On three Saints who graced the earth at the same time

On three Saints who graced the earth at the same time

Saints Seshadri Swamigal and Ramana were special ,, still not exactly in the traditional mode.. 

and the most revered Sage of Kanchi was special and strictly traditional too..

The ultimate focal point of all the three and other realised souls too is the same..

That one which scholars called by different names..

एकं सद्विप्रा बहुधा वदन्ति

They had the greatness not to be critical of one another on mere trivialities of procedure..

There lies the sublimity..

What a contrast to the bickering among many traditional and self proclaimed gurus and god men of the present..

Ultimately, it is not the identity or the physical body of the man that counts..

But that Supreme being which resides in the body and kindles greatness in these perishable bodies.. actually calls the shots..

वन्दे वेदान्त तत्वज्ञं विधुशेखर भारतीम् ..

विद्या विनय संपन्नं वीतरागं विवेकिनं

वन्दे वेदान्त तत्वज्ञं विधुशेखर भारतीम् ..

vidyaa vinaya sampannam veetaraagam vivekinam

vande vedaanta tattvajnam vidhushekhara bhaarathim..

Sree Gurubhyo NamaH Sree Gurubhyo NamaH Sree Gurubhyoa NamaH

Pranams at the lotus feet of Srimad Vidhusekharabharati Swaminah Sri Sri Sannidhaanam of Shrngeri Sharatha Peetaham..

who is extremely rich in learning and humility,

who is devoid of any worldly attachments,

who is the embodiment of discretion, who is the ultimate knower of Vedas and Advaiita Vedanta...

( the prayer is from the Holy Math itself.)

വിദ്യാവിനയ സമ്പന്നം വീതരാഗം വിവേകിനം

വന്ദേ വേദാന്ത തത്വജ്ഞം വിധുശേഖര ഭാരതിം

ജ്ഞാനം എളിമ എന്നിവയുടെ വറ്റാത്ത ഉറവയും, ഭൌതികമായ ഇഷ്ടാനിഷ്ടങ്ങള്‍ക്ക് അതീതനായുള്ളവരും

നല്ലതും അതല്ലാത്തതുമെല്ലാം ‍ വ്യക്തമായി അറിയുന്നവരും

വേദങ്ങളുടെയും വേദാന്തത്തിന്റെയും അന്തഃസത്ത പരിപൂര്‍ണ്ണമായി ഉള്‍ക്കൊണ്ടവരും ആയ

പൂജ്യ ശ്രീ വിധുശേഖര ഭാരതിസന്നിധാനത്തിന്‍റെ പാദകമലങ്ങളില്‍ എളിയ ‍‍പ്രണാമങ്ങള്‍

musings 113

I happened to see a very anxious query as to why human beings as a class are so intolerant, jealous etc..

My thoughts on it

The answer to the query "why" is as plain as daylight..

We are just made as raw human beings with intolerance, jealousy, one-up-man-ship and such tendencies predominating, and appearing so naturally in our approach..

Weeds grow and muck collects without any conscious effort from anyone..

But to clean such waste and to plant or replace such wild growth with more useful and beautiful material takes a lot of effort and discipline and for that to happen it takes a lot of empathy too.

Such good qualities never come to us naturally..

And our efforts to control our propensities and to move in the proper path can get derailed if we relax our vigil over ourselves even for very short periods..

But I do agree, we can always strive to be more effusive and tolerant, though we may succeed only once in a while..

Conversation between Lakshmi and Parvathi

Conversation between Lakshmi and Parvathi

------------------------------------------------------------

भिक्षुः क्वास्ति बलेर्मखे पशुपतिः किं नास्त्यसौ गोकुले

मुग्धे पन्नगभूषणः सखि सदा शेते च तस्योपरि

आर्यों मुञ्च विषादमाशु कमले नाऽहं प्रकृत्या चला

चेत्थं गिरिजासमुद्रतनययोः संभाषणं पातु वः

bhikshuh kvaasi balermakhe pashupatih kim naastasau gokule

mughe pannagabhooshanaH sakhi sadaa shete cha tasyopari

aarye muncha vishaadamaashu kamale naaham prakrityaa chalaa

chetham girijaasamudratanayayoh sambhaashanam paathu vaH

This is a funny conversation between Lakshmi the wife of Vishnu and Parvathi the wife of Shiva.

Lakshmi tries to poke fun at Shiva citing some of his attributes and activities and Parvathi retorts and returns the insults by citing identical attributes and activities of Vishnu..

A classic slokam in Sanskrit..

May the heated conversation between Girija (daughter of mountain) the Paravthi and Lakshmi the daughter of the ocean protect us.

Lakshmi asks..where is your bhikshu the beggar (meaning Shiva who went around begging holding the skull of Brahma)

Paravathi replies..He must be in the place of yajna held by Mahabali (meaning Vishnu who begged three feet of land from Bali in his incarnation of Vamana)

Lakshmi asks..where is the Pashupathi who is the leader of animals?

(Meaning Shiva who is the master of all animals)

Parvathi replies.".ls he not in Gokulam with cattle? (Meaning Vishnu who tended cattle in gokulam as Krishna..he is the master of cows)

Lakshmi asks about the one who wears snakes as ornaments (Meaning Shiva)

Paravthi replies that the fellow must be sleeping on a snake(Meaning Vishnu who sleeps in the bed is Adisesha)

Lakshmi advises Parvathi to abandon the fellow who is in the habit of eating poison (Shiva consumed the poison Halahalam to save the world..)

To this Parvathi retorts that she is not fickle and unfaithful enough to run away from her beloved.

