Sri Varadha Raja Perumal Garuda SEvai 2024

In this earthly World full of conflicts, people often are listless, fear everything and do not have a composed mind. What should they look to ?   

 

You would have observed children for sure – ask them about their favourite belonging ! – it could be a  dinosaur T-shirt, a pencil, tea cup, play cycle, car, electronic gadget or whatever – they are extremely possessive and attached – most modern children are not taught to share their playthings with their siblings !!  Modern children spend most time on smart mobiles, playing computer games – and seeing videos – they play a couple of games, try to win. But the fix is in: experimenters have arranged that he will win one game and lose the other (and, to avoid suffering harm, will win a third and final game at the experiment's end). After winning and after losing, they are the champions of their own World without realizing what the challenges are there in the earthly World.

 

இப்பூவுலகத்திலே மானுடர்கள் : -  நான், என்னுடையது, எனது குடும்பம், எனது குழுமம் என ஸம்ஸார மண்டலத்திலே   கிலேசங்களுடன்  அலைகின்றனர்.  துக்கங்களை கேட்கும் போதெல்லாம்,  கஷ்டங்களை பார்க்கும்போதெல்லாம் என்னை யார் காப்பார் என புலம்புகின்றனர்.  

It is not children – in fact it is WE. As a grown up the attachment could be iPhone, two wheeler, Car, watch, chain, ring and gadgets as personal belongings.  Every branch of science, from evolutionary psychology and anthropology to consumer research and neuroscience, have affirmed that our belongings fill many emotional needs. They comfort us amid loneliness and boost our confidence about our abilities. In fact, our possessions do not just make us feel secure by substituting for important people in our lives; we actually see these objects as an extension of ourselves. We believe—or perhaps act as if we believe—that in some way, our very essence permeates our things. If these things become damaged or lost, we ourselves feel damaged or lost. Stated baldly, our relationship with our stuff is more weird and crazy than we ever think of.

 

History abounds with tales of Kings and mighty who conquered places but were consigned to dust and forgotten, also spiritual seekers who renounced all worldly possessions in their quest to find enlightenment. After much self-deprivation himself, Buddha discovered that “The Middle Way” was a more wholesome approach – having enough to satisfy one’s needs but not so much as to be self-indulgent. The inescapable fact of life is that no one can take any of their things with them when they die. We are born with nothing and we die with nothing. The things we acquire while we’re alive can help or hinder us in our journey but, in the end, they are all stripped away. Over-attachment to material things is ultimately futile. 

In human history, wars were the killers of people, so did pandemics, and later the killer roads were affected the mankind in a big way ! – then in   2020 – mankind feared something new .. .. a dreaded Corona virus named as Covid 19 – things were different for a while – no regular traffic, city roads devoid of vehicles for few months.    Covid 19 affected people in a very big way, killing and spoiling health; besides the Virus, stress anxiety, uncertainty of future, lurking fear of the disease, economy and others took  a heavy toll of supple humans. 

ஆவாரார் துணையென்று   அலைநீர்க்கடலுள் அழுந்தும்

நாவாய் போல்,  பிறவிக் கடலுள்  நின்று நான்   துளங்க,

தேவார் கோலத்தொடும்   திருச்சக்கரம் சங்கினொடும்,

ஆவாவென்று   அருள்   செய்து   அடியேனொடுமானானே.  

கஷ்டங்களில் இருந்து என்னை காப்பாரொருவருமில்லையேயென்று கதறிக் கொண்டு, அலைகள் ஆர்ப்பரிக்கும்  கடலினுள்ளே அமிழ்ந்துகிற சிறு படகு போல  நானும்  சம்ஸாரக்கடலினுள்ளே சிரமப்படும் வேளையில்  - எம்பெருமான் ஸ்ரீமன் நாராயணன்  தனது, திவ்யமான வடிவோடும், திருவாழி திருசங்குகளோடும்கூடி எனக்கு அருள் செய்து   என்னோடும் கூடினான்.  இவ்வளவு எளிமையான எம்பெருமான் எனக்கு துணை இருக்கும் போது - அவனது பக்தர்கள் ஏன் கவலைப்பட வேண்டும் !  ~ என வினவுகிறார் ஸ்வாமி நம்மாழ்வார்.    

Like a ship caught in stormy ocean signalling in distress, I stood shivering in the ocean-of-birth and was lamenting and crying towards God. With exceeding grace and divinity, HE  heard me and came to me, with a conch and discus in hand and became one with me.  .. He is my eternal saviour says Swami Nammalwar.   

In the grand Brahmothsavam, each Vahanam, every purappadu has its  own charm, yet, if one were to ask the most majestic and most crowd-pulling ones,  it would be Thiruther and Garuda vahanam. !!  .. .. ..  The Brahminy kite  is considered to be the contemporary representations of Garuda.  The annual brahmothsavam of Sri Varadharaja Swami occurs in Vaikasi every year. At Thiruvallikkeni, this morning is Sri Varadharajar Garuda sevai – the very darshan of Depperumal on Periya thiruvadi    will rid us of all evils.  The glorious darshan would provide us immense confidence to fight everything  .. … ..   

Here are some photos of  Gopura sevai of Devathirajan  Garuda sevai taken this morning.

 
adiyen Srinivasa dhasan
Mamandur Veeravalli Srinivaan Sampathkumar’
22.5.2024