Ezhuthachan's Harinaamakeerthanam

ISBN-13: 9781508477143 / Angielski / Miękka / 2015 / 246 str.

Dr Viswanath Kurup

Opis

Hari-naama-keertanam is a marvelous devotional song in adoration of Lord Hari, the Supreme. This hymn, rich in philosophical and spiritual content, composed by the seventeenth century seer, Ezhuthachan, contains sixty six verses, written in Malayalam, the native tongue of the Malabar Coast now known as Kerala. Hari-naama-keertanam means praise to the name of Hari, the Almighty Maha Vishnu, ( Narayana), the Lord supreme. Its appeal to the masses and the elite alike was so profound that it soon spread to all the corners of Kerala by word of mouth at a time when the printing press and the other means of mass communications had not yet appeared. Its popularity has not withered with the passage of time. Every Hindu home in Kerala holds Hari-naama-keertanam sacred and includes the verse in its daily prayers. Ezuthachan, the father of the modern Malayalam literature, is revered by all the inhabitants of Kerala, irrespective of caste or creed. Born to a non-Brahmin caste and denied of access to spiritual knowledge, Ezuthachan defied all caste taboos and nonchalantly took the message of the spiritual texts to the masses. Hari-naama-keertanam proved as a vehicle for moral and spiritual uplift for all the people who had remained till then denied of access to spiritual messages, all non-Brahmins and all vulnerable sections of society particularly women, out-casts and destitute. An aspect that made Hari-naama-keertanam, the most popular is its simple and inimitable style of composition. Hari-naama-keertanam blends the diverse strands of metaphysical thoughts including the advaita vedantha (non-dualism) into a wholesome harmonious system. Of course, it has beneath its placid surface many a spiritual idea that would shine in their intrinsic brilliance only if unraveled and refurbished.To undertake such a formidable task one has first to delve deep into the philosophical systems of Hinduism. All these diverse systems are paths to the one and only Supreme Truth. However, all paths may not suit everyone; each may suit a different set of seekers depending on their psychological, moral and spiritual proclivities. A layman's explanation of the different philosophical systems is attempted in the following section.