"Clean Bowled!"

[Guest guest]

Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

Clean Bowled!

 

The World Cup fever has gripped everybody and all we hear at home these

days are about the venues of matches between different countries, India's own

(usually) dismal performance, hot debates about the batting styles of Sachin

Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly, the disappointing disqualification of Shane Warne,

disputes about the authorities' decisions about "Man of the Match" awards, etc.

If somebody doesn't know cricket or takes no interest in the proceedings, he is

treated with the contempt and pity he deserves. Old and young, the active and

the infirm, well read and the unlettered, man and woman-everyone's thoughts are

focussed on cricket. Even the ears of the babe in arms pick up at the cry of

"Six!". The home resounds with the cacophony of the commentary, the frenzied

voices of the onlookers raised in excitement and that of the Grandma pleading to

somebody to raise the sound output of the television. Even the mistress of the

house, nearing fifty, stops by amidst her domestic chores, with a derisive

comment or two about the bowling or fielding. The vegetable vendor on the street

rings the doorbell to inquire about the score. The names of the players are more

on everyone's lips than those of the Lord. Where usually people used to perform

archanAs to the Lord in temples for specific requirements such as a pass in the

exams, now they have started seeking improvement in the fortunes of individual

players or whole teams. ArchakAs are no longer surprised to receive requests for

performance of archanAs in the names of Mohammed Kaif or Harbhajan Singh, though

they tactfully omit asking for the relevant GOthra or nakshatra. Gone are the

days when matinee idols used to rule the billboards as well as the minds of

young women, which are now filled with the dashing images of the new Centurions.

Marriage dates are fixed so that they don't clash with crucial one-day matches.

On this, there is a rare unanimity among the bride's side, the Groom's and that

of the officiating priest. Not only are they personally interested in watching

the match, but are also sure that most of the invitees wouldn't turn up if the

wedding were to clash with cricket. Even Cabinet meetings are postponed, if

there is the slightest possibility of their falling on the same day as a popular

match. After all, politicians only reflect the will of the people. The English,

who used to colonize the world a century ago using their firepower, are doing it

now with the game of Cricket, which after all originated in England. If their

tall claim was that the Sun never set in the British Empire, it is now replaced

by the averment that the Sun never sets on the Cricket Ground, what with the

game being played in some part of the world or the other throughout the day and

all the time. The pity, however, is that the originating country has now lost

its monopoly over and even primacy in the game and has been reduced to an

"also-ran" team. Thus the only entities appearing unaffected by Cricket fever

are the Sun and the Moon, who rise and set as per their usual schedule, whether

or not there is a fixture. Even here, one does have sneaking doubts- one feels

that on occasion, the Sun deliberately hides behind rain clouds and induces a

downpour too, to favour the team of his choice.

 

When we reflect on it, we feel that the popularity of Cricket is perhaps due

to its marked resemblance to life itself. For, as everyone recognises, Life is

itself a game, as absorbing, enthralling and unpredictable as Cricket. For the

most part, people play a game all the time to outwit their counterparts in

business or profession. They play games feigning love and affection in their

personal relationships and more games with the Government in the matter of

paying taxes. Politicians play the confidence game on the unsuspecting public

and more games on one another, games of Grab-the-Chair and the toppling game.

And all of us play a confidence trick on the Lord, inducing Him to believe in

the sincerity of our devotion and grant us all that we need. And the Lord too

plays an unending game of Hide and Seek with us. Thus the "Games People Play"

are varied.

 

Coming back to Cricket, there are several similarities between this game and

Life. Every innings represents a lifetime. Just as every batsman is given the

opportunity to amass as many runs as he can, everybody in life if free to make

the best of its opportunities and exploit it to the hilt. While some hit

centuries, some get out cheaply, as in life too, some make good while some just

languish economically, socially, spiritually and otherwise.

 

Just as there are eleven people of the opposing team trying to get the batsman

out, in life too, our five faculties (pancha indriyAs), apart from the six sworn

enemies, viz., KAma, KrOdha, MOha, lObha,Mata and MAtsarya are constantly trying

their best to get us down and out. One has to constantly dodge these rivals and

keep them under strict surveillance, in the manner of a batsman who keeps close

track of field placements, and hits balls to unmanned locations, if we are to

emerge victorious in the game of life.

