All of us aim at turning into a new leaf with each coming new year. Most of us pursue our resolutions meticulously for some time and lose sight of it sooner or later. When one diagnoses the reasons for losing sight of our goals, the reasons can be many. However, a close study of these reasons will display that we must have faltered on counts of one, some or all of these factors — the dream, determination, discipline, diligence or devotion, and then we wonder why we have not been able to arrive at our destination.
A study of the Thiruppavai composed by the saint poetess Andal consisting of thirty Paasurams or stanzas offers a practical solution to this tardiness. The lofty poem composed in praise of Lord Krishna her object of adoration seeks his company across births. The young lady takes up the Paavai Nombu, a ritual that spans thirty days during the Dhanur Masa of the Indian calendar. Each day, she gets up well before dawn, rallies her friends around, bathes in cold water and proceeds to the temple to worship her lord.
When we scan these seemingly innocuous activities in an orthodox set-up of eighth century India, we can discover layers of meanings and interpretation. Goda imagined that she was a Gopika and dreamt of marrying her beloved Krishna. In order to achieve this lofty aim, she took up the rigorous routine with vigour. She knew that she had to start early and keep at the habit regularly. She realised that mere waking up would lead her nowhere so she vowed to stay vegan, abstain from the cardinal sins, become charitable and give up on grooming herself through the month. These self-imposed restrictions gave her the requisite reprieve from distractions that could become a hassle in her path.
She regaled the various feats of Maha Vishnu in his tenfold manifestations with specific reference to Krishnavataram to her friends as she went to pick them up on her way to the temple. This exercise helped her to not lose sight of her objective. It also reflected that the possibility of rivalry did not occur to her. On the contrary her desire to empower them only energised her further.
Her actions spoke louder than her words and have become a beacon light for those of us who are determined to make our dreams come true.
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