BG2.76

In his Thiruvaimozhi [7.3] Nammalwar praises one of the important Kshetrams in Navathirupati, Thenthirupperai. The Lord here is Sri Makaranedunkuzhikkadar, graces the devotees in a sitting posture. In front of Him is the Utsava Moorthy with four Consorts- Sridevi, Bhoodevi, Sri Thirupperai Nachiar and Sri Kuzhaikkada Nachiar. Here the Lord revealed His quality Soundaryam. It means the beauty of the lord in every limb and every organ. Nammalwar describes the immeasurable beauty in ten hymns. It is an interesting story, how this place got this name. The Lord had more love for Bhoodevi, one of His two Consorts. Though Sridevi was given a place on His chest, Sridevi felt that the Lord was more inclined to Bhoodevi. Once She revealed this to sage Durvasa. The sage agreed to resolve this and one day he went to meet Bhoodevi. She did not look at him for a couple of minutes and so Durvasa got angry. He cursed that Bhoodevi’s body also should look like Sridevi’s. Sridevi’s body was fair, while Bhoodevi had a dark green complexion. The Dark Lord was attracted by this hue of Bhoodevi. With the curse of Durvasa, Bhoodevi was afraid She will lose that skin texture and so might lose the Lord’s love. So she requested the sage to suggest a method to get Her original color restored. Durvasa advised Her to meditate in this Kshetram and solve Her problem. Bhoodevi thus arrived here and meditated. Thiru in Tamil means Sri and indicates Sridevi. Beram means body and so the name Thiruberam means the body of Sri or MahaLakshmi. Since Bhoodevi got the body of Sridevi, the name Thirupperai in Tamil means Bhoodevi, Who took the body of Sridevi. Thus the place came to be known as Thirupperai. Why this is called Then [South] Thirupperai? Since near Srirangam there is a place called Thiruppernagar, to distinguish, this Kshetram is known as Thenthirupperai. When Bhoodevi was meditating here, one day She saw two earrings appearing in the Pushkarini [temple pond]. They were shaped like a makara – s type of fish. The pushkarini got the name Matsya pushkarini. When Bhoodevi got these earrings and thinking as to whom she could adorn, the Lord appeared before Her and demanded that He deserved to be adorned with those earrings and accordingly Bhoodevi presented them to the Lord. The Lord thus got this name here. The Soundaryam or beauty of the Lord fascinated Nammalwar and so by surrendering our senses in this beauty, we could control them. We will now see the 68^th sloka:

tasmad yasya maha-baho
nigrhitani sarvasah
indriyanindriyarthebhyas
tasya prajna pratisthita

"Therefore, O mighty-armed, one whose senses are restrained from their objects is certainly of steady intelligence."

Tasmad is therefore. The mind goes after the senses. With that condition we can never have atman darshan. Only by disciplining the mind we can get all advantages. By thinking about God, the mind gets controlled. So we cannot expect to control the mind on our own, but only with His help. Therefore, yasya- that atman which is trying to control the mind and organs, which are dragged by materialistic desires, can control the mind with His help only. In such an atman the intellect or buddhi gets well established and he qualifies to do gyana yoga. Here we may have a doubt. To get atman darshan we should concentrate on the atman only. Then why we are asked to devote ourselves in God? Devoting our mind on our own atman is not that superior. Also, atman does not have a form or qualities to imbibe or worship. Mind will find it very difficult to concentrate on a formless and blank entity. Whereas God has many attributes and forms and temples. This makes it easier for the mind to devote. Why so many forms for God and why so many temples and Avatars? Because our tastes differ and to satisfy every taste so many forms, temples, etc. have been arranged by our elders. God also takes so many Avatars to satisfy the varied tastes of devotees. Absorbed by the beauty of the Lord here, Alwar says that one by one all his senses were lost to Him and the mind also surrendered to him. We also by involving us in this enchanting beauty of the Lord can control the organs and mind and have atman darshan.

BG2.75

We are in Thirukkulandai, one of the Navathiruppati Kshetrams . The large pond here will reveal why this place has the name Perunkulam. It is just by the side of this temple. The Lord here is Sri Mayakoothan. The Lord of various Kshetrams revealed some of His qualities to Alwar. Here He exhibited the cheshtitha ascharyam character. Cheshtitham is pranks and ascharyam is astonishment. The name Sri Mayakoothan suggests the enormous and astonishing pranks of the Lord. Why should He do these pranks and what use is there for us? By involving us in His plays, or admiring His qualities or visualizing His magnificent image, our mind does not seek anything else. This interpretation is important in the present context. Our senses are all minute and at any time they can be engaged in one experience only. Our ears, for example, cannot at the same time enjoy listening to a music and also grasp the contents of a lecture. Similarly, the eyes can enjoy a dance but at the same time cannot appreciate a drama. So the organs grasp one at a time. Therefore, we can devote our senses on the Lord- the eyes must see His beautiful image, the ears must listen to His stories, tongue should sing His praise, etc. Thus all the five senses could be concentrated on Him. When this is happening, the senses will not seek other cheap things. We will now see the 67^th sloka.

indriyanam hi caratam
yan mano ’nuvidhiyate
tad asya harati prajnam
vayur navam ivambhasi

"As a strong wind sweeps away a boat on the water, the wandering senses are followed by the mind; such a mind carries away a man’s intelligence."

