Post by Amritha Varshini on Nov 8, 2013 5:12:05 GMT 5.5
Arumuga, the harmoniser - Article by Smt Shanta Rajan (rajan.shantha@gmail.com)
Harmony is a beautiful concept in this cosmos. The sun, the moon, the stars and the planets, are all in motion, but in harmony. Seasons follow a certain pattern. There is a pattern in the blooming of the flowers, the metamorphosis of a tree from a seed, the chirping of the birds, the falling of rain drops, the roaring of waterfalls and the list is endless. Take the case of a pomegranate fruit, one can never stop wondering the harmonious arrangement of the red seeds with pulp and its sweetness. A good music is the personification of harmony. A dance form is the harmony of rhythms. A beautiful sculpture produces nectar in stones. There can be any number of examples to show how the Mother Nature has based her Creation on this basic tenet of harmony.
As in the macro cosmic level, the gross human body too, in the micro level, is also a form of harmonious mechanism in which different systems act in a symbiotic manner.
But human being is not only the gross body. He is endowed with mind and intellect too. He needs to have a harmonious co-ordination of all the three faculties for becoming wholesome human being. When there is an imbalance among these faculties harmony takes a backseat and chaos erupts.
Sanatana dharma has gone into great details about this through Vedas and Upanishads. On religious level it takes us through the path of Saguna bhakthi towards various Gods and Goddesses and on spiritual level it attempts to harmonise our body, mind and intellect through dhyana and meditation.
A true devotee harmonises his faculties by abhorring the six ailments (viz, kama, krodha, lobha, moha, mada and matsarya) which corrupt his mind and by adhering to good qualities. His Ishta Devata helps him in his endeavour. The special divine qualities of his Ishta Devata attract him and mould him for the next step
on his spiritual journey. Of the main deities namely Sri vinayaka, Paramashiva, Sri NarayaNa, Devi, Sri karthikEya occupies a unique place that too in South India. With due respects to all the deities, (after all, we know that the Supreme is One; only the forms are different), we will go into the most special quality of Sri Karthikeyaa as the unique Harmoniser in this cosmos in various aspects. By this way we shall try to do justice to the subject in hand.
The Pure existence or the “Sat” is the Brahman or the Supreme Reality. It is formless. This existence is not something inert or lifeless. It is full of awareness and throbs with consciousness which is called the Chit. There is a “spanda” in it which vibrates due to the Force. That is the Chit Shakthi. The nature of the “Sat” and the Divine Force of the Chit put together is the culmination of Ananda or the Supreme delight, the “sachchidananda”. It is at once the Divine Light also. Kacchcchiyappa Sivachchaariyar describes this,
“அருவமும் உருவமாகி அநாதியாய் பலவாய் ஒன்றாய்ப்
ப்ரம்மமாய் நின்ற ஜோதிப்பிழம்பு அது ஓர் மேனியாகிக்
கருணை கூர் முகங்களாறும் கரமது பன்னிரண்டும் கொண்டு
ஆங்கு வந்து உதித்தனன் உலகம் உய்ய.”
aruvamum uruvamaaki anhaathiyaayp palavaay onRaayp
pramamaay ninRasOthip pizampathOr mEniyaakik
karuNaikUr mukanhkaLaaRum karamathu panniraNdung koNdE
oruthiru murukanaay ulakamuyya vanhthu aangu uthiththanan
"The fiery Mass That stood as Brahman
That has no beginning
Assuming a form from formless,
From several unto One,
Thus rose Tirumuruga
With six merciful faces and twelve eyes,
For the universe to get rescued." ( English translation by SRS Ayyar)
This is the description of the incarnation of Lord SubramaNya as narrated by the great saint. With this as background, we will reflect upon the above mentioned theme.
