

He believed fully in Advaitham and followed this principle in his life. His foray into “AlankAra Sastram, Dharma Sastram and vyAkaranam is a proven fact of his abundant knowledge.  He was truly a ocean of knowledge.  He had also penned mAdhwa  books and also written many literature on prAkrutha bhAshA.,  ie  saurasEni.   Also an expert in AyurvEdham.

He was a God-send and staunch Shiv bhakthA, his poetry and literature are a divine treat to read.  One should know Sanskrit to appreciate his workings.

Adding further, periavA says. “Dikshitar had a doubt in his mind, “Iam doing some kind of bhakti.  Is this real bhakthi  ?  Will I continue to do this ?  People cannot concentrate even for one minute thinking of God, so many thoughts clash and collapse our thought process.  Will I be blessed with bhakthi always ?

One will not know what happens tomorrow.  Tomorrow if something happens to me, will I continue thinking of You ? (Lord Shiva)”

Thus, Dikshitar was so much confused. 

Then, came the ultimate. 

Dikshitar thought “As Iam of sound mind, I think of you and worship you.  If I become unsound mind, will I continue thinking of you or abusing you  ?”
So, he decided to become a person of unsound mind

As he, an expert in AyurvEdha,  knows how to prepare a substance made of seed that would make anyone loses his mental balance.   He told his disciples that he would consume the “substance” and asked them record the “events” after he loses his mental balance.  

During the state of mental confabulation, he composed 50 verses of composition which is called Unmatta panchasahth or AtmArpana Stuti

PeriavA says that 50 verses were considered as one of the best creations of Dikshitar, therein Dikshitar emphasizes the fact You (Lord Shiva) are very kind to us as we worship with wild flowers like “arka” and “drOna”, You give us “mOksham”. In other words, by doing so, one could attain the supreme bliss of liberation.  In spite of knowing this, Iam wasting my time, being under the control of my senses, and falling lower and lower.

End of 50th verse, he prays, “Oh bhagvan, though this Stuti has been composed by me without my mind being totally concentrated on You, protect me, considering the fact this miserable is surrendering to You at least by words.”

PeriavA also quotes a verse from Bhagavath Gita  (8.6)

यं यं वापि स्मरन्भावं त्यजत्यन्ते कलेवरम् ।
तं तमेवैति कौन्तेय सदा तद्भावभावितः


"Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his present body, in his next life he will attain to that state without fail." Now, first we must understand that material nature is a display of one of the energies of the Supreme Lord.

To end this, I could not control my feelings after listening to His speech and the contents, whether to praise Dikshitar or thinking of my fortunes for having born in this country and listen to mahA periavA’s speech.

I have to thank my parents who have guided me in this path to taste the sweetness of bhakthi fruit.. ….

Sadh gurubyO namaha..

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