 

Just as a bowler has a variety of balls in his armoury, life too hurls at us a

fast ball first, a slower one next, an inswinger later, to be followed by an

outswinger. You never know what the next ball has in store for you, so

unpredictable is life's bowling. Sometimes things you are sure of turn out to be

diametrically opposite, just like a Googly.

 

It is the batsman who faces the hostile bowling while the runner at the other

end does little except to watch the former's performance and providing running

support. The Lord too is like a runner, never participating in the proceedings

but watching the Jeevatma battle with the slings and arrows of fortune,

according to its accumulated Karma. The only important difference is that while

the runner too has to take his turn at batting, the Paramatma remains an

observer always and never comes to the batting crease.

 

The Crease represents to the batsman a safe haven, within which he is secure and

after crossing which he is on his own, liable to be run out. Similarly, Shastras

represent the Crease to the Jeevatma. As long as he stays within its confines,

he is safe and secure. Once he crosses this line, he is out on a limb and liable

to be floored by the eleven enemies, who are always alert for the slightest

transgression to take advantage of.

 

The pitch is something over which the batsman has no control, and if he has to

play on a queer one that gives an unpredictable bounce to the ball, his innings

would be short and miserable. In life too, one's baggage of good and bad deeds

is the pitch one has to play on. While some inherit a sunny pitch and blaze

their way into Wisden's Cricketers' Almanac or the pages of history, some fail

miserably even to open their account and form part of the unremarkable, unsung

and nondescript masses, who "also lived".

 

The Dharma DEvata is the Umpire in our lives, judging all our actions

impartially, keeping count of the balls, overs and runs (the seconds, minutes

and hours of our life and our various acts of commission and omission). He is

the final authority on all matters on the field and if one is given out, one

just leaves the ground without even a semblance of protest, irrespective of his

own feelings in the matter. On the field of life too, the Yamadharma Raja is the

final arbiter of when we leave the field. His ruling is final and there is no

use arguing with him, irrespective of whether the moment and manner of exit are

convenient to us or not.

 

Runs represent the years of our life. We may hit a century or get out for a

duck, depending on whether fortune (or our own Karma) favours us or not. Some

batsmen, though they may hit a hundred, might do it all in undistinguished

singles and may take an unconscionably long time doing it, while some others may

blaze their way to a century, all hit in fours and sixes. In life too, we find

brilliant people achieving a lot within a very short life span, while others may

live to be a hundred and have nothing remarkable to show for it.

 

Winning the Cup is not a matter of mere luck or chance, but requires careful

planning, coordination among the team, excellence in all departments of the

game, impeccable execution of carefully considered strategies with clockwork

precision. For success in life too, all these elements are indispensable. One

cannot depend on Lady Luck to smile on one always, and has to plan for

everything, implement the chosen strategy with focus and dedication. This is

especially true of our spiritual lives, where careful control of the senses,

sustained focus on the Lord and His attributes and adoption of a suitable

strategy for Moksha, are indispensable.

 

The Team's Coach plays a vital role in the personal and professional development

and performance of the players, and is often the real reason for the team's

victory. He points out the pitfalls that await each batsman, the trick of

avoiding them, and the ball-by-ball strategy for ensuring a win. In our

spiritual life too, the Acharya guides us carefully through the heavily-mined

and dangerous field of life and puts us through the process of Prapatti, so that

we reach SriVaikuntam safely.

 

There may be any number of trophies, instituted by all and sundry, ranging from

"The Ashes" to the "Wills Trophy" to the Fourth Junior League played under the

aegis of the ACC (accharappAkkam Cricket Club). Though these may have their own

votaries at the different levels of the game, the World Cup represents the

Ultimate Victory in the cricketing world, the crowning glory for which every

team and every cricketer aspires and toils ceaselessly for. The winning team

represents the cream of the cricketing fraternity and is held in high esteem by

one and all the world over.

 

Life too offers any number of minor trophies in the form of flashy new vehicles,

palatial mansions, riches, fame and acclaim, social positions and political

power. However, the discerning seeker is never satisfied with these baubles and

trinkets, and aspires only for the ultimate trophy of Liberation and service to

the Lord at Sri Vaikuntam. He is never tempted by other minor rewards and keeps

his sight steady on the target of Paramapadam and achieves it by adopting the

strategy of Bhakti or Prapatti.

 

Come, let's play for the World Cup!

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana

Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

Dasan, sadagopan