In this series, we present, each month, a prayer kirtan composed by His Holiness Maharanyam Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji. The Kirtans in this series shall underline the importance of prayers.
Elimaiyana Vaazhkai
For many of us, prayer means standing in front of the Lord and chanting few shlokas or demanding something from the Lord. But, prayer is neither information nor a demand. It is a sincere yearning from the heart for the Lord’s grace. Innumerable saints have shown us how to pray through several of their compositions.
Sri Muralidhara Swamiji says, when praying it is important not to just demand your request. In our daily lives, do we just demand a favor from our friends or family? No, we do not. Similarly, the saints, when praying to the Lord, would place their request and then reminisce how the Lord protected other devotees who were in similar situations. They would also state that He was their sole refuge and that if he chose to forsake them, they have nobody else to go to. Such prayers melt the Lord’s heart. So, if we want to learn how to pray we have to learn from such saints’ compositions.
Starting this month, we will be presenting Sri Muralidhara Swamiji’s prayer compositions. The first composition is “Elimayana Vaazhkai” set in Raga Tilang. Sri Swamiji prays for a simple and elegant life filled with peace and bhakti to the Lord and finishes it beautifully saying “unaiyandri matroruvaridam ketka taramo”(How will it look good if I ask somebody else other than you?) Here are the lyrics and the meaning of the song.
Raga: Tilang
eLimayAna vAzhkai veNDum kaNNA
inimayAna pEcchu vENDum
kanivAna manam vENDum – adil
tuNivuDan paNivum vENDum
ozhukkamAna pazhakkam vENDum
sazhakattra manam vENDum
tUymayAna anbu vENDum
vAymayilE nilai pettriruka vENDum
kalakamilladha chittam vENDum
aLavillada Anandam vENDum
onreyAna deivam vENDum
adanilum peridAna guru vENDum
aridAna guru upadEsam vENDum
adanai manadil nirutta vENDum
adan paDi ozhugudal vENDum
uNmai poruLai uNardal vENDum
unaiyandri mattrorivaridam kEtka taramO
idhai taruvadhil unakenna sramamO
Meaning
O Kanna! Bestow me with a simple life
And may I utter sweet words always.
May I be blessed with a mellow heart filled with
boldness and at the same time, humility.
May I be blessed with good habits
May I be bestowed with a blemishless mind.
May I be blessed with pure love
With steadfastness in truth.
May I be bestowed with clarity in thought
And be immersed in infinite bliss
May I fix myself unto the One Supreme Lord!
And be bestowed with the Spiritual Guru who is considered even greater
May I be blessed with the Guru’s instruction which is rare indeed
And imbibe it deep in my mind;
And abide by it always;
May I eventually realize the Supreme Truth
Does it even behoove of me to ask these unto anyone else than You?
Does it pain You (the omnipotent one) to bestow these unto me?
Sowmya Balasubramanian, Fremont CA