This is a dig at Lakshmi the Goddess of wealth who never stays for long with anyone..

Analysis..

Lakshmi asks..भिक्षुः क्वास्ति where is your beggar ( Shiva )

Parvati replies बलेर्मखे in the yajna of Mahabali ( where Vishnu went for begging as Vamana.. here Parvathi means Vishnu is an equally bad beggar)

Laksmi asks पशुपतिः कुत्र where is your Siva who is the leader of Animals..

Parvathi Replies.. असौ गोकुले किं नास्ति... is he not is the Gokula among cows.. meaning Krishna who tends cattle in Gokulam.

Lakshmi says.. मुग्धे पन्नगभूषणः my friend, is your Shivas ornaments a just Snakes.

Parvathi Replies सखि सः सदा तस्योपरि शेते च My friend your man Vishnu is sleeping always on the back of a Snake ( Adisesha)

Lakshmi Advises.. आर्ये आशु विषादं मुञ्च Good lady, get rid of your Shiva immediately, he is in the habit of drinking poison ( Shiva drank poison during the churnig of milky ocean to save the living beings on the earth.. and became Neelakanta)

Parvathi Retors कमले अहं प्रकृत्या चला न My friend kamala, I am not by nature fickle and unfaithful ( like you) and I cannot leave my Lord. Here Parvathi is having a dig at Lakshmi that she does not stay with anyone for long.. No one is permanently rich, it is known.

इत्थं गिरिजा समुद्रतनययोः संभाषणं वः पातु May that funny conversatione between the daughter of the Mountain Parvathi and the Daughter of the Ocean (Lakshmi) protect all of you who are listening to it..

the five taxmen...

अतिथिर्बालकश्चैव स्त्रीजनो नृपतिस्तथा।

एते वित्तं न जानन्ति जामाता चैव पञ्चमः॥

महासुभाषितसङ्ग्रहे॥

atithirbālakaścaiva strījano nṛpatistathā|

ete vittaṁ na jānanti jāmātā caiva pañcamaḥ||

mahāsubhāṣitasaṅgrahe||

Quote from Mahasubhashita sangraham.

===========

The following persons never understand or care about the affluence or poverty of others

The guest

A little boy or a young person

Womenfolk

King

and as the fifth one

The son in law

==========

Some people land up as guests, often uninvited on the household of some hapless host.. The host has to maintain his dignity and respectability by treating the guest reasonably well.. the host may be struggling but the guest would often have more and more demands.

A child does not understand about the income and resources of his family .. When he sees something fanciful, he will make demands on the parents to ensure that the object is acquired whatever be the cost.. And out of sheer love or sense of loyalty , the parents might try to fulfill the whims of the child.. often to their own serious detriment.

It is the basic nature of females to attempt to acquire things which would show them attractive and would show them in a better colour in comparison to others.. Often the dearth of financial resources would not persuade them from not making dents in the financial resources..

The King, wants taxes, levies and resources.. and the king of the State would hardly waive any taxes due just because the taxpayer is poor.

And

The son in law always expects his father in law to be a limitless credit card.. and he would hardly consider the state of finances of the parents in law.. He knows that money would come on demand because the daughters peace of mind is at stake..

Of course there are exceptions to this rule..

steadily, but slowly...

क्षणशः कणशश्चैव विद्यां अर्थं च साधयेत् ।

क्षणे नष्टे कुतो विद्या कणे नष्टे कुतो धनम् ॥ हितोपदेशे

kṣaṇaśaḥ kaṇaśaścaiva vidyāṃ arthaṃ ca sādhayet ।

kṣaṇe naṣṭe kuto vidyā kaṇe naṣṭe kuto dhanaṃ ॥ hitiopadesham

A wise person should accumulate his knowledge by learning from second to second, moment to moment,and he should try to earn and save money in continuos and small quantities. He should never waste any moment nor waste even any tiny quantity

If moments are lost, there can be no education

If even tiny savings are wasted there can be no wealth.

Here continuous and relentless practice to gain education and unstoppable industry to earn wealth are the points underlined.. At the same time it has to be understood that only what flows in in a regular but small manner would get accumulated and not sudden torrents either of wealth or knowledge. Everything has its own even pace.

ക്ഷണശഃ കണശശ്ചൈവ വിദ്യാം അര്‍ത്ഥം ച സാധയേത് ।

ക്ഷണേ നഷ്ടേ കുതോ വിദ്യാ കണേ നഷ്ടേ കുതോ ധനം ॥ ഹിതോപദേശം

വിവേകമുള്ള മനുഷ്യന്‍ ഓരോ നിമിഷവും പരിശ്രമിച്ചു കുറേശ്ശയായി വിദ്യ നേടണം. അതുപോലെ യഥാര്‍ത്ഥ പരിശ്രമത്തിലൂടെ ക്രമമായും ചെറിയ സംഖ്യകള്‍ സ്വരൂപിച്ചും സ്വത്ത് സമ്പാദിക്കണം. നിമിഷങ്ങള്‍ നഷ്ടപ്പെട്ടാല്‍ വിദ്യാഭ്യാസം എങ്ങിനെ ലഭിക്കാന്‍?

കൊച്ചു സമ്പാദ്യങ്ങള്‍ നഷ്ടപ്പെടുത്തിയാല്‍ പിന്നെ സ്വത്ത് എങ്ങിനെ ഉണ്ടാവും?

