The Deivathin Kural is a set of seven volumes which features the discussions, discourses and and anecdotes of Mahaperiyava compiled by R.Ganapathy. I would rather call it pearls of wisdom.True to its name “The Voice of God”, reading this book will make you feel that the God will be your best mentor guiding you in choosing the right path in life to attain moksha. These seven volumes are a treasure we have been immensely blessed with and it has got very simple nuggets to follow, to lead a happy life. It helps you decode all the religious practices and understand the science behind it. You will truly be amazed with all the goodness this book has got to offer you. I am honored and happy to write this post. I have planned to do a series of all seven volumes with his blessings. Do not forget to tell these stories to your kid. It will mold them into the most responsible citizens of this world.
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Chapter 1-Vinayaka
Embodiment of Simplicity
Nowadays parents are trying to give their children a very luxurious life. Children get most of their desires fulfilled and get accustomed to such a lifestyle.
But being the eldest son of Parvathi and Parameshwara the Gods of this Universe, Pillaiyar is an embodiment of simplicity. His temples showcase his simplicity.
His temples neither have rich canopies above nor look like palaces, he sits under a peepal tree with open sky above. He lives in small temples in every street. You can never find this distinctive feature in any other God’s temple. Being simple makes you more approachable. So he is widespread in Tamil Nadu and other parts of the world showering his grace on his devotees.
The secret behind his Name
When you are simple and approachable people like you the most. So they consider him “Pillai” (which means son) as their own son.
Since his parents own this Universe and it is inappropriate to call him Pillai,so we call him Pillaiyar to show respect. ” He is the first son of this Universe.
The younger son of Parvathi and Parameshwara is Subramanian(Murugan or Kumaran). We call him KumaraSwami or Kumara Kadavul where Kumaran means son. But we do not call him Kumarar as the respect we give to Pillaiyar is unique and distinct.
His form represents the Universe
Pranavam(OM) is the origination point of this universe. It is believed that all living organisms originated from Pranavam. Though Vinayaka is a child God, he is the origination point. If you visually take a closer look at Pillaiyar, you can observe that with his Elephant face and little curved trunk he looks like Pranavam. That is why, we worship him first before we start any pooja. He is the Ultimate and if we get his blessings, we are definitely going to reap success.
Showers his blessings on devotees
Here MahaPeriyava, tells us a small story to help us understand how Pillaiyar uplifts his devotees.
Avaiyar is an ardent devotee of Pillaiyar. One day Avaiyar was meditating by concentrating on Vinayaka’s Pranavam form and also was singing Vinayakar Agaval in his praise. It is said that one who recites Vinayaka Agawal daily, attains the highest form of wisdom. While she was deeply engaged in performing the pooja, Sundaramoorthy Nayanmar and Cheraman Perumal Nayanar asked her to wind up the pooja soon as they desired to take her to kailash. But Avaiyar said very stturbonly, You may go as you please, just to join you I cannot speedup my pooja. “To me this pooja is Kailash”.
So Sundaramoorthy Nayanmar and Cheraman Perumal left to Kailash. Once she completed her elaborate pooja, Vinayaka appeared in front of her. He carried her in his trunk and transported her to Kailash before Sundaramoorthy Nayanmar and Cheraman Perumal Nayanar reached. There they all sang “Thirukailaya Gnana Ula”. It is true that
If you pray to him with utmost sincerity and devotion he will make even the impossible happen.
The reason behind breaking coconuts for Pillaiyar
Vinayaka is pleased only when you offer the most valued, as the highest form of sacrifice. It is said that Vinayaka once asked his father, Parameshwara, the God of Universe, his head as a form of sacrifice. So Parameshwara created coconut, which also has three eyes like God Shiva and we break coconuts to please Vigneshwara. Breaking a coconut signifies our readiness to offer him the highest form of sacrifice. This practice of striking the coconut and breaking it into pieces is very unique to TamilNadu and MahaPeriyava beautifully adds that the broken pieces of coconut belong to kids. In 1941 he was observing Chathurmasya in Nagapatinam. It was customary to break coconuts there. A lot of children gather there and sometimes people do not find space to break coconut. One of MahaPeriyava’s disciples said the children not to crowd the place as he was afraid if they would rush and fall on MahaPeriyava. But one child in the crowd firmly replied that the coconut broken for Pillaiyar belong to us. Nobody has got the right to deny this. Pleased with his answer, MahaPeriyava says the coconuts broken for this Pillai kadavul belongs to our pillaigal(Children). The right to God’s Prasad belongs to children. Also there is a philosophical reason,the outer shell of the coconut is like our Ego and when we break it, we can reach the water like nectar(Happiness). Vinayaga is an embodiment of a lot of Philosophical truths.
