TIRU- KURRAL

Swami Vimokshananda
at first Tirukurral class
SVET

||Sri Ramakrishna Sharanam||

 

Aum Namo Narayanaya

 

Today was definitely a very auspicious moment in the history of the Shree Veeraboga  Emperumal Temple.  The temple was founded in 1914 by very senior fathers who hailed from the Kilpfontein sugar barracks, who believed that the ideas contained in all our scriptures was the panacea for their anxieties. One can only imagine the hardships and struggles our forefathers had to endure so that we were able to grow and prosper in a free country.

 

Therefore, they always made time to partake of satsang and immerse themselves in the glory of God for strength and compassion to pass their strife-stricken days. The founding fathers would gather under the canopy of the banyan tree and read from the Shree Veeraboga Saritram (Prophecies of Kali Yuga) giving much hope and solace to all who listened.

 

Today, from those humble beginnings gathering informally, the organisation has concretised into a large spiritual edifice in the town of Tongaat. As in the case of our body, which will collapse without the presence of the divine energy or force called the prana... in the same way a temple is futile if it does not help people elevate their consciousness to the divine level. Today it seems all our founding fathers whose spirits were awaiting for this moment finally returned to the higher realms satisfied, when our Tirukurral class commenced, conducted by our Revered Swami Vimokshanandaji Maharaj.

 

There was a strange yet beautiful energy that permeated the room, where for some time everything seemed infused with a brightness. And although seated in front of our Swami Vimokshananda, I could only see my Guru - most Revered President Maharaj.  My attention was so focused on the words that came forth like lotus petals, fragranced with profound wisdom. I was in disbelief that one hour had passed by so stealthily. All of those devotees must have done well in their past births to be given the opportunity to be seated at feet of Revered Maharaj and accept the spiritual knowledge that flowed like the Ganga at Rishikesh. The Upanishads being re-enacted in our very own town in this very age was indeed glorious.

 

In some ways our lives are like the Kurral which Swamiji explained as a shortened idea. We are spiritual beings have a human experience, we are the shortened expression of God. Swami Vivekananda based His central teachings on the potential divinity of man. This gives us as they say in the sporting world "a home ground advantage". The atmosphere created by good supporters is the impetus required to give teams the edge to up their performances, with the majority of cases resulting in victory.

 

Why is it then, with the knowledge of the potential divinity that we are, that we are not expressing the divinity in all our actions and thoughts? Why is there animosity and squabbles between families and nations? Essentially the question can be expanded to the point of "why is the world in so much turmoil?".

 

The answer to this question lies not in analysing the macro, but with the micro self. Swamiji so daintily exposed the discipline with which ThiruValluvar and his wife lived their lives in which every action was performed with a sense of duty and austerity.

 

Knowing that the medication for your illness lies in the hospital... it is of no use wandering the beaches or parks looking for it.  We find that today, many youth especially have no sense of goal or focus in their lives. They live their lives without discipline and a sense of duty. Young able bodied men and woman with a capacity to shift the world, with enough might and energy to alter the course of destiny dissipate their lives fruitlessly. "What the world wants today is twenty men and women who can dare to stand in the street yonder, and say that they possess nothing but God. Who will go? Why should one fear? If this is true, what else could matter? If it is not true, what do our lives matter?" said  Swami Vivekananda

 

In His introductory remarks, Maharaj gave a brief outline of the Tamil language and placed the author in perspective. The Tiru before the word Kurral is a Tamil way of giving respect to this great work by a great saint known as Vallavur, hence he was also appropriately referred to as Tiruvallavar.

 

I therefore reason that if we live by  this Tamill Vedam (Tamil Veda - Tirukurral) and by the powerful words of Swami Vivekananda above, we have the scope of transforming our lives from Kurral to Tirukurral. Enacting discipline and a sense of purpose and duty into our lives will activate the potential divinity into kinetic divinity, allowing us to alter the course of our journey from 'Manava to Madhava' (man to God).

 

Let us wake up every morning and start the day with a home ground advantage: converting action into a goal for spiritual evolution. Take one idea from our scriptures and make it a part of your daily activities... in this way we will be contributing towards the creation of a peaceful world. Gandhi said that one must be the change that one wants to see in the world.

 

It is imperative then that virtue, peace, truth and love be found within us before we can expect to find it in the world. This is the foundation on which the great Tiruvallavar lived his life, and that's the reason why this totally universal scripture of virtuous living written 4000 years ago floats on the ocean of humanity as a life boat .

 

Let us find peace within, is my sincere prayer.

 

With love and prayers always

Yogan