ഇവിടെ വിദ്യയും സ്വത്തും എല്ലാം ഇടതടവില്ലാത്ത പരിശ്രമത്തിലൂടെ മാത്രമേ സ്വരൂപിക്കാന്‍ കഴിയൂ എന്നും, ഒന്നും പാഴാക്കി കളയരുത് എന്നും ഉള്ള സന്ദേശം സുവ്യക്തമായി ലഭിക്കുന്നു. അതേ സമയം, നല്ല കാര്യങ്ങള്‍ സമ്പാദിക്കുന്നത് ചെറിയ തോതില്‍ എന്നാല്‍ തുടര്‍ച്ചയായ പരിശ്രമത്തിലൂടെ ആവണം എന്നും മനസ്സിലാക്കണം. മലവെള്ളം പോലെ പെട്ടെന്ന് വരുന്നതൊന്നും വളരെക്കാലം നിലനില്‍ക്കുകയില്ല എന്ന് ഓര്‍ക്കുന്നത് നല്ലത്.

man is a bundle of good and bad

Man is a bundle of good and bad. Even the greatest heroes had their weak spots. Even in history or in religious lore we do not see persons free of all foibles. Even Lord Krishna or the Mahatma Gandhi had their share of less comfortable traits. But no one usually tries to point out such matters when considering the overall glory.

As KALIDASA said in kumarasambhavam
 एको हि दोषो गुणसन्निपाते निमज्जतीन्दोः किरणेष्विवाङ्कः

Meaning

A single or slight flaw gets obliterated when there is a torrential flow of merits..The black spot seen on the surface of the moon is not considered material as there is a constant flow of cool pleasant rays in huge abundance from the moon

vasudaiva kutumbakam

अयं निजः परो वेति गणना लघुचेतसां।

उदारचरितानां तु वसुधैव कुटुंबकं॥

हितोपदेशे 

ayam nijaH paro veti gananaa laghuchetasaam 

udaaracharitaanam tu vasudahiva kutumbakam.

hitopadesham 

The mean mind alone differentiated between his own possessions and that of others.. 

Magnanimous mind sees the whole universe as its own kin.

அயம் நிஜ பரோ வேதி கணனா லகுசேதஸாம்

உதார சரிதானாம் து வசுதைவ குடும்பகம்

இது என்னுடையது, இது மற்றவனுடையது என்ற வேறுபாடு குறுகிய மனப்பான்மை உடயவருக்கு சொந்தம்.. நிறைந்த நெஞ்சம் படைத்தவருக்கு உலகமே தன் குடும்பம் ஆகிறது.

நம்மை எல்லாம் படைத்தவன் அந்த கண்ணன்.. யார் பெரியவன்? யார் சிறியவன்?

അയം നിജഃ പരോ വേതി ഗണനാ ലഘുചേതസാം।

 ഉദാരചരിതാനാം തു വസുധൈവ കുടുംബകം॥

ഹിതോപദേശം

ഒരു വസ്തുവോ വ്യക്തിയോ തനിക്കു മാത്രം  സ്വന്തമാണെന്നും  മറ്റു ചിലത്  അന്യമാണെന്നും എല്ലാം ഉള്ള ചിന്ത  അല്പത്വം നിറഞ്ഞ ഹൃദയം ഉള്ളവര്‍ക്ക് ഉണ്ടാവുന്ന തോന്നലാണ്.

പക്ഷെ  മനസ്സില്‍ സ്നേഹവും ഔദാര്യവും മാത്രം നിറഞ്ഞുനില്‍ക്കുന്ന  വ്യക്തികള്‍ക്ക്  ഈ ലോകം മുഴുവന്‍ സ്വന്തം കുടുംബം തന്നെയാണ്.

ഓര്‍ക്കുക.. സ്വന്തം സ്വത്ത് എല്ലാവരുടെയും ആയി കരുതി  പങ്കു വയ്ക്കാം. അതു മഹത്വം.   

അന്യരുടെ സ്വത്ത്  സ്വന്തം ആണെന്ന് കരുതാനുള്ള  ഉപദേശമായി ഇതിനെ കരുതരുത്.

अष्टादश पुराणेषु व्यासस्य वचनद्वयम् |

परोपकारः पुण्याय पापाय परपीडनम् ||.

ashtaadash puraaneshu vyaasasya vachanadwayam

paropakaarah punyaaya paapaay para peedanam

All of us would have read or heard about this saying sometime, somewhere in life..

It is an exposition of a simple and straightforward fact of our lives..

Too simple..

No erudition, no frills, no high sounding words.

The meaning is..

=========================================================

".Bhagavan Vyasa has written eighteen Purananaas..

The supreme truth emerging from all this huge volume of work can be explained in two sentences.

The first sentence is;-

We gain all that is good in life, we attain all virtues in life by always remaining helpful to others.

The second sentence is;-

We lose all that is good in life, and we incur the gravest sins, by causing pain or distress, by causing injury to others..

========================================================

One may think that any idiot can tell this.. It need not be told in so many words by so many people and far less, Vyasa Himself..

But can you deny the fact that

THIS IS THE REASON AND PURPOSE OF OUR LIVES...

BEING USEFUL TO OTHERS.

അഷ്ടാദശ പുരാണേഷു വ്യാസസ്യ വചനദ്വയം

പരോപകാരഃ പുണ്യായ പാപായ പര പീഡനം

പതിനെട്ടു പുരാണങ്ങളിലും  ചികഞ്ഞു നോക്കിയാലും വേദവ്യാസന്‍റെ രണ്ടു വകാനങ്ങള്‍ ആണ് ഏറ്റവും പ്രധാനം.
മറ്റുള്ളവര്‍ക്ക് സേവനം ചെയ്യുകയാണ് ഏറ്റവും വലിയ പുണ്യം. 
പാപം മറ്റുള്ളവര്‍ക്ക്  ദ്രോഹം ചെയ്യുന്നതാണ്.

