And Now The Perfect Ending For The Perfect Love Story!

Good questions, Sriniketan. We'll try to answer them shortly.
Meanwhile I am posting the third paasuram for the benefit of all


மந்தி பாய்* வட வேங்கட மாமலை,* வானவர்கள்,-
சந்தி செய்ய நின்றான்* அரங்கத்து அரவின் அணையான்,*
அந்தி போல் நிறத்து ஆடையும் *அதன்மேல் அயனைப் படைத்ததோர் எழில்*
உந்தி மேலதன்றோ* அடியேன் உள்ளத்து இன்னுயிரே.


love,

 

Sriniketan,
Your doubt is quite genuine. But then you should have raised it in the very first paasuram itself when the Azhwar says viraiyar pozhil venkatavan. Our Acharyas give two types of explanations for the Azhwar roping in Thiruvenkadam when singing about Renganathar.
The first is at the surface. When you sing praises about any one you always talk about their history, their biography, or for ordinary mortals like us, one's biodata. According to the Legend the Lord left Srivaikutam, then alighted at Thirumalai.See he is coming from up above. So it is logistically convenient to alight first at a hill station. That is Thirumalai. Then He comes to Srirengam to take rest on the cool banks of Cauvery. So the Azhwar traces the history of Sri Renganathar.
The second explanation is given by Pillai Thirunaraiyur Araiyar. Let's say somebody is immersed in the river. And the person finds a firm ground he would love to place his feet there for a while. Likewise the Azhwar is immersed in the Greatest River of Perumal's beauty. He reaches a stage where he could not hold himself separate from the Lord.He is sinking into the Lord which process culminates when he sings the paasuram Kondal Vannanai...
But right now the Azhwar finds some ground in holding on to Thirumalai. He tells himself this is after all the same Lord who is there at Thirumalai. Let's not get immersed any deeper. And jumps to Thirumalai.
Psychologically the intensity of the experience is too much for the Azhwar who distracts himself to Thirumalai just to hold on to the balance.
The one thing I like about the Third Paasuram is the word, vaanavarkal santhi seiya ninraan.
The Devas, and you know the legendary count is 330 millions (muppathi mukkodi devarkal) all do regularly come to Thirumalai to have a glimpse of the God. So powerful is our Lord. And that Great Lord is also so loving that just to answer the distress call of an elephant He himself came all the way from Vaikuntam to a Godforsaken place (pun not intended) on the earth. The Lord's message is loud and clear.

"I want nothing, absolutely nothing but the love in your heart. And if you have that love, the Devas, the Rishis, the so called high souls are nothing before you. They will come to see me. Wait for me for years on end. But to you my dear, loving devotee, I'll come and see you. If you are busy with your life, I'll wait at your door. And if you are distressed and you call me, I'll be there in no time to help you out." This is what God seems to say.

And did he not keep His word in the Azhwar's case? He simply threw away Loga Saranga Munivar and absorbed Thiruppaanazhwar into Himself.

Why are we not crying, thinking of His love for us? Why are we still engaged in accumulating, wealth, fame while the Great Lord is waiting for us to love Him?
The words vaanavarkal santhi seiya ninraan gave these thoughts to me.

Azhwar Emperumanaar Jeeyar Thiruvadikale Sharanam!

 

Dear Lalitha,
It's sheer thrill to know that you are also following the paasurams and meanings. I thought there would be no takers for the blabberings of a fifty-year old, highly disillusioned man. Sriniketan and you have falsified it.

You can call Her any name. You can think of Him in any form.
Nammazhwar says in one place,

அஞ்சி நீர் உலகத்துள்ளீர்கள் அவன் இவன் என்று கூழேன்மின்
நெஞ்சினால் நினைப்பான் எவன் அவனாகும் நீள்கடல் வண்ணனே

He says, "Don't be afraid whether you should worship Him in this form or that form. (avan ivan enru kuzhenmin)
Whatever form is there in your heart, the dark Lord will lovingly take that form for you.
There is a beautiful story. A devotee from the village was chanting Vishnu Sahasranamam.
At one place the Lord's name will come like this:
Padmanaabho Amara Prabhu.
padmanabha: one who has the lotus in his naabhi. And Amara Prabhu is the Lord of the Devas.
The devotee was not educated.He chanted the above line as
Padmanaabho Mara Prabhu. A very learned Pundit who was passing by shouted at him. "He is not Mara Prabhu, which means the Lord of Trees. He is Amara Prabhu, the Lord of Devas."
The devotee felt very bad and stopped chanting. The Lord was sad because an innocent devotee was hurt. That night he appeared in the Pundit's dream.
"Who are you to correct my devotee? By the way, how do you say that he is wrong? He said that I am the Lord of the Trees? Am I not? If I am not the Lord of the Trees, then who is it?Are you? First thing in the morning go to him and apologise. And ask him to say Mara Prabhu. I love it."
And that's our Great Lord for you.
Thanks once again for your participation, Lalitha.
love,

 

Lalitha,
no question is silly. Paasuram is just a verse. The ancient Tamil meaning of Paasuram is any verse that adheres to the metre. (Yaapilakkanam). But traditionally all Azhwar's songs are called Paasurams. It's just a tradition. In the Saivite tradition the nayanmars poetry are called pathikams.
There is nothing special about the name. It's just a few hundred years old tradition.

 

Thanks Sriniketan and Lalitha for the continued enthusiasm. Here's the fourth paasuram.
Let's see the explanation late in the afternoon. Have a great day.

சதுரமா மதிள்சூழ்* இலங்கைக்கு இறைவன் தலைபத்து-
உதிர வோட்டி,* ஓர் வெங்கணை* உய்த்தவன் ஓத வண்ணன்*
மதுரமா வண்டு பாட* மாமயில் ஆடரங்கத்து அம்மான்,*திருவயிற்று-
உதர பந்தம்* என் உள்ளத்துள் நின்று உலாகின்றதே.

love,

 

Dear Sriniketan and Lalitha,
Seeing you two only coming here for the paasurams and meanings, I am reminded of an incident in the life of Subramanyan Chandrasekhar, the Nobel-prize winning physicist.
During the II world war most of his students had been drafted in the US Army. So he was without any work or classes.
Then he was asked to teach a class of just two students at a place which was 100 miles away from his home. He drove down the distance two, three times a week to teach a class of just two people. Many people would have abandoned that kind of a project. But for Chandrasekhar it did not make a difference, whether it was a class of two, or an audience of 2000. His commitment was total.
And you know the result? Now Subramanyan Chandrasekhar holds a record of his entire class winning the Nobel Prize. Yes, both of his students won the Nobel Prize for Physics in the later years. In fact the teacher got his Nobel much later than his students.
I am not as great as or as sincere as or as intelligent as the great scientist, Chandrasekar. But in one respect my attitude is the same. Whether I address a class of two, or an audience of a few millions, my sincerity and commitment will exactly be the same.
What little I have I will deliver it to those who come for it with all sincerity.
thanks for being there,
love,