Power of devotion

I’ve mentioned about “Tamizhachi Aandal” series that is presently coming on “Kumudham” (tamil weekly magazine) a couple of times in this space. It is possibly one of the best written devotional series I’ve ever read. It doesn’t fully go overboard on philosophical stuff and is very smartly written, with clever intermixes of “paasurams” by the aazhvaars, the history of the place where it was sung, the story of the deity on whom it was written, mixing it with the main story of Aandal. The entire episode is narrated by Periyaazhavar, Aandal’s dad at his house, along with the company of their neighbours and friends. The story has grown manifold in dimension, having started at the time when Vairamuthu (cinema lyricist) defamed Aandal’s birth and fame. Every week, the story covers one or other aazhvaar and their interactions with god, narrated as a story, worth made into multiple movies. As I mentioned, the narration is strictly simple. There are no over the top philosophical teachings, with some clever interpretations of the “paasurams” thrown in time and again. For anyone who is a mythology fan, this series is a treasure trove.

The reason behind this post, was the ongoing episodes on “kulasekara aazhvaar”. He had been a king, a very powerful and famous one at that, ruling over a prosperous kingdom. His love for god is so innocent and sincere that, when he hears about the stories of Ramayana, he forgets himself and rushes to aid Rama and Lakshmana whenever there is a episode involving fights. He once orders his entire army to get ready, to support Rama and Lakshmana, in fighting the rakshasas, trembling with rage and fearing for the security of the divine duo. His army men and ministers, unable to disobey the king’s orders, follow him to nowhere, only to be restrained and sent back by the story teller, who convinces the king that, Rama and Lakshmana, have won the war and are safe. For those who believe or doesn’t, it is an unmissable act of devotion that is literally moving. To imagine going to rescue the very god, risking should it be construed as false bravado or over confident, it is the child like innocence that outshines and the unshakable belief on his god. I am unable to replicate the essence neither in English nor in the way it was conveyed on the series, but for a second I almost had a tear imagining how worthy is the king to have such a strong belief and how proud the lord would be to have such followers. No wonder, there is a entire puraanam dedicated for devotees and as much as the lord himself, he wants similar treatment and respect to be given to his believers. 

The next episode is litearally a sub story from Ramayana itself. On the day of his coronation, after coming back victorious from Lanka, Rama and Seetha are showered with so many gifts. Having been responsible for their union, Seetha wants to give some gift to Hanuman and waits for Rama to give him something. With Rama ignoring Hanuman for long, she goes impatient and gifts him with a precious pearl necklace adorning her as a gift. The very next instant Hanuman rips the necklace into pieces and starts biting/tasting the pearls, throwing each away. Seetha seething with anger, complaints to Raama that she feels insulted. Raama calmly asks Hanuman to explain his action for which Hanuman responds that, the sweetest thing he had ever tasted was the divine chant of Raama’s name and was testing if the pearls given by Seetha tasted similar or any better. Raama becomes emotional, looking at the devotion of Hanuman which is devoid of any expectations and gives him a hug. I guess in the entire course of the story, Raama hugs only very few and Hanuman is probably a recipient multiple times. Again, I may not have been able to convey the emotions in English and my tamil is never as sweet as the author who has been writing this series. But the power of devotion, with no expectation and absolute belief, is something that can make anyone emotional I guess. It takes real faith to believe anything in such staunch manner and if it is reciprocated nothing else can match that feeling!!!

 The author “Priya Kalyanaraman” must’ve been a truly blessed person for even undertaking such work and wish him long and healthy life to continue with this series.