Tag: satsang

Muthuswami Dikshitar (Tamil: முத்துஸ்வாமி தீக்ஷிதர்; March 24, 1775 – October 21, 1835) is the youngest of the Carnatic music composer trinity.

He was born in 1775 to Ramaswami Dikshitar and Subbamma, as the eldest son, in Tiruvarur(of Thanjavur district in Tamil Nadu). Muttuswami is said to have born to the couple after they prayed for a child in the temple of Vaitheeswaran Koil.

According to the account of Subbarama Dikshitar, Muttuswami Dikshitar was born in the manmatha year, in the month of Panguni under the asterism Krittikaa. He was named after the temple deity, Muttukumaraswamy. He also had two younger brothers Baluswami, Chinnaswami and a sister Balambal.

In keeping with the educational trends of Brahmin boys of that time, Muthuswami learnt the Sanskrit language, Vedas, and other important religious texts. He also obtained his preliminary musical education from his father.

While he was still in his teens, his father sent him on a pilgrimage with a wandering monk named Chidambaranatha Yogi, to gain musical and philosophical knowledge. Over the course of this pilgrimage, he visited many places in North India, and acquired a broad outlook that is reflected in many of his compositions. During their stay in Kashi (Varanasi), his guru Chidambarantha Yogi, presented Dikshitar with a unique Veena, and died shortly thereafter. The Samadhi of Chidambaranatha Yogi can still be seen in the Hanuman Ghat area in Varanasi.

Muthuswami Dikshitar attained mastery over the Veena, and the influence of Veena playing is evident in his compositions. As per his guru's orders, he went to Tiruttani (a temple town near Chennai). There, while he was immersed deep in meditation, an old man appeared and asked him to open his mouth. He dropped sugar candy into his mouth and disappeared. As he opened his mouth, he had a vision of the deity Muruga and Dikshitar burst forth into his first composition "Shri Nathadi Guruguho" in the raga Mayamalavagaula.

This song addressed the Lord (and/or the guru) in the first declension in Sanskrit. Dikshitar later composed kritis in all the eight declensions on the Lord. These are mostly with epithets glorifying the guru and have very few references to Lord Muruga or specifically to the deity in the saguna form, as at Thiruthani.

He then went on a pilgrimage visiting and composing on temples at Kanchi, Arunachalam , Chidambaram, Tirupathi and Kalahasthi, before returning to Tiruvarur.

Purandara Dāsa (1484 - 1564) (sometimes spelled as a single word) was one of the most prominent composers of Carnatic music, regarded by some Indians as the "father of Carnatic Music". Purandara Dasa addressed social issues in addition to worship in his compositions, a practice emulated by his younger contemporary, Kanaka Dasa.

Purandara Dasa's Carnatic music compositions are mostly in Kannada; some are in Sanskrit. He signed his compositions with the mudra (pen name), "Purandara Vittala" (Vittala is one of the incarnations of the Hindu god Vishnu). About 1000 of his songs are extant; some mythology credits him with having composed as many as 475,000.

Inscriptional evidence shows Purandara Dasa was born in 1484 AD in Kshemapura, near Tirthahalli, Shivamogga district, Karnataka state. Some scholars have proposed that his birthplace was Purandaragad near Pune, but this is considered a historical mistake - connecting his "pen name" (his ankita) with a location that mainly served as a military encampment in the 15th and 16th century, and where neither could Kannada have been popular nor would any commercial activity have flourished. The only son of Varadappa Nayaka, a wealthy merchant, and Leelavati, he was named Srinivasa Nayaka, after the Lord of the Seven Hills. He received a good education in accordance with family traditions and acquired proficiency in Kannada, Sanskrit, and sacred music. At age 16 he married Saraswatibai, said by tradition to have been a pious, god fearing girl. He lost his parents at age 20, thereby inheriting his father's business of gemstones and pawning. He prospered and became known as "navakoti narayana" (abundantly rich man).

According to popular belief, he was led to devote himself to musical composition by a miraculous incident which made the heretofore greedy and miserly merchant realize the worthlessness of his attachment to worldly possessions. A Brahmin man wanted to perform the sacred thread ceremony (upanayana) for his son and came to Srinivasa's wife for money. She gave him her nose ring to sell, and the man sold the nose ring to Srinivasa himself. The miserly Srinavasa lent the man his money. Meanwhile, his wife was worried about what to say to her husband, so she prayed to her favorite deity, who gave her a nose ring just like the one she had just given away. When Srinivasa hurried home, anxious to know if the nose ring was hers, he was bewildered seeing her wear the same one! She confessed what had happened, and he was converted to belief in the virtue of a charitable life. 30 years of age, he gave away all his wealth to charity and together with his family left his house to lead the life of a wandering minstrel to proselytise religion. In his very first song composition, he laments his wasted life of indulgence. It begins with the words 'Ana lae kara' in the Shuddha Savaeri raga, set to Triputa tala.

