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Amaraneedhi Nayanar
(Devotee of Lord Shiva)
Amaraneedi Nayanar is the seventh
saint to be written about in the Periyapuranam. Amaraneediyar was born in the
business community in the city of Pazhayarai, the ancient capital of the Chola
Kingdom. He came to be known as an honest businessman who had a flourishing
trade in gold, jewels and fine fabrics. He was blessed with prosperity, a good
name and an adorable family, yet his mind was ever immersed in the thoughts of
Lord Shiva, ever craving for an opportunity to serve those devoted to the Lord
of matted locks. He did not draw happiness from his possessions, rather from
using them to serve the needy and the devoted. But what would those
renunciants, who had given up all attachment to the world, ever need?
Apart from offering them food
sweetened by his devotion to Lord Shiva, he began offering them a loincloth (Kowpeenam),
the only garment most of these yogis wore. Thus, Amaraneediyar and his wife
sanctified their time and wealth by feeding and clothing devotees of the Lord,
with a feeling that they were feeding and clothing the matchless Lord Himself.
Is it ever possible that such
devotion does not reach the Lord? It indeed did and Lord Shiva who delights in
testing and playing with His devotees chose to enact a small leela in
the life of this pure devotee. Once Amaraneediyar and his family set out to
have darshan of the three-eyed Lord at Thirunallur and also
participate in the temple festival there. He created a shelter there for the
visiting pilgrims to stay and partake of food that he and his family lovingly
served.
After the completion of the festival,
Amaraneediyar decided to stay on for a few more days to bask in the glory of
the Lord of Thirunallur, Kalyanasundareswarar. It was then that the Lord chose
to visit him in the garb of a Brahmachari. Wearing nothing but a loincloth and
having no possessions but a staff to which were tied two spare loincloths, the
Lord came to the shelter of Amaraneediyar.
The third eye was concealed and the
forehead was smeared with the sacred ash. The Lord who had accepted the service
of this pure servitor through many a devotee now had come to accept it Himself
in the form of a devotee—a form He had created just to confer bliss on
Amaraneediyar.
The businessman-devotee was thrilled
to receive this guest, who from his very appearance proved that he had given up
all attachments to worldly possessions. Amaraneediyar humbly bowed to him and
offered his services. The celibate said in a firm tone, “I have no need for
your charity of a loincloth. I wear one, and I have two tied to my staff at all
times. These rags are enough to keep me richly covered. What more does a
renunciant need? I am going now to the river Cauvery for my bath. The sky looks
overcast and it may possibly rain, and if it does, my spare clothes would be
drenched.” Saying so He removed one of the clothes tied to his staff and handed
them to Amaraneediyar. He continued, “I leave this one in your custody, I will
come and take it back after my holy dip.”
With His own name on His lips and
playing the role assumed to perfection, the Lord left the shelter.
Amaraneediyar who humbly received the garment with both arms outstretched
placed it with care in a safe place. Where others would place gold and precious
gems, he placed with reverence this rag. Amaraneediyar was truly a wealthy man,
rich with the true treasures of humility, reverence, and above all, devotion to
the Lord.
A while thereafter, the ‘Brahmachari’
returned all drenched. The one who was never drenched by the Ganga that flows from
His very locks pretended to have been caught in the downpour. Dripping from
head to toe and holding the staff with the drenched loincloth, the Lord had
returned to continue the play.
He called out to Amaraneediyar and
said, “As expected the rains did come. Now even my spare garment is wet. It was
indeed thoughtful of me to leave one with you. Proceed quickly and bring me the
cloth I left with you for safekeeping.” Amaraneediyar rushed to the place where
he had kept the cloth and to his utter dismay found it missing. The devotee's
heart began to race. What would he tell the mendicant? Would he accept an
explanation and would he accept a replacement?
He called his wife and asked her
about the cloth he had kept there. The wife told him that no one even came into
that room and she was clueless as to how this could have happened. The Lord who
can steal our hearts without our knowledge, how difficult could it be for Him
to whisk away this piece of rag! Lord Shiva is referred to as Digambara, the
One for whom the directions and the sky alone are garments meaning, the five
elements merely form the garment that He adorns. The loincloth which merely
represented the five elements must have returned to their elemental form.
Whatever be the secret behind the leela, the purpose was about to
unfold.
From the heap of clothes that he had
kept aside for charity, Amaraneediyar picked up a loincloth of far finer
quality and came to the guest who was now beginning to lose patience. The
celibate wanderer looked at the couple hesitantly walking towards him holding a
new loincloth; they were pale with fear. The mendicant appeared to be holding
back his rage only to hear what the couple were trying to say. The moment he
heard of their prayer to accept a new cloth for his old one, which seemed to
have mysteriously vanished, he flew into a wild rage.
“You vile man! So this is the kind of
trade you do? Steal the possessions of guileless renunciants and then offer
them charity! Are you trying to win the grace of the Lord through such meanness?