Kaumaram or the worship of Lord SubramaNya occupies a unique place in the Sanatana Dharma. He is the greatest co-ordinator, the Harmoniser, the integrator and the synthesiser. As already seen, he harmonises the Formless Sat and the Force of the Chit to become the Ananda or the eternal Happiness. He harmonises the three types of Shakti: the Ichchaa, the Gnyana and the Kriya. He is the embodiment of the four Vedas. His incarnation takes place with help of the pancha bhutas. He is the greatest harmoniser of the three main forms of ShaNmata namely, the Shaivism, the Vaishnavism and the Shaaktam. Also while He is the brother of God Vinayaka, he is considered as the Gyana Suriyan. He is the agyna dvaanta prachaNda Bhaskaran as put by Sri Muththuswami Dikshitar. In fact Saint AruNagirinaathar praises Him as “அறுசமய சாத்திரப் பொருளோனே”.
When Shivaachchaariyar says “அருவமும் உருவமாகி பலவாய் ஒன்றாய் ப்ரம்மமாய் நின்ற ஜோதிப்பிழம்பு அது ஓர் மேனியாகி” (aruvamum uruvamaaki anhaathiyaayp palavaay onRaayp, pramamaay ninRasOthip pizampathOr mEniyaagi he points to the Grand Will of the Brahmam or the Lila of the Superme Reality. When the “Spanda” or the slightest vibration takes place in the otherwise achala Bhhava of the Supreme reality, its will is the reflection of the ichcha shakthi. It has the supreme knowledge or the Gyana of what to do and the divine action of the kriya shakthi to do the same. The three harmonise to create the endless forms in the nature and the cosmos.
When the Omnipotent takes the form of Lord SubramaNya, He is the possessor of the supreme knowledge in the form of Vel or the Gnyana Shakti. The darkness of ahamkaara and the mamakaara is vanquished, the moment the light of knowledge enters the hridaya of the devotee. The Lord is wedded to Devyani, the daughter of Indra, the personification of kriya shakti. Devayani is the silent doer as a karma yogi. She carries out all activities in the name of Muruga from behind the curtain as it were. But any action has to be preceded by a will and it is provided by the ichcha sakthi or Valli. Thus the Lord combines the three paths of knowledge, karma and devotion and helps his devotees in attaining the saayujya.
The four Vedas praise Him eloquently. It is in the ultimate reach of the advaita bhaava that the devotee equates himself with the Parabrahma. The veda proclaims, “Subrahmanyoham”, “Subrahmanyoham”, “Subrahmanyom”. Saint AruNagirinaathar considers Him as the quintessence of the four Vedas and also the tatvaartha of the praNava. By being the Guru of His own father, Lord Shiva, He becomes the Guru of the whole world.
Lord Arumuga is closely knit by the pancha tatvas also. His birth depicts this. He is“ayonijan” (not born as a human being) so to say. As is well known he was born through the third eye of Shiva by sheer sankalpa in the form of six flames (agni). They are carried by Agni and Vaayu through the space or Aakaasa. They are left in the pond of Saravana(water) on lotus flowers(Bhu ). The formless parabrahma thus gets the form of Aarumuga when the six babies are hugged by Devi Parvati. He gets another name as Skanda or Kanda which means one who is bound. He is bound by the love of his devotees towards him. AruNagiri calls Him “அடியார்க்கு நல்ல பெருமாள்.”
