The Hindu : Miscellaneous / Religion : Garland of devotional verses

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 21, 2004

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous - Religion

Garland of devotional verses

CHENNAI, JULY 21. As mere mortals, people tend to live for momentary gratification. It is human nature to rush to grab a rare object. Men of wisdom are not governed by such exigencies of behaviour. Sage Narada, it is said, went to Valmiki, seeking the manual of conduct for all mankind. One may quibble arguing that behaviour of sages and saints is governed by non-worldly aspects, whereas the ordinary man is given to worrying over his family's prosperity, and as such cannot go contrary to his nature. Valmiki, a hunter himself, once espied another hunter killing a male bird courting a female and roundly cursed the man. What compelled the former hunter to behave thus? The change in him was wrought by the effect of Rama nama. Similarly, all can aspire to rise above the ordinary — it only calls for a certain fine-tuning of one's priorities.

In his discourse Sri. R. Aravamudhan said that while scientific temperament is necessary, spiritual development is an all-important facet of life on earth for all mortals. Our scriptures highlight our rich heritage and it is imperative of all generations to keep the flame of tradition burning. Adhering to our rituals is essential — except in situations where one's profession forbids such conduct — not the least for passing on the torch to successive generations. One such medium is propagating the inspired devotional outpourings of our saints. Kulasekhara Azhwar's Mukuntha Maalai is one such where the 40 devotional verses are a virtual garland of offering to the Lord.

Kulasekhara, a zealot servitor of his beloved God, widely hailed as the `kousthuba', was a diligent pupil of scriptures even as he was being groomed as a king. After ascending the throne, his proficiency as a ruler was rivalled by his religious bent of mind. He encouraged scholars and pandits. Mukuntha Maalai, was composed while he was ruling Chera Nadu (Kerala). The quintessence of this work lies in its emphasis on the feeling of bhakthi. Like a cow licking its calf and encouraging it to take the few first steps forward, a preceptor too guides the fledglings towards God by way of devotion in many ways. Waxing lyrical over the metaphysical experience of God realisation is one such. Kulasekhara said, ``no matter how many times I am born on this earth, even in my death bed, all that I humbly beseech is to constantly remember you.'' In another he said, ``thirsting, I searched for a cool pond, and found the pool of Bhagawan. His arms are the lotus and His eyes are the fish. If I bathe in this my thirst will be quenched.''

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