He cites an example for the mind, which follows the sensual organs, which seek various experiences. Our organs want to enjoy sensual experiences. Eyes want to see attractive scenes. Ears want to listen to good sounds. Mouth wants to eat tasty foods, and so on. These, that is, vision, hearing, taste, scent and feeling are all matters of interest for the organs. This is what Sri Krishna tells that every organ is interested in seeking the experience, which will please. So the materials in the world attract the senses and they run after them. While doing so, they drag the mind also along with them. This is the meaning of the first part of the sloka. The matters of the world create various desires like taste, vision, etc. The organs go after them to experience those desires. Mind follows the organs. Tad, that mind, will forcibly divert the pranja, the intellect engaged in atman perception of asya, this atman that is trying to control mind. So, even though this atman had decided its mind to perceive atman, the same mind is after the organs, which are attracted by the materialistic pleasures. So there is no mind to think of atman. Mind is present but it is engaged in pursuit of other pleasures along with the organs. Mind has the capacity to think about only one at a time. But are we not thinking of so many things at the same time? Yes, then it is called a confused mind. When mind is engaged in one thought, it is clear but when it thinks many, it is confusion.So when a mind is trying to perceive atman and at that time if its attention is diverted by the organs, then there will not be this mind to think of atman. When this happens we will not have resolute knowledge. This is what Sri Krishna tells. The buddhi to understand atman is carried away by the mind and the organs. If Sri Mayakoothan abducts our mind it would be welcome, but when the senses carry away the mind disaster befalls. Sri Krishna illustrates this by n example. Just as the wind blowing opposite to the direction in which a boat is sailing will divert the boat. Here we have to regard the mind as boat, which is sailing towards atman and the winds are the organs, which divert the sailing. The method to stop this diversion is to prevent the winds blowing in the opposite direction. Since this capacity is not with us to prevent such a wind, we will have to seek asylum at the feet of Him, Who has the capacity to prevent the wind from blowing in the opposite direction. He is mightier than the wind, the Sun, the fire, the planets, this Universe and He is Sriman Narayana. By devoting ourselves to Him, our mind and senses would all get controlled. The boat also would reach its destination. Therefore, surrendering our organs in His service is the best way to control and discipline our mind and organs. Thirumangai Alwar imagining himself as a girl is being invited by her girl friends to witness the dancing Lord. This Juggler performs the dance and the girl [Alwar] is attracted. The performance was over and the performer and all spectators leave. But the girl [Alwar] remains in the auditorium. When asked by her friends as to why she is not getting up and start for home, the Alwar in his imaginary girl form says that to get up and start for home, her mind should be there. It is no longer there, as it has gone along with the Juggler. When mind is not there, no one is there to order the organs to prepare to get up. The message here is that by devoting our mind and organs in His pranks and beauty, we escape our mind and organs from engaging them in the worldly desires. Similar is the experience of Nammalwar. He says that after seeing Him, the eyes follow the Lord. We think of the mortals who are all having innumerous shortfalls. Whereas His qualities do not have any deficiency, He does not have any blemish. In every sense He cannot be faulted. So by devoting in such a perfect and blemish less Him, our organs and mind will get controlled. So when we see this great pond, we should remember Him and His astonishing pranks and thereby our mind and organs will get fixed in Him and get controlled.

