Tyagaraja’s guidance

No other composer is celebrated to the extent that Tyagaraja is nor is any other composer’s aradhana observed across the world by generations of musicians as well as other ordinary people seeking the way to God. Tyagaraja is the guide who shows everyone the path to attain God is through faith in Rama and by chanting Rama nama, said Suchithra Balasubramanian in a discourse.

Tyagaraja did not recommend elaborate rituals and ceremonies in order to experience God. Rather, he simplified everything by highlighting the impermanence of temporal goals. Leading a simple, austere and disciplined life, he became a Rama bhakta at an early age.

Hailing from the Telugu Brahmin sect of Mulakanadu of the Kakarla vamsa, he was born in Tiruvarur, (the land of mukti) and named as Tyagaraja, after the presiding deity of the temple there. When the family shifted to Tiruvaiyaru, Tyagaraja continued to flourish, endowed with knowledge of Rama through his father’s discourses and through his nuanced understanding of music.

When he was barely 18, a sage who arrived from Kanchipuram asked Tyagaraja to recite Rama’s name 96 crore times, reciting 1,25,000 namas every day. Lord Rama appeared to him many times during this penance, sometimes appearing to him after the poet completed chanting one crore nama. In one pallavi, Tyagaraja sings, ”Nee daya radhu” (why are you not coming), but by the time he sang the anupallavi, he says, ‘Ra, ra… rajeeva Raghuvara putra,” recording his vision of Rama.

Tyagaraja was also a recipient of Narada’s grace. He came calling on Tyagaraja in the guise of a sanyasi and leaving a bundle of musical manuscripts with him, left saying he would be back; however, he did not return, but appeared in a dream to Tyagaraja, identified himself, and asked him to make use of the musical manuscripts and draw inspiration. One of the works in the bundle was Svaranava; another was Naradiyam. Tyagaraja mentions Narada in quite a few of his kritis like Narada gana lola, etc,.

Leading a life of unchavati (seeking alms for daily sustenance), he maintained a large entourage of bhaktas and left a lasting lesson for eternity, with the kriti nidhi chala sukhama. Rama nama, not material gain, is everlasting wealth.