Published:02 Dec 2019 7 PM Updated:02 Dec 2019 7 PM Sakthi Vikatan
சக்தி கொடு! - 17 Give Sakthi - 17
சக்தி விகடன் டீம் Sakthi Vikatan Team
வி.ஆர்.சுந்தரி Authoress V. R. Sundari
2.' Paramātman, the substance, and the essence of Omkāra, stimulate Buddhi. We will meditate on the universal creator's (Bhagavan's) Jyōthi form.' Our spiritual texts say God is Light. Vāriyār Swāmigaḷ will explain further the qualities of the Supreme Being of the form of Light. "Gāyatrī Mantra says, 'Om, earth, atmosphere, and heaven, we meditate on the adorable glory of the radiant sun; may he inspire our intelligence." —translation by Dr. Radhakrishnan.
3. Purport: Sudar = Jyōthi = Radiant Light = Śivaperumāṉ. Flame is heat. That heat is Parāśakti. From the Light emanates a red color. That red color is Gaṇapathy. A flood of Light emanates from the Jyōthi. That flood of Light is Kandha-k-kadavuḷ (Skanda). One Jyōthi offers the Darsan of grace-giving Śiva family, says the Jñāṉasāram. Vāriyār Swāmigaḷ explains the basic essence of this Lamp's Jyōthi.
4. We take Darsan of this Jyōthi as mounted on the hill in Tiruvaṇṇāmalai. From the time of Saṅgam age (spanning from c. 6th century BCE to c. 3rd-century CE.) in Tamil Nadu, Kārttikai Lamp Festival was a yearly event.
5. குறுமுயல் மறுநிறம் கிளர்மதி நிறைந்து
அறுமீன் சேரும் அகல் இருள் நடுநாள்
மறுகு விளக்குறுத்து மாலை தூக்கி
Purport: Akanānuru talks about the greatness of Kārttikai Dīpam. Six-Star-Cluster Pleiades – Kārttikai Nakṣatra: Let us see what Vedas say. Note: அறுமீன் = Six-Star-Cluster Pleiades.
6. Ṛg Veda, the foremost among Vedas, holds Kārttikai Nakṣatra as the starting point to calculate distances.
7. Victory over Virutthirāsuraṉ, symbolism for darkness figures most in the Veda and impresses us on the removal of darkness and the appearance of Light. (Bible: The First Day…2Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. 3And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4And seeing that the light was good, God separated the light from the darkness.…) That victory over Virutthirāsuraṉ happened in the month of Kārttikai.
8. Therefore, Kārttikai is the superabundance of Light. Light has never had an association with the baseness of thought. A flame from the burning matchstick always goes upward from any position of the stick.
9. We should direct our thoughts from the low to the high, whenever the mind takes us down. That is why the fiery mountaintop at Thiruvaṇṇāmalai holds the Dīpam (the Light) by design at its peak as if the Agṉi Sthalam instruct us to keep our thoughts high.
10. Let us discover some of the basic information about Thiruvaṇṇāmalai.
11. Our body has nine Tuvārams or apertures: Eyes, Ears, Nostrils, Anus, and Urethra. The Agni's dominance is apparent in these nine portals. Likewise, there are nine Gopurams (towers) and nine Vimāṉams (Domes over Inner shrines) in the Agni Sthalam, Thiruvaṇṇāmalai. There are nine-highway connections to Thiruvaṇṇāmalai. Let us investigate the sayings of Thirugñāṉa Sambanthar who imbibed Ambikai's milk of spiritual wisdom (= ஞானப்பால் = Jñāṉa-p-pāl).
12. 'Kayilai is Myilai; Myilai is Kayilai.' In that famous Thirumayilai lived a Śivanēsar-Śivanadiyār's daughter Pūmpāvai who died of snakebite. Śivanēsar, a devotee of Sambandhar, kept the ashes of his daughter in an urn.
13. When Jñāṉasambandhar came to Thirumayilai, Śivanēsar described the details of his daughter's death. Jñāṉasambandhar requested the urn containing ash brought to him. Jñāṉasambandhar worshipped Kapālīccharar and said, "O Pūmpāvai! (Ruby-colored lass). The reasons, millions of Āṉmas took birth in this world, are to feed the servitors of the Śivaṉadiyārs (servitors of Śiva) and attain fulfillment by witnessing and enjoying the Śivaperumāṉ's auspicious festivals. If these are true, you come forth now and rise before these people in the world.
மண்ணினிற் பிறந்தார் பெறும்பயன் மதிசூடும்
அண்ணலார் அடியார்தம்மை அமுது செய்வித்தல்
கண்ணினால் அவர் நல்விழாப் பொலிவு கண்டார்தல்
உண்மையாமெனில் உலகர்முன் வருகென உரைப்பார்
14. Jñāṉasambandhar, starting like this, did not stop at that. Ms. Pūmpāvai! Are you going to leave without witnessing all the festivals in the Śiva temples? He listed all the festivals and sang the poems. Pūmpāvai rose from ashes in the urn, having acquired life from the ashes after death, which surprised everyone. That poem says, "The day of Kārttikai…O Pūmpāvai! Are you departing from us without seeing the Lighting ceremony of the lamp, celebrated by Thaiyalār?
15. As a preliminary custom and tradition, there is a burning of palmyra fronds in front of the temples.
16. Three Arakkars (Rākṣasas = demons), Thārakātchan, Kamalātchan, and Vidhyuṉmāli performed severe penance and obtained boons. They lived inside the flying forts built of gold, silver, and iron and caused hardship to all, including Indra. Śivaperumāṉ destroyed those three forts, rehabilitated the Arakkars, made them his servitors, and granted them grace. That is how Śiva earned the holy names like, 'Tripura Śaṅkāri (the destroyer of Tripura) and 'Muppuram Eriththavaṉ (the Burner of three cities or forts).' (Tirumūlar explains. The purport is that the three fortified cities are nothing but our own triad of impurities such as ego, Karma and Māyā.)
18. The destruction of Tripura flying fort-cities along with the evil happened in the month of Kārttikai and under the star of Kārttikai. As if to remind us of this, the temples burn the palmyra fronds ahead of the lighting of the Kārttikai Dīpam. There is more than one meaning for 'சொக்கப்பானை கொளுத்துதல் or 'சொ(ர்)க்கப் பா(வ)னை (Burning Palmyra fronds or the destruction of giants in the heaven).
படம்: கே.எம்.பிரசன்னா Photo by K.M. Prasanna
20. Let us supplicate Śivaperumāṉ to remove all evils from us and grant us the grace of goodness. By his great grace, let us rise above the evil thoughts and deeds.
- வளரும். Will grow.