മറ്റുള്ളവര്‍ക്ക് ഉപകാരം ചെയ്യുക,  അതിനേക്കാള്‍ വലിയ പുണ്യം ഒന്നുമില്ല.

What will happen if everyone stopped praying to God?

What will happen if everyone stopped praying to God?

God is perhaps an invention of the man who realized his own inanities and inadequacy..

A bid to just imagine that the elusive perfection exists..

And when human beings as a matter of habit invented or rather assumed the existence of such a perfect being, it is quite natural that when things do not go exactly right for the inadequate man he prays to that perfect being..

Everybody living on earth deciding not to pray to God

will not happen,

cannot happen,

unless the idea or precept of God or something equivalent to it is given up totally or perhaps the word God is taken away from the language...

Even for the atheists who may disown the word god, his bid to identify something nearing perfection, to spot something superior, is in his blood..He might not call it God, that is all

So, obliteration of God from Human life is simply not possible..

Otherwise the question should be reframed

with definition of what is meant by god,

what is prayer,

and what amounts to stoppage of prayer and so on..

That can baffle even the most brilliant minds..

It is something like what will happen if we reach absolute zero temperature..

We can only give views..

But certain conditions can never be reached or visualized in a perfect manner....

agraharams and ottra madams.. kerala palakkad iyer culture..

one fact to be reckoned is that the Kerala Tamil Brahmin settlements have different patterns..

Two main patterns are agraharams and ottra madams(ഒറ്റ മഠം).

The traditions of people living in agraharam clusters based on replication of some traditional tamil agraharam perhaps vary considerably from those tamil brahmins who have settled all over kerala in isolated homes..

Also the traditions vary between agraharams on the basis of their origial spots from which they migrated..

Some agraharams have Vadama majority, lsome have Brahacharanam,Ashtasahasram Mankudi, Vaadhyama majority,

some are Chozhyas and in the south kerala we can find Mukkaalis ..

(The names of the groups have stuck to them from the earlier dens from which these people migrated)

Their traditions vary..

The traditions of Palakkad brahmins, Trichur brahmins Ernakulam brahmins Kollam brahmins and Trivandrum brahmins Kozhikode Brahmins, Kannur Payyanur Taliparamba Brahmins etc vary..

But the basic unity of complete faith in the primacy of Vedas, sandhyavandahanam and other rituals.. etc run like Golden threads binding them

The respect given to Kanchi and Sringeri Acharyals by smarthas of kerala is another common feature..

For the people of agraharam, their prime lord is their or grama devatha and in addition they have some adimai kavu..

Even traditions in core Palakkad town Agraharams and Agraharams other than these in other parts of palakkad vary.

Then even in palakkad city core agraharams the Kalpathy centred agraharams and Nurani Pallipuram Tirulakkadavu based agraharams have different traditions..

Of course, it has to be noted that every tamil speaking brahmin who migrated from Tamilnadu and settled somewhere in Kerala.. the whole Kerala created by Parasurama throw -- an axe throw.. is generally bracketed as a Palakkad Iyer.. I could sense a minor protests from my blood bandhus other that from Palakkad on this issue .. but just like every South Indian is a Madrasi in the north.. every kerala iyer is a Palakkad iyer.)

like phoenix...

There was a period when the agraharam life delved deep into troubled waters and hit rock bottom of its existence.

But the typical Agraharamite has really bounced back..

Basically, whether a pattar stays in his own Agraharam, or in some other far off place.. or settles in places like Mumbai, or gulf or US, invariably the temples, rituals and utsavams, and family functions in the old traditions are all his dreams..

He is prepared to sacrifice, innovate and go to any honest extent to keep his traditions afloat..

So every pattar is ultimately an agraharamite.. No doubt about it.

Most of the agraharms and agraharam temples are better off these days..

the real crunch was about three or four decades ago when the pattars faced the effects of land reforms, and the younger generation was not exactly prepared to maintain and sustain themselves and the middle aged and the elderly were simply dumb-folded and could do very little.

when the community as a whole lost everything and watched silently as their possessions were simply taken away for no fault of theirs... we had to start from scratches..

But our people, some middle-aged, most youngsters, opened up their books, got jobs on the face of the stiffest competition, migrated to Mumbai, Gulf and wherever they could find a decent job and pleasantly no one obliterated his roots completely..

( even in the worst periods, the pattars produced eminent teachers, civil servants, doctors, engineers and scientists.. and the products were really eminent.. head and shoulder above all others and they always excelled as Vedic scholars.. which is their supposed profession).

Every Palakkad pattar world over would have someone representing them in their own native agraharam..

And of late, we find the erstwhile migrant pattars purchasing flats in and around Palakkad to settle after retirement..

This is the sweet story of resurgence of a clan.. a very silent rise from ashes for a huge lot of Phoenix birds..

Pattars were adepts in adapting to adversities at any time..

they were able to stick together and present a rock-like front on the face of adversities though they might be quarreling with one another on minor counts day in and day out..

Happy to see that our children are all in the path of progress and affluence, albeit facing stiff competition and even discrimination in the home turf..

an old writeup on Palakkad Iyers..

an old writeup on Palakkad Iyers..

Prepared and posted by me a couple of years ago

Our origins are still not properly documented..

The history is gathered by way of oral traditions..