BG2.74

In the Alwars hierarchy, Nammalwar is fifth among the ten Alwars. Including Alwar Thirunagari, there are nine Kshetrams regarded as NavaThiruppathi. Among these is a Kshetram Thirukkulandai, popularly known as Perunkulam. But Alwar in his hymn mentions as Thirukkulandai or Thenkulam. The Lord here is Sri Mayakoothan. With Sri Kamalavathi Nachiar on His chest and with Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi on the sides, He graces the devotees. From here we are going to see the 66^th sloka of 2^nd Chapter of Gita. Before that let us see the history of this place. There is a big pond here and it is known as Thenkulam and Perunkulam. Long ago a sage by name Vedasara and his wife Kumudavalli, daily bathed in this pond and worshiped the Lord here praying for a child. The Lord blessed them with a female child, who was named Kamalavathi. The girl meditated and prayed that she should be His wife only. Admiring her staunch devotion, the Lord took her on His chest. Now He graces in this form to all devotees. Along with them a small idol of Garuda also could be seen. Normally, Garuda idol is placed in front of the temple. After accepting Sri Kamalavathi, sage Vedasara was devoting himself in the service of the Lord here. Once his wife Kumudavalli was abducted by a demon and hid her in the Himalayas. Vedasara prayed the Lord to restore his wife and the Lord accordingly, mouted on Garuda killed the demon and brought Kumudavalli back. He danced on the head of the demon and so He is called Sri Mayakoothan [Wonderful Dancer]. This as an unimaginable feat of the Lord. Enchanted by His beauty, Nammalwar has composed one song on this Lord. In this place there are many ponds on all directions. By devoting ourselves in Him, we can get atman darshan. This has been already told in the previous slokas. We have to always remember that in order to get our organs and mind disciplined, we have to devote ourselves in Him. Control of mind results in serene mind. Purified mind will get us atman darshan. From the 55^th sloka, Sri Krishna is telling how by controlling organs one becomes a gyana yogi. The easiest way to achieve this is to worship His graceful image. If we do not do this, what all the bad consequences will engulf one, was also told. Now the 66^th sloka:

nasti buddhir ayuktasya
na cayuktasya bhavana
na cabhavayatah shantir
asantasya kutah sukham

"One who is not devoted in the Supreme [in Krishna consciousness] can not have atman darshan without which a steady mind on atman is not possible, and so there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness without peace?"

He explains what all will not accrue if specific things are not done and finally, sukham i.e. Moksham will not be there. Yuktam, is surrendering our organs in Him. For the one who does not think or meditate on Him, no possibility of the intellect or buddhi for atman darshan. By devoting one’s organs, mind and intellect only, one would acquire atman darshan. Atman is so minute it is not that easy to visualize it. Impure minds can never get atman darshan. To purify mind, we have to devote our organs in Him. Ayuktam means the one who does not devote oneself in God. Such a person would never get atman darshan. What if one does not get it? If that were not there the bhavana or the thoughts on atman would not be there. That is the deep meditation will not be possible. This is told in the second line. A proper understanding of atman will only result in meditating on atman. Then we will waste all our time only in the routine things, which we are thinking all the time. Alwar asks how are we spending our 24 hours at our disposal. We reply, we have innumerous things to plan and think and enjoy, but we are wondering what Alwar is doing? Alwar all the time is seeing the same Lord and nothing else. So we think the Alwar does not have variety. Because of this they do not see the normal things, which we see. Day in and day out they are seeing the same images and the same festivals. Whereas we see so many places, eat variety of foods and listen to variety of music, drama, etc. It therefore appears that we have much more things to see and enjoy while Alwars do not have this advantage. But actually, even though they see only one Object, It s the one which is enabling us to see so many. So, if we also could ‘see’ Him, then there will not be any necessity to see anything else. So meditation on Him and atman is very much necessary. A person without atman darshan can never meditate on atman. In the third line, He explains what will happen to one who does not meditate. Here the word shanti is mentioned. Normally this means peace. But can peace bring shanthi? If we go to an isolated place where the surroundings are all peaceful, can our mind be peaceful? But a yogi, even amidst the noises in our towns would be peaceful in his meditation. So surroundings do not contribute to shanti. We are seeing that some persons sleep only if some noise is there. Absence of such sound may make them sleepless. Actually, if we see the correct interpretation of shanti it is desireless. A contented life with satisfaction with what one possesses, one may have shanti. This shanti would be there only if we could think of atman. This is told in the 3^rd line. Desire less will result in shanti. Happiness accumulates with desires being lesser and lesser. This happiness will be lost as desires increase. Persons earning small wages with honest labor are able to sleep peacefully. But persons earning in crores daily, do not have this happiness. In the last line Sri Krishna tells, that lack of desire less will not get one sukham, which means here Moksham. In this sloka four stages of Ashtanga yoga are mentioned. We have heard of Patanjali’s Yoga Shastra. This is called, Ashtanga yoga and has eight stages. They are: 1. Yamam. 2. Niyamam. 3.Asanam. 4.Pranayamam. 5.Pratyaharam. 6.Dyanam. 7.Dharanai. and 8.Samadhi. Yamam and Niyamam mean the controlling of organs and mind. Asanam is sitting in the proper posture. Pranayamam is breathing properly using one nostril for inhaling and the other for exhaling. Prathyaharam is diverting the mind from all other matters and concentrating on the atman. Dyanam is deep meditation of atman. Dharanai is desire less in all others and remain detached. Samadhi is meditating on God. This is Ashtanga yoga. Out of these the latter four – Pratyaharam, Dyanam, Dharanai and Samadhi are mentioned d in the 66^th sloka. First line says that devoting in God one could have atman darshan and this is Pratyaharam. In the next line He said that atman darshan will enable meditating on atman and this is Dyanam. Thinking and meditating on atman would enable one to get rid off desires in other things and that is Dharanai. In the last line He said, one could get Moksham and that is Samadhi. On our own we are unable to control organs. Why do we visit temples often? By having such darshan, our papas are dissipated, rajo/tamo gunas get diminished, likes and dislikes are removed, organs and mind get controlled. This would make us desire less and we get shanti. We therefore worship Sri Mayakoothan and get shanti.

