SathGuru ThyAga-Brahmam +Naadha Brahmam + RAma Brahmam= BrahmAnandam

Dear Readers, srI: In this blog post, I am going to shed out and share my devotion,admiration and aspiration for sathguru sri thyAgabrahmam and I consider this as a bhAgyam to even write about him. I am very sure that words can't be used to express his greatness especially when coming from a "microscopic" personality like me when compared to his greatness but I am going to try and express my heart-felt feelings about him just because I want to share the unbounded pristine joy I am very fortunate indeed to experience when thinking about him/ practising his su-swara nAdhAmritha bhakthi rasAyana krithis. In fact , the right and the best way for me to pay respect would be to compose a string of krithis on him (just like many others) but since I am neither qualified nor talented and knowledgeable enough for such a noble task, I am content and happy in worshipping his krithis like "GurulEkha Etuvanti". May be with his katAkshams , a time will come when i can perform such a kaimkaryam. HIS NAAMA MAHAATHMYAM- What is in a name? Through his dEvAmruthavarshini krithi ( Evarani), he showed us the glory of the rAma nAmA as the word derived from "rA" from the AshTAkshari of "Om NamO nARAyanA" and "mA" in the panchAkshari of "Om NaMA ShivAya" and when the akshArAs are removed from the mantrAs , they become meaningless. Look at sathguru's choice of rAgam here ,symbolically indicating us that the rAma nAmA has got a potential to create a "deVamrutha" mazhai (rain) to cleanse the dry and dusty minds resulting from bAdhAs of kali. Now, let us enjoy the greatness of HIS name. He was named "thyAgarAjan" after the presiding deity (Lord Thyagarja) @ ThiruvArur. True to his name, he has lived a life of thyAgam (sacrifice) where he ruled as the rAjA (king) of the kingdom of rAma bhakthi. (rAma bhakthi sAmrAjyam). Let me bring back the words of Brahmasri T.S BAlakrishna Sastrigal about Lord thyAgarAjA. In thiruvArur, Lord thyAgarAjan is blessing his devotees in the form of nAdha brahmam. In the temple's garba griha, there rests a box. Only a selected few of the temple priests who are very strict in discipline are allowed to open the box and perform poojA. What is there inside that box that is considered so sacred? It is nAdha brahmam. Even while performing the poojA , the priests are not allowed to see what is in there. They have to cover their eyes with a band and then only perform the poojA. Once a preist violated this rule and tried to peek into the box. After that he didn't see anybody. He lost his eyes. We can't say how true such stories are true but what is definitely true and what we need to incur through the story is that the nAdha brahmam is very sacred and in fact it is the sound manifestation of God. Once someone asked the question to a bhaktha "Why doesn't your swami have any shape/ form or anything for that matter?" The answer of that bhakthA was " My swami has given everything to his devotees including his form. All that is left is nAdha brahmam". Such is the greatness of Lord ThyAgarAjA of ThiruvArur. How can our sathguru be different? Though he was named ThyAgarAjan, he is often refered as "ThyAga -brahmam". Only self-realized people are given the title (e.g Sukha-brahmam). While Sukha-brahmam's father was refered as a sage (VyAsa muni/ vyAsa bhagawAn), his son was considered as Brahman itself. Here is an interesting account taken from Mukkur sWami's upanyAsam that will clearly elucidate the difference. ---Quote--- "Shuka Brahmam was a practitioner of single-minded Bhakti to Lord Narayana and none else. He was oblivious to the form or appearance of any person or thing. He only beheld Lord Narayana in every animate and inanimate object. One day he was walking by a river where Apsara damsels were performing snanam bereft of any clothing. However, they continued their act as if nothing had happened. A short while later, Vedavyasa walked by and the same Apsara damsels rushed to cover their bodies with their clothes. Vedavyasa was somewhat enraged by this and demanded an explanation of the damsels for their act. The damsels remarked in unison "Yes your son walked by a short while before you. However, did he stop to talk to us? No He just went his way. He is able to see Lord Narayana alone in every being be it a mountain, an insect, or a human being. Whereas You are endowed with Bheda jnAnam, i.e., you can make a distinction between the being and their indweller, Lord