Sri Rama gave great importance to the virtue of Honesty. He was bound by it. He went to the forest and led an ascetic life for 14 years only to protect this virtue of honesty. “I vow on truth that I will kill Vali”, Rama said to Sugriva. Hence he stood by his statement by protecting Sugriva and killing Vali. “ I promise to kill the rakshasas and thus protect Dharma” he vowed to the Devas and rishis. He slayed Ravana and thus kept his promise. This is what Valmiki refers to as “ Satyena lokan jayathi”- Rama will rule this world by his virtue of truth.
Sri Rama was a detached person. He generously gave his wealth to the poor and needy. At the time of his departure to the forest he donated all his wealth to the poor. There lived a person by name Trijata in Ayodhya. He was a man of renunciation. He never accepted any gift from anybody. But he came to Rama for getting something from his loving hands. Sri Rama, the knower of all decided to give him something without disturbing his policy of renunciation. He saw that trijata had a stick in his hand. “ Throw the stick however far you can. I will give you so many cows.” Immediately he threw the stick with all his might.. It fell on the banks of the river Sarayu. Sri rama in turn gave him thousands of cows as a reward for his might. This is reffered to as “ Deenan danena Raghavaha”
Sri Rama respected all the elders. He served Kaikeyi more than his own mother Kousalya. He never thought her as his step-mother. He humbly served the rishis.. The rushis prayed to Rama to destroy the rakshasas. Rama said at once “ Order me and I wait to fulfill your order”. This shows his respect towards the maharishis which is referred to by Valmiki as “ gurun sushrushaya chaiva”.
Rama was a great warior. At 15 years he slayed Subahu and conquered Maricha, broke the bow of Shiva, subjugated Parasurama’s pride. He destroyed 14000 rakshasas single-handedly and exterminated the moola bala army of Ravana. All this shows his valour which is referred to as “ Dhanusha Yudhi Shatravan”.
From October 28th to November 3rd Sri Hari anna’s sapthaham at Hariharaputra temple, Chinmaya nagar, Virugambakkam was celebrated with grandeur. There was heavy rain in Chennai this time before Deepavali. But the sapthaham went on successfully without the disturbance from rainfall. Here the bhagavathas meet every Sunday for the parayanam of Srimad Bhagavatham. The 50th parayanam of Bhagavatham co-incided with the sapthaham. There was a huge gathering of devotees who happily attended the sapthaham. There was unchavruthi, divyanamam and Radha kalyanam on Saturday morning.
II SRIMAD BHAGAVATA SAPTAHA SATHAKRATHU,MUMBAI
Sri jayalakshmi ammal lives in Mumbai. She has taught more than 100devotees to do the parayanam of Srimad Bhgavatham. She has named the mandali Krishnapriya. From November 5th onwards the Bhagavatha Sapthaha Shathakrathu of Sri Hari Anna was celebrated at Ghatkopar Bhajan Samaj premises, Mumbai on behalf of Krishnapriya. There was parayanam and pravachanam from 6.30 a.m till evening 6.30 p.m. More than 100 devotees did the parayanam in one melodious voice. It was a blissful sight indeed. They were highly enthusiastic about it. More than 600 devotees attended the pravachanam and were benefited by it. They left home with a peaceful mind and a happy heart, Thanks to Sri Harinanna.
III BANGLORE PROGRAM
On 7.11.2008 Smt.Vishakha Hari gave an English discourse on the Life of saint Thyagaraja, at Purandarabhavan, IndraNagar, Bangalaore. Trained by Sri Hari anna and Lalgudi Jayaraman sir, the lecture was appreciated by one and all. There was a free flow in the language and the lecture was filled with emotion, thanks to the saints’ krithis. The next day she gave a concert with a Ragam, Tanam Pallavi in Kapi.
On 9th November Smt Vishakha Hari’s concert at N.M.K.R.V college Auditorium, Jaynagar, Bangalore was attended by more than 1500 rasikas. She presented a double ragam Tanam Pallavi in Mohanam and Hindolam. The 10th November event at the same premises was Prahlada Bhakthi Vijayam in tamil. She presented a lot of dasar padams and ugabogas. The devotees enjoyed a lot and she received a standing ovation at the end of the recital, the ovation lasting for more than 10 minutes.