In the course of his wandering he met the holy sage Vyasatirtha. According to Prof. Sambamoorthy, Srinivasa had his formal initiation at the hands of Vyasatirtha in 1525 when he was about 40 years old, with the name Purandara Dasa bestowed on him by Satyadharma Teertha, a later occupant of the Vyasatirtha Matha (or Vyasaraya Matha). Purandara Dasa traveled extensively through the length and breadth of the Vijayanagara empire composing and rendering soul stirring songs in praise of god. He spent his last years in Hampi. The mantapa (mandap) in which he stayed is known as Purandara Dasa Mantapa (mandap). He took sanyasa towards the close of his life. He died in 1564 at the age of 80.

Annamacharya was born on Vaisakha Suddha Pournami in the year Sarwadhari (May 9, 1408) in Tallapaka, a remote village in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh, India. He lived immaculately for 95 years until Phalguna Bahula Dwadasi (12th day after full moon) in the year Dhundhubhi (February 23, 1503). His wife, Thimmakka is also a poet and had written Subhadra Kalyanam and considered as the first Telugu women poet. His Son PeddaTirumalacharya is also a well known vaggeyakari(poet).

Annamacharya was labelled 'pada kavita pitaamaha'. He has taken the ramanuja saampradayam, with the blessings of sri satha gopa yateendra of ahobila matham. Annamacaharya composed, about 32,000 sankeertanas on sri venkateswara , composed 'sri alamelumanga sri venkateswara satakam'. He was also said to have composed ramayanam.

Mathrusri Anasuya Devi, popularly known as AMMA, Jillellamudi, was born on 28th March, 1923. Jillellamudi, a small village tucked amidst the paddy fields on the southern coast line of Andhra Pradesh has become one of the important pilgrimage centers in India, drawing spiritual seekers from various parts of the country and indeed, the world.

Mother considered the entire creation as her own child. Even a casual visitor to Amma could find his mind steadily gravitating to peace and natural tranquility. Amma evolved a new way of life based on universal brotherhood and complete surrender to God. Mother's philosophy does not discriminate between anyone and the basis of caste, creed, race, nationality, religion or sex.

May be the most important institution at Jillellamudi and dearest to Amma, the Annapurnalayam offers free food to pilgrims and its doors are open at all times of day and night to feed them. It provides a common dining where price and pauper sit side by side and partake Amma's prasadam. The directive of Amma that nobody should return hungry from Jillellamudi is the magna-carta guiding the activities of the Annapuranalayam. This is also a historic institution which fed 175,000 visitors at one sitting in 1973 during Amma's 50th birthday celebrations. Though the menu is simple, food in Annapurnalayam is known to have cured many chronic illnesses.

Mr. Richard Schiffman in this book1 "Mother of All" writes "We need not feel that Mother's feeding of her children is restricted to nourishment for the physical frame alone. It might be said that the food which Amma distributes so lovingly is a maternal symbol of the subtler, spiritual nourishment, the grace, which she invariably showers on one and all who approached her... When a visitor asked her why she does not give any formal spiritual initiation, she answered : the food I give you is your Upadesha".

After Amma left her body in 1985, her mortal coil was placed in the sanctum sanctorum of the "Anasuyeswaralayam" and in 1987, Amma's image was installed in the shrine, where traditional worship like abhishekam and archana takes place. Hymalayam, Vatsayalayam (the top floor of the building, named "House of All", as is only appropriate for the abode of the Universal Mother) and Dhyanamandiram are the other places of worship at Jillellamudi. Amma said "My life is infinite and my history is limited." With immense compassion, the manifest form of the primordial energy dwelt2 the Divine Mother among us in our modern times and blessed all those drawn to her. Even though her physical form is not seen now, her grace is showered abundantly on all those who are far and near.

Tukārām was a prominent Marathi Sant and religious poet in the Hindu tradition in India.
He was born and lived most of his life in Dehu, a town close to Pune city in Mahārāshtra, India. He was born to a couple with the family name "Moray" - the descendent of the Mourya Clan (Āmbile) and first names Bolhobā and Kanakāi.

Through a tradition in India in bygone days, Tukaram's family name is rarely used in identifying him. Rather, in accord with another tradition in India of assigning the epithet "sant" (संत) to persons regarded as thoroughly saintly, Tukaram is commonly known in Maharashtra as Sant Tukaram (संत तुकाराम). He is also believed to be spiritual guru of Shivaji.

Scholars assign various birth years to Tukaram: 1577, 1598, 1608 and (the most likely) 1609 CE. The year of Tukaram's death --1650 CE-- is much more certain.
Tukaram's first wife, Rakhumābāi, had died in her early youth. Tukaram and his second wife, Jijābāi (also known as Āvali), had three sons: Santu or Mahādev, Vithobā, and Nārāyan.