An ardent reader and follower of this blog, a great devotee, and a good friend, though we never met, from Chennai contributed to this piece. Read on.
Why is music the soul of the heart? Good music once heard gets murmured again and again in the subconscious mind. Good songs stay back in memory and are remembered as notes with the lyrics decorating them. Whatever music our soul likes, reflects our nature or the wants of our soul. Maybe that is why the Nayanmars, always kept on singing about the divine and his love to show their thirst towards him. Does this thirst reach our dad? Does he acknowledge it?
The answer to this question is yes but not just the music, the words. He acknowledges the emotion - the thirst with which the song is being sung. The Pathigams sung by the Nayanmars do not just have the objective of reaching him. They have sung Pathigams whenever they face any challenges or troubles. They even sang those Pathigams for the want of some specific blessings for the devotees whom they came across. But do we ever ponder, why those Pathigams for those specific circumstances are recited even today?
Have we ever realized that these Pathigams which were sung 1000 years ago, are still fulfilling the wishes of those who recite it even today. This is not because those Pathigams are sung by great saints or because it is like mantras. Whenever we recite those Pathigams with the same selfless emotion or thirst with which it was sung, it reaches him. The divine acknowledges the emotion and grants our boon. Even when the Pathigams are recited for the needs of one’s life, it is granted because our saints wrote it for our real needs and not for greedy ones and that is being projected by our thirst. In short, whenever we listen to or sing Pathigams, verses, or even slokas we tune into the FM of God. We vibrate with the energy of Nayanmars, Alwars, our guru and we become them instantly. We should remember they were in tune with God. We become God. We become HIM.
Here is another way of songs elevating the soul. When one wears a colored glass, everything around him seems to be that color. Similarly, for a soul which is having immense love for god and is obsessed with god, every song can become a Pathigam or a song to tune into Him.
Love is a true emotion, a nature of our soul. It can be selfless or selfish. But it is a strong emotion. It grows even stronger when there is a yearning. If it becomes yearning towards Him, then it makes a spiritual fall over the soul making it ever happy. The fall makes us relate to him even through songs that elucidate this yearning between a lover and his soul mate. It opens as an exposition of our yearning towards God. I call this yearning or love as Kadhal to God, a longing to unite with the supreme bright light which we have departed a long time before still guiding us, as a sun standing far away beyond the sky still giving us warmth.
Singing or listening to even film love songs in memory of Appa, may be one of the most childish acts that can be done. Still, our magnanimous Appa accepts and even acknowledges such childish acts. I am happy to share some of the lyrics(songs) which I personally devote to him.
“நீதானே நீதானே
என் நரம்புக்குள் ஓடினாய்
நீ ஓடும் பாதை
என் நெஞ்சமோ உன்
சுவடுகள் வலிப்பது
கொஞ்சமோ ஹே என்
விழியின் கருமணியில்
தேடிப்பார் உன் காலடி
தடங்களை காட்டுமே
பிரபஞ்ச ரகசியம்
புரிந்ததே உன் சிறை
என்னும் பிரிவில்
தெரிந்ததே விபத்துக்கள்
எனக்குள் நடக்கவே உன்
நினைவுகள் தப்பி செல்ல
வலிக்குதே
ஒரு கனம்
சாகிறேன் மறு கனம்
வாழ்கிறேன் இரண்டுக்கும்
நடுவிலே நீதானே”
This is mainly to insist that he keeps running as thoughts in my nerves and filling the space of my atma.
“நீ இன்றி நானும்
இல்லை என் காதல்
பொய்யும் இல்லை வழி
எங்கும் உந்தன் முகம் தான்
வலி கூட இங்கே சுகம் தான்
தொடுவானம் சிவந்து
போகும் தொலை தூரம் குறைந்து
போகும் கரைகின்ற நொடிகளில்
நான் நெருங்கி வந்தேனே
இனி உன்னை பிரிய
மாட்டேன் தொலை தூரம்
நகர மாட்டேன் முகம் பார்க்க
தவிக்கிறேன் என் இனிய பூங்காற்றே
விரலோடு விழியும்
வாடும் விரைகின்ற காலும்
நோகும் இருந்தாலும் வருகிறேன்
உன் மடியில் நான் தூங்க”
This second song I devote to telling him I am crossing all these lives just to meet him and to tell him I am not I am without him.
What makes us motivated towards the divine is his presence which he shows to us, especially in a very personal way. It differs from person to person. He doesn’t use the same method for everyone. In that way, I am sharing a small experience that I had in the way of devoting such songs to him and him in turn accepting it.
For me divine is “APPA”, for his love, guidance, and of course for the unique love of a father to his daughter. He had been through all my distressed times. He had made me smile back after a long period of suffering. When I had thought I had fallen in a ditch, he had raised me on his shoulders to make me stand high for this world to see. He had been my biggest moral support and the most understanding soul mate during all the tough times when people around me just found faults in my decisions. He eventually changed my situation, and my life and brought the real nature of “soul”, so that I cross my tough times easily. I have realized him as my Dad or Appa. There is a very popular song that depicts the love of a stranger as a Father to his adopted daughter from the movie “Ennai Arindhal”, where he consoles the little girl to forget the grief of her dead mother. It reminded me only of Appa who took care of me during those tough times. But a small thought came to my mind insisting that it is Appa who has to think of giving that song to me. Still, I convinced myself that it may not be possible, so enjoyed the entire song and video in his memory.
“உனக்கென்ன வேணும் சொல்லு…
உலகத்தைக் காட்டச் சொல்லு…
புது இடம் புது மேகம்…
தேடிப் போவோமே…
உலகென்னும் பரமபதம்…
விழுந்தபின் உயா்வு வரும்…
நினைத்தது நினையாதது…
சோ்க்கப் போறோமே…
எனக்கென உன்னைத் தந்து…
உனக்கிருக் கண்ணைத் தந்து…
அதன் வழி எனது கனா…
காணச் சொல்லியதே…
நீ அடம் பிடித்தாலும்…
அடங்கிப் போகின்றேன்…
உன் மடி மெத்தை மேல்…
மடங்கிக் கொள்கின்றேன்…”
After a few days, I had a dream, in which I saw Appa. I was very worried about my mother’s health. He had come to convince me of it. My mother and I were standing at my home under his photo. When I saw him, he started smiling at me and sang the song to me. After which he came down and blessed my mother telling me not to worry. This dream gave me so much happiness and strength since my Appa had sung that song to me and also blessed my mother giving me confidence in her life.
All he needs is to truly open our hearts to let him in. He will blow your conscious and convert you to him. He needs nothing from us. Not even prayers. Our true love towards him is the only thing that will make him come near and near to us. Maybe such actions are childlike, but after all, it is that innocence that makes him come and take charge of our lives and souls. I wish everyone to feel his love and be happy always.