I UTSAVAM OF THIS MONTH(DECEMBER 2008)UTSAVAM: KEERTHANAVALI UTSAVAM
Village :Paranur Date: Dec 16 to 25
II HARIANNA'S PROGRAMS(DECEMBER 2008)
1.Mahabharata pravachanam Chennai Date :Dec 10 to 19
City :Chennai
Venue:Guruvaayoorappan temple,Nanganallur
Topic:Mahabharatam
Time:7 pm to 9 pm 2.Srimad Bhagavata Sapthaham,Chennai
Date: Dec 21 to 27
City:Chennai
Venue:Kuppaiya cultural centre,Kuppaiyachetty street,Mambalam
Topic:Bhagavatam
Time:7 pm to 9 pm
3.Srimad Bhagavata Sapthaham,Mumbai Date:Dec 25 to Jan 1
City: Mumbai
Venue:Vani vidhyalaya,Mulund,Mumbai
Topic:Bhagavatam
Time:6:30 am to 12:30 noon and 2 pm to 6:30 pm
Rules and Regulations: 1. The answers should be mailed within 25th of the month to annahariji@gmail.com
2. Points will be alloted for the First, second and Third prizes.First - 10 Second - 8 Third - 6
3. The points will be cumulated every month if you get first, second or third.
4. The participants with the maximum points will be awarded first, second and third prizes at the end of the year.
5. The prizes will be distributed by Hariji at a grand function held at the end of the year.
QUESTIONS:
1.Whom did Vyasacharya see in his mind for the first time?
2.What is sathvatha Samhitha?
3.What type of Bhakthi will the athmaramas do?
4.Was Parikshith a kingRajaor a Rajarishi?
5.Who is Drouni?
ANSWERS FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER 2008:
1.How did Narada lead the rest of his life after the ashareeravak ( anonymous call) pacified him?
Ans :Narada led a happy life singing the Divine names of the Lord, ever remembering His transcendental pastimes, without attachment or desire, envy or pride.
2) Do the wise suffer from Prarabdakarma or can they escape from its clutches?
ANS:Gnanis also suffer prarabdakarma
3) What did the Lord give Narada as a gift?
ANS:Veena
4) What other blessing did the Lord give Narada?
Ans :The Lord gives darshan in his heart forever.Moreover the lord blessed him that he could travel all the three worlds without any obstruction
5) How does Narada bestow happiness to this world?
Ans :Narada satisfies and pleases the samsaris by singing Bhagavathgunas.
Our motherland, Bharatha desha is full of kshetras, rivers, rishis, sadhus, yogis, ashramas, dharmathmas, paramahamsas, pathivrathas, Vaishnavite and saivite shrines. Hail Motherland India! The most chaste land of all lands. From badrikashrama in the North to Thirupullani ( Rameswaram) in the south India is full of temples and shrines. These temples can be classified into three types:
1)Those built by Rushis like Agasthya etc---------Aarsha Prathishta
2)Those worshipped by Devas like Indra etc ------Deva Prathista
3)Those established by human effort-----------------Manushya Prathishta
The sanctity of Rushi prathista is greater than manushya prathishta.
The sanctity of Deva prathista is greater than rishi prathishta.
The power and sanctity besides also depends not only on the prathista but on the power of bhakthas. Badrachalam came to be known to the world because of Ramdass and Puri Jagannatham of Jayadevar. Thus the kshetras sung by the azhwars came to be known as Divyadeshams. The Divyasuris as the azhwars are called praised the Lord through their Tamizh Vedam called Divya Prabhandam. Thus the word “ Divyam” is associated with the azhwars. The temples where they extolled are thus called Divyadesams.
