Prashant/Subramanian/Friends,
I wish to share kAnchi mahAswami's absolutely charming talk on piLLaiyAr(Ganesha)and pAttiyAr(AvviyAr):It is titled, 'Kuzhandai Swamy', that is, <b>'Baby God'</b>, in pages 01 to 16, of Deivathin Kural,Volume 2.
"I am going to talk to you about one old grand mother(called 'paatti', in Tamil). Paatti normally will be seated in one place, with her legs extended. But this Paatti was not like that. Instead of staying in one place, she kept moving from place to place, all over Tamil Nadu. Not sparing even a small, tiny village, she kept on spreading the word of God and a stream of advices on humaneness and good behaviour. Let us leave the Paatti to her circumambulations, and come back to her later.
Let us take a look at this Baby. It is a rolly-polly, well fed baby. Normally one would expect a baby to be running about, playing and prancing, without a second's let up. No. Not this baby. This one does not move easily and remains static in one place. Funny twosome! Baby like, the Paatti is ever active and mobile. Paatti like, the baby is inactive and static. But the baby is the reason for Patti's hectic power of mobility.
Who is this baby? If you ask this question in Tamil, it will sound, "pillay yar?". That will also be the answer, 'pillaiyar'. He is the Pillay or Son. With respect we add '.....ar' and call Him Pillaiyar. If somebody remains seated firmly in one place, we tick him or her off by saying, "why are you sitting on one place like a 'Kallu Pillayar'?" He is the first son of the Parents of the whole world and Universe, Parvathy Parameswara. So we call Him with respect, ' p i l l a i y a r '.
In other states, He is called Ganapathy or Ganesh. For the army of Siva's Bootha Ganas, He is the Pathy or Easar or Chief. So He is Ganapathy or Ganesar. As the Head of the Ganas, He is also known as Vinayaka. Nayak is Head. The prefix 'Vi' is added either to enhance the emphasis or indicate the opposite. So He is the 'vi + nayak = vinayak' to mean, the special chief or 'for whom there is no other chief'! There is nothing in this world that, He cannot bless us with! Especially, He can and does remove all obstacles in one's way. So He is also addressed as 'vigneswarar'. Before embarking on any venture, we invoke His blessings to off-set any likely obstacles enroute! So the first Pooja is to Him, as He is at the top of the 'pecking order'.
He is also known as, 'gajamukha or gajarajan', since He is depicted with the head of an elephant. Elephant is physically very powerful. Still it does not hurt or injure as does a Lion or Tiger. In places like Burma and Kerala, Elephant do the job of tractors and carriers elsewhere. Pillaiyar also does many big jobs as He is very powerful. But He does not show off His powers and never hurts but always does good to us all! Elephant has a sharp intelligence, incisive and analytical brains and a fine memory. So is Pillaiyar the embodyment of Knowledge and Awareness".
Whatever an Elephant does is a pleasure to watch. It's pendulous walk, it's use of the trunk and mouth while eating, it's ears and small tail flapping and relentlessly chasing away the flies, the way it uses the trunk to lift a flower delicately or a tree trunk effortlessly; is all a trmendous show! It's face is absolute peace. Those small eyes while being observant, seem to have so much Love in them, without any agitation. Out of all animals, we prefer to watch an Elephant. Similarly, out of all human beings in various activities, we prefer to watch a baby. A baby with no bad thoughts, absolutely innocent, happily playing, is again a 'sight for sore eyes'.
Pillaiyar is an elephant and a baby too. One can never have enough of Him. His is the innocent baby heart. Like an elephant He is powerful and brilliant and sharp. More than anything else, such a beauty that can never satiate; a fountain of happiness and a bundle of joy! Opposites and contrdictions coalesce in Him so beautifully naturally! Below the neck, a baby; human. Above the neck an elephant; an animal. In reality He is neither animal nor human; but a Deity! That too, foremost amongst deities.
Despite being a baby, He is the personification of immense, mammoth principles and ideas. In Him a variety of contrasts so beautifully merge; that everything seem to unify. For example, He has a piece of broken tusk in one hand and in the other a sweet 'kozhukkattai', (made of rice powder, kneeded, made in to small receptacles in which a mix of cocnut powder and jaggery is kept, sealed and steamed). This mix is known as 'Poornam', or complete / wholesomeness. So, in one hand is incomplete / half / broken tusk. In the other, complete wholesomeness. The totally complete being is Pillaiyar Himself. He is the 'poornam'. To know 'poornam' is happiness. Another name for happiness is, 'modam or modakam'. This 'kozhukkattai' is known as Modakam too.
Another contrast-Pillaiyar is a baby. He is a Brahmachari or ever celibate. He came as an elephant and drove Valli in to the hands of Subrahmanya, His younger brother, to enable them to get married. Even to-day, when people want to get married, they take Pillaiyar's help; this permanent bachelor! What does it mean? What He may not need in His State, He is willing to provide for the devotees and there by lift us slowly above our wants. As a 'kallu pillaiyar' made of stone, though He is static, He can lift us to the highest level of existance. He did so for 'Avvaiyar', lifting her in one fluent stroke, from South India to Kailasa in the Himalayas".
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