Guest guest Posted December 22, 2001 Report Share Posted December 22, 2001 Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama: The Divine Drug __________________ “Ugh!”- The feverish child turns her face away from the hand proffering the medicine that would supposedly make her well. She knows that the medicine would be bitter and unpalatable, and has a feeling that the fever would be much easier to endure than repeated dosages of the potion that the doctor has prescribed. Our own reactions to drugs are much similar. We do try to swallow pills (untasted) with a large drink of water. Despite this precaution, if the pill touches our tongue, its bitterness sticks to our palate for quite some time. This is why Ayurveda prescribes several drugs to be taken, duly camouflaged in a medium such as honey or sugar. Even after enduring all this, one is never sure of a cure. Some of the drugs, instead of, or in the process of providing relief for a particular malady, give rise to quite a different ailment, as a side effect. All this makes us long wistfully for a Wonder Drug-, which would be sweet, which would offer a sure-cure and would have absolutely no harmful side effects. And how wonderful would it be, if this drug were to be a panacea to cure all possible maladies! And, apart from curing maladies of the physique, if the drug were to cure us once and for all from the greatest of all diseases-the unending cycle of births and deaths! This may appear to be a far-fetched Technicolor dream or science fiction. You can take it on good authority that it is indeed real. Ages before the advent of modern science, our Sages were very much aware of the existence of such a Cure-All, and were in fact using it to insure against all sickness, physical and otherwise. Sri Kulasekharazhwar gives a clarion call to the world – “Oh Inhabitants of this world of disease! Hearken. I shall disclose a Secret Drug, which will release you from the vicious whirlpool of births and deaths, and will afford you eternal bliss. This is none other than “Krishna RasAyanam”, which shines singularly inside you, if only you care to look inwards. Drink of this Elixir that is Krishna and be delivered of all your diseases, including the chronic ones. If you don’t believe me, then listen to Sages like Sri YagnavalkyA, who have derived the benefit of this Wonder Drug.”—As this translation sounds a bit hackneyed, adiyen quotes the original Mukunda MalA sloka here- “hE lOkA! ShruNuta prasooti maraNa vyAdhE: chikitsAm imam YogagnyA: samudAharanti munayO yAm YagnavalkyAdaya: AntarjyOti: amEyam Ekam amrutam KrishNAkyam ApeeyatAm Tat peetam paramoushadham vitanutE nirvANam Adyantikam”. Azhwar goes on to describe what else this Krishna Oushadham (medicine) is capable of- “VyAmOha: prasamoushadham, muni manO vritti pravruttyoushadham daityOnmoolakaroushadham bhava bhaya pradhvamsanaikoushadham BhaktAtyanta hitoushadham tribhavanE sanjeevanaikoushadham ShrEya: prApti karoushadham piba manO Sri Krishna Divya Oushadham” This is a Powerful Potion indeed- it destroys RakshasAs, is ever in the thoughts of Saints and Rishis, annihilates fears caused by this dreadful SamsArA, ensures the well being of devotees, is a rejuvenating Elixir for the three worlds, and confers upon the partaker all that is good and desirable. Sri Kulasekhara Perumal is only concurring with Sri PEyAzhwar, who declares that Emperuman is indeed the medicine that saves us from the inexorable fires of Hell- “MannttuLLAn mAkadal neeruLLAn MalarAL danattuLLAn tanduzhAi mArban-sinatthu Cherunar uga chetruganda tEngOda vaNNan Varu narakam teerkkum marundu”. The MudalAzhwar reiterates this in the very next pasuram thus-“marundum poruLum amudamum tAnE…SengaNmAl”. Sri Vishnu Sahasranama too confirms that the Lord is indeed the Divine Drug, “BhEshajam”. One might think that Sage VyAsA differs, when he declares, “oushadham JanhavI tOyam”(The water of the Holy Ganga is indeed a panacea for all ills)-but we must remind ourselves that Ganga originated after all from the Lord’s Tiruvadi. As is well known, during TrivikramAvatAram, when the Lord’s feet, in their quest for the second measure of land, reached BrahmA’s abode SatyalOkam, Brahma performed tirumanjanam to the Lord’s feet, and the bath water, so to say, became the Ganges, the Holiest of Holy Rivers. Thus the waters of the Ganga are acclaimed as medicine by Vyasa, only due to their sacred