Sri Kripānanda Vāriar sowed divinity in the minds of the illiterate. Words to be contemplated upon were conveyed humourously by him. A few tidbits from the life of Tiru Muruga Krupananda Variar, who was really the 64th Nayanar:
He was born in 1906 in Kangeyanallur near Vellore as the fourth child of Malliah Das Bhagavathar and KanakaValli. He had eleven siblings.
Variar's father gave him the knowledge and wisdom. He taught him literature, grammar, and music at home itself. Variar learnt veena from Brahma Śrī Thenmadam Varathachariar. He got the skill of writing poems (in "Venpā" style) at the age of eight. He got 10,000 songs by heart by his 12th year of age. Until death, no song was forgotten.
Annamalai University awarded him an honorary doctorate. The University of Thanjavur named him as Ilakkiya Muthu munaivar. Maha Periyavar of Kanchi Mutt appreciated him as Saraswati Katakshamirtham. Every one saluted him as Arul Mozhi Arasu. There is no count of the awards that Variar has received. However, Variar has never gone to a school to study.
As a child, he used to go to the river Pālār every day to bathe.He would take rice from his mother, and he would look out for places where there were ant hills, and would feed them as he walked.
His father did not know initially that his was son went to various places to deliver spiritual discourses. It seems that Variar paid off the loan of Rupees 5,000 that his father had taken to complete the construction of the Raja gopuram (temple tower) for the Murugan temple at Kangeya Nallur. Only after that his father knew and he appreciated Variar.
Swamigal (Variar) belonged to the Veera Saiva community and wore the Shivalingam around his neck when he was five years old. Right from 1936, everyday he took food only after completing the puja to Murugan.
Variar married his uncle's daughter Amirtha Lakshmi when he was 19 years old. Due to his practice of brahmacharya (celibacy), there were no children.
It was Variar who wrote the dialogues for the movie "Sivakavi" which ran full house for more than one year and in which Thyagaraja Bhagavathar acted as the hero.
Even during travel out of town, he had the habit of taking the puja box along with him. He did puja continuously for 57 years without a break of even a day.
MGR (M.G. Ramachandran ex-Chief Minister of TamilNadu/actor) had many titles but the one used by many is Pon mana Chemmal (means "The noble man with the golden heart"). It was conferred to MGR by Variar himself.
Variar had come to Vellore for a discourse. A certain group had put up sarcastic posters that "Krupananda Lorry" has come. By chance, Periyar EV Ramasamy (who was a non-believer) happened to hear the discourse of Variar through the window of the house where he had stayed. After listening, Periyar ordered his followers, "Variar is also in the service of improving the society and growing Tamil culture. How can (we) make fun of him? Remove the posters immediately!"
Variar suggested in those days itself, that people can use the initials from the name of one's own mother. (Normally people use the first letter of father's name as initial in one's name.)
Variar has written about 200 books on Tiruppugazh, Mahabharatham, Kamba Ramayanam, Kantha Puranam, Periya Puranam etc. Reading them all, is very similar to listening to Variar's actual discourses.
Variar used to say, "I do not know what indigestion is. I keep in memory what a Muslim gentleman told me: 'He will not get sick Whose hand enters the mouth after he is hungry and Whose hand does not exit the mouth before hunger is quenched'."
Variar set the Ramakrishna home in Tiruparaithurai by raising 27 Lakhs rupees through donations (about US$60,000). It is now a refuge for children without support.
He established a primary school, middle school, girls high school, and a boys high school in Kangeya Nallur where he was born. He did any request for help from schools.
Using his personal funds, he formed "Variar public service fund trust" to help poor people, students, widows and those in need of medical help.
During the discourses, Variar had the habit of encouraging children who answered his questions by calling them to the stage and presenting them with books.
திரு முருக கிருபானந்தவாரியார் அவர்களின் சொற்பொழிவுகள்
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