parashara-bhattar and "body-care"

[Guest guest]

Dear members,

 

There are some real "gems" in the bhakti-archives.

adiyen came across one recently in connection with the

discussion we all had on the question of "care of the

body (sareera): sAtvic?". Sri.K.M.Narayanan quoted

Parashara Bhattar in this regard. He must read the

following post of one Sri.M.K.Sudarshan way back in

February'97.

dAsan,

Sampathkumaran

-----------

 

Bhattar was one afternoon engaged in 'kalapshEpam'

(discourse) with his band of disciples at one of the

many "mandapam-s" (a sort of amphitheatre) in the

SriRangam 'veedhi-s'(outer courtyards of the Temple).

 

He was holding forth on the subject of the grossness

of the "sarira" (the body), its impermananent nature,

its similarity to the phenomenal world and how both

deserved nothing better than utmost "virakthi";

Bhattar, it seems, then went on to exhort his

'sishyA-s' (disciples) to forsake the tending of

('vairAgya') their bodies, its pleasures, its upkeep

and indulgences; he pointed out to them how

pre-occupation with the gross material body is the

biggest hurdle to attaining awareness of the subtle

nature of one's soul; and so on ...so forth...

 

It is said that Bhattar was exceptionally eloquent

during that evenings's discourse which extended to a

couple of hours during which time he kept his

disciples spell-bound. Some of them were so enthralled

and moved by the central theme of the 'kAlapshepam'

they began to shed copious tears of remorse for being

unable to personally observe in their own lives the

"virakthi" and "vairAgya" their guru,

Sri.Parashsara-r, stirringly described.

 

Sri.Bhattar eventually wound up his lessons for that

evening and dismissed his disciples many of whom came

up to him before departing and bowing before him

remarked, "Sir, thank you for your

'upadEsam'(exhortation). We have

resolved that from this very moment we shall observe

'vairAgyam' and 'virakthi'in our personal lives with

renewed vigour. We shall spurn this body of ours just

as we shall reject the "material" world. With your

'anugraham' we shall progress in our spiritual

pursuits."

 

Sri.Parashara-r blessed them all and wished them

god-speed in their new-found endeavours.

 

The morning after marked the dawning of a very

auspicious day. There was an 'Utsavam' (a processional

festival) at the SriRangam temple accompanied by

the usual religious fan-fare in and outside the temple

precincts; crowds milled under large "pandal-s"

(make-shift canopies); there were festoons and

banners strung everywhere; there were "gOshti-s"

(teams) singing the "veda-s" and the 'prabhandA-s';

there were pipers and drummers; and there were throngs

of devotees on the streets of SriRangam eagerly

awaiting the procession of the Lord Ranga to emerge

out of his sanctum-sanctorum and grace them all with

His Beatific Vision.

 

Now, the disciples of Sri.Parashara Bhattar also

assembled at a street corner to have "darshan" of Lord

Ranga's procession. Some of them were still in a state

of spiritual daze -- a hangover from the previous

night's discourse on "virakthi" and "vairAgyam" handed

down to them by their guru, Sri.Parasharar. That they

had yet to recover from the grim lessons of the

previous evening was obvious from their slovenly

demeanour. In their deep and all-pervasive mood of

'virakthi', they looked singularly dishevelled.

They had unkempt stubbles on their chins, their

garments were ungroomed, their "kUdUmI-s" (tufts of

hair) were untied; their eyes were red-rimmed

from lack of proper sleep and some of them had even

begun to look severely starved as a result of the

fasts they had commenced ardourously in the spirit of

true "virakthi" and "vairAgyam" preached by their

guru,

Sri.Parashara Bhattar !!

 

As they stood there at a street-corner waiting for the

Lord Ranga's procession to arrive, very soon they

chanced upon their guru, Sri.Bhattar, at a distance.

He too was awaiting eagerly the arrival of the Lord's

procession.

 

The sight of their preceptor simply astounded the

disciples !

 

Sri.Parasharar, they saw, was dressed in the finest

silk ("pattu") raiments, his "mEl-vastram"

(upper-cloth) was of even finer fabric and embroidered

intricately with the holy designs of SriVaishnava

emblems; he had smeared his body all over with

sweet-smelling sandal-wood paste; his body and

forehead shone with a dozen mighty 'urdvapUndra'

marks; his 'kUdUmi' he had ornamented with exotic and

fragrant flowers !!

 

His disciples saw that Sri.Parashara-r had even

adorned special ear-studs ("kadukan") made of

glittering diamonds and, perhaps, for that very reason

he seemed to be turning his head vigorously, this way

and that, just to draw the attention of everyone

around to their razzle-dazzle !!

