Sringeri: MARCH 17 – 20, 2012

The Jagadguru at Tiruppur

Welcomed to Tiruppur by thousands of devotees led by Dharmadhikari Sri Ramachandra Iyer, the Jagadguru in His Anugraha Bhashanam said that Srimad Bhagavad Gita has paramount importance to us as it has been instructed by the Lord Himself – गीता सुगीता कर्तव्या किमन्यैः शास्त्रविस्तरैः । या स्वयं पद्मनाभस्य मुखपद्माद्विनिसृता ।। Some may have the question – “Was not the Gita meant for Arjuna alone?” Sri Shankara Bhagavatpada writes in His Bhashya on the Gita – “अर्जुनं निमित्तीकृत्य लोकाय भगवान् भगवद्गीताम् उपदिदेश” – Having Arjuna as an instrument, the Lord instructed the Bhagavad Gita to all mankind. Hence one must try and follow the Lord’s instructions in the Gita.

If one has to become a chartered accountant, he has to keep trying in that direction. He will definitely succeed in due course. Similarly, if one has to fulfill the purpose of one’s life, one has to try to follow the Lord’s instructions. In the Gita, Arjuna asks the Lord, “Why is it that man indulges in wrong actions despite knowing that these actions lead to misery.” This is equivalent to a person touching fire despite knowing that fire burns the skin. The Lord says that this is essentially due to two reasons – desire and anger. The Jagadguru said that these must be eradicated and advocated control of desires, control of ego and development of humility, and the cultivation of compassion. Compassion is defined in the Shastras as परदुःखप्रहाणेच्छा – the desire to eradicate the suffering of the others.

On the morning of 18th March, the Jagadguru had Darshan at the Kannika Parameshwari temple and Subrahmanya Swamy temple at Tiruppur. In the evening, the Jagadguru had Darshan at the Tirupati Venkatachalapathy temple and graced Sri Rama Bhajana Matam.

On 19th March, the Jagadguru performed the Kumbhabhisheka of Goddess Sharada at the Sringeri Shankara Math in Tiruppur. The Jagadguru had consecrated the Goddess in 1988 and had visited Tiruppur in 1995 and the opportune time for the Kumbhabhisheka had come on this occasion at the request of the devotees. The Jagadguru explained what to pray to the Goddess – कामादीनाम् अान्तरान् मत्सहजरिपुवरान् देवि निर्मूल्य वेगात् – that one must beseech the Goddess to uproot the enemies of desire and anger in our hearts. The Jagadguru also said one must pray to the Goddess to bless us with the company of Satpurushas. Such prayers to the Goddess will purify our lives. The Jagadguru specially invoked the Goddess to relieve the problems being placed by the workers of the spinning mills at Tiruppur.

On 20th March, the Jagadguru graced the Poornahuti of the Maharudra Yaga performed on the occasion of the Jagadguru’s Vijayam to Tiruppur.