The Lord is the greatest harmoniser of the sanatana dharma. When Adi Shankara established the six paths of bhakti yoga he did not want to make water-tight compartments in which the devotees would be categorised under the flagships of different deities. After vanquishing the various forms of inhuman and aasuric religions and dogmas, he founded the shaNmata for the benefit of the humanity at large. He encouraged the Bhaktas to worship the Parabrahma in various forms according to their gunas and their predominant emotions. Accordingly, it was either, Gaanapatyam, Souram, Saaktam, Saivam, VaishNavam or Kaumaram For Adi Shankara these were only the six maargas or the paths to achieve the ultimate goal of saayujya. But the human beings as they are governed more by ego-centricity rather than magnanimity started to claim superiority even in their faiths towards their deities. Over a period of time the paths became more important than the destination. They had started forgetting that the saguna forms of the one Parabrahma are only the pathfinders or torch lights to show the paths. The hearts of devotees which should be overflowing with nectar of love are many times turned into bowls of hatred and animosity. The puranas and the itihasaas are full of stories which depict how Lords Vishnu and Siva are admirers of each other. Skandopanishad says, “shivaaya vishNu ruupaaya shiva ruupa vishNave, Shivasya hridayam vishNu: vishNooshcha hridayam shiva: abheda darshanam jnaanam.” The very fact that Shriman NaaraayaNa is happily marrying away his sister Parvathi to Lord Siva, shows that shiva vishnu abheda bhava must be generated in the hearts and minds of the devotees and astikaas. Bhagwan Krishna declares in Bhagwat Gita that He is Skanda while being senapati to the warriors. VishNu offers his own eye as a flower to do archana to Lord Shiva. And the later narrates Ramayana to Goddess Parvati. Aarumuga the harmoniser harmonises these different faiths as honey harmonises the different ingredients of panchamritham
Thiruppugaz which was rendered by Saint Arunagirinathar is replete with instances of Mahabharata, Ramayana, and Bhagavata. In fact each verse ends with the word “PerumaLe” which denoted the Almighty to the Vaishnavites. The poet enthrals himself and the devotees when sings the praise of Narayana, Rama, Krishna, and His dasavataras. There is a wealth of information about Thiruvilaiyaadal PuraNam of Shiva. When the saint adores Shakti, we feel as if Arunagiri is a Shaktar to the core. He also favours Vinayaka the MuzumuthaR kadavuL ( முழுமுதற்கடவுள்)
While singing Thiruppugaz songs we feel ourselves in the midst of an extended, happy, harmonious joint family. Our ishta Devata, Muruga stands at the centre attracting all these deities towards Him. We get such a glimpse in the song “அதல சேடனாராட”. The story goes that Saint AruNagirinaathar was challenged by SampanthAndAn, his contemporary, in the court of King Prabuda DhEvarAjan tomanfest the Lord in the durbar of the King. The saint described the whole sequence of the rhythmic dances of the various deities and requested Lord Muruga to dance for the delight of the entire universe and manifest Himself in the royal assemblage. மயிலுமாடி, நீயுமாடி வரவேணும் was his prayer. Lord Murugan appeared before him in the court, in a dancing form, with dancing peacock and His Spear to the delight of the King and all those present. We find a similar portrayal of this cosmic dance in the panjaamirtha vaNNam of Srimat Paamban swaamigaL. Lord Kaarthikeyaa is the cynosure of these Gods and Goddesses. In other words we find a perfect union of all the Divine forces in Him. He binds them all and we, the devotees, are bound to Him with His benign love, affection, beauty and Ananda.
For children, he is Bala Murugan and his lilaas inspire them. The story of the fight between Vinayaka and Muruga for mango fruit implies an equally profoundest tatva that while Lord Muruga sees the saguNa roopa of Shiva and Shakti in the cosmos, (prapancha) Lord Vinayaka sees the NirguNa Braman in Shiva Paarvati.
The elders approach him with vatsalya bhava. Lord Subrahmanaya upholds righteousness like Sri Rama. In fact we find a lot of similarities in them. While Sri Rama shows His Self to Ravana and gives him Mukti, Subrahmanya transforms Surapadama the demon into peacock and hen to be with Him forever. His compassion for jivatman personified by Valli none less than that of Krishna’s towards Radha. For the gyanis, He is the Swamynatha, who is veda in divine form.
The Lord harmonises the Divinity and the mortals. While in a playful mood he imprisons the creator Brahma and imparts Pranava to his own father, he also gives diksha to a mortal like Arunagirinaathar.
He harmonises the haves and the have-nots, the poor and the rich alike so to say. He marries a princess –the like of Devyani—the daughter of Indra no doubt; but He also embraces VaLLi, the daughter of a hunter. This only goes to show that nothing else but one pointed devotion and love towards the Parabrahman will facilitate the divinity to descend in our hearts and minds forever.
