I have great respect and admiration for my brother-in-law, Kishore. He is a wealth of information on subjects varying from mathematics, science and literature to philosophy and religion. He is a voracious reader and has the talent of retaining in his brain everything that he reads. I wanted to record for posterity his nice comments which he sent me by email about this blog.
His praise for this blog is of less importance than the story of Ramanuja that he has succinctly presented. In this day and age, we need to share our knowledge and if you have been touched by the Divine, share it with your spouse, children and friends; that in itself is a great service. I present below Kishore’s comments unaltered – that is the least I can do to show my appreciation for him:
Hi Ravi: Listening to the Matangi Kavacam as I write this - it is a great thing to learn the slokas and a greater thing to share what you have learned with the world. I really appreciate what you have written about the purpose of the blog and the recitations.
While in India, appa and I visited a temple dedicated to Vishnu (Sowmya Narayana Perumal). 1000 years ago, Ramanuja's guru Thirukachi Nambigal (a seer of Kanchi) told him to visit Thirukoshtiyur (Goshti is group, so this is city of the sacred group) and learn the Ashtakshara mantra (' 8 letter hymn' aka 'Om namo narayana') from Thirukoshtiyur Nambigal. Ramanuja visited nambigal about 17 times each time knocking on the door and announcing himself as "naan ramanujan vanthirukken" (I, Ramanuja have come). Nambigal told him to come again on a different day. The 18th time, he said "adiyen vanthirukken" (servant has come). Nambigal initiated him on the meaning and deep philosophy of the mantra and asked Ramanuja to keep the mantra to himself (it should be shared only with the right disciple after initiation).
But Ramanuja felt that sharing this mantra with the public will benefit everyone. He went straight to the temple of Sowmya Narayana perumal and stood on top of the gopuram (we can climb up and see the place even today) and he loudly pronounced the Ashtakshara Mantram repeatedly. Nambigal became angry since Ramanuja broke his promise. He called Ramanuja and said that having broken the promise to his guru, he will be going to hell. Ramanuja replied that it was his great fortune in showing the path and guiding people to Heaven, and he would not mind going to hell for what he did.
These words affected nambigal to the extent he just prostrated before Ramanuja and called him "Emperumaan."
BTW, Matangi is another name for Meenakshi in Madurai (same as Varahi for Akhilandeswari in SriRangam) - in the Bhuvaneswari amman shrine which is in-between Madurai and Trichy, they have statues for each on either side of Bhuvaneswari (you have the Bhuvaneswari amman picture).
Love,
Kishore
Respected Sir,
ReplyDelete"in the Bhuvaneswari amman shrine which is in-between Madurai and Trichy, they have statues for each on either side of Bhuvaneswari (you have the Bhuvaneswari amman picture). "
The same way, shrI bhuvanEshwari in the centre, vArAhi and mAthangi on her either sides is present in salem Om shrI skandAsramam yAgashala as well.
May be the temple was constructed under the guidance of HH shrI shAntAnanda swAmigal.
Regards,
Sendhil
Iyya: You MUST be a Divine Soul since you have had the blessings to see these great places of pilgrimage ! Thank you for sharing this information.
DeleteResponding after 5 years:-) Yes, Sri Shanthanandha Swamigal established three centers at Pudukkottai, Salem and Selaiyur (near Tambaram Chennai). All three have similarities, share the same deities as well. The Pudukkottai shrine is the adishtanam of Santhananda Swamigal's Jyeshta Guru Judge Swamigal aka Sri Sachchidananda Swamigal who was a judge before he became a Sanyaasin. Santhananda Swamigal has published a number of works on Sri Bhuvaneshwari in sanskrit and tamil.
ReplyDeleteGreat Kishore ! Thank you for sharing with the world at large !
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