Amongst all these Divyadesams the greatest is SriRangam. It is the very first temple which is a Svamvyaktha one. Svamvyaktha denotes that the Lord ( The archa murthy) was not sculpted by an artist but incarnated on His own Will. Badrikashramam, Tirupathi, vanamamali, pushkaram, naimishranyam, pandaripuram, Kanchipuram, SriMushnam are all Svamvyaktha kshetras. Srirangam stands first in the list. It is the Adi kshetra. This kshetra is located in TamilNadu on the banks of the river Kaveri. Rather it is an island with kaveri running on both sides and ChandraPushkarani in the middle. Here the Lord is Seshashayi, lying on the 1000 headed serpant-AdiSesha. He is in the Yoga nidra. The Lord has several shayanams ( Slumber)
Bhoga shayanam denotes the Lord after creation with Brahma in His nabhi, 11 rudras 12 adithyas, 8 vasus and His entire family of 33crore Devas.This is as in Tiruvananthapuram. Stala shayanam is the Lord lying on land as in Mahabalipuram near Chennai. Jala shayanam is the Lord lying in Pralaya Jala. Chala shayanam is the Lord in a swing as in our homes. Darbha shayanam is Tirupullani Rama who lay down on blades of darbha waiting for the Samudra Raja to surrender for the purpose of Sethu bandhana. Sharngapani of kumbakonam is Uththanashayi as He is in the posture of Rising up a little bit from His cosy snake bed. Rama at Chitrakoota lay with one leg on another which is referred to as Veera shayanam. At SriVilliputhur the Lord lies on a Banyan Leaf ( Aalilai) which is reffered to as Vatapathra shayanam.
Of all these our SriRanganatha takes up Yoga shayanam without Brahma or the Devis. This is before shrishti during pralaya where He has in his Kukshi ( Navel) the entire world).
Sri ram on Ayodhya streets. What a beautiful experience it is. The streets would be filled with people. A golden chariot, white horses. Sumantra used to drive the chariot. Sri Ram bedecked with a divya peethambara, having a broad chest, long hands, broad forehead marked by a kasturi tilaka, adorned with a bejeweled crown, eyes stretching to the ears, a sharp nose, lips matching corals, teeth arranged in order like pearls, an ever smiling face, what a beauty! The women of Ayodhya say to each other. The gandharvaraja cannot match Sri Ram in beauty.
LOKE VIKYATHAPOURUSHAM
The men of Ayodhya continue: “ This ram seems to be of immense valour. Karthaveeryajunan conqurered Ravana. Parasurama conquered Karthaveeryajunan and this ram has conquered even that Parasuramar. What a courageous person!”
DEERGABAHUM
The poor and penniless look at his long hands and say to themselves: “ What long hands he possesses. Long enough to stretch his helping hand to us”
MAHASATVAM MATHTHAMATHANGAGAMINAM
CHANSDRAKANTHANANAM RAMAM
The chariot stands at the entrance of the court. Sri Ram alights from the chariot and enters the court. His gait resembles that of an elephant. His face resembles that of a full moon, cool, emenating happiness and showering the nectar of sympathy.
It never bores or tires to see the loving form of sri ram. Sri Ram has now enetered the court room. Even then none of the Ayodhya citizens return home. The reason. They shall wait to have a glimpse of his form again. Hisbewitching form captures the heart of one and all.
The people scorched by the summer heat eagerly expect rain bearing clouds. So did Dasaratha feel as if his youth had returned on seeing his loving son Ram.
Utsavam:Raasotsavam
Date: Nov 7 to 12
Town:Brindavan
II HARI ANNA'S PROGRAMS(NOVEMBER 2008)
1.Srimad Bhagavata Pravachanam,Chennai
Date: oct 31 to Nov 3
City: Chennai
Venue : Hari hara temple,chinmaya Nagar,Virugambakkam
Topic:Srimad Bhagavatam
Time: 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm
2.Srimad Bhagavata Sapthaha Satakratu,Mumbai
[Pravachanam will be conducted by 100 devotees ]
Rules and Regulations: 1. The answers should be mailed within 25th of the month to annahariji@gmail.com 2. Points will be alloted for the First, second and Third prizes.First - 10 Second - 8 Third - 6 3. The points will be cumulated every month if you get first, second or third. 4. The participants with the maximum points will be awarded first, second and third prizes at the end of the year. 5. The prizes will be distributed by Hariji at a grand function held at the end of the year.
QUESTIONS 1) How did Narada lead the rest of his life after the ashareeravak ( anonymous call) pacified him? 2) Do the wise suffer from Prarabdakarma or can they escape from its clutches? 3) What did the Lord give Narada as a gift? 4) What other blessing did the Lord give Narada? 5) How does Narada bestow happiness to this world?
ANSWERS FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER 2008
1) Which part of the Lord’s divine Body did Naradha mediatate upon the very first time? The Lord’s Lotus feet.
