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Sunday, June 8, 2014

Varuvaai aruLvaai, guruvE!

(Bless me with Income, Guru!)
author:...... Mailattur S. Ramachandran
compiler:... T.S. Kothandarama Sarma
book:......... Maha PeriyavaL - Darisana AnubhavangaL vol. 2, pages 267-270
publisher:.. Vanathi Padhippaham (May 2005 Edition)

When I was a small boy, Sri Maha Periyavar was camping in Thanjai--ThanjAvUr.

There would be a musical concert every night at the time of Sri ChandraMauleesvara puja. One day, my father Mailattur Sami Aiyer, who was a mrutanga vidvan, sat me down for playing an instrument for a vocal music programme.

At eleven in the night, after the puja was over, prasAda and some compliments were distributed to the sangIta vidvans through a MaTham assistant. Maha Periyavaa called only me near him and blessed me with a red silk cloth.

Years rolled by.

I was working in the Pondicherry All India Radio station. Once I went for darshan of Periyavaa with the Station Director Sri T.V.R. Chary, who was an atyanta bhakta of SriMaTham. I was careful to take the red silk cloth also.

After prostrating, I told him, "This silk cloth is an anugraha from Periyavaa."

"Yes, you were then nine years old!", he said.

We were amazed that he talked about an incident that happened forty-five years ago, as if it happened yesterday! We saw personally that it was certainly not a human power, only divine.

*** *** ***

There were many pictures of PeriyavaaL taken in different poses, in the puja room of my house. It was my custom to adorn them with flowers daily and then do the meditation.

My family circumstance was such that I was forced to stay in Thanjai, leaving Pondicherry. There was no Periyavaa picture in the Thanjai house. Even with efforts it was not easy to get it. This caused some uneasiness and vacillation in my mind, but I could not at all get Periyavaa's picture.

They asked me to procure some rice for home. I went to an unfamiliar rice shop and bought some rice for sample. The shopkeeper gave the rice in a thick paper bag.

The bag was lying in our house for two days. I took it to discard it in the trash can. My eyes were on the bag. AhA! Periyavaa!

When I carefully separated the pasted edges and looked, it was Periyavaa with a stately smile! The Periyavaa I could not get when I went in search, had taken abode in my house in the form that covered my basic foodstuff. KaruNAmUrti!

*** *** ***

I am a person who does pArAyaNa of the Kandar AnubhUti daily. For some reason, I could not a get better deal in my personal financial position.

I heard that a man who had a similar custom of Kandar AnubhUti pArAyaNa came to PeriyavaaL and prayed for some other stotra or way that could make his poverty go away.

It was alleged that Periyavaa told him, "You are doing the pArAyaNa of Kandar AnubhUti? What more do you require? For poverty alleviation just that is enough."

The devotee had told him, "I read the AnubhUti because of bhakti towards Murugan. What I need now is money! Should kindly tell me a way for that!"

The last song of the AnubhUti would start with the words, 'varuvaai aruLvaai' (come and bless me). Periyavaa is said to have pointed out to him that song saying, "In the same song it is said, 'guruvaai varuvaai aruLvaai'?"

He made him realize that Murugan would come as Guru and grant him varuvaai (income or money).

Is this not the upadesha for all Muruga Bhaktas?

The tApa in my mind also was removed.

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