Moolavar	Venkatavanan Posture Standing Star Thiruvonam Planet Saturn
Uthsavar	Mayakoothan
Thayar	Kulandaivalli Kamalavalli
Vimanam	Anandanilayam
Prathatchyam	Brahaspathi Vedasaran
Theertham	Perungulam Thambiravaruni
Ahamam	Vaiganasam

BG2.73

By the grace of Sri Thiruvankatamudayan [the Lord of Tirumala] Nammalwar was born in this world. It is believed that the Lord Thirkkurungudi Nambi, Himself was born as Nammalwar. He is considered as the incarnation of Senai mudaliyar [Vishvaksena], the commander in Vaikuntam. Though his real name was Satakopan, the Lord fondly called him Nam Alwar. Though it is said that Alwar Thirunagari is his birthplace, in particular he was born in locality called Appan Koil. He was born some 5108 years ago in the Tamil month of Vaikasi and in the star constellation Visakam, as he son of Kari and his wife Udayanangai in Appankoil. This place is called Appan Koil, because the Lord in the temple in this locality is Sri Thiruvankadathu Appan. He is gracing the devotees as Sri Srinivasa [of Tirumala]. His parents have been worshipping this Lord only. He was born in a small room in a house here. Sri Rama was born in the City of Ayodhya and Sri Krishna was born in a prison in Mathura. We are all blessed to visit this birthplace of Alwar. We are not worthy of going near this place. But as Alwar himself said, to be in such places shown to us by God we have never done any great sacrifice but ignoring all our shortcomings Alwar has shown to us this place. From the house where Alwar was born and remembering with gratitude Alwar’s great hymns, we will proceed to the next 65^th sloka in Gita. In the 62^nd and 63^rd slokas He showed how by not engaging us in God’s service wefall from grace down the steps and get destroyed. The 64^th sloka however told us that by serving and singing in praise of Him, we can climb up steps to reach higher echelon. Now in the 65^th sloka:

prasade sarva-duhkhanam
hanir asyopajayate
prasanna-cetaso hy asu
buddhih paryavatisthate

"For a person with such enlightened mind, all miseries are removed;only for enlightened person the intllect [gyana] get well established immediately."

In this sloka Sri Krishna removes some more doubts. In last 64^th sloka He told prasadam adhigacchati-[ the atman] gets purified or serene mind. Asya – such a person who obtained serene mind, sarva dukhani-all sorrows and miseries, hanir-loss or removal, upajayate- happens. That is, for the atman gyani, after acquiring purified mind, all his miseries get removed. This is the last step. If God were to enquire as to what we want, we would promptly say all our miseries should be removed. Here Sri Krishna indicates the miseries of samsaram [the birth due to papa and punya karma]. Arjuna gets a doubt here. What is the relation between serene mind and the miseries of samsaram? Sri Krishna replies in the second half of the sloka. Prasanna cetasa– the enlightened one [acquiring serene mind], hi-only, asu- immediately, buddhi- knowledge or intellect, avatisthate –firmly established or installed, paryavatisthate- well established. So enlightened person gets intellect well founded. This we had earlier mentioned as stithaprajna. The one who understands atman properly and fully and is about to perceive atman or get atman darshan. It is also called atman sakshatkaram, when he will perceive all atman are identical, atman is the quintessence of knowledge and bliss. For this our buddhi has to be well founded. Enlightenment or serene mind is essential for this. Atman darshan will lead to bhakthi yoga. To remove all our miseries, we have to have devotion or bhakthi. Since atman darshan is a pre-requisite for devotion, enlightenment is necessary. We can visualize this also in steps. 1.Enlightenment or purity of mindà 2. Atman darshanà 3.Bhakthi yoga à4. Removal of all miseries. In the first part of the sloka, He combined directly 1 and 4 and said enlightenment would remove all miseries. This skipping of 2 and 3 was clarified to Arjuna in the second half of the sloka. If we now see the 64^th and 65^th slokas together we can build the entire stairway:

1.Meditating on Godà2.Lessening of rajo/tamo guna and increase of satva gunaà3.Discarding likes and dislikes or elimination of raga/dveshaà4.Control of senses à5.Stay away from materialistic desiresà6. Control of Mind.à7.Mind is purified or enlightenment.à8.Atman darshan.à9.Bhakti yoga.à10.Elimination of all miseries. If we take efforts to put us on the first step of meditating on God, all other steps would follow suit and we can reach the ultimate step. This is like we stand in the line in Tirumala. Automatically, the line moves and takes us near the Lord to have darshan and get His blessings. So by singing His names and serving His devotees we can gradually reach the Bhakthi yoga. This is what Alwar also says that by devoting ourselves to Him, all our misers get destroyed and we reach eternal happiness.