Why is Pillaiyar fat?
We have never seen any other God having a bigger physique than Ganapathy. He has an elephant like head, big trunk and a large stomach. In Sanskrit we call him “Stula Kayar” means he looks big like a mountain yet he is a child(Pillai). What does he convey from this? A child should eat well and look healthy. A Sanyasi(sage) cannot eat like a child and build a big body.
A child should never skip its food as it is essential for its growth. This child God holding Modhak in hand, conveys this message to the world.
Pillaiyar’s Vehicle
Most Gods own a vehicle like bull, tiger, peacock, etc.. But Pillaiyar uses mouse, as his vehicle. You might think he is having a dispropotionate vehicle compared to his size. But he tells this world that a God’s might or valor must not be determined based on the vehicle he owns. It must be the vehicle who should get respect because of the God. It is said that Ganapathy sits light on the mouse to suit its strength and does not give it any pain but all it gets is the respect. He demonstrates to the world that
Though he has a huge body, he will sit light in his devotees heart. Once he sits in your heart you will gain respect automatically.
The symbol of sacrifice
Every animal, takes pride in its body parts. A Yak prides in its tail, a peacock prides in its feathers and a Elephant’s pride is its mighty white TUSKS. But in order to write MahaBharatha, Ganapathy broke his tusk. What does that mean?
For the sake of writing Mahabharata which expounds Dharma, it is insignificant to sacrifice a tusk which just adds to his own beauty and pride.
Once Ganapathy used this tusk to kill an Asura. Now he has used it as a pen to write Mahabharata. The Lord doesn’t need an instrument. But
This episode signifies that we should be ready to sacrifice anything that we pride in, for the sake of justice.
I know most of us in this world will never get bored of enjoying the beauty of moon, ocean and Elephant. Especially children love Elephant a lot and mostly their favorite book is ” Gajapathi Kulapathi”. That’s why Vinayaka has taken the Elephant figure, so people experience the bliss everytime they see him.
The secret behind his birth
When a raksha named Bhandasur casted the Vigna Mantra to destroy Ambal’s army, Lord Shiva casted a joyful look at Ambal, as a result Vinayaka was born and he helped his mother destroy the Asura.
Why Thopukaranam for Pillaiyar
Once MahaVishnu was meditating deeply in Vaikundam. At that time, pillaiyar who entered Vaikundam in a joyful mood and was fascinated by the Sudharshana Chakra in Vishnu’s hand. He playfully snatched it from his hand and started running. MahaVishnu could not get it back from Pillaiyar due to his extraordinary strength. At one stage, Pillaiyar had put the Chakra in his mouth. Perplexed Vishnu, wanted to do something to get back the Chakra. So he started doing Thopukaranam(holding his hears with his hands) in front of him. Pillaiyar laughed uncontrollably and the Sudharshana Chakra fell down. It was intially called “Thopi Karanam” Thopi means “by the hands” and Karanam means “ears”. Holding ears with hands. Eventually by usage, it became Thopukaranam. now we call it “Superbrain Yoga“
Conclusion
Irrespective of any pooja you do, you will start with praying to Lord Ganesha. Only if he bestows his blessings you will be able to progress in your path without any hindrance. The most beautiful part of Deivathin Kural, is it combines Spirituality with philosphical reasons. There are amazing takeways from this book for your life. You get the whole seven volumes at Kanchi Mutt at the price of Rs.5000. There are also a lot of free resources available where you can download all the volumes or follow MommyReturns for this series.
Once you start reading it, I bet you will definitely treasure it for life.
Stay happy and blessed!!!
Ishu
MommyReturns 