origins. Speaking of Sri PAda teerttham, it is no wonder that water sanctified by association with the Holy feet of Bhagavatas is equally potent in destroying sins of the most virulent kind. Due to misfortune, Sri Kandadai Tozhappar, an Acharya Purusha, unwittingly committed an apachArA to Swami Desikan. Ever since, Sri Tozhappar lost his health, fell prey to a debilitating disease, and was without an issue for long. When he analysed the reason for the sudden loss of health, he found out about the injustice done to Sri Vedanta Desikan, and, realising the dreadful nature of BhAgavata apachArA, rushed to the latter, seeking his pardon. After imbibing Sri Desikan’s sri pAda teerttham, Sri Tozhappar regained the full bloom of health and also begot a son, whom he named “Teerttha PiLLai”, in memory of his association with Sri Desikan. This Teerttha Pillai later became one of the illustrious disciples of Sri Desikan. This episode shows that not only the Lord, but His devotees too qualify as Wonder Drugs. Similarly, the prescriptions of another of the Lord’s devotees, Manu, (the predecessor of Sri Rama in the IkshvAku Vamsam, and the author of the famous Dharma Shastra which has guided mankind from time immemorial), are hailed by the Vedas as good medicine -“yet vai Manu: avadat tat bhEshajam” (Whatever Manu opines is good medicine). Our Doctors prescribe any number of drugs-Gentamysin, Streptomysin, Erithromysin, Chloromysin, and what not: but none of them are real cures for the greatest of diseases-“my sins”. The Divine Drug Store has but a single drug in stock-Narayanocillin-which, however, can combat any disease, whether of the body or of the soul, (like ahamkArA and MamakArA) however virulent they are. Predictably, this different Drug Store doesn’t do much business, as people who visit it once have no need to come back. If anyone needs the address of this wonderful pharmacy, one may contact one’s Acharyas, who are the pharmacists manning this Drug Store, and dispense the drug in adequate dosage, after due assessment of the patient’s need. Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra mahadesikaya Nama: --------dasan,sadagopan. Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama: The Divine Drug __________________ “Ugh!”- The feverish child turns her face away from the hand proffering the medicine that would supposedly make her well. She knows that the medicine would be bitter and unpalatable, and has a feeling that the fever would be much easier to endure than repeated dosages of the potion that the doctor has prescribed. Our own reactions to drugs are much similar. We do try to swallow pills (untasted) with a large drink of water. Despite this precaution, if the pill touches our tongue, its bitterness sticks to our palate for quite some time. This is why Ayurveda prescribes several drugs to be taken, duly camouflaged in a medium such as honey or sugar. Even after enduring all this, one is never sure of a cure. Some of the drugs, instead of, or in the process of providing relief for a particular malady, give rise to quite a different ailment, as a side effect. All this makes us long wistfully for a Wonder Drug-, which would be sweet, which would offer a sure-cure and would have absolutely no harmful side effects. And how wonderful would it be, if this drug were to be a panacea to cure all possible maladies! And, apart from curing maladies of the physique, if the drug were to cure us once and for all from the greatest of all diseases-the unending cycle of births and deaths! This may appear to be a far-fetched Technicolor dream or science fiction. You can take it on good authority that it is indeed real. Ages before the advent of modern science, our Sages were very much aware of the existence of such a Cure-All, and were in fact using it to insure against all sickness, physical and otherwise. Sri Kulasekharazhwar gives a clarion call to the world – “Oh Inhabitants of this world of disease! Hearken. I shall disclose a Secret Drug, which will release you from the vicious whirlpool of births and deaths, and will afford you eternal bliss. This is none other than “Krishna RasAyanam”, which shines singularly inside you, if only you care to look inwards. Drink of this Elixir that is Krishna and be delivered of all your diseases, including the chronic ones. If you don’t believe me, then listen to Sages like Sri YagnavalkyA, who have derived the benefit of this Wonder Drug.”