Oh My God! Birthday Special

Dear Hema,
You are most welcome. I know that many people would have known this story. That was why I did not choose it for a regular OMG episode. I came to know that Shankara Jeyanthi also fell on the same day only yesterday. Otherwise I would have got ready something on him as well.
Anyhow I am planning to post one full episode in OMG about one of Sankara's disciples.
And Hema, please don't forget tomorrow's episode.
love,
sridhar

 

Sriniketan,
thanks for your kind wishes. I have been reading one thing or other about Sri Ramanujar for the past several years. I am yet to understand a millionth of his love.
To love God is pretty easy. But to love us all sinners and to pray for us, to lay down the rules for us, only some one with as much love as Ramanuja had could do that.
Sriniketan, the next episode of OMG due tomorrow is important. You might be thinking that I am giving way too much of a build-up for a routine episode. But that concerns a very crucial lesson in life. And a very special one and a half lines of immortal poetry. Please don't miss it on any account.
sridhar

 

Dear Aparna,
thanks for your kind wishes. And you really moved me by writing the sharanam three times. You are a fit person to become Ramanuja sishyai. Because of the love you have for others.

Aparna, this thread is a holy place. This is a place of love. Of pure, selfless and divine love a man had for his fellow beings. A love which has not so far been equalled. The love of a man, the one of his kind, who was ready to go to the worst of hells on our account, on our behalf.

And in this holy place I am wishing you all success in the community prayer you have organised on 3rd May 2009 for the child Nivan. And in this sacred thread I am praying for the health and happiness of Nivan and his parents. Everything is going to be fine.

I realised that it was the birthday of Sankara only much later. Otherwise I could have posted something on him as well. But let's have one dedicated episode for one of the disciples of Sankara soon.

thanks once again, Aparna. Please don't forget OMG 6 tomorrow.
love,
sridhar

 

Dear Sowpar,
Ever since I heard of this story some twenty, twenty five years ago, I have been meditating on this story. There are so many distorted versions of this story. One idiot told a highly distorted version in some comedy programme on the TV.

I tell you Sowpar there is no other incident in the life of no other saint which disturbed me so much. Whether this incident is true or not.. We have records. The Guruparampara texts which have very faithfully recorded the event.

About that person who argued against the veracity of this story.. I have only pity for him. You should carefully observe what Ramanuja preached the masses. He did not preach the vedas. Not that they cannot be preached. But people need to be prepared for that. Preaching the vedic hymns would be like shouting some neurosurgery texts or some research papers in atomic physics. They would not have made any sense to the people.

I remember another incident where a disciple asks a master what kind of purificaitons one should have before uttering God's name. The Master says 'none'. The master continues, 'You moron, do you know when Draupadi was about to be humiliated in the Raja Saba she uttered Krishna's name. At that time Draupadi was having her monthly periods. Did she not call the blue-eyed Lord? And did not the Lord respond?

But people like that person you mentioned are many. The other day I heard about another person like him. This person has the images of all the Azhwars in his pooja room. Good. Ideal. Wonderful. Marvellous. But when this idiot performs the annual ceremony for his father or mother, he covers the images with a clothe. Or takes out the Azhwars' images from the Pooja room. My blood boiled when I heard the reason. 'You see most of the Azhwars are not brahmins. And food prepared for thithi should not be eaten by any one other than brahmins.'

Let another 100 Ramanujas be born. These idiots would never reform.

Oh Ramanuja, forgive those morons. For they know not what they are doing.

Thanks for coming in Sowpar. And thanks for the wishes. I suggest that you should come to this forum tomorrow as well for the special edition of OMG. OMG 6.
Take care and God bless.
Once someone reads and enjoys this story of Ramanuja then ther person would be free from all types of strifes and conflicts. That's the palasruthi for this story.
love,
sridhar

 

Dear Meenakshi,
300 koillukku ponalum, 3000 koilukku ponalum silathu maaravae maarathu. 1000 tharam gangaila kulicha pavakkai inikkuma enna?

There is nothing fishy about my visiting the 300 temples. They were the holiest in the land. But if I am fishy what they can do...
love,
sridhar

 

Dear Indhu,
It's not a nice coincidence but a freak horological accident that my birth day as per the English Calendar and Ramanuja's birthday as per the Tamil calendar and the star fell on the same day.

The mission of my life is to get the blessings of the great saint.

What Ramanuja spoke to his Guru is the highlight of the whole incident. I edited and re-edited those lines several times to bring that effect.
If those lines after some thousand years, and after hearing thousands of times can still impact us, just assume, dear how much impact would it have had on Thirukoshtiyur Nambi. He reached God's place safely for the only reason that Ramanuja spoke those words to him. And he heard them for the first time.

I am really happy that you enjoyed this gift. I have been having a guilt in the corner of my mind that I did not get you anything for my birthday. Now I can cite this post. ha ha ha. Typical kanakkupillai mind!, you think
love,
sridhar

 

Thanks Gayu. I am sure you will have much more to collect from the future episodes of OMG.
I am not averse to publishing OMG as a book. But as of now I don't know what He thinks. Like everything else it's in His hands.
thanks once for coming here, gayu.
love,
sridhar

 

Most Gracious Ladies,

I will be uploading OMG Episode 6 shortly. My dear wife has always been warning me not to build up ILites' expectations by frequently (rather too often) talking about the specialty of this episode. And I have been very consistently neglecting her kind words and in every response to every fb I have been talking of OMG 6. And it is that OMG 6 that I am uploading now.

Well, ladies, it is not to seek publicity to me or to my writings. It is just an anxiety borne out of pure love that you should not miss this great lesson. A few months back my Guru talked about the one and a half lines written by Nammazhwar. The lines have been haunting me ever since. The haunting did not stop until I wove a story around those beautiful lines.

I have lived for 51 years in this world. Most of my waking hours I have been either reading or writing. I should have read probably a few million lines by now. Of all those millions these one and a half lines stand out. These lines have now redefined my thought processes.

If those lines can make such changes in a fifty plus mofussil accountant, how much can it make in the fresh and fertile minds of young mothers, professional women, intelligent executives, loving grandmothers, affectionate women spread the world over? It was only this thought that made me write this episode. It was only that concern that made me blew my trumpet rather too loud for the past two weeks.

I wrote this episode in less than hour. But I have been thinking about this for months on end. And I will continue to think about this post even though I may write a million more posts in my life time.

This is no ordinary child, ladies. And I know you are no ordinary women. In as much the child is special, so are the hands that are going to hold it.

With Love to All and Malice to None,
yours in pure love,
sridhar