Paasuram #27 is precisely why Hinduism has thrived and will thrive for millennia to come. Andal speaks of the spiritual riches and also the riches of this world !!! One can’t live poor and more importantly one doesn’t have to live in poverty. Material wealth enables the spiritual quest. A hungry man will first look for food, but a man with enough material wealth will understand that there is something beyond just the material world.
New Insight – Almost 15 years back, a senior leader in Hewitt told us to focus on improving the top line and profitability. When someone asked him about the employee engagement scores being low, his answer was – if the company does well, employees feel engaged. When the company is struggling, the engagement will be low. Sure enough, as sales improved, and profits went up employee engagement scores also improved. We need to earn enough to live a decent life … even the socialists and commies have come around to the view that “poverty” is not glamorous. A rich country is respected, a poor country is exploited. Work hard to earn enough.
As always do read Thirupaavai Paasuram #26 before reading Paasuram #27.
Click on this link to read the Paasurams and their meanings in Tamil – Thirupaavai Paadalkalum Villakamum.
Koodarai Vellum Seer Govinda – Paasuram #27
கூடாரை வெல்லும்சீர்க் கோவிந்தா! உன்தன்னைப்
பாடிப்பறை கொண்டு யாம்பெறு சம்மானம்
நாடு புகழும் பரிசினால் நன்றாக
சூடகமே தோள்வளையே தோடே செவிப்பூவே
பாடகமே என்றனைய பல்கலனும் யாமணிவோம்
ஆடை உடுப்போம் அதன்பின்னே பாற்சோறு
மூடநெய் பெய்து முழங்கை வழிவார
கூடி யிருந்து குளிர்ந்தேலோர் எம்பாவாய்.
Tamil Translation
எதிரிகளை வெற்றிகொள்ளும் சிறப்புமிக்க கோவிந்தனே! உன்னை நாங்கள் பாடி அருள் பெற வந்தோம். அருட்செல்வத்துடன் இவ்வுலக வாழ்விற்கான பொருட்செல்வமும் தருவாயாக! அது இருந்தால் தானே நாடு புகழ்கிறது. கையில் அணியும் சூடகம், தோளில் அணியும் பாஹுவலயம், காதில் அணியும் தோடு, கர்ணப்பூ, காலில் அணியும் பாடகம் ஆகிய அணிகலன்களை எங்களுக்குக் கொடு. புத்தாடைகளை வழங்கு. பின்னர் விரதத்தை நிறைவு செய்யும் வகையில், கூட்டமாக உன்னுடன் அமர்ந்து கையில் நெய் வழிய பால்சோறு உண்போம்.
English Translation
In Paasuram #27, Andal and her friends get Bhagwan Krishna’s darshan and they are ecstatic. They thank him for giving darshan and say that give us worldly riches too so that we can continue our spiritual quest. By way of celebration they want to sit with Krishna and eat the “Akkara adisal”, a loose translation would be sweet rice porridge dripping with Ghee. In fact the chakkara Pongal (sweet rice khichadi) is the Prasadam in many Vishnu temples to this day. And it’s made in every Iyengar family home for all the festivals.
A literal translation of this Paasuram will make the reader feel that Andal is merely asking Bhagwan Krishna for material things like ear rings and arm bands etc. But in reality Andal is sharing an important lesson – material riches leads one onto the spiritual path. Like Osho says, it’s easier to tell a well fed, rich man that money is not everything, that there is more to life than money. Try saying that to a beggar !
Celebrating poverty is ensuring the poor remain poor :(:(. Do remember that Bharat was the richest country in the world for centuries …. the Vedas and Upanishads were written when we were the richest nation not when we were poor.
MLV singing Thirupaavai Paasuram #27
Here’s the link to the Mp3 of Paasuram #27 on Wynk – https://wynk.in/u/3o9MAwsUU
Note
The 30 paasurams known as Thirupaavai are written by Andal and are a part of the Naalayira Divyaprabhandams (4000 verses singing the praises of Bhagwan Vishnu). For Iyengars, it’s a lifelong mission to memorise the Naalayira Divyaprabhandams and understand their meaning. These songs are written by the 12 Azhwars (saints is the closest translation possible) of whom Andal is the only female.
#Thirupaavai #Margazhi
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