Today 18-1-2017 Nammaazhvaar Moksham is celebrated. Nammaazhvaar or Sri Satakopan is the celebrated Mystic-Supreme of the faith of Sri Ramanuja, Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya.
Why is it so significant that the salvation day of one Yogi is being participated for the past thousand years and more? Of course any great soul is worthy of our adoration and worship. But why even great teachers like Sri Nathamuni, Alavandaar and Sri Ramanuja have poured their total heart into Azhwar-Bhakti? Nammaazhvaar is the Family Wealth of the surrendered souls, Prapannas. He is the Leader of the Prapanna tribe!
Nampillai gives an excellent explanation for this when he writes the introduction for 10th Ten 9th TVM, Soozhvisumbu aNimukil - Here I will try to give it a rendering in my own anglo-saxon.
"The great spiritual ecstacies that happen to great mystics occurred to Nammaazhvaar gradually. From the stage of transcendent devotion all further stages ensued forth in our Azhwar. Those stages have been logged very truly upto the 9th Ten and even upto 10.8. Now hereafterwards Nammaazhvaar could not bear to stay longer in the worldly life. He is dying to enjoy the ecstatic bliss of union and communion, immediate. Such immediacy is not possible on this earth. It is inherently transcendent experience. If Azhwar is so anxious to reach Him over there His anxiety in getting Azhwar transported over there is much more and more forceful. Who suffers worst is difficult to decide, Azhwar or God? He has been tarrying so far only to make Azhwar prepared enough. So he was giving him all stages of experiences of His Essence, Form, Qualities and Manifestations. And He gave really all these experiences so realistic as if visible and perceptual externally. The path of Lights, the assistance and reception given by the way-guarding deities, the grand welcome gestures from the ever free of the Transcendent World, whatever have been narrated in Vedanta, all those experiences escatological Azhwar was made to experience here while living. And all these mystical magnum Azhwar is singing in the coming two decads viz., 10.9, 10.10. And while singing now Azhwar is narrating what he experienced as something experienced by devotees in general. He is describing his personal experiences as general and universal experiences of all devotees for all time to come. The commentator asks a beautiful question here - why? Why does Azhwar do like this? Why he describes his own private experiences as general statements of the devotees at large? The commentator gives an extraordinarily significant reason for this. Azhwar wants to assure by this way of generalising that whatever salvation he got belongs to all devotees in all places in all times, whoever happens to relate to him direct, indirect or remote or by chance. All such souls reap this Supreme Grace vouchsafed unto Azhwar by Thirumaal."
How significant is this day of the Salvation of Azhwar!
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