And we are a class who lack very much in sense of history..

And sometimes there is misinformation too..

Malayattoor Ramakrishnan, in his Malayalam Novel "Verukal" takes us through a paradesi (settler) brahmin family tradition, as lived by persons of Ottra (single) madam in the Perumbaavoor area near Kochi..

But in a novel called "Nettoor madam" penned by him, the location of the novel is stated as "Sekharipuram, " in Palakkad, but evidently the description does not match..
Apparently he was not conversant with the nuances of Agraharam life of Palakkad..

There is one novel in Malayalam called "Gramam", which has for its background the agraharams around Kollengode.. Though written by a non-bramin, the descripition of Iyer life in that novel is realistic.

Sarah Thomas, has written a novel Naarmadi pudavai.. having the Kerala Iyer life (based in Trivandrum area ) as the background.

But in all these, the writers are free to take poetic licences.. so the descriptions need not be authentic..

If the leading lights of the PI community compare notes and document their ancestry and roots it will be welcome..

There are Palakkad Brahmins who have re-located to Mumbai and have a history of about 200 years..

There are those who have gone back to Chennai and still retain their PI identity..

There are Delhi PIs and Calcutta PIs.

And now there are Gulf PIs, European PIs, Australian PIs, 

US-Canada PIs..

The history of PIs can be complete only if all such persons co-ordinate and exchange notes in an atmosphere of strict authenticity, not coloured by emotions and biases..

It is a tall order.

Apart from the Agraharams of Palakkad, and Trivandrum. there are many PI settlements with sparse to moderate population in Malabar area, Perinthalmanna, Tirur( Thrikkandiyur), Calicut, Kannur, Quilandy, Taliparambu, Payyanur, Thrissur ( Poonkunnam, Pushpagiri agraharams) Chalakkudy, Ernakulam, Thrippoonithura, Alapuzha, Kottayam ( thirunakkara) Kollam, ....almost everywhere in Kerala..and then individual Ottramadams..

The Iyers of Nagercoil and even Tiruchendur have a close empathy with the Kerala Iyers..

. A census with special emphasis or gothram, sect, kuladeivam, adimaikkavu, ( not with any idea to claim superiority of one sect over other) can be undertaken. 

In the huge population of India, we are really an endangered species and we do not care much to maintain our pedigree, of late.

 So documentation is essential.

.At least for the information of the children, grandchildren and posterity.. If the website which is indicated as being under construction could address at least partially to these issues it would be great.

There is no adequate documentation.. We have only mouth to ear traditions.. A lot of facts can be brought out if we read various minutes of the proceedings of the temple committees, Brahmaswam parishads, Patasalas, Property transaction documents etc. spread over at least five hundred years... We can draw a lot of inspiration from the various festivities and ceremonies conducted in our houses and in various temples..

And we can see that festivals in each temple has its own distinctive features, although we follow Vaikahanas or Siva agamas.. generally..

The first settlement of Iyers is famed to be at Sekharipuram, my own agraharam.. 

However,  every pattar if he is aware that he knows a little more than anyone else will not share that knowledge, but will use it only to flaunt the ignorance of others..

The social evolution is dynamic and if we miss the bus by not proper written or electronic documentation, and without an open mind, the community is doomed to bury its culture..

Ulloor Parameshvara Iyer  is the pioneer who documented the cultural and literary history of Kerala.. but his writings have little to do with Iyer community as such..  Honble Justice V R Krishna Iyer pioneered the Land Reforms in Kerala, and has been a votary of liberal judicial activism and human liberty as such..in his eminent career as a jurist. and politician...
But there is nothing that can be mentioned as his contribution to Iyer community..

If you watch the demographic and social content of the agraharam either in Tamilnadu or Kerala, there is always a group who have attained a sort of elite-hood through affluence, greater knowledge, or physical fitness or gift of the gab... and side by side other groups suffer in comparison and the friction starts.. Often the majority is controlled by the elite by sharing the spoils and other below the belt  machinations..
 The deprived ones are left with no choice but migrate.. because the majority never supports the minority but comes down heavily on them..
The migration of Brahmis from TamilNadau-- Arcots, Trichy, Tanjavur, Madurai, Tirunelveli, all have happened because of this..
And the migrants, were usually not Vedic Scholars ( one or two might have been there), but traders of clothes and other utility items and cooks, etc..
The establishment of temples, Vedic Patasalas etc in Palakkad and other pattar colonies in Kerala has come through the support of the local rulers and Vassals, in the respective locality.. The pattars in Trivandrum thrived under the tutelage of the Travancore Kings..

The pattars in palakkad got support and gifts of land etc from the Raja of Palakkattussery, the Achan, the Raja of Kollengode and others.. One reason was also that the nambudiris were not willing to officiate for the then kings around Palakkad who were not Kshatriyas..

It goes to the credit of the Pattars that even though they had migrated essentially as dissident and deprived groups, they shaped their agraharams exactly after their parent groups in Tamilnadu.. The villages like Vaidyanathapuram and Chockanathapuram in Palakkad are after the deities at Vaitheeswaran Koil and Madurai..

If we go further in deapth, we could locate some proto-type in Tamilnadu for every brahmin settlement in Kerala.. The majority presence of Vadamas in certain Villages, Mankudi, Ashtasahasram, Vadhyama, Chozhiyas etc in some agraharams all can be explained on this basis..

We are talking eighty percent of Tamil and 20 percent of Malayalam..

The iyer dialect is considered to be a part of Malayalam Language by scholars of that language.

And there is hardly a Pattar in Kerala, who does not know Malayalam..

