His Holiness and Sri Lalita Geetha Narayanam

[Guest guest]

Namami Sankaraachaaryam, sarvalokaika Poojitham

 

With permission blessings and grace from HH Swamy Vijeyendra

Saraswathi garu of Shri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham Paramacharya and

miracles

 

His Holiness and Sri Lalita Geetha Narayanam

Smt. Kalakkad R. Seethalakshmi

Sri Kalakkad S. Ramanarayan Iyer's association with the Paramacharya

is noteworthy. Acharya appreciated Sri Ramanarayan Iyer's setting Sri

Lalita Sahasranama-stotra to music with the title Lalita Geetha-

Narayanam and honoured him many a time with shawls, golden bracelets

etc. Here as a disciple and daughter of Sri Ramanarayan Iyer, I would

like to mention a few memorable occasions when I like to mention a

few memorable occasions when His Holiness Paramacharya showered His

blessings on my father.

An intense devotion to the Mother of the Universe is the basis of

Naryanan Iyer's musical imagination. Before he set out to set the

music, he wanted to comprehend the subtle meanings in the Lalitha

Sahasranama. The 38 Kirtanas like a well-cut diamond with several

facets was the happy result.

The first clue that dawned on him was the striking identity of Sree

Vidyopasana and Nadopasana (Nada bindu, Kalaa and the beyond). The

Rasmimaala of Sri Vidya of Kula Tantra has 38 manthras with Uchishta

Maha Guru Paduka.

So he had to await the manifestation of the format 4 and 38 as a rare

combination.

He waited on the muse with reverence so that each formation revealed

all the depths and heights.

He proceeded step by step, listened to the subtle limitations and

noted them down as they came.

Who else but the Paramacharya, Siva incarnate, could be the authority

to bless this work of my father? In His compassion that asks nothing

in return He blessed my father with a Samandhi-maala. This was indeed

a very great honour. My father was overwhelmed and said " I have not

done anything other than being an instrument to his creation and I

have today surrendered everything at the Lotus feet of Paramacharya

from where it emerged. "

As the musical rendering was being dedicated to the Paramacharya, he

saw the action of the Viswa Kundalini active in the audience through

different subtle nervous centers on higher and higher levels of its

force. The word was revealing itself in its wave forms with a spell

of ecstatic sound - wave dance with its graduations of its expressive

powers of truth and vision.

As the Lalita Sahasranama was being rendered before His Holiness the

singer was not aware of what was happening around him. Paramacharya

alone was aware and knew that the original musical form of the

Lalitha Sahasranama was flowing out in mellifluous notes.

In 1965, one of the disciples of my father, who was then recently

married, went to Kanchi with her parents and her husband to have the

darshan of the Paramacharya. Her father after darshan told

Paramacharya that her daughter could sing Lalita Sahasranama.

Paramacharya asked her to sing and listened for three hours and asked

who gave this to her. Then He smiled and said " Tell your Guru that I

have heard it in full. He will understand my message " .

Later my father had the good fortune to sing for the second time at

the Sanskrit College before the Paramacharya Himself. The

Paramacharya sent word that He would like to meet my father before

the performance. When my father reached the College much before the

schedules time, he was informed about this. When he hurried to the

place where Sri Acharya was staying, He was about to leave for

performing His religious duties. Yet He ordered Kalakkad to sit near

Him and referred to the rendering of Lalita Sahasranama Kirtanam. At

that time He asked " Did your disciple tell you that I heard it in

full without leaving a single akshara unnoticed? " Sri Acharya

corrected her while singing, a long word as short one. Such was His

observation even in the midst of His other work. Within that short

duration, Kalakkad had the opportunity of expressing his views about

a particular Kirtana " Maha Kailasa " embodying Kanchi Kshetram which

was very well appreciated by Sri Acharya. That was indeed a great

event in Sri Kalakkad's life. It was a rendering with the Divine

Mother Herself incarnate in Paramacharya.

Further, Sri Kalakkad visited Sri Kalahasti during Chaturmasya where

many prominent scholars in Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu and Music were

present. In that sadas Jagadguru made Sri Kalakkad to render Sri

Lalitha Geetha Narayanam. While he was rendering the particular

Naama " Vakthralakshmi pareevahascalan meenabhalochana " he asked him

to stop at that place and made an elaboration about the

appropriateness of the Raga " Aarabhi " in which it was rendered and

explained that Naama in great detail in Sanskrit for more than an

hour. Later He asked him to continue the rendering till 5 Kirtanas

were over and honoured Kalakkad with a shawl in appreciation.

On another occasion, Sri Acharya ordered two of the ardent devotees

of the Math, Mr. Ramakrishnan and Mr. Kumar to learn Lalita Geetha

Narayanam from Kalakkad. After completion of learning, When they

asked Acharya where the maiden performance was to given, Sri Acharya

said " You go and do it at your Guru's place. There the

same " Kamakshi " is present " . He also explained the procedure of doing

it by assigning one " Suvasini " for each Keertanam after

lighting " agal vilakku " (earthen lamps) and offering them

with " Muravayanam " consisting of Sowbhagya Dravyams representing 38

Kala Devatas for " 38 Keerthanams. "

Sri Acharya also ordered them to sing along with their Guru before

Him at Kanchi after the maiden performance. At that time, Sri Acharya

Himself started singing that Naama in the same tune by saying " Don't

think that I don't know how to sing " . He also tested each of them

separately while singing.

Recently with the blessings of the Jagadguru Dr. Prof. M.K.

Thangavelen, present Trustee of Sri Arunachaleswar Temple, present

Trustee of Sri Arunachaleswar Temple, South Arcot District, and Tamil

scholar, made a transcreation of Sri Lalita Sahasranama in Tamil

titled " Sakthi Charanam Aayiram. " It is the divine will of

Paramacharya and a pleasant coincidence that even for this work Sri

Kalakkad set the music in different Ragas and Talas.

We owe our deep debt of gratitude to Paramacharya for this benign

grace of blessing the Lalitha Geetha Narayanam to enable us to

inherit an ancient power-base to be transmitted to our generation and

posterity.