2) How did the ashareeravak of the Lord sound?
The ashareeravak of Bhagavan was 1) Bold and authoritative 2) crystal clear and 3) soothing enough to remove sorrow
4)What did the Lord anonymously say? “ Those who are not matured cannot beget my darshan. Hence you cannot get my darshan in this birth. You sought refuge under the sadhus and obtained immense love towards me. Hence you begot my darshan this time. Love tendered towards me will remove all material desires. You will become my parshada in your next birth. You will have knowledge of your previous birth then.”
4) What removes the anger and desire from one’s mind?
The love towards the infinte will obliterate the anger and desire in ones heart.
5) Nobody in this world has the knowledge of previous births. How did Narada become an exception?
Narada begot knowledge of his previous births because of the Lord’s blessings. OCTOBER WINNERS
Enroute from Trichy to Lalgudi lies a small village, Anbil by name. Here is the Lord Sundaarajan who blessed Sage Valmiki. Tirumangaiazhwar’s mangalasasana “ nagaththanai”reads Anbil as Peranbil. The very reason for the name is that the Lord showers his bountiful grace, immense love( Peranbu) on his bhakthas. The Lord Sundararajan and Sundaravalli shine in beauty as their very names suggest. The Tarakavimanam shines there in glory. This kshetra called Banapuram in Sanskrit has an interesting anecdote.
Ruksha, a hunter lived at anbil protecting his clan. He lived a cannibalistic life feeding on animals, killing passers-by. Once his wife Vanjula, pestered him for a nagarathna ( a jewel lying in the hood of the snake). Ruksha who loved his wife very dearly killed hundreds of sankes for the jewel but in vain. One night he happened to meet Naradha who was wearing a chain of rathnas. Ruksha immediately stopped him and questioned him:
Ruksha (R ):Oh sage How on earth did you come across this jewel?
Narada ( N ):Why? Kubera gave it to me. Ihave made it into a garland for my japa. Sometimes I also wear it around my neck.
Ruksha: Interesting, Snake jewel for a japa mala. You could use the tulasimala instead. You shall hand over this jeswel to me.
N: How strane indeed. One is supposed to donate to Brahmins and not snatch away from them.
R: Enough of your preaching. I will kill you if you do nit hand it over to me.
N: You foolish hunter, it is a sin to thieve. You will beget hell.
R: No Not at all. I do not steal it for my sake. I steal for my wife’s happiness. So the sin is her’s.
N: No. You are wrong. The sin of a disciple is the sin of his guru. The sin of citizens belong to the king. The sin of the children belong to the parents’. Thus the sin of one’s wife is nothing but the sin of her husband’s. Also note Ruksha, the sin of the husbandhowever does not reach the wife.
The hunter disblieveingly tied Narada to a tree and went back to his relatives. He questioned them about Narada’s statements.They confirmed it. None including his wife were ready to share his sin.
The hunter realized the transcience of the world. People are willing to share my happiness but not my suffering. What a selfish world. Of What use is my love towards them?
Ruksha went back to the sage, released him and asked him for salvation from his sins. Narada pacified him and gave him the Rama nama japa. Oh Hunter this mantra is called the Taraka mantra. It will obliterate one from all sins.It has no restrictions regarding time, place or state. The Vedas, smruthis, puranas all echo the greatness of Rama nama.
However Ruksha could not pronounce the word Rama. He lisped lama, lama instead. Narada intelligently advised him to chant instead Mara, Mara instead. Ruksha began:
“ Mara Mara Maramaramara Rama Rama Rama”
Mara became Rama
Ruksha became Valmiki maharushi.
Ruksha’s penance of rama nama japa was concentrated and severe. An ant hill covered him up. Yet his concentration did not fade. The very Lord Bruhma came to him very many years later. “ Arise Oh Ruskha. As you come from the valmika( anthill) you will be called Vaalmiki from now on. You are a Brahmarushi. You are no more a hunter, no more Ruksha, no more a thief, no more a sinner. You are the incarnation ofBrugu, the son of varuna. You are born in this world to give the world the nectar of Ramayana. May you go to the banks of River Sarayu. Ramawill be born there”
Thus by the blessings of Bruhma Valmiki of Anbil became Valmiki of Ayodhya.
