The month of Marghazhi heralds the magic of rendition and recitation of “Thiruppavai” throughout the world, and where ever practicing Hindus have taken roots around the globe.
The month of Marghazhi heralds the magic of rendition and recitation of “Thiruppavai” throughout the world, and where ever practicing Hindus have taken roots around the globe.
Poetess Divine Andal has been celebrated for centuries due to her composition which has enriched Tamil literature. The denizens of Coimbatore are known to have reserved a special place for Andal and her composition for a long time.
The Coimbatore Thiruppavai Committee was formed in the year 1958 with the sole aim of spreading the divine fragrance called Thiruppavai in Coimbatore. While P.A. Raju Chettiar was the Founder- President and a number of stalwarts like Desikachariar, Narayana Iyengar, G.K. Sundaram, A.R. Nagamanickkam Chettiar and Ranganathan did much to take it forward.
Hundreds of people used to attend the lectures on Thiruppavai which was delivered for two hours per day on all the days of the month of Margazhi. The speaker of the season used to talk about one Pasuram or verse per day.
He or she used to elucidate the inner meaning in accordance to the Visishtadvaita Sampradaya while referring to relevant scriptures written in both Sanskrit and in Tamil over thousands of years.The lectures were organized at Shankara Mutt in Raja Street in the city.
Advocate N. Parthasarathy had served the Coimbatore Thiruppavai Committee as its Secretary for several decades and his contribution needs to be etched in golden letters. R. Kumar has been another committed contributor over the years and his silent participation has been splendid.
Nowadays the committee is headed by D. Balasundaram and the events are being managed by Dr. V.V. Parthasarathy the Secretary and Krishnaswamy D, the Joint Secretary. Mukkur Lakshminarasimhachaiar, Velukkudi Varadachariar, V.S. Karunakarachariar, Aravamudachariar, Vellukudi Krishnan, O.R. Devanathan and a number of eminent scholars have shared their wisdom during the lectures over the last 59 years.The lecture of the season was conducted at the Arulmigu Kodandaramaswamy Temple popularly known as Ramar Kovil in Ram Nagar. The speaker of the year, Badri Bhattar held the audience for the entire season through his remarkable approach. The crowning glory was during the lecture connected with the pasuram “Goodarai Vellum Seer Govinda". Badri Bhattar is a highly qualified person and he has many degrees to boast of including CA, ICWA, and BL. He is the descendant of Parasara Bhattar the son of Koorathalwar. It must be remembered that Koorathalwar was closely associated with Saint Ramanuja and his contribution to the world of Sri Vaishnavism is so huge that it is very difficult to measure.
“We must first learn and train ourselves before getting married in order to ensure happy matrimony. Our value system will guard us. Women have a very exclusive and decent space in our society and culture. Goddess Andal is none other Bhoomi Devi and her contribution to Tamil literature is fabulous." stated a devout Badri Bhattar.
“The devotees seek the benediction from the Lord during the sacred month of Marghazhi. The devotion, experiences and the fruits desired are given by Goddess Andal in her composition. They seek nothing but the grace and company of the Lord. The Satwik devotees use the company of one another to take this motive forward. The Naivedyam made on the occasion of Goodaravalli is made of milk and fresh rice and is covered with the ghee of the native cow which was held sacred. Thiruppavai talks about the quest of a seeker and is a quintessence of our scriptures." said Badri Bhattar during his lecture on the 11 Th of January 2018. He has promoted the Srimaan Trust at Srirangam and has been doing much through the same. A school, old age home, gaushala, library, online classes on philosophy, Veda patashala, and value-based education, protection of nature, women empowerment, promotion of peace and harmony are among the activities of the trust.
The bright Badri Bhattar conveys the essence of his activities in a crystal clear manner while showing the ancient icons of Lord Narasimha and other deities that have been with his family since the times of Koorathalwar, “Our objective is to get people involved in Sanatana Dharma with Shraddha. It’s important to acquire the right kind of knowledge from the right person otherwise our efforts will go futile. We bring it through child level learning. It is just like a school syllabus and has to be delivered properly. While each and every child should practice what they learn, it’s important that they understand the import of the subject in detail. We should give it to them in their schools or during after school hours. This is the need of the hour. While dealing with kids we should ensure that the parents and teachers are dealt with in the same context in order to ensure the efficacy of learning. Nowadays the parents and kids lack a cordial relationship and therefore we should solve it with the aid of the scriptures which form the foundation of our hoary Sanatana Dharma. Once we make the society perfect the Lord is happy and that is the greatest service of the Lord," added the visionary.
Badri Bhattar and his disciples were in perfect harmony at Coimbatore. A number of seekers sought his benediction and guidance during the whole month. Quite a few people from all classes of the society got initiated by him at the apartment belonging to D.D. Jayaram, a devout Vaishnavite who offers it to each and every savant who visits Coimbatore in order to take Sanatana Dharma forward in the interest of the society. A number of disciples of Badri Bhattar travel and stay with him in order to assimilate his teachings and apply it in their day to day lives in a conflict-free manner.
The wise Bhattar talks about harmony and is eager to state that Goddess Andal and her divine compositions would take us closer to the Lord Srimaan Narayana and we should hold her with dignity and respect." It’s important that we should maintain the dignity of both Sanatana Dharma and the classical Tamil language by paying due respect to the Poetess Divine Andal. It becomes incumbent upon us to ensure this and we should not let anyone denigrate our value-based peaceful culture in an abrasive manner.
The recent comments on the great Goddess Andal who has given us so much are not appropriate. Goddess Andal has given us the best of knowledge and wisdom through her Thiruppavai and we should use our time to absorb it instead of doing otherwise.
“The true tribute to our culture and our forebears will be when we resist such negative utterances while also taking the teachings forward for eternity. The teachings of Goddess Andal will guide the seeker forever, “implored Badri Bhattar.