There have been great poets in Malayalam like Ulloor S Parameswara Iyer, and writers like Malayattoor Ramakrishnan who really mattered in Malayalam literature..

I am a pattar and I can read, write, speak advanced Tamil, but I and most of my pattar kin have known only Malayalam as our Mother tongue..

Even Palakkad Iyer migrants from Kerala to Mumbai, have their roots in Malayalam and Kerala... they are not Tamilians..

If we try to trace the pure ethnicity of brahmins, that will not stop with Tamilnadu.. We can trace ourselves back to Indo-Gangetic Plane and Sapta Saindavam, and even Asiaminor or Eurasia and so on..

But I am sure a Brahmin in Kerala, even if he is talking dialect akin to Tamil, he is a Keralite first and Keralite Last..
Kerala is our property and our mother as it is to any other Keralite..

Any discussion on this issue can be made only after accepting that one single immutable rule that we belong to Kerala..

the deprivation in their root abodes, and instinct of survival, and flexible market conditions, positive attitude of the rulers of Kerala, have all contributed to the establishment of pattar or Palakkad Iyer settlements in Kerala.. And pattars saw places in kerala..
The Divan or Dalava of Travancore once was a Rama Iyer.. And Ganapthy Sastrigal who discovered many manuscripts of Sankrit and presented the legendary sankrit Poet Bhasa to the Literary world was such a migrant.. The story does not end there.. Seshan the Minister,Justice Krishna Iyer, Seshan the Election Commissioner, Sundaram the minister  are all legends.. There are innumerable Iyer luminaries in the Civil services.The pattars produces two Chairmen at least in CBDT.. Moorthy Sir, and Narayanan Sir.. If we start listing the great Keralite Iyers, the space would be inadequate..

respect for ladies...

पूजनीया महाभागाः पुण्याश्च गृहदीप्तयः।

स्त्रियः श्रियो गृहस्योक्तास्तस्माद् रक्ष्या विशेषतः॥

महाभारते उद्योगपर्वणि ३८-११

स्त्रियः साध्व्यो महाभागाः सम्मताः लोकमातरः।

धारयन्ति महीं राजन्निमां सवनकाननाम्॥

महाभारते अनुशासन पर्वे ४३-२०

श्रियः एताः स्त्रियो नाम सत्कार्या भूतिमिच्छता।

पालिता निगृहीता च श्रीः स्त्री भवति भारत॥

महाभारते अनुशासन पर्वे ४६-२५

pūjanīyā mahābhāgāḥ puṇyāśca gṛhadīptayaḥ|

striyaḥ śriyo gṛhasyoktāstasmād rakṣyā viśeṣataḥ||

mahābhārate udyogaparvaṇi 38-11

striyaḥ sādhvyo mahābhāgāḥ sammatāḥ lokamātaraḥ|

dhārayanti mahīṁ rājannimāṁ savanakānanām||

mahābhārate anuśāsana parve 43-20

śriyaḥ etāḥ striyo nāma satkāryā bhūtimicchatā|

pālitā nigṛhītā ca śrīḥ strī bhavati bhārata||

mahābhārate anuśāsana parve 46-25

In our Indian culture, the Ladies were always treated with respect and affection verging of veneration by all.. especially by men..

Three quotes from the great epic Mahabhartam would stand testimony for this.

==============

In the Udyogaparava, Vidura tells Dhritarashtra

The ladies are deserving worship, they are the source of great fortune to the household, they are sacred, they are the source of light for the household. the ladies are called the source of wealth or verily the goddess of fotune shree itself.. there for they should be cared for an protected at any cost..

In the anushAsitka parva of Mahabharatham, where the elder statesman Bheeshma pitamaha is lying on the bed of arrows and is imparting lessons to Emeperor Yudhishtira on Dharma and statecraft, in the august presence of none other than Lord Krishna himself. the grandsire tells his Royal Grandson

The ladies are kind and chaste by nature, they are to be respected by all without exception, they are the source of all fortune, they are the mothers of all in the world, and it is their chastity and sincerity that is preserving this whole earth with its forests and jungles..

Again

Any person who is desiring the welfare for himself and all should protect and cater to all comforts of the ladies who are verily the embodiment of all the wealth and grace or verily the embodiment of the goddess of wealth and grace, Shree Devi herself. And when treated with great respect and care, every woman just transforms herself into Shree, the goddess of wealth herself..

================

Just quoted the above slokas to show that there was not much of gender inequality in India.. the traditional India

In fact, ladies were treated often at equal level with Divinity..

Of course, there must have been aberrations, and the base people might have turned the tables on the weaker section..

But that was not the defect of the social laws and systems

Maybe the gap between the ideal and the real got too wide..

Vaikhari (turya), . Madhyama Paraa, Pashyantee

चत्वारि वाक्परिमिता पदानि तानि विदुर्येब्राह्मणा मनीषिणः।

गुहा त्रीणि निहिता नेङ्गयन्ति तुरीयं वाचो मनुष्या वदन्ति॥ 

ऋग्वेदे १-१६४-४५

catvāri vākparimitā padāni tāni viduryebrāhmaṇā manīṣiṇaḥ|

guhā trīṇi nihitā neṅgayanti turīyaṁ vāco manuṣyā vadanti|| 

ṛgvede 1-164-45

Words are of four types ., Vaikhari (turya), . Madhyama Paraa, Pashyantee.

The farsighted Brahmins have knowledge of all these.

Three of them, . Madhyama , Paraa and Pashyantee are secrets concealed in the caves of intellect and are not expressible by words.. The Tureeya or Vaikhari words are used by people to express their ideas in words..