Narayana. Therefore, we acted as we did".1 ---Unquote--- Just like shukha-brahmam, our sathguru was always immersed in nAdhAbrahmam and rAma-brahmam ( actually, his fathers name:). Now why he has been given the title of "Sathguru". SathGuru literally means "true teacher" . Actually , he is the teacher of truth and nothing but the truth. Truth is verily Brahman and just like sukha-brahmam , sathguru thyAgabrahmam also revelled in SeethArAman, the embodiment of Brahman. HIS DHIVYA GUNA-ATHISAYAAS Sathguru lived his life by feasting his eyes(thus MIND:) on the roopam of "athi ramaneeya" rAman while his mouth (thus, MIND:) was singing the glories of him in su-swara nAdham while ears, body and soul enjoying and reverberating in the divine vibrations amidst the fragrance of the sacred thulasi leaves that he used for archanA. While doing so, tears from his eyes would roll down performing abhishEkam to his "jagadhAnandhakArakan". Will such an eyes ever be tempted to see gold? Will those ears like to listen narasthuthi ( songs praising average humans) or other kinds of so called "music"? Would the sound coming out of his mouth fail to please ANYONE? Would such a mind dwelve on low instincts? . During his time, there was a great scholar by the name Thoomu Narasimha DAs. He has got something to tell us about his meeting with sathguru. ---Quote--- Thoomu Narasimha Das, a great scholar, says that he visited Thyagaraja Swami in Madras. Narasimha Das says that he greatly benefited from this meeting. "Kesavananada Sankeerthanavali Vinti, bakthulu shishyulu kalasi koluva kanti, maadhuri vaibhavambu kanti, vinaya sathsampanna vivekambu kanti." In simpler words, Narasimha Das says that he saw a man of devotion and discipline, a person of wisdom and intellect and in a nutshell, a divine presence. Narasimha Das concludes his statement with the words, "Ajuniki AntharAni anubhavamunu kanti - premanoka saari pilichithe Ramudu Oyanuchu mArubalkunanta" or in simpe words, when Swami calls, Lord Sri Rama responds with an "Oh! Thygaraja, did you call me?. Thomu Narasimha Das says that his meeting with Sri Thyagaraja was an experience that even the creator of the world, Brahma could not have experienced. 2. ---Quote--- What sukruthams Narasimha dAs could have done to have gotten the opportunity to meet sathguru? ThyAgayya has shown us the right path (san-mArga) in many of his krithis. Here comes his speciality. Truth is always bitter to an average samsArin. There are very few people who can speak the truth in soft and sweet words and the master of this art is none other than SeethArAmachandran.In his Aarabhi Raga (one of his favorite rAgAs) pancharathnam , he refers to this quality of his hero as "mrudhu suBAsha". ThyAgayya also possesed this quality. He has through many of his krithis softly and sweetly shunned the evil ways/ false practises and glorified the effectiveness of sanmArgA through sathbhakthi. It is said that reading the rAmAyana once completely is an easy task. Reading here means , reading it from top to bottom by understanding the arthams (meaning) and also the artha tathvams (the subtle implications). Even this is considered easy but what is considered difficult is to lead a life like that of the lead character in the form of SriRamachandran. ThyAgayya lived and showed us how it is possible for one to develop such saathvic qualities that were inherent in srirAman. He showed us that just singing/listening to aesthetically pleasing music has no value rather he recommended practise of Bhakthi-nAdhOpAsanA. The following exerpt is from the esteemed Yogi , YajnavAlkyA. --Quote-- The classical pronouncement on music of voice, of instruments like the Vina, on the mastery of sruti-s, swaras and the various rhythmic measures, is in the Smriti of Yajnavalkya who is esteemed as a Yogin. He says that the practice of music leads one to moksha, or liberation without strain i.e. without going through the rigors of yogic discipline or of the path or jnana: "One should clear one's mind of other ideas and with the mind and faculties in concentration, contemplate on one's Self, shining like a lamp within oneself. By singing the Saman-s in the proper manner, without interruption and with concentration, one attains by practice the Supreme Being. 