A.V. Devan Times

“Shri Subrahmanyaya Namaste Namaste” Obeisance to Lord Subrahmanya - every one knows. Starts auspiciously with Shri and has a double namasthE. If you say something more than once, you have said it infinite number of times.We have seen 'pOttri pOttri' and 'Jaya Jaya Sankara', and BrahmasUtram's every phrase ends with twice-repeated words. 'namasthE namasthE'. 'thE' - to you; 'nama:' - obeisance. 'nama:thE' becomes 'namasthE'. The whole kriti goes in the fourth person(?)(nAlam vEtrumai). Obeisances to you, SubrahmanyA, infinite number of obeisances. Who is Subrahmanya? True, learned Brahmanya. We generally take 'brahmA' to mean the true, absolute form of the Lord (paramAtma svarUpam), but there is another meaning - Vedas. That is why, Upanayanam, the ceremony to begin Veda lessons to a child, is called 'BrahmOpadEsam'; by learning Vedas, the child becomes 'BrahmachAri'. Likewise 'Brahmayagnam'. B

In continuation of the Entaro Mahanubavulu series I am glad to present the Second article. The article dwells about the 19th Century Tamizh Composer Sri Gopala Krishna Bharati [GKB]. Many people know about GNB (G.N. Balasubramaniam) but not much about GKB. We all love to hear Tamizh songs whenever we visit the Carnatic Music concert. When we here songs like “Sabhapathiku Veru Deivam” or “Eppa Varuvaro” our heart swells thanks to the composer GKB who lived some 200 years before who was a contemporary of Saint Tyagaraja. It is heartening to note that the then Collector of Karaikal Lord Seesay appreciated Sriman GKB for his Magnum Opus “Nandanar Charitram” and undertook its publication. GKB will be remembered forever by giving this Tamizh Opera where bhakthi runs through out the entire master piece and you can understand its importance when the Tamizh Scholar U. Ve. Swaminatha Iyer described Nandanar Charitram as “A gift to Carnatic Music and a perfect specimen of a Tamizh Opera

Nobody wants to be known as a sinner, but all the same we keep transgressing the bounds of morality and disobeying the divine law. We wish to enjoy the fruits of virtue without being morally good and without doing anything meritorious. Arjuna says to Bhagavan Krishna, “No man wants to commit sin. Even so, Krishna, he does evil again and again. What is it that drives him so?” The Lord replies, “It is desires. Yes it is desire, Arjuna.” We try to gain the object of our desire with no thought of right or wrong (dharma or adharma). Is fire put out by ghee being poured into it? No, it rises higher and higher. Likewise, when we gratify one desire, another much worse, crops up. Are we to take it then, that it would be better if our desires were not satisfied? No. Unfulfilled desire causes anger, so too failure to obtain the object we hanker after. Like a rubber ball thrown against the wall such an unsatisfied desire comes back to us in the form of anger and goads us into committing sin. Krish

Hello readers, I recently visited a special and unique temple at Thiruvudanthai near Chennai. Yes! Here the Wedding of the Lord is celebrated on all the 365 days of the year. The Lord here is Varaha Swami [Wild Boar] which is one of the Avatar of Lord Vishnu who redeemed Mother Earth from the clutches of demon Hiranyaksha. The Lord is aptly named as “Nithya Kalyana Perumal” i.e. Lord who is ever engaged in Marriage. Here the Lord got married the 360 daughters of Maharishi Kalava. Attention bachelors and spinsters! If your marriage proposal getting delayed please visit this temple and make your offerings and the Lord will answer to your needs. One could able to see the steady stream of aspiring grooms and brides from all parts of India here to make and complete their vow. One of the 12 Azhwars or devotees of Lord Vishnu Thirumangai Azhwar has visited this temple and composed divine poem on the Lord. Hence this shrine is considered as one of the 108 Vaishnava Divya Shetras or Divine Tem