New Moon - Io Moon .. .. and greatness of Emperuman - தேசும் திறலும் திருவும் உருவமும்

 

Till a few months ago ! ~ life was normal, people lived happily without fear of spread of dreaded disease. 

நம்மை நல்வழிப்படுத்தி எம்பெருமானிடம் ஈடுபாடு கொண்டு நல்லவைகள் செய்ய என்ன செய்ய வேண்டும் ?:  **தேசும் திறலும் திருவும் உருவமும், மாசில் குடிப்பிறப்பும் மற்றவையும் – பேசில்** 

Now life has changed totally as people live in constant fear .. .. fear of unknown, fear of future, fear of life, fear of lurking disease.  Research is normally a plodding, tedious process. Scientists check and recheck their data; review and re-review their conclusions; then submit their hard work to a scientific journal for publication, where their peers put it through further scrutiny. Covid just as any other viral pandemic has proven once again that many a times diseases do not compulsorily adhere to their schedules and timelines.  

Today is Amavasai (New Moon) in the month of Vaikasi 2021 .. .. and in usual times, there would have been periya mada veethi purappadu of Sri Parthasarathi perumal at Thiruvallikkeni – WE miss HIM and his purappadus .. ..

One eclipse down, one more to go. On May 26, humans on earth,  experienced  first eclipse of the spring 2021 eclipse season in the sign of Sagittarius. That lunar eclipse encouraged a humbling of self, allowing us to shed the need to know it all. Now, we are bracing ourselves for a solar eclipse occurring in the sign of Gemini on June 10, at 6:52 A.M. Eastern Time. – not in India though ! 

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has directed the district administration of South 24 Parganas to carry out the evacuations from the low-lying areas of Mousuni and Sagar islands before the tides hit on June 11 and June 25 respectively.  The West Bengal government plans to evacuate at least 20,000 people from parts of South 24 Parganas district as the sea and river water may gush into some of the low-lying villages again through the breaches caused by cyclone Yaas to embankments. The water levels are expected to rise because of the monsoon and the spring tides linked to the new and full moon on June 11 and June 25 respectively.

We are talking about our own Chanda mama, Earth’s pretty moon – there are many others in the galaxy .. .. Io is a strange moon – even among moons, which are strange to begin with. As Jupiter’s innermost moon, orbiting a mere 350,000 km above the cloud tops, it gives Io an extreme heating mechanism that makes it the most volcanically active object in the solar system, sporting over four hundred volcanoes.  Io (Jupiter I), is the innermost and third-largest of the four Galilean moons of the planet Jupiter. Slightly larger than the Moon, Io is the fourth-largest moon in the Solar System, has the highest density of all of them, and has the lowest amount of water (by atomic ratio) of any known astronomical object in the Solar System. It was discovered in 1610 by Galileo Galilei and was named after the mythological character Io, a priestess of Hera who became one of Zeus's lovers.

With over 400 active volcanoes, Io is the most geologically active object in the Solar System. This extreme geologic activity is the result of tidal heating from friction generated within Io's interior as it is pulled between Jupiter and the other Galilean moons—Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Several volcanoes produce plumes of sulfur and sulfur dioxide that climb as high as 500 km (300 mi) above the surface. Io's surface is also dotted with more than 100 mountains that have been uplifted by extensive compression at the base of Io's silicate crust. Some of these peaks are taller than Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth's surface.  Unlike most moons in the outer Solar System, which are mostly composed of water ice, Io is primarily composed of silicate rock surrounding a molten iron or iron sulfide core. Most of Io's surface is composed of extensive plains with a frosty coating of sulfur and sulfur dioxide.

It’s been 30 years since Nasa last visited Venus, with the Magellan orbiter in 1990. Now, two new missions have been selected to explore the deadly atmosphere, crushing pressures and volcanic landscape.  The process dates back to February 2020, when Nasa announced that four missions were to undergo a nine-month peer-review process for feasibility. They were all part of the Discovery program, started by Nasa in 1992 to bring together scientists and engineers to create exciting, groundbreaking missions. Set aside from the flagship missions – such as Curiosity and Perseverance – the missions operating under Discovery have taken unique and innovative approaches to exploring the solar system. The two winning Venus missions, Davinci and Veritas, have been awarded US$500 million (£354 million) and will be launched sometime between 2028 and 2030. But the competition was tough from the two losing missions, which would have gone to Io and Triton, respectively moons of Jupiter and Neptune. So what are we missing out on as a result? 

வேறொன்றும் வேண்டாம் ! ~ எம்பெருமானிடம் மையல் கொண்டு அவனையே நினைத்து அவனிடத்திலே கைங்கர்யங்கள் செய்தாலே போதும் !! எம்பெருமானை நினைத்த மாத்திரத்திலே, அவனது - தேஜஸ்ஸும், பராக்ரமமும், செல்வங்களும்,  அழகிய ரூபமும், குற்றமற்ற நற்குலமும் மற்றுமுள்ள நன்மைகளும், நம்மை நலம்புரிந்து வந்தடையும்.   இதோ இங்கே தமிழ்த்தலைவன் பேயாழ்வாரின் அற்புத மூன்றாம் திருவந்தாதி பாசுரம் :

தேசும் திறலும் திருவும் உருவமும்*,

மாசில் குடிப்பிறப்பும் மற்றவையும் - பேசில்*

வலம் புரிந்த வான் சங்கம் கொண்டான் பேரோத*,

நலம் புரிந்து சென்றடையும் நன்கு*. 

நாம் ஆசைப்படுவது என்ன ?  - நல்ல முக அழகு, மற்றவர் நம்மை மதிக்கும் அறிவு, நல்ல பிறப்பு, நல்ல வாழ்வு போன்ற இன்ன பிற !  .. .. கண்டவர்களெல்லாரும் நன்கு மதிக்கும்படியான தேஜஸ்ஸும், எதிரிகளை வாய்மாளப் பண்ணவல்லமிடுக்கும், கண்டார் நெஞ்சையுங் கண்ணையும் கவரும்படியான வடிவழகும், குற்றமற்ற நற்குடிப்பிறப்பும், மற்றும் நன்மையாகச் சொல்லப்படுமவைகள்   அனைத்துமே  தானே வந்து சேரும், யாரிடத்திலென்னில்  -  சங்குதங்கு தடங்கையனான எம்பெருமானுடைய திருநாமங்களைக் கற்க வேணுமென்பாரிடத்து  என்பது பேயாழ்வார் வாக்கு.  

வலது பக்கத்தில் சுழித்திருக்கிற சிறந்த சங்கை ஏந்தியுள்ள பெருமானுடைய, திருநாமங்களை மனதார நாம சங்கீர்த்தனம் பண்ணுபவர்கள் இடத்திலே - தேஜஸ்ஸும், பராக்ரமமும், செல்வமும்,  அழகிய ரூபமும், குற்றமற்ற நற்குலமும் மற்றுமுள்ள நன்மைகளும் - அவைதாமாக  ஆசைப்பட்டு நலமாக, நன்றாக வந்து சேரும் என உரைக்கின்றார் நம் ஆழ்வார்.  

Reminiscing the past and thinking of those happier days – here are some photos of Sri Parthasarathi perumal purappadu on the occasion of Avani Amavasai on 15.9.2015.

adiyen Srinivasa dhasan
Mamandur Veeravalli Srinivasan Sampathkumar
10^th June 2021.