Thus Spake the Divine - Simple Form of Worshipping Pillaiyar

Thus Spake the Divine

Simple Form of Worshipping Pillaiyar

Pillaiyar is the most preferred God of the poor and needy.

This is because He can be invoked even into mud and cow dung. Pillaiyar is pleased and happy with even the smallest of offerings. He gets into any form, be it clay or mud or dung or stone and gives Anugraha to His devotees. One need not necessarily be a scholar in Shastras to worship Him. He is accessible even to the most illiterate human!

If you want to worship any other God, you have to follow certain sets of rules. You have to take bath, get the puja material meant for that particular God, and go to His / Her temple at a specified time. Even in the temple, you cannot directly enter the Shrine of that God.

You have to go around the praharam to worship that God. Even then, there is a distance only from which you can worship the God. You cannot go near Him. But worshipping Pillaiyar is completely different. There is no specifi c time or rule to worship Pillaiyar. Amidst your work, like whether going to school, offi ce or even shopping, wherever you go, on the way, you may see a Pillaiyar temple. You can immediately knock gently on your forehead, do couple of thoppukaranam and worship Him. By this, you get a kind of happiness, peace and solace at heart.

Specific ways of worshipping Pillaiyar have also been ordained when carrying out certain activities, like breaking a coconut into pieces, knocking or tapping on the forehead, doing thoppukaranam etc. Let us examine them in detail.

We should knock the forehead with crossed hands. Ears must be similarly held with the left ear being held by the right hand and right ear held by the left hand before doing the thoppukaranam, with our body bent knees down on ground. Why have these formats been specified?

Yoga Shastras stipulate ways of controlling the mind and directing it towards virtuous thoughts utilising the vibrations within our breathing pattern (naadi). When we twist our bodies in different ways while exercising, our breathing patterns change. This helps us control our minds. Such controlled breathing can bring divine changes within our mind. Changes can clearly be felt if one does so with strong conviction.

Yoga Shastras and Philosophies are abstract and thus not easily understood. To come over this, Avvaiyar has composed Vinayakar Agaval, which contains simplifi ed interpretations of Yogic Shastras that can be easily understood by anybody. Moreover, Vinayakar Agaval contains only short and simple verses. Some of the verses may contain words that could appear a little hard to understand. However, one must not worry about not understanding the literal meaning of those words. Just memorise them with the strong conviction that Avvai’s words are the most powerful. This will bring prosperity not only to our own selves but also for our entire mankind.

While worshipping Pillaiyar, if we also simultaneously think of Avvai, the benefi ts double. Therefore, every Friday, we should go to a Pillaiyar temple and chant Vinayakar Agaval composed by Avvaiyar.

Are you worried about not knowing the meaning of Vinayakar Agaval and thus refrain from chanting the same? Let me give you an interesting metaphor. Just imagine that there is a beautiful box, which contains precious gems. But alas! The key is missing. In that scenario, will you discard the box just because you don’t have the key? Not at all! You will keep the box safely with you in the hope that you will fi nd the key sometime. Now, if you throw away the box and then fi nd the key, there will be no use, isn’t it? Vinayakar Agaval is similar to such a precious treasure box. The contents of Vinayakar Agaval are equivalent to the valuable precious gems inside the box. We may right now not possess the necessary knowledge and intellect to understand the inner meanings of the verses. It does not matter. Once we start memorising the verses and chanting them, we will automatically understand the meanings on our own. Pillaiyar will confer on us that capability.

I have told you that Pillaiyar belongs to everybody. One cannot see any deity associated with Shaivism consecrated in Vishnu temples. However, though Vinayakar belongs to the Shiva family, He is still seen in Vishnu shrines, where He is called “Tumbikkai Azhvar”, which means Azhvar with a trunk! Pillaiyar is beyond any religion or sect. That is why even Buddhists and Jains worship Him. Though Pillaiyar is not seen in as many places in the rest of India as in Tamil Nadu, He can be seen at least in one place in all the cities and towns of India. One ardent devotee of Pillaiyar used to proclaim “Pillaiyar is seen in Kanyakumari (southernmost tip of India) and He is also in Kedarnath, the northern Himalayas”.

Vinayakar idols have been excavated not only from within our country, but also in countries like Japan and Mexico. This makes it evident that people all across the world worship Him in different forms.

We should make it a point to worship such a God who belongs to the entire universe. We should submit a lot of naivedyas (offering) in the form of Kozhukkattai and other fruits and distribute them to children (As Pillaiyar is a Child God!). Generally, a child should look healthy and plump. So, we should feed Pillaiyar with lots of offerings. Every Friday, we should break a coconut into pieces in front of His shrine (sidaru tengai) and make the children happy with the prasadams. If we make children happy, Pillaiyar, who is the Child of the Universal Parents Uma and Parameshvara, will make us happy too!

Grown up people are always fi lled with sorrows. We should instead immerse ourselves within this Child-God and become blissful. He always appears with a pleasant face and thus is known as Sumukha or Prasanna Vadana. If we espouse Bhakti in its true sense, He will turn all of us into ones with a pleasing face. Here is a funny, but a meaningful way of consecrating a Pillaiyar idol in a newly constructed temple. What is this unique custom followed in our region?

In a newly constructed temple, there is no need for sculpting a new Pillaiyar idol; it can be stolen from an existing temple and the same invoked in the new temple! Why so when, generally, stealing is a sin? When there is an option available that Pillaiyar can be stolen, people of a temple would be conscious and careful about their idol being stolen. With that concern, they will take care of the temple throughout the day following the customary rituals! This ancestral custom of allowing Pillaiyar idol to be stolen is only with the view that the thought of Pillaiyar never vanishes from the minds of people!

Therefore, we should hold on to Pillaiyar very strongly for the prosperity of ourselves and also the entire society. And the medium to hold Pillaiyar is Avvaiyar!

This article is a snippet from the Book Thus Spake the Divine, is available online at www.giri.in and across Giri Trading Agency Private Limited, A chain of Speciality Stores dealing in all kinds of products needed in Indian Culture and Tradition.