The place where Valmiki did his penance became a Vishnu kshetra, a taraka kshetra. Vishwakarma made the taraka vimana here and Brahma worshopped Lord Sundararaja withgreat festivity.
Sri Ram’s virtues are infinite. They kindle our love towards him. To Forget is Human and to Forgive is Divine. Sri Ram possessed this divine quality Himself being divine. He always remembered even a trifle good deed done to him. But what good can an ordinary mortal do towards the immortal? Of what use can a desperate, helpless layman be to the Omnipotent Lord? What help can an illiterate fellow do to the All-Knowing Supreme personality?What help can a despondent sufferer do to the Supreme Godhead of bliss? What service can a Jeevathma render to the Paramathma, SriRama. Hence Sri Rama does not expect even a trifle help from us. He showers his bountiful grace on us.When he does so accepting his grace with gratitude instead of rejecting itis by itselfconsidered a help by Sri Ram. To cite an example, Hanuman discovered Sita and came back with the happy news declaring “ Sita is seen by me.” Sri Ram felt happy and embraced him. “ I stand indebted to you for the helping hand you have lent to me” said Rama.
“Na smarathyapakaranam shathamapi aathmavaththaya
Sri Ram forgave hundreds of mistakes. Why he even pardoned the same mistake being done a100 times. Kakasura with his beak harmed Sita to the extent that she bled. At once Rama used a blade of grass to sanctify it as the brahma astra. He ran around all the worlds, came back falling at Ram’s feet. Though tainted with a severe fault, Sri Ram did not kill him, he gave refuge to Kakasura too.
WELCOME TO THE GATEWAY OF A GLORIOUS TRADITION – THE PREMIKA SAMPRADAYA
SRISRIANNA – AN INTRODUCTION
SriKrishnapremi swamigal fondly called as SriAnna was born in Sanganallur, a small village in tamilnadu, India. Right from his early days he was a severe practioner of YogaSadhanas. This saint however wished to prove the world that the easiest way to attain the lotus feet of the Lord is nevertheless the path of Bhakthi. He revered SriBhagavanNama Bodendral as his Mansika Guru. He took to Srimad Bhagavatham as his pramana grantha [Authoritative treatise]. He founded a glorious sampradaya called PremikaSampradaya.[SriAnna is addressed as Premika].
SriBhakthaKolahalaKrishna is his Upasana deity. Paranur is a village near Villupuram. SriAnna built a wonderful temple for SriKolahalan in this small village. Thenceforth he started living there. He himself performed all the sevas to SriKolahalan right from Suprabhatham in the morning, the afternoon pooja, the evening rituals till dolothsavam in the night. Like SriThiyagaraja Swamigal who sang Utsava sampradaya keerthanas to his IshtaDaiva Lord Rama, SriAnna composed Uthsava krithis for the seva of SriKolahalan.[Suprabhatham to Dolothsavam]. Those Keerthanas are being sung till date during the pooja of the lord in Paranur. Besides this SriAnna has composed several Shathakas[A Shathaka consists of 100 Krithis] including 1. Raghava Shathakam 2. Radhika Shathakam 3. Yugala Shathakam 4. Govinda Shathakam 5. Ranga Shathakam etc. He has composed more than 1000 Krithis to date. It is definite that SriAnna visits Paranur every Ekadasi.There he follows `the Ekadasi Vratham in a strict manner, fasting, performing Abhishekam to Kolahalan, Pravachanam in the evening and Divyanama Sankeerthanam in the night. Gokulasthtami Utsavam is a grand affair in Paranur with 1000’s of devotees participating, Bhakthi overflowing through the streets. Navarathri Utsavam, Vasanthothsavam, SriRamanavami Utsavam, Keerthanavali utsavam, Thepothsavam are the othert festivals celebrated grandly at Paranur.
SriAnna has also established a VedaPatashala at Paranur. There is also a Goshala beautifully maintained by him. These have been established by a trust founded by him. The trust is named “SriKrishnapremi Swamigal Baghavatha Dharmam trust”. This trust is run exclusively by the efforts of SriAnna.
