[This is a translation of a Kannada
article penned by Sri Sri Rangapriya Swami. It succinctly captures the
endearing and engaging conversation on the above topic he had with Mahaaguru in
Hedathale, sometime in the mid nineteen fifties. The Kannada article is not
only a refined and edited version of the notes made by him at that time, but
also includes additional descriptions by him that he could recall. In this
article an abbreviated format of “Sri V” is used to denote Swamiji based on his
earlier name Sri H.S. Varadadesikacharya. He begins by giving an introduction to the tradition of Tiru-Tambittu Deepa.]
English Rendering by Padmashree Mohan
Tiru-Tambittu Deepa (‘Purattaasi Maavu Vilakku’
in Tamil) is a special vrata (a
religious practice) observed on Saturdays in the months of Shraavana or Bhaadrapada
(August-September as per the English calendar).
 |
| Tiru-Tambittu Deepa |
On
these days, young boys after completing their prescribed daily rituals of bath
and Sandhya-vandana, proceed from
one home to another home of sages and elders singing out aloud "Sri
Venkateshaaya Mangalam," or "Sri Nrsimhaaya Mangalam," or "Malai Kuninju Ninra Perumal to
seek bhiksha (alms) of rice. (The latter expression refers to Lord
Srinivasa who stands, gently bent forward with compassion, atop the Tirumala
hills to receive eagerly his tired devotees.) This alms-seeking is a spiritual
practice and very different from begging for food. This bhiksha
is called upaadaana and it refers to
collecting offerings to God given devoutly by the masters of the
household.
The
hallowed alms thus collected is made into an edible offering to be offered to the
Lord during worship and then to be given to Bhaagavatas
(the devotees of God.) Normally it is
made into cooked rice, offered to God and then distributed among devotees. On
the above-mentioned Saturdays, there is another recommended method for the use
of this bhiksha. The rice is soaked
in water and the wet rice grains are pounded to a fine powder in a mortar.
Coconut and jaggery are also pounded to a paste and mixed with the moist rice
flour. The mixture is then pounded again
to be made into dough. (Alternatively,
the rice collected from alms may be ground into dry flour and then mixed with
coconut and jaggery to form dough.
However, the first method is considered superior.) The moist dough is then placed in a plate,
and shaped into two balls with deep hollows in the center. Ghee is then poured into these hollows. The plate is then placed before God. Two cotton wicks are placed in the ghee
contained in the mound exclusively on the right side, and the lamp is lit as
part of worship. This Rice-Mound Lamp (Tiru-Tambittu Deepa) is left
undisturbed till the light consumes all the clarified butter. When the light
gently dies out, they devoutly utter (in Tamil) "Perumaal Malai Eerinaan," which means the Lord has
ascended the top of the hill. After this, the wicks are discarded and the rice
dough (soaked with the percolated clarified butter) from both the mounds are
combined and kneaded together and then rolled into many smaller balls to be
distributed among all as Prasaada
(the offering to God to be partaken by the devotees) and the remaining is consumed
by the one observing the Vrata. This particular Prasaada is called "Tambittu"
or more appropriately (in Tamil) "Tiru-Vilakku
Maavu" - the wet rice-flour-based dough of the divine lamp. Even if
one has not ventured out to collect upaadaana
(alms) they may prepare the Tambittu out
of rice from their own homes and offer it to God and then distribute it among
all as Prasaadam. Some make a vow to perform the Tambittu Vrata towards the fulfillment
of specific wishes. Others do so without being desirous of any particular
material end in mind.
{Similarly
on one Saturday in the month of Bhaadrapada
Sri V after having performed the Vrata proceeded
with Tiru-Vilakku
Maavu Prasaadam to offer it to Mahaaguru
(His Spiritual Master and Elder Relative) at about 3-30pm in the afternoon.