ചത്വാരി വാക്പരിമിതാ പദാനി താനി വിദുര്യേബ്രാഹ്മണാ മനീഷിണഃ।

ഗുഹാ ത്രീണി നിഹിതാ നേങ്ഗയന്തി തുരീയം വാചോ മനുഷ്യാ വദന്തി॥ 

ഋഗ്വേദേ ൧-൧൬൪-൪൫

വാക്കുകള്‍  നാല് വിധത്തിലുള്ളവയാണ്   

വൈഖരീ (തുരീയാ)

മധ്യമാ 

പരാ 

പശ്യന്തീ 

ദീര്‍ഘദര്‍ശികളായ ബ്രഹ്മജ്ഞാനികള്‍ക്കു ഈ നാല് വിധം വാക്കുകളെക്കുറിച്ചും അറിവുണ്ട്

ഇവയില്‍ മൂന്നെണ്ണം   മധ്യമാ,  പരാ, പശ്യന്തീ  എന്നിവ ധിഷണയുടെ  അഗാധതയില്‍ നിലകൊള്ളുന്നു.. 

കേള്‍ക്കാവുന്ന വാക്കുകളായി പുറത്തു വരുന്നില്ല 

 വൈഖരീ അല്ലെങ്കില്‍ തുരീയം ആയ വാക്കുകളാണ്  മനുഷ്യര്‍ തങ്ങളുടെ ആശയങ്ങള്‍  പ്രകടിപ്പിക്കാന്‍ ഉപയോഗിക്കുന്നത്. 

beautiful life of india

उपहूताः इह गावः उपहूताः अजावयः॥

यजुर्वेदे ३-३०-२

upahūtāḥ iha gāvaḥ upahūtāḥ ajāvayaḥ||

yajurvede 3-30-2

A great statement in yajurvedam

The cows are all near me,

my cows are all assembled nearby

from where they can hear me and I too can hear them

The goats and sheep are all near me,

my goats and sheep are all assembled nearby

from where they can hear me and I too can hear them

The most coveted and valuable possession of the vedic man were his cattle, his cows, goats and sheep.

He could survive,

sustain himself,

proceed with his rudimentary agricultural activity,

only with the help of cattle..

The cows gave him milk,

milk products and manure..

The oxen enabled them to till the soil and do the transporting.. The goats gave milk and other products..

The Sheep gave material for cothing..

The vedic man could feel safe and secure

if and only if

his cattle were assembled near him

and

could return their mooings and bleating when the masters called them.

What a simple but nice life.. millenniums ago!..

sanskrit

Sanskrit is so sweet and great that

every syllable

every letter

every word

is defined with glorious precision in great texts 

and

we are blessed with many standard texts.

Our work is just to locate the definitions and references.

Even that is a tall order

The path of Sanskrit is decorated by legends and titans.

We can only watch and gasp.standing on some remote corner

one has to bee too lucky indeed..

प्रीणाति यः सुचरितैः पितरं स पुत्रः

यद्भर्त्रुरेव हितमिच्छति तत् कळत्रम्।

तन्मित्रमापदि सुखे च समक्रियं यद्

एतत् त्रयं जगति पुण्यकृतो लभन्ते॥

भर्तृहरि

prīṇāti yaḥ sucaritaiḥ pitaraṁ sa putraḥ

yadbhartrureva hitamicchat tat kaḻatram|

tanmitramāpadi sukhe ca samakriyam yad

etat trayam jagati puṇyakṛto labhante||

bhartṛhari

The son who pleases the heart of his parents

by his own exemplary conduct and character

is the son worthy of praise.

The wife who always desires the benefit of her husband

alone can be praised as a worthy wife.

A person whose attitude and actions towards his friend is unvarying (and benevolent) when the friend is happy or is in dire straits (in difficulties or facing danger),

alone is the friend worthy of being mentioned like that

(Indeed ) only those who have accumulated a lot of divine grace, are blessed with these three..

This is from the Philosopher Poet of Sanskrit.. Bhartruhari..

Analysis.

यः सुचरितैः who by praiseworthy characer

पितरं प्रीणाति brings happiness to his father

स (एव श्लाघ्यो) पुत्रः(भवति)I he alone is a good son

यद् भर्त्रुः हितं एव इच्छति Who always desires the welfare and mental peace of the husband

(तदेव श्लाघ्यं ) कळत्रम् (भवति)I she alone is the good wife

(it may be noted that Kalatram.. a word meaning wife.. is in neutral gendre in Sanskrit.. a peculiarity)

(यन्मित्रं ) आपदि सुखे च समक्रियं(वर्तते ) Which friend is equally of good attitude and favourable action either when we are doing well or when we are facing dangers

(तदेव श्लाघ्यं ) मित्रं भवति I he or that alone is the friend worthy of that name..

जगति (केवलं) पुण्यकृतः एव एतत् त्रयं लभन्ते I Only those who have done a lot of punyam would get these things in this world.