3 --Unquote-- "Concentration"," without interruption", "purity of mind" are some very important words here. These words are like the "Ra" and "ma" aksharas of the ashtAkshari and panchAkshari mantrAs. Without those words, the vAkhyams of those great people have no real value. When the mind becomes pure , the other two attributes are easily obtained. But the greatest challenge is to make the mind pure by eliminating kAmA (lust), lObhA (greed) and krodhA (anger). This is one of the TApa TrayAs (Athi Dhaivic, Athi Bhauthic and AdhyAthmic). Athi Dhaivic is the misery caused due to circumstances beyond the control of some one ( earthquakes, flood, war, persistence). Athi bhauthic is the misery caused due to bhUthAs/ other forms of life (insects/other microorgs). The last one is AdhyAthmic i.e the misery caused due to ones own mind. Of the three, the second one can be avoided to some extend by keeping us and the surroundings clean. The first one could not be avoided as it is not under our control. The last one can be done and should be one/ at least efforts have to be made and that is yOgA, the simplest of which is bhakthi YOgA. All these kinds of YOgA can easily be abused/misused/underused. For example, one would perform meditation and other yOgic practises to generate name/fame (misused) or to derive temporary relief from wordly stress (under-used). People have been and are performing these with/without the knowledge of their real greatness without the intention of purfication of mind and without the attitude of sharAnagathi to the lOtus feets of God despite the philosophical teachings of both yester year and modern day philiosophers such as Swami ViVEkAnandA . That is the case with RAja yOga. Similarly jnAna yoGa can be mis-used to accumulate hoards of philosophical teachings through vain debates on the superiority of one branch of philosophy over other without refining ones character (like a donkey that carries a sack of Gold,thyAgayya says). Just like that , bhakti yOga can also be mis-used to gain name/fame (fake bhAgawathAs/pOli SAamiyaars:) or to accumulate wealth. We are living in the age of kAli the bAdhAs of which can really negate the gems of truth expounded by the great saints and philosophers of our past and present. For an average man in the kali yugA, the mental tranquility that one can derive from practising yOgA appeals more than developing purity/sanctity and similarly the musical aesthetics appeal more to the listener than developing good character and bhakthi using carnatic music. Artists/ rasikAs/ VaakhgEyakarAs who are very orthodox and those who really understand and practise Carnatic Music for the greater cause of purifying ones character and reaching the Supreme as recommended by Yogi YajnavalkyA are very very rare indeed. In the current age, if at all there are at least some people who can buy this concept and propagate them it is mostly due to Saint thYagayya who has in numerous krithis expounded to us the greatness of nAdhOpAsanA with simplicity and humility. No other composer (including the other trinites ) have done such great service of thyAgayya that should be cherised, practised and propagated for years to come without reducing its value (just like the popularity of yOGa for stress relief, even among Indians) and this is why I am not in favour of considering Carnatic Music as CM as a "stress- relief" music, "carnatic fusion" , CM in movies to decorate duets but only as bhakthi nAdhOpAsanA, only for which we are celebrating arAdhAnAs for him all over the world with/without true bhakhi and admiration for him:). In fact, I believe that just for his pancharathna krithis , one should perform bhakthi poorva ArAdhanA to him not on Bahula panchamis only but on a daily basis dedicating at least one hours time to pay homage with shraddhA and bhakthi every morning. I will write up on the mahAthmyams of the pancharathna krithis from my perspective in a future post. Now , if one can perform this kind of tribute to him every day, what else is needed? Ones mind becomes content and over a period of time (days,months/years) with Sathgurus grace one can acquire the qualities of RAmA that he had. Such people can develop the qualities of Hari (Hari Guna mani maya- EndharO mahAnubAvulu ,sri Raga pancharathnam) like TEjas, humilty, sharp intellect yet simple,humble and soft and sweet spoken and just by their mere thought, the countless sins of the devotees are burnt. (jagamellanu sudhA dhristhi ChE BrOchuvAru). Sathguru ThyAgayya has composed different kinds of krithis , which can be classified as follows --Quote-- 1. SAdhanA Sampat - Means and aid to spiritual life 1a. VaiRAgyA - Freedom from passion for material and sense pleasures 1a1. Narasthuthi Garhana - Flattery of rich condemned. 