Clad in a white veshti and a red shawl around his body with a forehead smeared in vibhudhi (sacred ash), this man with a child-like smile gave the propagandists of the Dravidian ideology a run for their money. At a time when the anti-Hindu propaganda spearheaded by Dravidian dimwits was at its zenith, Thirumuruga Kirubanandha Variyar was the God-given antidote to all the venom spewed about the Hindu faith. In fact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him an incarnation of the Tamil God Murugan himself who had made it his mission to arrest the ‘black fungus’ that had started spreading across the divine land.
Variyar was Hindu spiritual teacher whose discourses on Hindu epics and Puranas echoed the streets and penetrated into Tamil people’s homes. As noted columnist Aravindan Neelakandan puts it, Variyar Swamigal would explain the complex aspects of Saiva Siddhantham in a way that could be understood both by a child and a scholar.
Variyar took the atheistic principles espoused by anti-Hindu Dravidian ideologues and politicians head on. He gave the perfect and stinging rebuttal to all the pseudo-rationalistic barbs of the Dravidian leaders who otherwise swayed crowds with their oratorical skills.
Variyar was the fourth child born to Sivathiru. Malliyadas Bhagavathar and Smt. Kanagavalli of the eleven, and had trained himself to be a spiritual discourser through his father. He learnt classical musical and even knew to play the Veena. The prodigy he was, Variyar Swamigal became well versed with Hindu literature and turned into a spiritual discourser by age 18.
An ardent devotee of Lord Murgan, had learned the Thirupukazh from Madurai Thirupukazh Swamy Iyer. His Deeksha Guru was Siddhanta Sarabam Issana Siavcharya Swamigal. He ran the Monday magazine ‘Tirupukal Amutham’ and has authored over 500 spiritual essays and 150 books.
Variyar Swamigal had the God-given ability of what to say and how to say it. Once during a discourse, he saw some of the audience at the back leaving the hall. He stopped whatever he was saying and quipped “Do you know why people call as ‘Sollin Selvar’? Even I didn’t realize back then. Now I am realizing”, taking a jibe at himself.
While there have been Hindu spiritual discoursers before and after Variyar Swamigal, he was different because of the humour that he infused along with the rich knowledge. His teachings would be laden with wit and quite often made subtle commentaries on contemporary social and political issues. In fact, he was the one who gave the sobriquet ‘Ponmanachemmal’ (gold hearted person) to the late AIADMK founder and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Dr. M. G. Ramachandran as he was impressed by the innumerable philanthropic work and his ability to emerge as a people’s leader.
Here is a video of Kirubananda Variyar that seems to be relevant to the present turmoil that Tamil Nadu faces.
He says that the archakar (temple priest) in a temple should be pious and austere. A politician should be honest like Lal Bahadur Sastri and Kamaraj. He had also once made a sly reference to Annadurai’s death saying that even American doctors could not save him for which DMK goons attacked Variyar and his Murugan idol. The same people later returned to him apologizing for their act. Variyar just blessed them and gave them vibhudi. Such was his compassion even towards those who harbored ill-will towards him.
Though Variyar Swamigal was a Tamil scholar, he did not drive a wedge between Tamil and Sanskrit unlike the neo-Nazi racists and demagogues currently dominating the political space in Tamil Nadu.
Variyar was also social reformer as he advocated for women’s education. During his Detroit discourse, he proposed that women’s name should also be added as an initial to the child’s name. With just the power of his speech, he was able to convince people to give up animal sacrifices in temples. He also fought against social evils like untouchability.
If not for this great man, this great Tamil land would have been poisoned fully with the hate mongers of Hinduism. Hence, it is the duty of every Tamil person to ensure that the stories and spiritual discourses are passed on to the next generation so that he may continue to guide us on the path of truth.
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