Ram

Ram.. I just love that name.. there is something so beautiful about Ram.. its so sweet.. I was listening to one old song today which prompted this thought..

"sukh ke sab saathi dukh mein na koi
mere ram, mere ram,
tera naam hai saacha duja na koi'

there is so much knowledge in these lines.. the poet says.. "people are with you only during the time of comfort, when hardship falls on you there are none to be seen. My Ram, only your name is the truth, not anyone else's'

this is also what shankara says in Bhaja Govindam..

'paschat jivati jarjara dehe
vaarthaam koapi na prichhati gehe'

meaning. when death takes over and the body is left lying, there will be no one to ask for you. So take the Lord's name now..

Anyways, talking about Ram.. He is called the 'maryada purushottam' .. the respectful gentleman.. he is the ideal man, the ideal son, dad, husband, king, brother, absolute 10/10. He is picture perfect. Really isnt it awesome to look at Ram with his kodandam, Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuma ?.. its so glorious..

He is also the one credited to follow the strategic expedients of 'sama, dana, bheda and danda' 100%.. in any situation.. there is a tyagaraja kriti on this..
'sarasa sama dana bheda danda chatura'.. sometimes I feel Tyagaraja was created just to glorify Ram, wonder what else he could have done otherwise !

There is part in 'Nama Ramayanam'.. it goes like this..

'Tejomaya nija rupaka ram
samsriti bandha vimochaka ram
dharma sthapana tatpara ram
bhakti parayana muktidaram
sarva charachara palaka ram
sarva bhavamaya varaka ram
vaikunthalaya samstitha ram
nityananda padastitha ram'

its just so unbelievable just meditating on these lines.. one can see Ram sitting on his golden throne in his glorious assembly.. tejomaya nija rupakaram.. that line is so wonderful.. brilliance is his nature.. vaikunthalaya samstitha ram.. is also beautiful.. Gurudev says vaikuntha is the place where there is no hardship.. so whenever we are in a restful state we are in vaikuntha ! and we are resting in the Ram aspect !


Anyways. Ram and Tyagaraja. its like magic and david copperfield. :-) so here is a small story which led to the legendary pancharatna kritis..

Once Tyagaraja decided to see Ram.. nice idea no ? so he started praising. in a hope that Ram would come if praised :p ok, so he sang in Nattai Ragam the first song.

Jagadananda Karaka, Jaya Janaki prana nayaka..

he praises Ram like anything.. Ram you are that and this... the words he chooses in sanskrit show the amazing talent of Tyagaraja.. the song gushes like a cascade down the hills.. impossibe to stop. total high energy.

Now, the song ends, Ram doesnt come or Tyagaja doesnt see him yet. So now he is mighty disappointed. He thinks the fault is with himself and starts self introspection inching towards self blame.

second song in gowla goes..

Dudukugala nanne dora koduku brochura..

it means.. which prince (Ram) will come and rescue a sinner like me.

what ensues is a masterpiece of introspection. Tyagaraja glorifies the flaws, the setbacks of every devotee on the spiritual path.

the second charanam goes:

sakala bhUtamula andu nI vaiyuNDaga matilEka pOyina

I forgot the fact that you(Ram) are in every living being

4th one goes:

para dhanamula koraku nOrula madini karaga-baliki kaDupu nimpa diriginaTTi

For the sake of money and filling my stomach, I started praising others.

5th:

tanamadini bhuvini saukhyapu jIvanamE anucu sadA dinamulu gaDipE

assuming that enjoying worldly pleasures is the way to live, I spent all my days

the 9th and the 10th charanams are the icing on the cake:

mAnavatanu durlabha manucu nEnci paramAnanda mondaleka mada matsara
kAma lObha mOhamulaku dAsuDai mOsabOti gAka modaTi kulajuDagucu bhuvini
shUdula panulu salpucunu uNTinigAka nArAdamulu kOri sArahIna matamulanu sAdhimpa dArumAru


satulakai konnALLAstikai sutulakai konnALLu dhana tatulakai tirigiti nayya tyAgarAjApta ituvaNTi

I totally neglected the joy of this gift of a human birth, instead I became a slave of egoistic greedy and lustful activities and got cheated by them. Even after being educated I did the deeds of an ignorant. In an effort to please the stupid, I am totally lost.

I wasted a few yrs of my life in the pursuit of women, few yrs running after progeny, few yrs for property and money and my life is over now.

Now which prince will come to my rescue !

Tyagaraja just bursts ! But its so true atleast in my case, what a waste of my precious time thinking about insignificant things !


Still no sign of Ram !

Now he starts pulling the Lord's leg !.. and it works ! LOL ..

he sings in Arabhi Ragam..

sadhinchene O' manasa. Samayaniki tagu mataladene

Tyagaraja lists the nataks of krishna . how he is lier, cheater, thief and stuff.. the thing is it works !. and Ram appears towards the end of this song and assures Tyagaraja that he is very close to him and not to worry !

Now Tyagaraja is ecstatic and so is his musical expression. so the fourth song comes
in Varali Ragam

Kana kana ruchira, kanakavasana ninnu

he goes.. Ram, the more I look at you, the more beautiful you look (so I want to look at you even more !!! cute !)

and he goes on to praise the sweetness of Ram

and before he concludes his glorious darshan of the lord, Tyagaraja sings his last composition of this series in Sri Ragam

Endaro Mahanubhavulu, andariki vandanamulu

Now, is there anything as beautiful as endaro !.. its magnificient, he just glorifies all such divine souls who had a similar experience like the one he just had. Tyagaraja cracks it big time.. 100/100 for this..

just as an example to show the richness of his expression..

charanam 4:

hariguNa maNimaya - saramulu galamuna
shObhillu bhakthakOtu lilalO
telivitO jelimitO garuNa galgi
jagamellanu sudhA dhR.shticE brOcu vaa

It means: To all those devotees who have decorated their vocal chords with the bejewlled garlands studded with the gems called Hari's virtues and who are protecting this world with their wisdom, friendliness and compassion, I bow down to them. !!!!

This is just mind boggling !!!!!! Tyagaraja is out of this world to even think like that !!!

Ok, just one more charanam before I am lost :

BhAgavata ramayana gItadi shruti shastra purAnapu marmamulanu
shivadi shunmatamula gUdamulan
moppadimukkoti surAnta[an]tarangamula bhAvambula nerigi bhavarAga layAdi
sowkyamuce cirAyuvula galigi niravadi sokAtmulai
tyagarAjatmulainavAru endaro

It means: I bow down to all those, who are living in uninterrupted happiness caused by the luxury of understanding, feeling, singing and merging into the secrets of bhagavatam, ramayana, gita, shruti (vedam), shastras, puranas, the 6 faiths (shaiva, vaishnava, shakteya,soura,koumara and ganapatya), and of the 3.3 million devas.

wooop !

Just the expression of Tyagaraja gives an idea into the kind of devotion he was in.

Its all an expression. Life is an expression. Good, bad, happy or sad, its an expression of our being.

All glories to my Gurudev, the expression of bliss.