BG2.72

 We are in the Rettai Thiruppati Kshetram also known as Thirutholaivillimangalam.
 There are two temples wit two Leading Deities. This place is situated on the
Northern banks of Thambraparani River. Yesterday we were in the Sri Aravindalochanan
 sannidhi. Today we are at Sri Devarpiran sannidhi. The former is on the North and
the latter on the South. Once a sage came here from North and was meditating in this
Kshetram. Daily he used to perform homam [holy fire] and in the end he used to offer
 the Havirbaga [food for the gods offered in the fire]. The Devas [gods] used to
accept this and since the Lord of this Kshetram was responsible, the Lord here is
named Sri Devarpiran. Piran in Tamil means helping. Since He helped the Devas to get
 their dues in the Homa, He got this name. The Moolavar is called Sri Srinivasan and
 the Uthsavar is Sri Devarpiran. The sage used to gather many lotus flowers and used
 to make beautiful garlands and decorate the Lord here. Earlier only this Sri
Devarpiran sannidhi existed. Once Sri Devarpiran, without the knowledge of the sage
followed him to see how such handsome garlands are done. He saw the sage gathering
flowers in the garden near the river. While He was watching, the sage suddenly turned
 back and saw Sri Devarpiran. He was enchanted by the Lotus like eyes of the Lord and
 prostrating before Him, requested Him to appear with the Lotus eyes always here. So
 the Lord agreed and from that time another sannidhi got up for the Lord as Sri Aravi
ndalochanan. Thus this place got twin sannidhi. Already we saw that the Lord here is
very close to Nammalwar. In the last pasuram of  Thiruvaimozhi [6.5] he says  sindhai
yaalum sollaalum seygaiyinaalum*  thEva piraanaiyE,* thandhai thaayenRadaindha*  
vaNkurukooravar sadagOpan.

Nammalwar says that he reached Sri Devarpiran as his mind, words and body [organs] always regarded Him as father and mother. There is yet another interesting incidence connected with this Kshetram. In Srirangam, the Adyanothsavam is celebrated in Tamil month Margazhi [Dec-Jan]. It is of 20 days duration with Vaikunta Ekadasi as the eleventh day festival. On the 21^st day is the final day when the Iyarpa of Nalayira Divya Prabhandam is recited. Though at present an icon of Nammalwar is available in Srirangam, some centuries back- before the time of Swami Ramanuja- the Nammalwar idol used to be brought from Alwar Thirunagari for the festival in Srirangam. After the festival ended the idol used to be returned to Alwar Thirunagari. Since it used to take considerable time for such transportation, by the time the idol of Nammalwar reached this place it would be the Tamil month Masi [Feb-March]. Therefore even now the Adyanothsavam for this place is on three days corresponding to the star constellations Swati, Visakam and Anusham. After this Namalwar idol would reach Alwar Thirunagari. This is yet another example of the intimacy between the Lord here and Nammalwar. Though Alwar talks of beautiful fortress and buildings of the temple, until a few years back this and other temples of Navathiruppati were in shambles. But a person, not interested in publicity, out of pure devotion, repaired and rebuilt all these temples and today we witness a marvelous getup of the entire kshetram. We pray that this selfless and unassuming person’s such noble works should continue. Like Alwar, if we can devote our action, speech and thoughts in Him, we would have controlled our organs. In the last two slokas –62 and 63- we saw how by not devoting ourselves in Him, we tumble down and plunge to the bottom. Now we will see the 64^th sloka

raga-dvesa-vimuktais tu
visayan indriyais caran
atma-vasyair vidheyatma
prasadam adhigacchati

"But a person free from all attachment and aversion is able to control his senses and skips materialistic lures and controls mind resulting in pure mind by the mercy of the Lord."