1a2. Artha-GarhanA- Material values condemned 1a3. KAma - garhanA - Sense pleasures condemned. 1b. Nithya-AnithyA-VivEkA - Discrimination of the permanent and Evanescent Values. 1b1. ParamArtha prasamsA- Spiritual values praised. 1c. Sama-Dama etc. - Quietitude, sef-control , contentment etc. 1da. Satsanga and Gurubhakthi- SathsanghA, SAdhus, jnAnis,BhAgawathAs, Guru praised. 1db. Asaths, AsAdhUs, AjnAnis, Asad-bhAgawathAs denounced. 1dc. Special Guru nAradA praised. 1e. Kshetra-TirthAthanA- Pilgrimages 2. SangithA - Music as an accessory to devotion 2a. Sath-bhakthi SangITha prasamSA. -Music with bhakthi Praised. 2b. Sushka- SangItha garhanA - Mere music without devotion denounced. 2. Bhakthi YOGA 1a. Bhakthi Mahima PrasamsA - Praise of the greatness of devotion 1a1. SamsArAdi -Dhosha nivArakA- Antidote of SamsarA etc. 1a1. Bhakthi mAhAtmya- Exaltation of Devotion 1a3. nAma mahAtmya- Exaltation of Lord's Name. 1a4. Bhakta- mahAtmyA- Exaltation of Lords DEvotees. 1a5. Bhaktha- LakshanA- Characteristics of Devotees. 1b. Asad-bhakthi Garhana- Defective devOtion denounced 1b1.Formal worship, rituals etc condemned. 1b2. Bare learning, arts, miraculuous powers and faith in astrology condemned. 1b3. Asad Bhaktha Garhana - Defective devotees condemned 3. Alambana - Bhagawan - The Lord , object of devotion 1a. Ishtadaiva and Ananya bhakthi - Favorite Form of Deity and exclusive devotion to that Form 1b. RUpa. - His Form 1c. GunA - His Excellences 1c1. General 1c2. Grace, dayA, kshamA 4. SwarUpa - Conception of Lord 1a. Devotional 1b. Philosophical. 1c. Musical. 5. SthAyi-BhAva-SthirA Bhakthi -Steadfast devotion 6. SanchAri BhAvAs - Mood of the BhakhA. 1a. AutsukyA- Longing for : 1a1. Sannidhi- Constant Company 1a2. DarshanA- Seeking him and getting his katAksham 1a3. KeerthanA- Singing of him 1a4. SravanA- Listening to his Glory 1a5. SambhAshanA- Speaking with him 1a6. SEvanA- Serving him 1b. NirvEdA- Dejection, Despondency 1c. Athma-GarhanA and NaichyAnusandhAna - Self depreciation and recounting his own short comings 1d. Dainya and DainyOkhti- Plaintive Pleading. 1e. Amarsh, ROsha, ROshokthi - anger, remonstrance, grievance. 1f. Vitharka- Doubt, cognition 1g. Sraddha , VisvAsa- FAith and assurance of help. 1h. Narma- Playful liberty with Lord 1h1. Stuti- Praise playfully expressed. 1h2. PrArthanA- Prayer playfully expressed. 1h3. ROshOkthi- Remonstrance playfully expressed. 1h4. LIlAvarnanan- Lord described playfully 1i. Sva-Yogyata-kathana- His own claims and qualifications 1j. Bhaktha- SOdhana- His trials 1k. Manas- SambOdhana- Exhortation to his mind 1l. MangalAsAsanA- Pronouncing blessing on the Lord in devotion 1m. Kritajunta - Expression of gratitude. 7. AnubhAvAs and Bhakthi PrakArAs - Forms of Devotion 1a. Darsana 1a1. General 1a2. TirthayAthrA 1b.SravanA 1c. KIrthanA,BhajanA, NAmakIrthanA 1d. SmaranA, DhyAna- Contemplation 1e. PAdaSEvanA 1f. ArchanA, MurthiPUjA- Worship 1f1. AlankArA- Decoration of the Idol 1f2. SvAgatha- Welcoming the deity. 1f3. NaivEdhya - Offer of food 1f4. Archana-Offers of flowers worship. 1f5. Other UpachArAs. 1f5a- General 1f5b- Music Offering. 1g. Vandana 1h. DAsya 1i. Atma nivEdhanA- Absolute Surrender : 1ia. Bhagavad-Arpana- Offering everything to Lord. 1ib. SaranAgathi and Bhara-nyAsa- taking refuge in the Lord and laying all buden on the Lord. 1k. VAtsalyA - devotee as child and Lord as child. 8. Higher States of Devotion 1a. AvirahAsakthi- 1b. KAntAsakthi or NAyaka-NAyakA BhAvA (MAdhurya bhAvA) 1c. Bhagavad AnubhavA - God Realization - General 1d. TAdAtmyasakthi- (Advaita -BhAvA) - Oneness with Lord 4 --Unquote-- From the above classifciation , one can infer that our Sathguru lived his life with his music and with his Ishata Deivam while at the same time showed concern about the society and people. He has performed all kinds of bhakthi as specified by PrahlADA ( sravanam, Keethanam, VishnOr Smaranam, PAdha SEvanam ,Archanam, DAsyam, vandanam, Sakhyam and Aathma NiVedhanam ) through his nAdhOpAsanA. He has interacted with his lord just like one would interact with his "friend"/ "parents"/ "lover"/ "children". The speciality of our sathguru is when it comes to expression of the different sanchAri bhAvAs. Whenever he could not interact with his Lord as he would like to , he has expressed his autsukya feelings and has performed Aathma garhana and NaichyAnusandhAna (self- depreciation and recounting for his short-commings). In