"The Lord Remembers Not"

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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

The Lord Remembers Not

 

We saw how the Lord has a prodigious memory for our good deeds,

"KritagyatA' being one of His principal attributes. However, this, by itself, is

not enough. If the Lord were to be an extremely fair person, guided solely by

the rulebook, meting out rewards for the merits we accumulate and commensurate

retribution for our transgressions, we would be nowhere. Many of us commit

lapses, knowingly and otherwise, all through our lifetime, and in life after

endless life. If the Lord were to cumulate all the sins we commit and insist on

exemplary punishment, we would forever be wallowing in the mundane morass. As

Swami Desikan remarks, if the Lord is the repository of all auspicious

attributes, we too are no less in stature- we are Titans in Transgression

("aparAdha ChakravartthI"). This being so, we are able to commit in a trice

grave and innumerable sins, which would take the Lord years to process and

pardon.

 

Thus, given our predilection for PApam, the Lord can never lay down His

instruments of reprisal, if He were to act as an Avenging Angel. It would

however be an impossible task, even for the omnipotent Lord, to keep count of

and mete out just punishment for each and every one of our misdeeds. Perhaps it

is this factor, which forces Him to adopt a forgiving attitude.

 

Recalling Sri Rama's goodness, Sri Valmiki remarks that even if a

person were to do Him a hundred bad turns, the Prince of Ayodhya never

remembered them. There are those who tolerate insults and refrain from punitive

reprisals, but even they would definitely harbour some misgiving or other

against the offender. Sri Raghava was not only unmoved by offences against

Himself, however grave and numerous they were, but also promptly forgot about

them, says Sri Valmiki-

 

"na smarati apakArANAm satamapi AtmavattayA".

 

When we analyse the true purport of the term "Atmavatthaya"(which is ascribed as

the reason for the Lord readily forgetting all our wrongdoings), we arrive at

the conclusion that it refers to the beneficial presence of Piratti. "ardhO vA

Esha Atmana: Yat patnI" says the Shruti, giving the Better Half a significant

stature in the scheme of things, and Emperuman appears to be no exception to the

Universal Law. Thus, even though the Lord might, by nature, be inclined to be

just and expect us to reap the fruits of our misdeeds, His justice is liberally

tempered with Mercy, due to the constant presence of His Consort.

 

According to the Maharshi, Sri Rama took cognizance of transgressions, but

never remembered them. Swami Desikan, going a step further, avers that the Lord

never even recognizes the offences as such, turning a blind eye to them-"Bhakta

dOshEshu adarsanam". Lest anyone misconstrue this to be the result of the Lord's

own loving nature, Swami Desikan hastens to add that it is due to the seductive

glances of Sri NeeLA. dEvi that the Lord is prevented from casting even a

cursory glance at the offences of His devotees-

 

"nisAmayatu mAm NeelA yat bhOga patalai: dhruvam

BhAvitam SrinivAsasya bhakta dOshEshu adarsanam"

 

That the Lord falls heavily for the charms of His Consorts is borne out by Sri

Nammazhwar's sreesookti,

 

"alli malar magaL bhOga mayakkugal Agiyum nirkum ammAn"

 

Thus Sridevi, Bhoodevi and Neeladevi keep the Lord entangled in their romantic

web, such that He is able to neither take cognizance of our misdeeds nor award

appropriate punishment.

 

"Isvaranai azhagAlE tirutthum" says Sri Pillai Lokacharya, confirming that the

Divine Consorts use their boundless beauty as a tool of blackmail, to ensure

that the Lord never lifts a punitive finger against any devotee for his

misdemeanours. Sri Manavala Mamuni's beautiful lines of elaboration in this

regard are as follows:

 

"Unakku paNi andrO idu, endru upadEsatthai udari taLLinavArE, kaNNai purattudal,

kacchayai negizhtthudal seydu, tan azhagAlE avanai picchEttri, tAn sonnapadi

seidu alladu nirka mAttAdapadi paNNi angeekAra unmukhan Akkugai"

 

Piratti tells the Lord that there is none in the world who doesn't commit

mistakes and that as the Divine Father, it is the Lord's duty to forgive and

forget, irrespective of the graveness of the offence. If the Lord is not

inclined to listen, either due to the offence being deadly serious or because

the offender is a habitual one, Piratti throws Him a glance filled with love,

and exercising all Her feminine guile, makes Him so enamoured with Her that He

is ready to do Her bidding in the matter of absolution for the sinner.