What greatness one achieves by such devotion to the Lord? Here He explains how gradually the atman is climbing in steps to reach pinnacle. By thinking of Him, the rajo and tamo qualities in our mind are cleared and the mind is purified. Only satva quality would dominate in us. By doing Aradhana [Pooja] and consuming only that food offered to Him, rajo and tamo gunas get reduced and satva qualities flourish. The first step reached by devotion to God, is we are relieved of raga and dvesha. By concentrating our thoughts in Him, by singing His names, by hearing His names, by performing Aradhana and by consuming only the food offered to Him, satva qualities thrive and the other two qualities fade. This will get rid of raga and dvesha. As told earlier, raga is the desire to acquire or expecting some pleasing incidence. Dvesha is hatred or enemity. Both these are housed in us. We do not like even good things rendered by those we hate and accept bad things from our dear ones. This is because of rajo and tamo gunas. If we have uprightness in our mind then we will accept good things irrespective of who did that. With raga and dvesha removed, all are our dear ones and all actions are impartially looked into. This will result in the control of organs and they will not be after the pleasures arising from smell, taste, sight, hearing and touch. If organs are to be disciplined we should be rid off likes and dislikes. By disciplining the organs, we stay away from the five sensual pleasures and their sources. After this atman, here it means mind, is in our control. Recapitulating, devoting ourselves to God and by proper food, rajo and tamo gunas are driven away and satva guna thrives. Raga and dvesha are destroyed. Organs are disciplined. Sensual and cheap pleasures are cast away. Mind gets controlled. Then we get prasadam. Prasadam means here serene and pure mind. This will take us near atman darshan. Contaminated mind is unable to properly perceive atman.

Devotionà Satva gunaà elimination of likes and dislikesà Control organsà Avoiding sensual appetite à Control mind à Mind purity à Atman Darshan. While 62^nd and 63^rd slokas explained how one plunges to degradation, 64th sloka details how the atman is uplifted. We can clear our doubts from Vedas, if we have that capacity to learn them. We can control our organs by deep meditation and yoga. These are possible for a few capable persons. But for ordinary people like us, devotion or bhakthi is the recourse. Thondaradipodi Alwar says he gets all doubts cleared by seeing God, Lord Sri Ranganatha. By looking at His feet, he knew he was His attendant. By looking at His abhaya hastha, he realizes He would protect him. By looking at His Crown he recognized that He was his ruler. Therefore it is necessary for us to dedicate ourselves to Him and serve Him. God’s image is made of satva guna only. So by looking at that image the satva guna in us grows. While in temple also, it is not correct to close the eyes while in front of God.

BG2.71

Swami Aathipiran, Swami Namalwar
















Swami Aravindalochanar
a















Swami Devarpiran

The Kshetrams around Alwar Thirunagari are Nava Thirupati. These are spread on the banks of river Thamrabarani. Three are on the south bank and six are on the northern bank. We are now at the Kshetram known as [I]rettai Thiruppati, also known as Thirutholaivillimangalam. This is on the northern bank of the river. As the name Rettai [twin] Thiruppati suggests, there are two temples and two presiding Deities. As part of the Nava Thiruppati, these are counted as two Kshetrams and we arrive at nine temples. But in the 108 Divya Desam this is counted as a single Kshetram. In the two temples the Lords are Sri Aravindalochanan and Sri Devarpiran. We are in the sannidhi of Sri Aravindalochanan. The main Deity [Moolavar] is called Sri Aravindalochanan and Uthsavar is called Sri Senthamarai Kannan. In the 6.5 Thiruvaimozhi, Nammalwar has praised this Kshetram. Alwar in the Nayika Bhavam [imagining himself to be a girl] cries Aravindalochana. That is the intimacy Nammalwar had with this temple. From here we will see the slokas 62 and 63 together. Alwar and this Kshetram are closely connected. Alwar places his thoughts, words and deeds at the feet of the Lord here. Like this if we could also direct our mind, speech and action in Him, our mind and organs will get disciplined and be under control. This we saw in the last sloka. Yesterday we mentioned about the Vaikasi Visaka festival when on the 5^th day all the Deities from the Nava Thiruppati reach Alwar Thirunagari. On the 6^th day morning all the Deities would take leave of Alwar and return to their temples. That time the Deities of Rettai Thiruppati would be on two palanquins and would be near Nammalwar to take leave. Each Deity of the various temples would come near the Alwar and after the hymns of that Kshetram are sung by the Arayar, that Deity would leave for His temple and Alwar would turn his attention on the next Deity in line. But in the case of Rettai Thiruppati there is a difference. After the hymns are sung and the Lords take leave, Alwar would wait till they disappear from his sight and then only he would attend to the next Deity on line. This is because his deeds, words and thoughts are always in Him only.

kuzhaiyum vaaLmugaththEzhaiyaith* tholai  villi mangalam kondupukku,*

izhaikoL sOthich chenNthaamaraik kaNpiraan* irundhamaikaattineer,*

mazhai peythaalokkum kaNNa neerinodu*  anRu thottummaiyaandhu,* ivaL

nuzhaiyum sindhaiyaL annaimeer!* thozhum  aththisaiyuRRu nOkkiyE. 

[She has got soft, tender, smooth beautiful face. She had so much love

for the Lord and you all showed this Divya dEsam; she is now trapped in

His beauty of this Divya Desam sthalam. Oh Mother! Hence, you have already

lost her. She is always on thoughts about Him only. She has lost herself

in His beauty. He shines so brightly and beautifully much above the

quantum of lustre of His ornaments (due to His own shining Body). >From

the day she saw His such Great shining Beauty, her tears are flowing down

the cheeks like rains. She keeps looking at that direction where

Devapiraan is there and is paying obeisance to Him, with her mind lost in

Him and His guNAs completely.]