fact, for most of us ,the right selection of krithis for rendition should be from this category until we obtain the grace of sathguru so that we can render his krithis showing delight and praising the lords glories. In fact, we can't do any justice to the bhAvam that is supposed to be expressed through krithis that he used to perform abhishEka to his IshtaMurthy through the nava vidha bhakthi and higher states of devotion like MAdhurya bhAvA. Imagining God as a child/ Lover, worshiping, offering flowers to the IshtaMurthy with devotion (prEmAthmaka bhakthi) is never possible until one gets the bhagawath and BhAgawatha katAkshams. Thus, in order to progress to that level of bhakthi with/ without nAdhOpAsanA, it would rather make good sense to first start listening and /or practising the krithis that would train the mind to fixate upon the ramaneeya roopam of the ishatmurthy and think about his gunAthisayAs (krithis in catergories SAdhanA sampath,Autsukhya, NirVedhA,Aathma GarhanA, shraddhA, viswAsA etc) . Thus ,one should listen/practise those kind of krithis with sincere devotion instead of trying to learn krithis expressing other kind of advance bhakthi bhAvAs from a teacher(Guru) with great difficulty just for the sake of exhibition of talent. If that is the case , one can learn only very few of his krithis for the lifetime (which should actually be sufficient enough) but we also need to learn his other krithis so that they are propagated to future generations.So,If at all one wants to render/teach/listen those kind of krithis, one should at least have the smaranam(remembrance), contemplation of ones guru/ sathguru/ other bhAgawathAs in mind for them to really induce that bhakthi bAvA otherwise the music just ends with aural pleasure. With the above mentioned pre-requisites ,there is no place for ego and one doesnt have to worry about whether he will render it in a technically correct way. One has to practise/listen without worrying too much about the technical details and focus on the bhakthi aspect of music.The technical details will all fit in the right place automatically. ThyAgayyA has shown this to us through his numerous krithis but how much respect do we show to his words ,yet his arAdhAnAs are conducted worldwide. For him rAma nAmA is sweeter than the sweet divine music? How often do we chant rAmA nAmA? How many artists/ rasikAs chant rAma nAmA? Even if we chant, are our minds fully immersed in rAma nAmA and thyAgarAjA? Without bhakthi , we may be able to enjoy good music but without bhakthi , we cannot enjoy rAma nAma ruchi. ThyAgayya respecting his guru, Upanishad Brahmams advice has chanted "90 crores" of rAma nAmA when he got the darshan of his ishtamoorthy. Are we able to chant just for a minute with a pure mind ? He commands us in his krithi "Thalapullani nilipi , nimishamaina , ThAraka roopuni , Nija Tathavamu" ( At least for a minute , chant his nAMA by being fully aware of who RAMA is). Thus, our sathguru krithis are like the RICH AND SLEEK USER INTERFACES that present fact bites from Terabytes of data coming from the warehouses like bhAgwathA, rAmAyanA, gIThA and all other sruthis and shAstrAs. We are just spellbound by the pretty interfaces that hide an ocean of pearls of wisdom which are revealed when we perform a "search" ( seek shAranAgathi). This write up of mine is ONLY an attempt to induce the same feelings that i have got for ThyAgayyA and his krithis in the minds of the reader. To conclude this post, I would just like to add a few lines another of his muthu-maniyAna ( jewel of a) krithi in SuddhaBangAla "EELAAGANI VIVARIMPANENU ,CHAALA SWAANUBHAVA VEDHYAMEY,LEELASRUSHTA-JAGATHRAYAMANA, RAMA BHAKTHI SAAMRAAJYA MEMANAVULA KABBENO MANASAA, AAMAANAVULA SANDARSHANA MATHYANTHA BRAHMAANANDHAMEY, RAAMA BHAKTHI SAAMRAAJYAMEY MEMAANAVULA KABBENO MANASAAA" ( IT CAN ONLY BE REALIZED BY SELF-EXPERIENCE AND DOES NOT ADMIT OF ANY DESCRIPTION IN WORDS, THE KINGDOM OF RAAMA BHAKTHI ITSELF CONFERS SUPREME BRAHMAANANDAM, THE SIGHT OF THOSE GREAT SOULS WHO HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH THE KINGDOM OF RAAMA-BHAKTHI ITSELF CONFERS SUPREME BRAHMAANANDAM) Powered by MMI'sRAma bhakthi with sathguru dhiva pAdha Kamala smaranams and vandhanams, krishna SARVAM SEETHAARAAMACHANDRAARPANAM References (Credits): 1. Sri Oppiliappan Archives 2.VidhyArthi 3.http://carnatica.net/special/music1.htm by Dr. V.Raghavan 4. Spiritual Heritage of thyAgarAjA by Dr V. RAghavan, C . RAmanujAchAri ( MUST HAVE BOOK)