I like Carnatic (South Indian classical) music. At the same time my favourite is Tamil Pan Isai (this is the traditional Tamil music). The gentle form of it raises the spiritual awakening and helps us to feel the presence of God. The following song I began to write in September 1985 and completed on 12-12.1985.
11. போற்றி போற்றி
ஒலியே வடிவெடுத்து
ஓரருள் வார்த்தையாகி
உலகினை உய்விக்கவே
உருவெடுத்து வந்தோய்–போற்றி
ஆதியில் தேவனாகி
அவரரும் புதல்வனாகி
அனைத்தையும் படைத்தெடுத்து
அவனியில் வந்தோய்–போற்றி
சிந்தைசொல் தான்கடந்து
ஜோதியே வடிவமாகி
ஜீவனின் ஊற்றுமாகி
திகழ்கின்ற அருளே–போற்றி
அருளுக்கு அருளாய் நின்றோய்
அவனிக்கு ஒளியாய் வந்தோய்
இருளிலே ஒளியும் தந்தோய்
முக்தேசனே போற்றி போற்றி
தெய்வத்தைக் கண்டோரில்லை
திருவடி அறிந்தோர் இல்லை
தேவனின் மைந்தன் நீயே
தெய்வமாய் உருவெடுத்தாய்
அவனியின் மாந்தர்கெல்லாம்
ஆன்மீக ஒளியளிக்க
அவதரித்து உலகில் வந்தாய்
ஐயனே நீ மனிதனாக
ஆரறிவார் ஐயா உன்
அன்பின் இம்மாட்சியையே
அளவிடவே முடியாது உன்
அரும் பெரும் தியாகமதை
அழிந்திடும் மானிடர்மேல்
ஐயா நீவைத்த அன்பதனால்
அளித்தாயே உன் மகனை
அடைந்திடவே விண்வாழ்வதனை
கன்னியின் கருவறையில்
சிசுவாய் உருவெடுத்தாய்
கால்நடைக் குடில்தனிலே
மனுவாய் அவதரித்தாய்
மந்தையின் மேய்ப்பருக்கோ
அருட்செய்தி முதலளித்தாய்
மனுகுல முழுதிற்க்கும்
மீட்பிற்கு வழிவகுத்தாய்
முறன்பட்ட முன்னோரின்
முறைமையினைச் சீர்படுத்த
நீரினில் அமிழ்ந்தெழுந்து
நியமத்தை அனுசரித்தாய்
தேவனின் இராஜியத்தை
திசையெங்கும் பறைசாற்றி
தந்தையவர் தம் சித்தம்
தாழ்மையுடன் கடைபிடித்தாய்
சீர்கெட்ட மாந்தவரவர்
சிந்தயினை நேர்படுத்த
சீடரைத் தெரிந்தெடுத்து
நற்செய்தி எடுத்துரைத்தாய்
அண்டிய மாந்தெர்க்கெல்லாம்
அன்புடன் சுகமளித்தாய்
ஆன்மீக இரட்சிப்பிற்கோ
ஐயா நீ வழியானாய்
மார்க்கத்தில் வெறிபிடித்த
மனிதரவர் மூர்க்கமதால்
மன்னவனே உன்னையவர்
மாய்த்திடவே இடமளித்தாய்
தெரிந்தெடுத்த சீடருமே
திகைத்துன்னை மறுதலிக்க
தேவனின் திருச்சித்தம்
நிறைவேற உனையளித்தாய்
பாவமே அறியாத
பரமனின் குமரனே நீ
பாதகரை மீட்டிடவே
பாவச்சுமை ஏற்றாயே
நேயமைந்தன் நிலைகண்டு
தேவனுமே கையளிக்க
பாவமைந்தர் எமைமீட்க
பரிதபித்து உயிரளித்தாய்
கல்லறையும் உன்னைத்தான்
கருவறையில் கொண்டிடுமோ
காவலர்தம் கண்விழிப்பும்
காத்திடுமோ உன்னழிவை
தேவனவன் வல்லமையால்
தேகமதில் உயிர்த்தெழுந்தாய்
தேற்றினாய் சீடரையும்
தோன்றியவர்முன் காட்சியாக
அண்ட சராசரத்தின்
ஆதிக்கம் அவன் கையில்
ஆகையால் நீங்கள் போய்
அனைவர்க்கும் இச்செய்தி கூறி
மூவரின் நாமத்தில்
முழுக்கியே நீரதனில்
ஆக்குவீர் நற்சீடராய்
அவனியின் மாந்தரையே
இப்பாடலும் தமிழ்ப் பண் இசையையே சார்ந்தது. இதை 1985-செப்டம்பரில் எழுத ஆரம்பித்து, 05-04-1986-ல் லக்னோவில் முடித்தேன்.
Song 11 Hail
The embodied Light
Became a Graceful Word,
Incarnate to save this world;
Hail to You!
Remaining primordial God,
Become His gracious Son;
Creator of everything,
You came to this world, Hail to You!
Crossing beyond mind and words,
Becoming the form of Light
and the source of Life,
You are the essence of Grace; Hail to you!