THE SPREAD OF BHAKTHI THROUGHOUT INDIA:
SriAnna wished to spread awareness about the importance of Bhakthi in the minds of the people of India. Hence he toured throughout the length and breadth of India from Kanyakumari to the Himalayas many times. He gave discourses on several topics in several cities including Srimad Bhagavatham, Srimad Ramayanam, Mahabharatham, Bhakthavijayam, Bhagavath Geetha, Azhwargal vaibhavam, Upanishads etc. He is an ocean of knowledge – a reservoir of wisdom. There is in fact no topic not dealt by him. He also founded and established an association called “Akhila Bharatha Sadhu Sangham” throughout India in several cities.The objectives of this institution are
Spread the awareness of “ The Greatness of the divine name – NamaPracharam”
To conduct Bhavatham, Ramayana discourses.
Renovation ofDivyaDesa temples etc.
Akhila Bharatha Sadhu Sangam functions in Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Tirunelvelli, Madurai, Pondicherry etc.
OTHER ESTABLISHMENTS: {ASHRAMS}
PREMA MADHURI KUNJAM – BRINDAVANAM, MATHURA, UP
SriAnna holds Brindavanam very close to his hearts. Hence he built an Ashram called PremaMadhuriKunjam in RadhaNivas, Goranagar colony, Brindavanam. Here he built an exquisite temple for SriRadhaVamsidhara Krishna. Here too like paranur the rituals take place according to Premika Sampradaya [ Suprabhatham to Dolothsavam]. The main festivals celebrated here are Radhasthtami, Rasothsavam, Holy, and RadhaKalyanam. Every year SriAnna visits Brindavanam four times for these Uthsavams.
This Ashram is at Alagar kovil, Madurai. This picturesque Ashram captivates the heart of every viewer. The natural beauty of this Ashram with the green mountains behind it and flowers of various hues is the apt place for meditating on the lotus feet of the lord. Every Chithra Pournami Lord Alagar comes to this Ashram to the delight of several devotees. SriAnna conducts a Sapthaham during this time. This Ashram is being goverened by Akhila Bharatha Sadhu Sangam, Madurai.
KRISHNASURI BHAJANASHRAMAM, MELKOTE
Melkote is a kshetram near Mysore, Karnataka. SwamiRamanauja retrieved the deity of this kshetram from the Delhi Badshah, after great efforts. Here again a beautiful ashram has been established. Chellapillai - as the deity is popularly known as, comes to this ashram in every July. This ashram is maintained by Akila Bharatha Sadhusangam Bangalore.
PANDURANGANTEMPLE, THIRUCHANANALLUR
There lived a saint by name Krishnasuri in Thiruchanganallur [Chenganur]. It is he who is called Periyavachanpillai in tamil. He has commented on the entire 4000 Divyaprabhandhams. SriAnna incarnated in his vamsa. Periyavachanpillai had earlier constructed a temple for Lord Srinivasa. SriAnna too has built a small but beautiful temple for Pandurangan in this village. Besides this he has constructed a Mutt for PeriyavachanPillai. Periyavachanpillai too was born on a Avani Rohini incidentally SriAnna too was born on a AvaniRohini[Rohini star – Tamil month of Avani]. Hence on that day there is a procession of Periyavachanpillai to that Mutt built by SriAnna. Also every year it is routine that on January 26th the KalyanaUtsavam of LordSrinivas and Panduranga are conducted.
SRISRIANNA’S WORKS:
SriAnna has written innumerable works in Sanskrit. To my knowledge after Valmiki and Vyasa he is the only person to write 40,000 slokas. Some of the important works are SriVaishnavaSamhita, Divyadesa Vaibhavam, Brindavana Mahatmiyam etc.He also has written works in various languages such as tamil, telgu, marati and the like. He also runs a monthly tamil magazine called BagavathaDharmam.
BRAHMASABHA:
SriAnna established an association called Bramhasabha to spread BagavathaDharmam throughtout the whole world. Bhajans, Parayans, Pravachans etc are being conducted at USA, Dubai etc by Bramhasabha members.
Kalikalochitham Dharmam Naama Sankeerthanathmakam |
Nirnethum Avatheernam tham Premikam Sadgurum Baje ||
I do Pranams at the Lotus feet of Sadguru Sri Krishna Premi Maharaj who Incarnated in this world to show the path of NamaSankeerthan as the only way to attain Hari in the Age of Kali .
