Divyamaana Desam

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Kind Bhaktas of the KaruNAsindhu Bhagawan:

 

The recent emails about the Divya Desams have all been entrancing reading

material. In this day and age, when thinking about the Lord of a particular

Divya Desam is only one part of a person's focus (an assumption, untrue about

some, perhaps), if this is the level of love and beauty in the thoughts and

writings, it is no wonder that those for whom He and His abode occupied their

every waking thought wrote absolutely dazzling poetry.....

 

I once read a Hindi poem called "Ttukra do ya pyaar karo". The poet wrote it in

the voice of a very poor woman who comes to the temple carrying a single flower

for the Lord. "Others have brought you bright jewels, I see", she says, "someone

has adorned you in silk, a great "dhanwaan" (rich man) has given the money for

your gem-filled crown, and you smile is beatific as they bathe you in milk....I

stand on the edge of the crowd, bent over close to a pillar, hiding my simple

offering in the "pallu" of my sari. Sometime, when they move away, I'll place

this flower at your "charan" ("feet" does not quite capture it), Prabhu, Ttukra

do ya pyaar karo... (it is upto You, then, to love my offering or reject it...)

 

In the company of all these incredibly learned people who've quoted pasurams and

events in the lives of Acharyas to substantiate their various claims, who're so

intimately attached to their history that they can lay out for others what must

have been the thought-process of a particular Alwar when he said this, etc, one

has the feeling of witnessing the Confluence of various rivers of thought as

they merge in thoughts of Him. Amidst the roar of all these waters, a spray

caught me by surprise and one little drop came to me. I submit it for your kind

attention.

 

The memory cell is the Happiest Abode for our Lord.

 

I'm obviously not qualified to make it the 109th Divya Desam, but the basis for

our love of the Lord is our memory of the Time when we were a part of Him, and

the basis for anyone's (be it the most learned Acharya's or a passing

traveller's) adoration of a particular Divya Desam is the memory of His/Her

experience of it. While it may be obvious when it is our home-town in this life,

sometimes we read of a bhakta who, all his life, longed to go to a particular

temple he had "never" seen, or, having been to several temples, was particularly

moved by one image over all others. Even then it is most likely due to the

memory of loving that particular Archa Murthy in a past life.

 

It may be the most verdant foliage amidst gurgling waters, or green hills that

take you higher and higher before you can see Him; He may be lying down (when

you approach a Father in a traditional family, somehow, he seems more loving and

approachable when he is lying down and not towering over you...), or He may look

so magnificient standing up that your jaw drops and all thoughts fly out of your

head (the sounds of "jaragandi" will wake you up soon enough, but for a brief

moment in time you feel you are alone with that Great Presence); the Sthala

PuraNam can be used as an argument for or against - for instance, the fact that

He had to come to earth to re-unite with His wife who had left home in a slight

huff can be used to point a finger (if one so dared) at the Lord of the Seven

hills, or the fact that His very name (unlike other places where the name

glorifies Him) in one place promises protection (Varadarajan Perumal) can be

used as proof.

 

 

But if, while standing in front of the Sannidhi, one is thinking about some

earthly concern, all the beauty of the Divya Desam is lost to one. These Gods

are powerful, but it is the level of one's faith that helps one have a glimpse

of that power. It's that "smaraN" of the Perumal that transports one from

awareness of the earthly surroundings to the Divya Anubhavam of a Divya Desam.

 

Some temples may be lesser known, but is He not the same there? I remember a

childhood visit to Brindavan where, at dusk-time, all the little Krishna temples

in the little by-lanes had their melodious bells ringing, and all around us

Krishna bhajans were heard, with the sound of cymbals. I thought it was heaven.

In Guruvayur, sometimes, long before the temple door opens, the fervent cries of

"Narayana, Narayana" around you can get you emotionally overcome, and you almost

don't care to push for your brief glimpse thru that small door.

 

I wonder if He too would say that He loves it best when He resides in the memory

cell of a Bhakta? In the French story of Jean Val Jean and the priest, the

priest transforms the ex-convict by letting him know the body is the "Temple of

the Living God".....And then there is that story of Guru Nanak who was resting

in a chowltry when he was awakened by some muslims. They were upset that his

feet were pointed towards the Mosque in front. "Okay," Nanakji replied

reasonably as he went back to sleep, "please feel free to pick up my feet and

point them to where God does not exist..."

 

Having said the above, I hope that the discussion will continue, both because it

expands our knowledge and because it has all the charm of little boys saying

"Engappa than ongappaavavida periyavaa" (my dad's bigger than yours), except in

this case He's everyone's Appa.

 

Radha jeevana smarane, RadheShyam!

Jaya Janaki jeevana smarane, Sitaram!

Bhama jeevana smarane, Govinda, Govinda!

 

Viji Raghunathan