You remain as Grace upon Grace;
You become Light to this world
And showed light in darkness;
Lord Muktinath, Hail to you!
None has seen God
None knows the Holy feet
You Son of God
Incarnated as God
In order to give spiritual light
To the people in this world
You took incarnation
As a human being
Who will understand this
Greatness of your love
It cannot be measures
This great sacrifice
As I had love for
The perishing human beings
You gave your Son
In order to get eternal life
You born as a baby
In the womb of a virgin
You incarnated in
The manger
You gave the Good news
To the shepherds
You paved the way
For the salvation of entire humanity
In order to set right the
Conflicting ancient path
(contradicting ancestors ways)
You took deeksha in water
And observed the rules
You proclaimed the Kingdom of God
Every where
You humbly followed the
Path of your Father
In order to straighten
The crooked path of humanity
You proclaimed the Good news
By selecting your disciples
You gave healing to those
Who approached you with compassion
You become the Way/path
For the spiritual salvation
Because of the religious fanatics
Rudeness
You allowed them to kill you
By surrendering yourself
The chosen disciples too denied you
As they were taken by this
And you surrendered totally
To fulfil the will of God
Oh Son of God
Who does no know sin
You accepted the burden of sin
In order to redeem the sinners
Seeing your wretched condition of
God also give you up
You gave your life taking pity on us
To redeem us the children of sin
Can the grave could hold you
In it womb (for long)
Can the vigilance of the soldiers
allow you to perish
You resurrected in body
By the power of God
You appeared before your disciples
by giving them your vision
The authority of the entire cosmos
In His hand
Therefore you go and
Proclaim this news to everyone
Giving them deeksha
In the name of the Trinity
Make them good disciples
The people of this world
This is an early attempt by me to present the Good News in a short form in a poem. Though I never paid much attention to the theology when I wrote that song, yet I was careful not to push my own personal ideals in the general meaning. I tried to remain faithful to Muktiveic teaching as much as possible. As I was more concerned about the music (Tamil Pan Isai) I was careful in selecting words that will go along with the music. When I was reading the gospel of John first chapter, the first few verses inspired me very much and immediately I wrote the first few stanzas in this song. Then when I began to use it in my personal worship, I began to add a few more stanzas and finally completed it.
For me bhakti is not a mere sentimental relationship with the Lord. It should be anchored on the foundation of the Word of God. Of course I struggled a lot to understand what actually the ‘WORD’ of God is? As I have done elementary study about Canon, I was not sure whether it is the ‘letter’ or the ‘spirit’ which holds the final authority. As I compared ‘Hindi’, ‘English’ and ‘Tamil’ Muktivedas, I was not sure which translation was correct one? As I began to read more and more books on ‘inspiration’, ‘translation’ ‘interpretation’ I was not sure how to anchor my bhakti properly. Though I found a convincing answer to my question: why I cannot lead a perfect life even for one day through Muktiveda, yet the spirit of rational enquiry challenged my conviction. I know till the end of my life this struggle is not going to end with a convincing answer that will satisfy both my reason and spiritual need. But the Word of God helps me steer clearly than get drifted in the ocean of theology or emotional expression of bhakti, anchoring me safely in my relationship with the Lord. Word of God for me is like the (umbilical) card for the astronauts when they go out for the space walk from their space station. However my emotion or feeling inspires me to write songs according to the mood and need, yet Muktiveda helps me to check my theology to have its Muktivedic foundation.
I accept the orthodox view that ‘The Word of God holds the final authority’. But what actually the ‘Word’ of God says is often decided by the interpretation. And I see that finally it is our ‘interpretation’ that holds the final authority and not the Word of God taking it literally. (see the article ‘Two questions’ in the blog.).
Here I have to share one important difference that one can find between the ‘experiences’ in a poem from the (theological) explanation about it. I am not the only person facing this problem. This is a universal one, at least in India. Let me quote from the life of Vedanta Desika of Tamilnadu who lived in ‘13th to 14th century (c.1268-1369)’ (Steven Paul Hopkins, Singing the Body of God: The Hymns of Vedantadesika in Their South Indian Tradition, Oxford, New Delhi, 2002, p.6). Hopkins says:
In my exegeses of the poems I will also address and further elaborate … the tensions between the theological vision in the poems and the theology expressed by the very same poet’s prose…. Desika’s hymns to Vishnu articulate a vision of surrender that seems to be more radical than that outlined in the poet’s own doctrinal works. The doctrine in prose cautiously affirms human self-effort in the action of grace, while the poem emphasizes helplessness, the absence of any human “means” to salvation. Doctrine in the poem…. is more “fluid,” less monolithic than doctrine outlined in prose. Ultimately, we see in Desika how philosophical positions and doctrines, when put into poems, are transformed by a master of both genres. The medium of the poem offers Desika the philosopher a unique space of interpretation, distinct from his own prose commentaries and independent treatises. (p. 8)….Yet the space of the poem also provides what Desika himself will describe as an “overflowing of ecstatic experience” (anubhava parivaahamaaka), implying that in the poem one may find a certain overflow of “experience” beyond the structures of theology and even poetics. (pp.8-9)
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