 

When they saw their guru bedecked in all that finery,

Sri.Bhattar's 'sishyA-s' could not help the

uncharitable thoughts that arose immediately

in their minds.

 

"Ah ! there, indeed, is a guru whose sermons roar and

whose deeds squeak.("upadEsamO periyadhu; anUshtAnamO

siriyadhu")!", they said to themselves.

 

"Yonder is the man who exhorted us all last evening to

"virakthi" and "vairAgyam". He taught us to all spurn

the material body and to cease its indulgence. And yet

the very same man now stands there swathed in his

finest silks, "dressed to kill" (to use a modern

phrase), his body bathed with perfumes and his hands

bedecked with dazzling-gold rings on every little

finger!!"

 

"What a sanctimonious humbug, this Parashara Bhattar

is !!", thought the disciples as they watched their

guru from a distance. "He teaches us one thing and

himself practices the very opposite!"

 

After a while Lord Ranga's great procession arrived

and journeyed through the assemblies on the streets of

SriRangam. Everyone, Parashara Bhattar as well as his

disciples, had 'darshan' and then slowly dispersed to

go their ways.

 

One disciple, however, who could not cease being

intrigued by Sri.Parasharar's appearance, decided to

confront his guru with the latter's apparent hypocrisy

and to demand an explanation for it. He therefore

walked up to the guru and folding his hands queried :

 

"Honourable Sir, I have heard that the true mark of a

guru is his credibility. In the light of the grand

sermon you gave us all last evening on the virtue of

"virakthi" and "vairAgyam", how do you explain, Sir,

your own gaudy demeanour at this moment !! Do you

know, Sir, you are dressed like a street-shop

mannequin ("marapAchi-bOmmai")!! And do you know, Sir,

that great souls who perorate on "vairAgyam" and who

lecture others to loath the body look awkward in the

sort of fine outfit that you, Sir, are presently

turned out in !!"

 

Sri.Parashara looked at the disciple, smiled and said

nothing.

 

The disciple was only enraged further by Sri.Bhattar's

nonchalance and exploded:

 

"What do you take us all for, Sir!! Fools ?!! You dare

pontificate to us what you so blatantly mock in your

own behaviour !! And you expect us, Sir, to take you

as our guru ?!! Why do you call yourself a preceptor ?

You are nothing but a humbug and all that you teach

us, Sir, is nothing but absolute bunkum !!".

 

Sri.Parashara Bhattar listened patiently to this

outburst and at last deigned to reply to his disciple.

 

"kuzhandAi (My Pet)!, Let me explain to you the nature

of true 'virakthi'! It's time now for me to

practically demonstrate what was delivered to you in

a sermon last evening. Come with me !".

 

So saying Sri.Bhattar proceeded, with his disciple

following, to deliver a practical lesson on

"virakthi".

 

Parashara Bhattar led his disciple down a SriRangam

street to a large "pandal" (a sprawling make-shift

canopy erected on street-kerbs on festive occasions).

He pointed to one of the bamboo-poles supporting the

structure and asked :

"Tell me, boy, what is this ?"

"It is a bamboo-pole, sir," replied the disciple.

"And what is this that has been wound around the

pole?"

"It is a streamer, Sir, woven out of the bark-fibre of

the coconut tree".

"And how does it look ?", asked the Bhattar.

"It looks very pretty and colourful, Sir. They have

painted it all for the occasion, as you can see,"

remarked the disciple.

"And what is this here ?", continued Bhattar.

"It is a festoon of the leaves of the banana-tree.

("thOraNum")".

"And how does it look ?"

"Why, it looks very lush and pleasing to the eye,

Sir," replied the disciple.

"And, boy, tell me what is this here ?", Sri.Bhattar

persisted.

"It is a colourful banner made of leaves of the

mango-tree ("mAvalai-kodi'), Sir."

"And how does this banner look, boy ?".

"It's been plaited together with floral wreaths; its a

festive and colourful sight, Sir, indeed !", said the

disciple.

 

Sri.Parashara next drew the boy closer to him and

looked him in the eye and spoke to his disciple :

"Now, answer me, boy. The streamer, the festoon and

the banner here, which you say all look so pretty, why

have all these been strung up here on this pandal?".

 

The disciple thought hard for a moment.

 

Then he answered,"Sir, these have been put up here for

the occasion of our Lord Ranga's "utsavam"."

