Intense desire of Pujya (Mrs) Kanthimathi Santanam to bequeath the invaluable knowledge obtained over a period of 70 years about Namasankirtanyoga to Maharshi Adhyatma Vishwavidyalay : Pujya (Mrs) Uma Ravichandran
Ravichandran
Pujya (Mrs) Kanthimathi Santanam from Chennai is 86 years of age now and is suffering from many ailments. Yet Her devotion unto God through Namasankirtan is unwavering and has not reduced even a bit. Namasankirtan is ‘Nadopasana’.
‘Nadopasana’ is an offering made to God through the medium of devotional songs written by various Saints. Even at this age, She continues to perform Namasankirtan programmes in various temples without expecting anything in return.
She has been performing Namasankirtan since the age of 2 in the company of Her father, who is Her first Guru. She accumulated invaluable and vast knowledge about Namasankirtan and has expressed Her wish to bequeath it to Maharshi Adhyatma Vishwavidyalay. Despite Her ailments and age, She has written a manuscript in Tamil about the significance and benefits of Namasankirtan and offered it to Maharshi Adhyatma Vishwavidyalay.
1. She has vast knowledge about Carnatic music : Pujya (Mrs) Kanthimathi Santanam has vast knowledge about Carnatic music. She has composed many Namavallis (Multiple Names of the same Deity) on Her own, sung many bhajans (Devotional songs) based on ragas, some of which very rare.
2. She has knowledge of various languages and understands the implied meanings of bhajans composed by Saints : Pujya (Mrs) Kanthimathi Santanam has mastery over many languages and She can sing bhajans fluently in these languages. She can explain the implied meanings of a bhajan, the bhav (Spiritual emotion) of the Saint when it was composed by Him, the situation in which the Saint had sung it, etc.
3. She encourages others to follow Namasankirtan : Pujya (Mrs) Kanthimathi Santanam appreciates, encourages and inspires others to sing and participate in Namasankirtan.
4. Dedication to the field of music : Her dedication to the field of music is evident from the fact that She gets up at 3 a.m. every day to write about Namasankirtan.
– Pujya (Mrs) Uma Ravichandran (Sanatan’s 70th Saint, Age 58), Chennai, Tamil Nadu (June 2024)