Or do you trade with the stolen possessions to earn greater wealth?”
Amaraneediyar fell at the feet of the
renunciant and pleaded to forgive him with all sincerity. He offered any number
of clothes in place of the one he had lost. He even said that he was prepared
to replace it through the gift of gold and precious stones. But did the Master
of all the wealth of all the universes come to receive merely fine pieces of
fabric or glittering trinkets? He had come seeking something much more than
that. Feigning disgust the Lord said, “Ah! Do you think all these pieces of
clothes are equal in value to mine? What does a Yogi like me have to do with
your worldly wealth? I will accept only that cloth which is as worthy and
equivalent to my loincloth.”
What a play this was! The one who
contemplates on Lord Shiva loses all sense of attachment but here was the Lord
Himself pretending to be obstinately attached to a piece of loincloth!
Amaraneediyar was perplexed and he
prayerfully pleaded, “How am I to find a cloth equivalent to yours, master,
also given that I have lost it? Please tell me what to do. I am utterly ashamed
of myself and would do anything in contrition.”
“Only the other loincloth I use is
equivalent to the one you carelessly misplaced,” said the Lord. “May a balance
be brought. I will place this one on one plate. Give me the cloth that balances
mine.” Amaraneediyar was thrilled that there was after all a way to atone for
his lapse. Immediately a balance was brought and the renunciant placed one of his
wet loincloths on one side. The merchant devotee brought a bundle of his finest
fabrics and began placing them on the other side, one by one.
By then people began to gather there
and were stupefied to see the sight. It was as if there was on the pan not a
loincloth but a boulder, and every cloth Amaraneediyar placed on the other pan
was like a dainty feather. The balance remained unmoved!
Amaraneediyar trembling with fear
begged the Brahmachari that he be permitted to place the gold and jewellery on
the other plate, for cloth seemed to be no match for his garment. “Try what you
may”, said the Lord smiling within but wearing a scorn without. The merchant
and his wife rushed inside and brought all the gold and jewellery they had.
When one has no attachment to such wealth, a state Amaraneediyar had truly
reached, there will be no qualms in letting go. He placed all that he had on
the pan unhesitatingly but to no avail. Those gathered were flabbergasted but
did they realise that here was the Lord Himself? Or did they merely wonder at
the yogic heights this celibate had reached?
Amaraneediyar turned to his wife and
discussed something in hushed tones. He then prostrated at the feet of this
mysterious mendicant and made his final offer. “Master, I have placed on the
balance all my possessions. Now, I earnestly seek your permission so that my
wife, my son and I can place ourselves on the balance. Please accept this offer
and give us your benign consent.”
Finally, the play had entered its
last act. As the people watched with bated breath, Amaraneediyar and his family
reverentially circumambulated the pan on which was placed the magical garment
and said in prayer, “Oh Lord, if it be true that in devotion and service to You
we have been pure and sincere, may the pans come to balance.” Together they
chanted the potent panchakshari mantra ‘Om Namah
Shivaya’ and ascended the pan. The pan now weighed heavily not with the family
but with pure, unsullied love. Instantly the pans came to balance!
Those who watched were thrilled but
even as they witnessed this miracle, they realised that the celibate mendicant
was no more amidst them. Amaraneediyar and his family looked up and in the far
horizon, the Lord and the Divine Mother appeared beaming their beatific smile
of acceptance. The very balance carried the blessed family to the abode of Lord
Shiva, for now they belonged to the Lord Himself. And for ages to come,
Amaraneedi Nayanar will stand as an example for the truth that service offered
with a pure selfless heart can lead one to ultimate salvation.
Swami would often quote these lines
from the Mundaka Upanishad, ‘Na karmana na prajaya dhanena tyagenaike
amrutatvamanashuhu.’ (Not by actions, wealth, or progeny but by sacrifice
alone is immortality attained.) Once, explaining the quote Swami said that it
is not through karma (actions) one attains immortality, but
through the combination of karma and tyaga, that
is, when one performs actions and sacrifices the fruits of those actions. Not
through virtuous children does one attain release from the cycle of birth and
death, but when one brings up children with an attitude of detachment and
trusteeship. And not through dhanam (wealth) but through the
combination of dhanam and tyaga. Swami explained
that dhanam is not merely material wealth but even knowledge,
skill and energy. One has to use all of these in the service of others.
Amaraneediyar had led such a life.
His acts of service had purified his heart and made it a fitting offering to
the Lord. Maybe the Lord wanted to show the world through His devotee that
dearer to Him than all the wealth, finery and even service was the heart filled
with pure, selfless devotion. And that state of the heart is reached through
service and sacrifice.
Guruji. A. Sivaguru Swamy
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Skype – sivaguruswamy29
45/2, Opp.Railway Station, Sirkali Tq, Vaitheeswaran Koil,
Naagai Dist, Tamilnadu–609 117
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