Such a study of the universal harmonisation brought about by the supreme Lord ARumuga, encourages a devotee to harmonise his own faculties of mind, body and intellect and paves him a way for soul realisation.
Harmony is a beautiful concept in this cosmos. The sun, the moon, the stars and the planets, are all in motion, but in harmony. Seasons follow a certain pattern. There is a pattern in the blooming of the flowers, the metamorphosis of a tree from a seed, the chirping of the birds, the falling of rain drops, the roaring of waterfalls and the list is endless. Take the case of a pomegranate fruit, one can never stop wondering the harmonious arrangement of the red seeds with pulp and its sweetness. A good music is the personification of harmony. A dance form is the harmony of rhythms. A beautiful sculpture produces nectar in stones. There can be any number of examples to show how the Mother Nature has based her Creation on this basic tenet of harmony.
As in the macro cosmic level, the gross human body too, in the micro level, is also a form of harmonious mechanism in which different systems act in a symbiotic manner.
But human being is not only the gross body. He is endowed with mind and intellect too. He needs to have a harmonious co-ordination of all the three faculties for becoming wholesome human being. When there is an imbalance among these faculties harmony takes a backseat and chaos erupts.
Sanatana dharma has gone into great details about this through Vedas and Upanishads. On religious level it takes us through the path of Saguna bhakthi towards various Gods and Goddesses and on spiritual level it attempts to harmonise our body, mind and intellect through dhyana and meditation.
A true devotee harmonises his faculties by abhorring the six ailments (viz, kama, krodha, lobha, moha, mada and matsarya) which corrupt his mind and by adhering to good qualities. His Ishta Devata helps him in his endeavour. The special divine qualities of his Ishta Devata attract him and mould him for the next step
on his spiritual journey. Of the main deities namely Sri vinayaka, Paramashiva, Sri NarayaNa, Devi, Sri karthikEya occupies a unique place that too in South India. With due respects to all the deities, (after all, we know that the Supreme is One; only the forms are different), we will go into the most special quality of Sri Karthikeyaa as the unique Harmoniser in this cosmos in various aspects. By this way we shall try to do justice to the subject in hand.
The Pure existence or the “Sat” is the Brahman or the Supreme Reality. It is formless. This existence is not something inert or lifeless. It is full of awareness and throbs with consciousness which is called the Chit. There is a “spanda” in it which vibrates due to the Force. That is the Chit Shakthi. The nature of the “Sat” and the Divine Force of the Chit put together is the culmination of Ananda or the Supreme delight, the “sachchidananda”. It is at once the Divine Light also. Kacchcchiyappa Sivachchaariyar describes this,
“அருவமும் உருவமாகி அநாதியாய் பலவாய் ஒன்றாய்ப்
ப்ரம்மமாய் நின்ற ஜோதிப்பிழம்பு அது ஓர் மேனியாகிக்
கருணை கூர் முகங்களாறும் கரமது பன்னிரண்டும் கொண்டு
ஆங்கு வந்து உதித்தனன் உலகம் உய்ய.”
aruvamum uruvamaaki anhaathiyaayp palavaay onRaayp
pramamaay ninRasOthip pizampathOr mEniyaakik
karuNaikUr mukanhkaLaaRum karamathu panniraNdung koNdE
oruthiru murukanaay ulakamuyya vanhthu aangu uthiththanan
"The fiery Mass That stood as Brahman
That has no beginning
Assuming a form from formless,
From several unto One,
Thus rose Tirumuruga
With six merciful faces and twelve eyes,
For the universe to get rescued." ( English translation by SRS Ayyar)
This is the description of the incarnation of Lord SubramaNya as narrated by the great saint. With this as background, we will reflect upon the above mentioned theme.
