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AnAya n^AyanAr is a great inspiring example for a person leading a very simple life reaching the highest state of yoga - getting the liberation and unification with the Almighty - just by the whole hearted love for God. He is a devotee who worshipped the Lord with the music. He was born in the town maN^galam in the kingdom mEn maza n^Adu . That land of forests which had the blended fragrance of jasmine, lily and many other flowers that attracted the crowds of bees, had the blessings of sspreading the fragrance of AnAyar's love for Lord shiva, his music of His praise and his seeing of God in his own surroundings.

He was taking care of the cows of the village. Great are the cows that give five holy substances that are used to anoint the Lord ! Great are the cows that are the embodiment of all the dhEvAs ! It is these cows that give the holy ash, the wealth of the devotees of the Lord. AnAyar served only the God who dances with the ghosts by his words, body, mind and action. He took the cows everyday to the lawns outside the town. Like the God who gets satisfied with offer of any leaf or flower and gives coveted boons, the cows grazed well and produced a lot of milk under his supervision. He protected them from falling sick or falling prey to wild animals.

His love flowed from his heart, to his blessed lips as a jet of modulated air to flow through the flute in his hand, spread over the entire forest and anoint the Lord. He selected a bamboo which had all the superior qualities that are said in the scriptures and made a flute as per the rules (song: 13 AnAya n^AyanAr purANam in periya purANam talks about the way flute is made). He played the holy five letters of the Lord in the flute with the tune of seven swarams .

On a blessed day, with his head orornated with flowers of fragrance, forehead full of holy ash that freightens the death, the ash smeared body beautified by a garland, with the flute and the staff took the cows for grazing. It was the season of arrival of monsoon greeted by the dance of the peacock, the song of the creepers swaying in the breeze. He reached the beautiful garden of konRai flowers. The sight of the very konRai flower reminded him of the merciful Lord who wears that flower. He could see only shiva there. Wherever he saw all the flowers appeared as the form of the Almighty. His mind could do nothing but meditating at that appearance. His thinking could do nothing but surfacing the his great love for God. He could do nothing but showing his unexplainable feelings through his flute. His feelings could do nothing but making the sound of the holy five letter in his flute. (Songs 24 - 28 in periya purANam show beautifully the technique of playing flute)

It was the sound of bees singing; sound of slow wind in the bamboo forest; pleasant sound of dawn. Like the bees which halucinate at drinking the honey in the best of flowers, the cow herd stopped chewing while grazing; the calfs that had their mouth at the lap of the cows, stopped drinking milk; the dancing peacocks unconciously appear there; the bulls and wild animals bow down with bliss. Snakes fall unconcious on peacocks; Lions and elephants walk together; Deers dare to come with tigers. Wind doesn't blow fast; rivers and springs flow calm; clouds don't roar. That blissful music filled the heart of dhEvAs and overflew.

The music that won't be felt by the sinners was heard by the snake ring ornated ears of the Lord. That form of grace which recited the melody of sAmavEdha , came along with the mother of the universe without any sound of the crowds of dhEvAs and rushis to interfere with the music. That Almighty which loves the songs of the devotees told the devotee AnAyar, "Stay with me in the same state". Through the flower flow that dhEvAs showered on him, AnAyar reached the place where the Lord dances in bliss. Let the dedication of AnAyar's music to Lord and the love which made him see the omnipresent God in the world and stay with Him in bliss forever stay in the mind.

gurupUjai : kArthikai hastham