Most elders would have accepted the offering routinely as part of the practice
of the vrata without any
deliberations. But Mahaaguru did not do
so. He usually used such occasions to educate and enlighten his disciples and
others regarding the inner and external scientific basis of traditions
instituted by jnaanis (enlightened
ones) and rishis thereby removing the
veil of ignorance in their minds. In
this instance too, Sriranga Mahaaguru blessed Sri V with several educative
insights. For this he himself initiated the conversation first by asking
questions and using them as a means for further explanations}.
Initially,
Sri V entered the house of Sriranga Mahaaguru with the Tambittu offering in a plate.
He placed the plate on a raised platform near a pillar and prostrated to
Mahaaguru. He bent and did abhivadanam (an introductory Sanskrit
verse elucidating one’s lineage and line of vedic study), picked up the plate
again and held it before the Mahaaguru.
Instead of simply taking the offering, he started asking some questions.
Sri
Guru: What is that?
Sri V: Tiru-Vilakku Maavu, Maama. (In Tamil, Maama is a respectful appellation for
elders).
Sri
Guru: Why should I take this?
Sri V:
I do not know. But you must accept this
and bless me.
Sri
Guru: If you will tell me why I should accept this, I will take it from you.
Sri
V did not know the answer to the Mahaaguru’s question. He only remembered someone saying that the tambittu prasadam had to be distributed
among all because it is the prasaada of
jnaana. However he knew that it was an incomplete explanation. He was desirous of knowing the correct
answer to the question from the Master exponent Mahaaguru. So he said what he
had heard and awaited further elucidation from the Master himself.
Sri V:
Besides being sweet, this is jnaana-prasaada. Hence I have heard that it must be shared
with all.
Sri
Guru: How does this become jnaana-prasaada? Jnaana is realized within oneself. Have
you not heard that Bhagavad Geetha expounds that jnaana is to be realized by one within oneself at an appropriate
stage and time of Yoga saadhana (the
practice of yoga)?
Sri V:
I have heard that.
Sri
Guru: How can this external sweet
preparation become that jnaana
experienced within? Moreover, is jnaana-prasaada something present
inside? When the mind is calm - without
turbulence– that state is called manah-prasaada.
How can this externally constituted and material-based offering which you make
become such a prasaada?
Sri
V: I do not know, Mama…In just the same
way that the offering to God of sugar, coconut, flowers and fruits in a temple
become prasaada, I suppose.
Sri
Guru: The question that I asked earlier applies to these too.
Sri V:
I do not know the answer. You only
should tell.
Sri
Guru: (Goes into dhyaana for a little
while and with a tranquil mind, answers in the following words). Jnaana-prasaada is certainly an inner experience. It is the transcendent consciousness which
confers internal bliss and is beyond the senses, mind and intellect. However,
the mind, the eyes and the hands of a jnaani
or a mahaatma who has experienced
that jnaana-prasaada are also charged
and energized by the rays of that transcendent light. Now if such an embodied
being of Supreme consciousness touches or sees any external object, then the
same Jnaana-Prasaada is transmitted
into it and that object also becomes Prasaada.
Partaking such a sanctified substance with love and devotion helps re-kindle
the same jnaana-prasaada inside that
person too. That is why the intermediate
substance is also called Prasaada. This is the origin, background and intent
behind this tradition.
(As
Sri V was listening to these soothing and refreshing words of the Mahaaguru he
is filled with an inexplicable sense of mental bliss, akin to the manah-prasaada mentioned above. But he
persists with asking more questions to get other insightful answers on a rare
topic such as this.)
Sri V:
Why should only this specialized and deliciously sweet mix of rice flour,
finely shredded coconut, pounded jaggery and ghee befit being called jnaana-prasaada?
Sri
Guru: That mix of rice flour, ghee from cow's milk, coconut and jaggery (Brown
Cane Sugar), when blended in right proportions to prepare this delectably sweet
tambittu and taken as prasaada greatly helps in putting the Dhaatus (seven vital inner elements) and
senses into a state of balance that is favorable to perform dhyaana (meditation). "mumukshoh maadhuryam."
"saatvikaah madhura priyaah."