In this pasuram the last words are ‘atthisai utru nokkum’ meaning she [Alwar] would attentively look in the direction [of the Lord].  This illustrates the intimacy Alwar had for these Deities of Rettai Thiruppati. In his Nayika Bhavam, when the Alwar was a small girl, the parents wanted to prepare her horoscope and the Astrologer told that if the parents wanted the girl [Alwar] to be with them, then they should never expose her to the Lord of Tholaivillimangalam. She would become His. But the parents made her to worship the Lord and from that time onwards she is thinking of Him only [anNnaaL thotangi innaaL dhoRum,* irundhirundhu 'aravindha lOsana!'*  enREnRE nNaindhirangumE.        6.5.8]

 If we want to control our organs, therefore, we have to submit ourselves to Him. The beauty of the Lord here is charming and no wonder Alwar did not want anything else. More than others, His eyes are captivating. By placing our organs in this Beauty, we can easily control our organs. If we do not do this, then the consequences are frightening and dreadful. This is explained in the 62nd and 63rd slokas:

dhyayato visayan pumsah
sangas tesupajayate
sangat sanjayate kamah
kamat krodho ’bhijayate [62]

"While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises uncontrollably."

krodhad bhavati sammohah
sammohat smriti-vibhramah
smriti-bhramsad buddhi-naso
buddhi-nasat pranasyati [63]

"From anger, complete delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost one falls down again into the birth cycle."

Sri Krishna describes the gradual deterioration if one does not concentrate on Him and allow the mind and intellect to wander. If the atman does not direct the intellect on Him, then thinks only of the materialistic pleasures. The mind starts wandering on cheap and inferior matters. Next, this will induce a desire in them. It will slowly sprout. The desire sprouts in all the organs. This tiny spark of desire then grows into a flame, that is Kama or lust. This develops into a craving to appease that passion. When the sought desire is not fulfilled, krodha-anger and hatred, engulfs the mind. This will be on the desired objects and on those who are considered as impediments. Sri Krishna says that the krodha is not simply developing but becomes indiscriminate and uncontrollable anger. This anger is not restricted only on those preventing the desire to be achieved, but on all those related to them, their friends and supporters. This is not exaggerating, nor could happen only to ordinary persons. Sri Rama also was enslavened by this feeling, Valmiki says. When Sri Rama came to know that Sri Sita was abducted by Ravana His anger knew no bounds. He declares that before dawn, if Sri Sita were not returned back, He would destroy Ravana, his relatives and others. Sri Rama was passionately in love with Sri Sita, and so this passion was converted to anger when She was missing. This grew in such a magnitude that He declared He would destroy Ravana and his relatives. In fact, not only those, Sri Rama says, He would destroy all gods, humans, etc. Because anger is very difficult to control. It is said that a person caught in anger, will not even hesitate to murder his teacher. Once anger steps in, the person would lose his balance and sense of discrimination as what should be done and what should not be done. That is he would lose his rational behaviour and would be senseless. This leads to memory loss. That is we forget the purpose of trying to controlling the organs. This means loss of intellect or buddhi nasam. That is the buddhi to have atman darshan is lost. This results in disappearance of atman swaroopam or the basic knowledge about atman. So, the person indulges in Kama and krodha and is destined for rebirths. To summarize:

Not concentrating on God à wandering of mind and pursuing inferior pleasuresà desire sproutsà Greed and passion à Kamaà turns to anger at impedimentsà loss of rational thinkingà forgetting the purpose to control organsà loss of buddhi to have atman darshanà Inability to come out of birth cycle.

So we should like Alwar did, devote all our mind and activities at the service of Sri Aravindalochanan and succeed in disciplining our organs.