—As this translation sounds a bit hackneyed, adiyen quotes the original Mukunda MalA sloka here- “hE lOkA! ShruNuta prasooti maraNa vyAdhE: chikitsAm imam YogagnyA: samudAharanti munayO yAm YagnavalkyAdaya: AntarjyOti: amEyam Ekam amrutam KrishNAkyam ApeeyatAm Tat peetam paramoushadham vitanutE nirvANam Adyantikam”. Azhwar goes on to describe what else this Krishna Oushadham (medicine) is capable of- “VyAmOha: prasamoushadham, muni manO vritti pravruttyoushadham daityOnmoolakaroushadham bhava bhaya pradhvamsanaikoushadham BhaktAtyanta hitoushadham tribhavanE sanjeevanaikoushadham ShrEya: prApti karoushadham piba manO Sri Krishna Divya Oushadham” This is a Powerful Potion indeed- it destroys RakshasAs, is ever in the thoughts of Saints and Rishis, annihilates fears caused by this dreadful SamsArA, ensures the well being of devotees, is a rejuvenating Elixir for the three worlds, and confers upon the partaker all that is good and desirable. Sri Kulasekhara Perumal is only concurring with Sri PEyAzhwar, who declares that Emperuman is indeed the medicine that saves us from the inexorable fires of Hell- “MannttuLLAn mAkadal neeruLLAn MalarAL danattuLLAn tanduzhAi mArban-sinatthu Cherunar uga chetruganda tEngOda vaNNan Varu narakam teerkkum marundu”. The MudalAzhwar reiterates this in the very next pasuram thus-“marundum poruLum amudamum tAnE…SengaNmAl”. Sri Vishnu Sahasranama too confirms that the Lord is indeed the Divine Drug, “BhEshajam”. One might think that Sage VyAsA differs, when he declares, “oushadham JanhavI tOyam”(The water of the Holy Ganga is indeed a panacea for all ills)-but we must remind ourselves that Ganga originated after all from the Lord’s Tiruvadi. As is well known, during TrivikramAvatAram, when the Lord’s feet, in their quest for the second measure of land, reached BrahmA’s abode SatyalOkam, Brahma performed tirumanjanam to the Lord’s feet, and the bath water, so to say, became the Ganges, the Holiest of Holy Rivers. Thus the waters of the Ganga are acclaimed as medicine by Vyasa, only due to their sacred origins. Speaking of Sri PAda teerttham, it is no wonder that water sanctified by association with the Holy feet of Bhagavatas is equally potent in destroying sins of the most virulent kind. Due to misfortune, Sri Kandadai Tozhappar, an Acharya Purusha, unwittingly committed an apachArA to Swami Desikan. Ever since, Sri Tozhappar lost his health, fell prey to a debilitating disease, and was without an issue for long. When he analysed the reason for the sudden loss of health, he found out about the injustice done to Sri Vedanta Desikan, and, realising the dreadful nature of BhAgavata apachArA, rushed to the latter, seeking his pardon. After imbibing Sri Desikan’s sri pAda teerttham, Sri Tozhappar regained the full bloom of health and also begot a son, whom he named “Teerttha PiLLai”, in memory of his association with Sri Desikan. This Teerttha Pillai later became one of the illustrious disciples of Sri Desikan. This episode shows that not only the Lord, but His devotees too qualify as Wonder Drugs. Similarly, the prescriptions of another of the Lord’s devotees, Manu, (the predecessor of Sri Rama in the IkshvAku Vamsam, and the author of the famous Dharma Shastra which has guided mankind from time immemorial), are hailed by the Vedas as good medicine -“yet vai Manu: avadat tat bhEshajam” (Whatever Manu opines is good medicine). Our Doctors prescribe any number of drugs-Gentamysin, Streptomysin, Erithromysin, Chloromysin, and what not: but none of them are real cures for the greatest of diseases-“my sins”. The Divine Drug Store has but a single drug in stock-Narayanocillin-which, however, can combat any disease, whether of the body or of the soul, (like ahamkArA and MamakArA) however virulent they are. Predictably, this different Drug Store doesn’t do much business, as people who visit it once have no need to come back. If anyone needs the address of this wonderful pharmacy, one may contact one’s Acharyas, who are the pharmacists manning this Drug Store, and dispense the drug in adequate dosage, after due assessment of the patient’s need. Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra mahadesikaya Nama: --------dasan,sadagopan. Send your FREE holiday greetings online! http://greetings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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