Madhura-Rasa, which may be understood as sweetness, is particularly dear
and beneficial to those desirous of moksha (release from the cycle of birth and
death) and to saatvikas (the
virtuous). Many substances may produce an experience of sweetness. But the sweetness of the Tambittu stimulates a special kind of Prasannataa (bliss) and does it quickly too.
Sri V:
In that case, would it not be enough simply to consume such a preparation? Why should we go through the tantra (a religious performance) of
placing it before God, lighting a lamp in it and so on?
Sri
Guru: That is not a mere tantra, a
mere bodily motion. The Deepa is lit with a divine motive to
reach God. The light that is lit
represents the Light of the Paramaatman
Himself.
Sri V:
Why should we use only ghee to light that lamp?
And what is the need to add so much ghee into it? Is it because ghee can make everything that
much tastier to eat?
Sri
Guru: That cannot be explained with such levity. In this instance, ghee is not added just to
enhance the taste experienced by the tongue.
Ghee, no doubt, promotes health, longevity and vitality. Ghee made from
cow's milk not only nourishes the body, but also provides sustenance for the Atman (the soul). Further, it is
important to use a wick of appropriate size in the Tambittu vessel filled with ghee and then light the Lamp. Then, if
one gazes intently for a while at the soft and gentle flames of such a Deepa the very sight and aroma from this
divine flame will induce the Dhaatus
and mind into a state of tranquility. Subsequently rasa (mood) induced by consuming this prasaada leads one to the Paramaatma-Rasa.
Sri V:
Why are two circular hollow cavities made in those two mounds?
Sri
Guru: Those two mounds represent the two halves of the brain. The right side of the brain is Purusha (the male principle), and the
left side of the brain is Prakrti
(the female principle). The lamp is lit
only on the right side which symbolizes Purusha.
Sri V:
What is the reason behind shaping the mounds to represent the brain and then to
light the lamp?
Sri
Guru: When a person with proper samskaara
(subtle impressions and predilections accumulated in mind due to past
experiences) gazes on the gentle and steady flame contained in a receptacle
resembling the shape of the brain, then the mind can reconnect to the original Paramaatma-jyoti (the light of Paramaatman) glowing in the brain. With the aid of this lamp, if a person is
able to obtain that spiritual experience, there is no doubt that one’s deepest
longing gets fulfilled. Because the lamp
represents Paramaatman, its darshana (sight) will leave favorable samskaaras in the minds of other people
too.
Sri V:
My grandmother says that the use of moist rice powder is superior to dry rice
flour in the preparation of this Tambittu.
How is this? Is not the end product the same whatever the method? Why go through the more laborious and
tiresome process of pounding the soaked rice?
Sri
Guru: Physical strain is not the consideration here. When the tambittu is made, with the right
proportion of wet rice, shredded coconut and jaggery bits, and pounded and
blended together it acquires a special hue. It is important that right amount of
jaggery is added. Then, the resulting color which emerges will resemble the
color of the human brain. Tambittu
made from dry rice flour does not yield such a color. Hence the darshana of the tambittu made of pounded ingredients has a greater impact.
Sri V:
Why is this Vrata only observed on
Saturdays of the months of Shraavana
or Bhaadrapada?
Sri
Guru: This vrata is dedicated to Lord
Vishnu. Just like the month of Kaartika
and the Mondays of that month are special for the worship of Lord Shiva,
Saturdays in general, and particularly those in the months of Shraavana and Bhaadrapada are favorable for the worship of Lord Vishnu. Hence these days, and these months are
propitious for worship of Lord Vishnu.
[Sri Mahaaguru’s illuminating exposition, transcendental presence,
and radiant eyes filled Sri V with
unspeakable contentment and bliss. He looked at the Mahaguru steadily filled
with a deep sense of gratitude. Gladdened by the intent and mood in Sri V’s
looks Mahaaguru uttered: "Now give me the Tiru-Vilakku Maavu you have brought. It is now imbued with a special Rasa." Sriranga Mahaaguru accepted
the tambittu, and Sri V prostrated to
him again and returned home.]