 |
| Prof.I.K Subramanian |
In all the great Caiva Temples of South India,
They are on everyone’s lips, and as dear
To the hearts of vast multitudes of excellent people there,
As the Psalms of David are to Jews and Christians
-Rev G.U. Pope, in his preface to his English
translation of Tiruvacagam on April
24 1900.
Though several Tamil
scholars have written detailed commentaries on the great Tamil Bhakthi
literature Tiruvacagam, which was
penned by poet Manickavasagar in 8th century AD, the commentaries
written by Prof. I. K. Subramanian of Coimbatore for the selected 366 hymns are
not only innovative, but meant for reading and enjoying each hymn for a day
throughout the year. His book Engumilaathathor
Inbam – Naalum Tiruvacagam (The ecstasy, which is unavailable anywhere –
Tiruvacagam for everyday) was
released in the city on Saturday.
“I selected a total
of 366 hymns from the 656 songs in Tiruvasagam
and planned to write commentary for one song everyday to complete the work in a
year. As I planned, I have brought it as a book now” said I.
K. Subramanian, who is an author of numerous other books and an Assistant
Editor of the eleven-volume universal Tamil encyclopedia.
IKS also noted that
he has written the commentaries in a simple language to take the essence of the
divine literature to the masses.
The 73 year old
retired Tamil professor from Government
Arts College,
Coimbatore, and
a homeopathy practitioner underlined that without understanding Science, it is
hardly possible to comprehend and enjoy Tamil Bhakthi literature.
“I shed tears while
translating a song in Tiruvacagam, in
which Manickavasagar breaks down and weeps realizing the labour pain of his
mother while delivering him as a child” I.K.S
shared his experiences of writing commentaries on the divine work.
In his special
address, ‘Thirumuraimani Pulavar’ Velayuthan said that human beings in the
modern age are getting isolated from spirituality due to the serious impact of
science and technology.
Pointing out that
compassion for human beings, love for nature and devotion to God are the
messages in Tiruvacagam, he noted:
“Manickavasagar
called the people, who show little compassion for their fellow human beings, as
lifeless stones. As called by the savant, most people are caught up in the rat
race of modern age and hardly find time to love one another” rued Velayutham.
However, quoting a
song from Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali, IKS answered Velayuthan:
“Tagore, in one of
his poems longed that God would better have created him as a stony mountain
instead of a human being, so that he could have reclined permanently at the
Lord’s feet, extending his arms wide towards the heaven”
Link to my article in The New Indian Express: http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/c/1584106
No comments:
Post a Comment