Kaumaram or the worship of Lord SubramaNya occupies a unique place in the Sanatana Dharma. He is the greatest co-ordinator, the Harmoniser, the integrator and the synthesiser. As already seen, he harmonises the Formless Sat and the Force of the Chit to become the Ananda or the eternal Happiness. He harmonises the three types of Shakti: the Ichchaa, the Gnyana and the Kriya. He is the embodiment of the four Vedas. His incarnation takes place with help of the pancha bhutas. He is the greatest harmoniser of the three main forms of ShaNmata namely, the Shaivism, the Vaishnavism and the Shaaktam. Also while He is the brother of God Vinayaka, he is considered as the Gyana Suriyan. He is the agyna dvaanta prachaNda Bhaskaran as put by Sri Muththuswami Dikshitar. In fact Saint AruNagirinaathar praises Him as “அறுசமய சாத்திரப் பொருளோனே”.
When Shivaachchaariyar says “அருவமும் உருவமாகி பலவாய் ஒன்றாய் ப்ரம்மமாய் நின்ற ஜோதிப்பிழம்பு அது ஓர் மேனியாகி” (aruvamum uruvamaaki anhaathiyaayp palavaay onRaayp, pramamaay ninRasOthip pizampathOr mEniyaagi he points to the Grand Will of the Brahmam or the Lila of the Superme Reality. When the “Spanda” or the slightest vibration takes place in the otherwise achala Bhhava of the Supreme reality, its will is the reflection of the ichcha shakthi. It has the supreme knowledge or the Gyana of what to do and the divine action of the kriya shakthi to do the same. The three harmonise to create the endless forms in the nature and the cosmos.
When the Omnipotent takes the form of Lord SubramaNya, He is the possessor of the supreme knowledge in the form of Vel or the Gnyana Shakti. The darkness of ahamkaara and the mamakaara is vanquished, the moment the light of knowledge enters the hridaya of the devotee. The Lord is wedded to Devyani, the daughter of Indra, the personification of kriya shakti. Devayani is the silent doer as a karma yogi. She carries out all activities in the name of Muruga from behind the curtain as it were. But any action has to be preceded by a will and it is provided by the ichcha sakthi or Valli. Thus the Lord combines the three paths of knowledge, karma and devotion and helps his devotees in attaining the saayujya.
The four Vedas praise Him eloquently. It is in the ultimate reach of the advaita bhaava that the devotee equates himself with the Parabrahma. The veda proclaims, “Subrahmanyoham”, “Subrahmanyoham”, “Subrahmanyom”. Saint AruNagirinaathar considers Him as the quintessence of the four Vedas and also the tatvaartha of the praNava. By being the Guru of His own father, Lord Shiva, He becomes the Guru of the whole world.
Lord Arumuga is closely knit by the pancha tatvas also. His birth depicts this. He is“ayonijan” (not born as a human being) so to say. As is well known he was born through the third eye of Shiva by sheer sankalpa in the form of six flames (agni). They are carried by Agni and Vaayu through the space or Aakaasa. They are left in the pond of Saravana(water) on lotus flowers(Bhu ). The formless parabrahma thus gets the form of Aarumuga when the six babies are hugged by Devi Parvati. He gets another name as Skanda or Kanda which means one who is bound. He is bound by the love of his devotees towards him. AruNagiri calls Him “அடியார்க்கு நல்ல பெருமாள்.”
