The 18 Steps Divine - A Review of Dr. Sukumar's Ayyappa Devotional Song Album
By Gopinathan Pillai, USA
Dr. Sukumar from Canada presents his new
album, “Padikal Pathinettu (The 18 Steps Divine) – Ayyappa Devotional
Songs,” to Ayyappa devotees worldwide. This collection of 19 devotional
songs is set for release just before the commencement of the 2025-2026
Mandalam pilgrimage season.
These songs are the "flowers" that
have blossomed in the composer’s own heart; Dr. Sukumar has personally scored
all the music and rhythmic patterns.
I was fortunate enough to hear one of the
songs immediately after he composed it while climbing the Divine Sopanam
(sacred steps) with his Irumudikettu (the traditional offering bundle
carried in the pilgrimage to Sabarimala). The songs in this album are a sweet
melody of divine experience—an experience that every Ayyappa devotee can pack
into their own Irumudikettu alongside the customary ghee-filled coconut.
As devotees ascend the mountain this Mandalam season, these hymns will fill
their minds and hearts. The inherent grace and rhythmic beauty of these
compositions, combined with their profound spiritual meaning, transport us to
an ineffable realm of sublime spirituality.
The album fittingly begins with a Ganesha
invocation. The very first song, rich with the fragrance of Malayalam and
presented first in alphabetical order, is the veneration of the Vighneshwara:
“Aanamukhanē Śrī Gaṇanāyakā, Pāhimām
Vighnēśvarā”
All knowledge (Vidya) and non-knowledge
(Avidya) shines clearly in His intellect. The poet, noting that "Lord
Ganesha composed countless poems with his single-tusk stylus,"
connects us to the composition of the Mahabharata. As the saying goes, "It
is just Veda Vyasa's intellectual remnants that form the entire world,"
signifying that all knowledge is contained therein, and what is not found there
is found nowhere else.
Among the Ayyappa hymns featured in this
album, the first song is particularly notable: “Mandalamayal Manmanamaakum
Mandiramellaam Aninjorungum…”—meaning, “When the season of Mandalam
arrives, my mind-temple gets excited and adorned with the fineries in
anticipation.” Listening to this, the devotee's heart naturally prepares
itself for the sight of the Swami at Sabarimala, and the mind is effortlessly
drawn to His Divine Presence, achieving the ultimate fulfillment of human
birth.
The third song opens with a deeply
contemplative question: "Akathirunnaaro Saranam Vilikkunnu; Ayyappa
Swamiyo Njano?” (Who is calling out 'Sharanam' from within? Is it
Ayyappaswami himself or is it just me?) Finding the answer to this enigma is
indeed finding everything there is to know. What a profound expression of Advaita
(Non-Dualism) we find here! The philosopher-lyricist realizes that the
sound heard both within and without is one and the same, casting aside all
dualistic thought. This insight is not easily grasped by ordinary people
struggling with worldly hardships—it is the inner realization of the “Tat
Tvam Asi” (That Thou Art) Mahavakya.
In another song, he writes: “Vrischikappurameri
Vratham Nokkuunnu, mura thettaathe Saranam Vilikkunnu.” The poet describes
the observance of the Vratam (penance) as the "magician called
time" seated upon a scorpion (Vrischikam being both the month and
the synonym for Scorpion), suggesting that the rigorous discipline is a
wearisome journey for a devotee who is engrossed in the daily trials and
tribulations of the world. In this state, the devotee transcends the dualities
of heat and cold, love and hate, etc.
The subsequent verses elucidate the inner
meaning of the “Eighteen Sacred Steps”: the ten senses and the five
elements constitute fifteen, which, combined with the Mind, Intellect, and Ego
(Ahamkara), total eighteen. This delineation of the essence of life is a
fundamental basis of Indian philosophy. At Sabarimala, we get to introspect as
we climb up the eighteen sacred steps.
As evening sets and the sun's light fades,
darkness spreads everywhere—except in the poet's heart, where the sacred flame
of Ayyappaswami's divine light remains eternally lit.
When the Swami's name fills the heart, all
sorrows depart from the mind. The dualistic perception that the Swami and the
devotee are two separate entities dissolves. The devotee arrives at the moment
of realizing the great dictum, "Tat Tvam Asi," which is also
engraved in bold letters atop the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. This
spiritual knowledge becomes the very pulse of the devotee's heart. The song, “Swamikku
Swamiye Bhakthan; Ayyappa Swamikku Swamiye Bhakthan”—further postulating
that “The devotee is the Swami, even for the Swami himself,”—is another
clear reflection of this thought. It is only at this temple that all devotees
are addressed as Swamy – the Lord, sharing the same name as the deity of
the temple, Swamy Ayyappa.
The devotee understands that ‘Janmajanmaanthara
sukruthamee janmam,’ meaning, "This human birth on earth is the
merit of good deeds across many lifetimes." The ego ("Aham")
of the devotee starts to dissolve as he lays down the bundle of sins and
virtues he carries. The holy name of Ayyappa becomes the light that banishes
the darkness of the Ego, which is the ultimate goal of all spiritual inquiry.
The heart of such a devotee is eternally filled with Ayyappa's divine
compassion. The name of Ayyappa, the beloved of devotees and giver of
salvation, continuously fills the mind. For this very purpose, Ayyappa resides
in the forest, transcending time. The devotee whose heart is filled with the
name of Harihara attains the realization that they and Ayyappa are one, and the
darkness of ignorance dissolves away.
While Ayyappa hymns are plentiful, Dr.
Sukumar's songs lead us down a distinctly different path of spiritual depth and
contemplation. They are a clear manifestation of his personal spiritual
experience. Every song in this album is suitable for both silent, solitary
recitation and communal bhajan singing. I sincerely wish that this album
may become a companion for every Ayyappa devotee.
You can listen to this collection of
devotional songs, which runs for nearly two hours, here:
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