Essence of Self Realization: Ezhuthachan's Harinaamakeerthanam and Poonthanam's Jnanappaana

Essence of Self Realization is an exposition of two books Harinaamakeerthanam and Jnanappaana written in Malayalam by two medieval poets from Kerala. Harinaamakirtanam is a mellifluous devotional song in adoration of Lord Hari, the Supreme. This hymn, rich in philosophical and spiritual content, composed by the seventeenth century seer, Ezhuttachan, the Aachaarya. It contains sixty six stanzas, written in Malayaalam, the native tongue of Kerala. These verses are imbibed with high vedantic thoughts and principles. Till the Aachaarya's times Malayaalam had few devotional and philosophical writings in prose or poetry, Sanskrit having been in those periods the medium of scholarly discourse. The Aachaarya's period witnessed the blossoming of writings in Malayaalam, mostly on devotional and spiritual themes, Harinaamakirtanam being the crowning jewel and the most sublime among them all. Harinaamakirtanam means praise to the name of Hari, the Almighty Mahaa Vishnu, (Naaraayana). Its appeal to the masses and the elite alike was so profound that it soon spread to all the corners of Kerala by word of mouth in that era when the printing press and the other means of mass communication had not yet appeared Jnanappaana is predominantly a devotional composition by Poonthanam Namboodiri a contemporary of Ezhuthachan. Every verse in Jnanappaana imparts a spiritually exalted joy and warmth to all devotees and who remain mesmerized after chanting it. No wonder, Poonthanam’s Jnanappana is a household name in Kerala. His poems convey the worship of Krishna through devotion. Poonthanam highlights in Jnanappana the ideas of the ephemeral human life, the cycle of birth and death, and the theory of karma. He urges everyone to sing the glory of the Lord by giving up ill will and hatred among themselves, and by developing compassion and love for all. Covetousness for wealth, attachment to worldly pleasure, and selfishness keep man away from God. These exquisite message of the revered Bhagavatha Purana is codified in Jnanappana to rejuvenate the masses.