The Lord is the greatest harmoniser of the sanatana dharma. When Adi Shankara established the six paths of bhakti yoga he did not want to make water-tight compartments in which the devotees would be categorised under the flagships of different deities. After vanquishing the various forms of inhuman and aasuric religions and dogmas, he founded the shaNmata for the benefit of the humanity at large. He encouraged the Bhaktas to worship the Parabrahma in various forms according to their gunas and their predominant emotions. Accordingly, it was either, Gaanapatyam, Souram, Saaktam, Saivam, VaishNavam or Kaumaram For Adi Shankara these were only the six maargas or the paths to achieve the ultimate goal of saayujya. But the human beings as they are governed more by ego-centricity rather than magnanimity started to claim superiority even in their faiths towards their deities. Over a period of time the paths became more important than the destination. They had started forgetting that the saguna forms of the one Parabrahma are only the pathfinders or torch lights to show the paths. The hearts of devotees which should be overflowing with nectar of love are many times turned into bowls of hatred and animosity. The puranas and the itihasaas are full of stories which depict how Lords Vishnu and Siva are admirers of each other. Skandopanishad says, “shivaaya vishNu ruupaaya shiva ruupa vishNave, Shivasya hridayam vishNu: vishNooshcha hridayam shiva: abheda darshanam jnaanam.” The very fact that Shriman NaaraayaNa is happily marrying away his sister Parvathi to Lord Siva, shows that shiva vishnu abheda bhava must be generated in the hearts and minds of the devotees and astikaas. Bhagwan Krishna declares in Bhagwat Gita that He is Skanda while being senapati to the warriors. VishNu offers his own eye as a flower to do archana to Lord Shiva. And the later narrates Ramayana to Goddess Parvati. Aarumuga the harmoniser harmonises these different faiths as honey harmonises the different ingredients of panchamritham
Thiruppugaz which was rendered by Saint Arunagirinathar is replete with instances of Mahabharata, Ramayana, and Bhagavata. In fact each verse ends with the word “PerumaLe” which denoted the Almighty to the Vaishnavites. The poet enthrals himself and the devotees when sings the praise of Narayana, Rama, Krishna, and His dasavataras. There is a wealth of information about Thiruvilaiyaadal PuraNam of Shiva. When the saint adores Shakti, we feel as if Arunagiri is a Shaktar to the core. He also favours Vinayaka the MuzumuthaR kadavuL ( முழுமுதற்கடவுள்)
While singing Thiruppugaz songs we feel ourselves in the midst of an extended, happy, harmonious joint family. Our ishta Devata, Muruga stands at the centre attracting all these deities towards Him. We get such a glimpse in the song “அதல சேடனாராட”. The story goes that Saint AruNagirinaathar was challenged by SampanthAndAn, his contemporary, in the court of King Prabuda DhEvarAjan tomanfest the Lord in the durbar of the King. The saint described the whole sequence of the rhythmic dances of the various deities and requested Lord Muruga to dance for the delight of the entire universe and manifest Himself in the royal assemblage. மயிலுமாடி, நீயுமாடி வரவேணும் was his prayer. Lord Murugan appeared before him in the court, in a dancing form, with dancing peacock and His Spear to the delight of the King and all those present. We find a similar portrayal of this cosmic dance in the panjaamirtha vaNNam of Srimat Paamban swaamigaL. Lord Kaarthikeyaa is the cynosure of these Gods and Goddesses. In other words we find a perfect union of all the Divine forces in Him. He binds them all and we, the devotees, are bound to Him with His benign love, affection, beauty and Ananda.
For children, he is Bala Murugan and his lilaas inspire them. The story of the fight between Vinayaka and Muruga for mango fruit implies an equally profoundest tatva that while Lord Muruga sees the saguNa roopa of Shiva and Shakti in the cosmos, (prapancha) Lord Vinayaka sees the NirguNa Braman in Shiva Paarvati.
The elders approach him with vatsalya bhava. Lord Subrahmanaya upholds righteousness like Sri Rama. In fact we find a lot of similarities in them. While Sri Rama shows His Self to Ravana and gives him Mukti, Subrahmanya transforms Surapadama the demon into peacock and hen to be with Him forever. His compassion for jivatman personified by Valli none less than that of Krishna’s towards Radha. For the gyanis, He is the Swamynatha, who is veda in divine form.
The Lord harmonises the Divinity and the mortals. While in a playful mood he imprisons the creator Brahma and imparts Pranava to his own father, he also gives diksha to a mortal like Arunagirinaathar.
He harmonises the haves and the have-nots, the poor and the rich alike so to say. He marries a princess –the like of Devyani—the daughter of Indra no doubt; but He also embraces VaLLi, the daughter of a hunter. This only goes to show that nothing else but one pointed devotion and love towards the Parabrahman will facilitate the divinity to descend in our hearts and minds forever.
Such a study of the universal harmonisation brought about by the supreme Lord ARumuga, encourages a devotee to harmonise his own faculties of mind, body and intellect and paves him a way for soul realisation.