 

We now know where our better halves inherit their persuasive skills from,

especially when they are intent on committing us to a course of action which we

would never even contemplate adopting. Ladies' powers of persuasion are such

that their male counterparts, who usually start with a firm "No!" to the

proposal, tone it down to "You know that this is not possible at this juncture"

five minutes later, and further to "let me see. I am not committing myself.".

After another ten minutes of listening, the man usually surrenders honourably,

with "Oh well! Have it your own way." Even the most resolute of men has no

reply to the ultimate weapon in women's armoury, viz, tears. If men are

pig-headed enough not to listen to the feminine voice of reason, then tears come

into the arena, usually enforcing a meek surrender. The Lord too is no exception

to this Universal Law, and ends up doing what the Lady of the house desires.

After all, He, like most of us, simply carries out His Lady's wishes-"tad ingita

parAdhIna:" says Sri Koorattazhwan. And when it is His Consort's desire that

devotees' misdeeds should not be taken cognizance of, the Lord says "TathAstu"

and turns a blind eye to them.

 

There are thus several reasons for the Lord's short memory, as for as

His bhaktAs' offences are concerned.

 

1. By nature, the Lord Himself is infinitely merciful. He is a "KaruNA

varuNAlayam", a veritable ocean of Mercy, and a "KaruNA Kakutstttha:". This

makes Him a lenient father tolerantly forgiving the lapses of his beloved

children. If someone were to carry tales to Him about us, He would just turn a

deaf ear, even in the impossible event of Piratti being the

complainant-"TamarayAL Agilum chidagu uraikkumEl, en adiyAr adu seyyAr, seidAlum

nandrE seidAr enbar pOlum"

 

2. Emperuman has the ever-merciful Mahalakshmi as His constant companion.

Being the Universal Mother, this Lady knows not what anger or punishment

is-"nityam agyAta nigrahAm". She is just incapable of being offended by anything

we do, and would do all that is in Her immense power to ensure that we come to

no grief, interceding with Her spouse on our behalf whenever necessary. "na

kaschit na aparAdhyati" is Her oft-repeated averment, reminding the Lord that He

would find none except sinners in this world, however hard He might search, and

hence He should take a tolerant view of His bhaktAs' misdemeanours.

 

3. Sri Bhoodevi, the Lord's other Consort, is the personification of

tolerance-"Sarvam SahA". Searching for an apt simile for the Lord's "porumai",

Sri Valmiki ends up comparing Him with His own Consort, unable to find a better

repository of this virtue-"KshamayA PrithivI sama:". Every day, She forgives us

our innumerable transgressions, but for which our burden of misdeeds would

become unbearably heavy.

 

4. Sri NilA Devi is known for the exercise of Her feminine charms on the

Lord, to ensure that He forgives and forgets, and, better still, doesn't look

our way at all when we commit lapses-"bhAvitam SrinivAsasya bhakta dOshEshu

adarsanam".

 

5. DayA Devi is another inseparable companion of the Lord, keeping in

strict check His other attributes like GnAnam, Shakti, Balam etc., which apprise

Him of our offenses and recommend just retribution. The magnificence of this

Consort of the Lord should be evident from the fact that Swami Desikan, who

devoted mere thirty-odd slokas to Sridevi, Bhoodevi and Kodai Nachiar, composed

108 brilliantly beautiful verses in praise of Daya Devi.

 

6. If all else should fail, there are our merciful Acharyas, who are of our

own ilk and hence in a better position to appreciate our frailties and

compulsions. They strongly intercede with the Lord on our behalf and spare us

from what would be one continuing saga of punishment.

 

With all the aforesaid entities pleading to the Lord on our

behalf, is it any wonder that the Lord Remembers Not?

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana

Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

Dasan, sadagopan