BG2.70

In the sloka Srinagaryam mahapuryam thambraparni uthare thate sri thinthruni moula dhamne satakopaya mangalam, it is said that we prostrate to Satakopa under the tamarind [thinthruni] tree in Thirunagari [alwar thirunagari] Kshetram situated on the northern banks of river Thamraparani. This recording is being done in the month of Vaikasi [May-June] when the Visakam [Nammalwar’s birth star] festival is taking place. It is a ten-day festival. Today is the eighth day of the festival. Today Nammalwar is taken on procession from here to Appankoil nearby. Alwar was born in Appankoil but from there he crawled and came to this place and stayed below the tamarind tree. We see here a large mandapam called Alwar mangalasasana mandapam. During the festival on the fifth day, the Lords of all the [nearby] temples would assemble here. There are nine Kshetrams including Alwar Thirunagari, known as Nava Thirupati. The Lords of all these temples gather here. Each Lord arrives here on the fifth day morning and is welcomed by Alwar. Whole day they will be present in Alwar’s sannidhi. During that time All will have Thirumanjanam or holy bath. At about 11p.m. each Lord mounted on Garuda will grace the devotees. The doors of Alwar's sannidhi would then be opened and one by one all the Lords of all the temples would emerge out. Then Alwar would be seated on Hamsa [swan] vahanam [vehicle] and taken on procession. Madurakavi Alwar, disciple of Nammalwar and born in the nearby Thirukkolur, would grace the devotees seated on an ivory chair. All the eleven –nine Lords on Garuda, Alwar on Hamsa and Madurakavi- would be on procession whole night. Then all will return to this mandapam. Then on the sixth day morning, all Lords of all temples would be seated in palanquins and would take leave of Alwar to return to the respective temples. That time Arayar [temple hereditary persons authorized to sing and dance before the Lord] would recite those hymns sung by Alwar on each of the nine Lords of Nava Thirupati and dance. Then all the Lords would reach their respective temples. After bidding farewell to all the Lords, Nammalwar would return to his sannidhi. So the 5^th and 6^th days’ festival in this time is a feast to the eyes. Thus God comes to the devotee’s place to grace and bless. We have pictured the streets of this place. What is the use of taking picture of mere roads? One may ask. But the superiority of this place is such that everything here is sacred. On the other side banks of the river there lived a yogi or sage. By his side always one dog used to remain. Sage would be on meditation. The dog in the midday would swim across the river and reach this place. It would eat the remnants of food thrown by residents of this place and swimming back would return to the sage. This was happening daily. One day the dog after eating here started returning to the sage. But due to floods in the river the dog was carried away by the floods and died. The soul or atman of the dog sprang up as a brilliant light. The sage saw this and was surprised that the dog’s soul could rise to Moksham just by consuming the leftovers of the residents of this place. So it is not a disgrace to be born as a dog if that could be in Alwar Thirunagari and eat the leftovers of devotees here. So these streets are also important. Alwar also propagated the same message of Gita. We are to see the 61^st sloka of 2^nd Chapter. In 59^th sloka it was told that by visualizing atman the organs are controlled. In the 60^th sloka however, it was told that control of organs would enable atman darshan. Arjuna was confused and he did not know which one to precede which? He requested Sri Krishna to solve this riddle. Sri Krishna replies that unless organs are controlled the atman cannot be perceived; there is no doubt on this. But He would suggest an easier way to control the organs. Then he could perceive atman. We also desire to see and hear good things only. But the organs are not disciplined. This is because of the ever-remaining rajo and tamo qualities in our mind. Our mind has the mixture of satva, rajo and tamo qualities. When satva quality is prominent our organs are well disciplined. When the rajo and tamo qualities are exalted, our organs also seek cheap pleasures. So it is important to cultivate our habits to reduce rajo and tamo qualities. This is explained in 61^st sloka:

tani sarvani samyamya
yukta asita mat-parah
vase hi yasyendriyani
tasya prajna pratisthita

" For one who restrains his senses, keeping them under a little control, and fixes his consciousness upon Me, his intellect gets firmly established."

Tasya-that atma gyani’s, prajna- intellect, pratisthita- gets firmly founded or established. Tani sarvani- all the organs, samyamya- at least somewhat controlled, mat parah- direct them on Me and yukta asita- remain resolved. So instead of allowing the organs to wander as they like, direct them with a small effort, on Sri Krishna. Vedas say that all the best tastes are all inherited in Him, all the fragrance of the world are all lodged in Him, and He is the repository of all the auspicious things in this world. The things we see or hear continuously affect us. If a song is played frequently, we automatically start humming it. If that song is good then we inherit that goodness; but if it is a bad song then we go in that way. Since mind follows what is frequently seen or heard, we should try to see or hear superior sources. Superior entities will influence superior results in us. On the contrary if we go after inferior matters, the influence on us also will be inferior. Why do we go to temples and sacred Kshetrams? These are all embodiment of satva qualities. The Lord’s image is supposed to be suddha satva mayam. Our bodies are a mixture of the five elements. But the Lord’s image is aprakrutham or eternal. It consists of only satva quality. By constantly worshiping His image, our organs do not wander and get disciplined. Even though we can worship God in our own houses, in temples we get the ambience of sanctity and our minds will have more of satva quality and the rajo and tamo qualities fade away. This is what Sri Krishna is telling. By directing the organs on Him we pacify the mind and His supreme qualities affect and influence our mind. So he whose organs have come under the influence of God, his intellect gets properly founded. That is why nama snkeertan – singing His names- or listening to His stories or talking in praise of Him or going to temples and involving in sacred activities there, are all efforts to place our organs in His service. This will with His blessings, enable us to control the organs. Disciplining organs will pave the way for atman darshan. We can also follow this simple and easier method.