Re: Kanchi Paramacharya: A Virtual Darshan
Pages 73-76
deivIka villisai! desIya villisai!
After finishing my villisai concert on one occasion, I stood humbly before Mahaswamy who appeared as compassion embodied.
"உன்னை ஏன் பாத்துண்டே இருக்கேன்? சொல்லு பார்க்கலாம்? நீதாண்டா நிஜமாச் சிரிக்கிறே! நிஜமாப் பேசறே!"
"unnai En pAtthuNDE irukkEn? chollu pArkkalAm? ~nIthANDA ~nijamAch chirikkiRE! ~nijamAp pEsaRE!--Let me see, tell me why I do keep looking at you? Only you laugh genuinely! Only you talk genuinely!" SwamigaL continued after saying these words:
"When I look at your vil (bow), Rameswaram is visible to me! When I look at your uDukkai (small drum), Kashi comes up in mind! With a look at your bow, Sri Ramachandra Murthi gives me darshan! With a look at your drum, Kashi Viswanathar comes before my eyes! Shivaparam, Vishnuparam are both in this! In addition, Kashi--North and Rameswarm--South! Therefore you connect (the very concept of) National Integration even as you keep playing on your bow!" Saying this he showered me with the rain of his divine laugh!
On that day's concert, I made 'literature' out of his sayings, and in his temple, I submitted it to the forum of the people as Sri Maha SwamigaL's aruL vAchagam (Words of Grace).
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It was only that God, Kanchi Munivar, who showered me with his grace by which this humble man could conduct the Ramayana, Mahabharata villisai as a serial for ten days each! Once when he listened to the 'Sita Kalyanam' concert of mine, he blessed me saying "You can give a concert on sampUrNa rAmAyaNam!"; those words of grace were the capital for my concert on the complete Ramayana. In a similar manner, once in Kanchi at a Bhajanai Kovil Sannidhi where they do puja to the portrait of Sri Krishna, when I took his blessings to sing the story of 'Sri Krishnavataram', he blessed me with the words, "You also sing the story of Bharatam in the same way!" Only the aruL prasAdam given me by Maha SwamigaL, by his taking bilva daLams from his shiras and showering them on me with affection, is what has made these villisai concerts go on today!
This is a song that I received by his grace, becoming an Asukavi (poet who sings impromptu); I submitted to him as my offering:
அம்மையிடம் வரம்கேட்கும் குழந்தை முகம் ஒன்று!
அன்பருக்கு அருள்கூட்டும் குருவின் முகம் ஒன்று!
செம்மையுறு இந்துமதத் தலைவர் முகம் ஒன்று!
சித்தாந்த ஒளிநல்கும் ஞானமுகம் ஒன்று!
தம்மையே தாம் இழந்த தியாக முகம் ஒன்று!
தாய் போல கருணை தரும் அன்பு முகம் ஒன்று!
நம்மிடையே காட்சி தரும் "ஆறுமுகம்" என்ற
நமஸ்காரம் புரிகின்றோம் பெரியவரை இன்று!
ammaiyiDam varamkETkum kuzha~ntai mukham onRu!
anbarukku aruLkUTTum guruvin mukham onRu!
semmaiyuRu i~ndumatat talaivar mukham onRu!
siddhA~nta oLi~nalkum ~jAnamukham onRu!
tammaiyE tAm izha~nda tiyAga mukham onRu!
tAy pOla karuNai tarum anbu mukham onRu!
~nammiDaiyE kATchi tarum "ARumukham" enRu
~namaSkAram purikinROm periyavarai inRu!
"A face of the child that seeks a boon from the Mother!
A face of the guru that secures grace for the devotees!
A face of the dharmic leader of the Hindu Religion!
A face of knowledge that enlightens with the Siddhanta!
A face of sacrifice that effaced its own self!
A face that shows compassion like a mother!
As thus this 'Arumukham' (six-faced) gives darshan to us,
We bow in prostration to the great sage today!"
Maha SwamigaL himself listened to this song on many occasions, enjoyed it, and his face blossoming, raised his hands and blessed; it is due my receiving that bhAgyam that my Family of Arts is growing today!
From Kaladi to Kanchi
Starting with the life story of Adi Sankara BhagavadpadAL who took avatar in Kaladi, and including the holy details of biography of saints in that divine succession--Jagadguru Sri Chandrasekharendra Sarasvati SwamigaL as the 68th pontiff, and Sri Acharya SwamigaL Jagadguru Sri Jayendra Sarasvati SwamigaL and Sri Sankara Vijayendra Sarasvati SwamigaL--I wove them into a story sung with villisai giving it title 'From Kaladi to Kanchi', and before I could stage it in Kanchipuram, I received the pERu (fortune) of staging it in SriMaTham before Sri Maha SwamigaL!
In that concert, I got the bhAgyam of singing ParamacharyaL as Pallavi, Sri Jayendra Sarasvati SwamigaL as Anupallavi and Sri Vijendra Sarasvati SwamigaL as Charanam!
Enabling me to get my piRavippayan (the fruits of this birth of mine), the boon of grace and compassion of that tuRavarasar (king of ascetics) made me the AsthAna vidvAn of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti PiTham!
For a dharmically disciplined kavi~jan (poet) what other honour is required?
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रत्नाकरधौतपदां हिमालयकिरीटिनीम् ।
ब्रह्मराजर्षिररत्नाढ्यां वन्दे भारतमातरम् ॥
To her whose feet are washed by the ocean, who wears the Himalayas as her crown, and is adorned with the gems of rishis and kings, to Mother India, do I bow down in respect.
--viShNu purANam
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