 

"Smart boy!", said the Bhattar gleefully,"I say,

however, that the streamer, festoon and the banner

have been put up here not so much for the occasion of

Lord Ranga's procession as for the purpose of

ornamenting this structure of a "pandal" here ! Now

what say you to that, eh?" asked Bhattar.

 

The disciple fell silent and contemplated

Sri.Parasharar's remark for a full minute.

 

It was then that Sri.Bhattar's lesson slowly sank into

his comprehension.

 

The boy looked up into Bhattar's face. The tears then

welled up in his eyes. He fell at his guru's feet and

prostrated and said,

 

"Honourable Sir, please forgive me! Please pardon this

sinner. I have understood your "virakthi" now truly.

Out of ignorance and inexperience I mistook your

sartorial bearing today as a sign of your insincerity

to the values of true "virakthi" and "vairAgyam". But

now I have understood what you truly mean, Sir!"

 

The Bhattar gathered his young disciple up in his

arms, stroked his tearful cheeks and whispered in his

ears :

 

"My pet, my little pet, if it were not for the Lord's

procession this morning would there be need for this

"pandal" here ? Similarly, if it were not for the

Lord's Will ("ichcha") would there be any need for

this world("prakriti")? Would there be need for even

you and me ("jivAtmA's")? Now when they decorated this

"pandal" here with streamers, festoons and banners,

they did it,of course, to enhance the beauty of this

canopy; but what is the real purpose for display of

such beauty ? It is for our Lord Ranga's procession,

really, isn't it? If Lord Ranga didn't come by this

way this morning, would any fool take the trouble of

hanging streamers and festoons around this dumb and

dead timber ? If it were not for the Lord's "utsavam"

and His Exclusive Pleasure, where would we confine, I

ask you, these silly things like festoons and banners

? In the dust-bin, isn't it ? We would treat them all

with a kind of "virakthi" (indifference) isn't it?

They would

have no more lofty purpose other than to be used as

menial implements such as domestic broom-sticks

("thOdappam") or kitchen firewood ("varatti"),

isn't it ?"

 

"Likewise, my boy", Sri.Parasharar continued,"when we

talk of "virakthi" and "vairAgyam", we refer to them

as appropriate emotional responses to a world not

serving the Pleasure of the Lord

("bhagavth-AgnyA","bhagavath-icchai"

etc.). So long as the things of this world serve us

not in offering Ranga His Due Pleasure

("bhagavath-kainkaryam"), they deserve nothing but our

unqualified revulsion (virakthi). But occasionally

even such worldly things -- like the streamers,

festoons and banners here did today -- do serve The

Lord's Purpose or Pleasure ! At those times, my dear

boy, we should embrace the world, and freely rejoice

and indulge in it! Even the objects of our "virakthi"

would then turn into objects of Pleasure for the Lord

! It then

becomes our duty as His servants ("sEsha"), my dear

boy, to offer Him ("sEshi") and for His Sole Pleasure,

the very same "material" world that otherwise would

deserve our revulsion!

 

"Tell me, which is greater to us, after all -- Ranga's

Pleasure or our own "vairAgyam" ?!!".

 

"It is in that spirit of "virakthi" or "vairAgyam", my

dear little boy, that I wore all these fine clothes

and diamond ear-studs on my body today. These are but

like your streamers, festoons and banners for this

body ("sarira") of mine akin to this "pandal" here

erected for the Lord's procession !".

 

"Understand, my dear disciple," said Sri.Parashara

Bhattar finally,"that the practice of "virakthi" or

"vairAgyam" (self-abnegation), by itself, will not

carry you far forward to the Lord if there is, within

your heart, no awareness of the "sEsha-sEshi

sambhandham" (Master-Servant equation) between

ourselves and Ranga. Without that understanding, my

dear boy, the practice of "virakthi" or "vairAgyam"

will not only be vain and empty but also fruitless

effort."

**************************************

END

 

 

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sampath kumar <sampathkumar_2000

<bhakti

Saturday, December 04, 1999 7:31 AM

parashara-bhattar and "body-care"

 

> Dear members,

>

> There are some real "gems" in the bhakti-archives.

> adiyen came across one recently in connection with the

> discussion we all had on the question of "care of the

> body (sareera): sAtvic?". Sri.K.M.Narayanan quoted

> Parashara Bhattar in this regard. He must read the

> following post of one Sri.M.K.Sudarshan way back in

> February'97.

>

 

This posting really touched me the first time I read it, and even

more so when I read it this morning. Thank you Sri Sampath Kumar

for reminding about one of those gems that makes me feel honored

and truly blessed to be a member of this list.

 

adiyEn madhurakavi dAsan

 

Mohan