പ്രീണാതി യഃ സുചരിതൈഃ പിതരം സ പുത്രഃ

യദ്ഭര്ത്രുരേവ ഹിതമിച്ഛതി തത് കളത്രമ്।

തന്മിത്രമാപദി സുഖേ ച സമക്രിയം യദ്

ഏതത് ത്രയം ജഗതി പുണ്യകൃതോ ലഭന്തേ॥

ഭര്തൃഹരി

പ്രശംസാര്‍ഹമായ സ്വഭാവവും പ്രവൃത്തിയും കൊണ്ട് അച്ഛനെ സന്തോഷിപ്പിക്കുന്നവനാണ് നല്ല മകന്‍

ഭര്‍ത്താവിന്‍റെ നന്മ മാത്രം മനസ്സില്‍ കരുതിക്കൊണ്ട് അതിനു വേണ്ടി ജീവിക്കുന്നവളാണ് നല്ല ഭാര്യ 

ആപത്തു വരുമ്പോഴും നല്ല നിലയിലാവുമ്പോഴും ഒരു പോലെ നല്ലത് മാത്രം ചെയ്യുന്നവനാണ് നല്ല സുഹൃത്ത് 

ലോകത്തില്‍ ഈ മൂന്നും വളരെയധികം പുണ്യം ചെയ്തവര്‍ക്കു മാത്രമേ ലഭിക്കാറുള്ളൂ

(ഭര്‍തൃഹരി വചനം )

advaita

In advaitam there is only one being call it jeevatma, paramatma, brahmam or anything.. or nothing.

Some advaita followers believe that Part of That being perhaps deludes itself through its own Maaya and manifests as physical thing which is just Mithya.

That way what we conceive as good or bad in this Maaya created world is insignificant nullity.

Once the veil of illusion gets removed or shattered we realise our oneness with the supreme.

That is perhaps moksham or emancipation.. or just understanding what is real

Of course if you feel there is an inferior Atma (even a wee bit inferior) in you which is not of the same God material of parabrahmam or paramatma you can choose to do so.

Then the ideas of vishista advaitam dwaitam etc comes in.

It is up to you.

வெற்றிவே லாயுதப்பெருமாளே

பத்தியால் யானுனைப் ...... பலகாலும் பற்றியே மாதிருப் ...... புகழ்பாடி

முத்தனா மாறெனைப் ...... பெருவாழ்வின் முத்தியே சேர்வதற் .கருள்வாயே

உத்தமா தானசற் ...... குணர்நேயா ஒப்பிலா மாமணிக் ...... கிரிவாசா

வித்தகா ஞானசத் ...... திநிபாதா வெற்றிவே லாயுதப் ...... பெருமாளே.

......... சொல் விளக்கம் .........

பத்தியால் யானுனை ... அன்பினால் உன்னை உறுதியாக

பலகாலும் பற்றியே ... பல நாட்களாக விடாது பற்றிக்கொண்டு

மாதிருப்புகழ் பாடி ... உயர்ந்த திருப்புகழைப் பாடி

முத்தனாம் ஆறெனை ... ஜீவன் முக்தனாகும் வழியிலே என்னை

பெருவாழ்வின் முத்தியே ... இடையறா இன்ப வாழ்வாம் சிவகதியை

சேர்வதற்கு அருள்வாயே ... சேர்ந்து உய்வதற்கு திருவருள் புரிவாயாக

உத்தம அதான ... உத்தம குணங்களைப் பற்றிக்கொண்டுள்ள

சற் குணர்நேயா ... நல்ல இயல்புள்ளவர்களின் நண்பனே

ஒப்பிலா மா ... சமானம் இல்லாத பெருமை பொருந்திய

மணிக்கிரிவாசா ... ரத்னகிரியில் வாழ்பவனே*

வித்தகா ... பேரறிவாளனே

ஞானசத்தி நிபாதா ... திருவருள் ஞானத்தைப் பதியச் செய்பவனே

வெற்றிவே லாயுதப் பெருமாளே. ... வெற்றியைத் தரும் வேலை ஆயுதமாகக் கொண்ட பெருமாளே.

( Arunagirinathar.. Tamil Translation   Web courtesy )

Muruga the lord of the sacred hill Ratnagiri,

may your Divine Grace be pleased to bless me

to sing Your praise with immeasurable affection,

and 

never ever thinking of leaving Your lotus feet,

May  I reach the emancipation of bliss while living on this earth itself..

You are the foremost among the great ones who possess impeccable and pure character..

You are the friend of all who follow the path of righteousness--

and you are the wielder of the spear which declares victory over all the evils

 and 

you occupy the holy Shrine at Ratnagiri..

परोक्षप्रियाः इव हि देवाः

many religious and spiritual issues are to be kept secret..

many things are not expected to be discussed or imparted unless under sterile and strict conditions..

one should never talk out or give views to an audience without measuring their interest and keenness ..

Krishna at the conclusion of Gita prescribes the right limits for imparting or exchange of knowledge..

इदं ते नातपस्काय नाभक्ताय कदाचन |

न चाशुश्रूषवे वाच्यं न च मां योऽभ्यसूयति || 67||

idaṁ te nātapaskyāya nābhaktāya kadāchana

na chāśhuśhruṣhave vāchyaṁ na cha māṁ yo ‘bhyasūtayi

bhagavat gita chapter 18

so spiritual discussions are never meant for people with no interest or inclination to listen..

In upanishads, we can find that when a disciple approaches a preceptor, the guru just gives minor educative tasks to the seeker, in instalments, keenly evaluating the process of learning.. and the ultimate or effective knowledge would be passed on only if the preceptor is convinced beyond any doubt that the seeker is keen and earnest and that the knowledge imparted would serve its purpose..

See how hesitant Yama was to discuss the secrets of atma vidya with Nachiketas.

In social media discussions we flaunt things voluntarily,

showing off what we have

and even what we do not have..

However mantrams and parts of Shruti the Veda are all to be handled with great reverence, and adequate secrecy..

परोक्षप्रियाः इव हि देवाः.. is a vedic dictum..