Fw: "The Well-dressed Gentleman" Part II

[Guest guest]

SrI:

 

Dear Devotees:

 

adiyEn is deeply grateful to SrImAn Sadagopan Iyengar

Swamy of India for his MahOpakAram in writing a special

article in quick response to the ongoing efforts

for presenting a RathnAngi for Lord DhaivanAyakan of

ThiruvahIndhrapuram.

 

adiyEn is sure that you will enjoy this brilliant

article as much as I did .

 

namO NaarAyaNAya,

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan

 

 

 

Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

The Well-Dressed Gentleman-2

 

We saw how the Lord is an impeccable dresser, and

likes to adorn Himself with the finest of apparels. Just as people wear

different types of clothes for different occasions and reserve their

finery for parties and other social events, the Lord too likes to put on

beautiful clothes on festival days, when He expects a large number of

devotees to congregate. Much like a child, Emperuman too likes to show off

His clothes, especially when He has a huge audience. This is why we find

Him bedecked in all His finery during utsavams and on His days out. If He

can wear silk, He doesn't wear cotton.

 

There are some unique dresses, which the Lord wears just once or twice

a year. They are so grand that even He likes to use them sparingly,

on major occasions. On the rare occasions that He does, it is no

wonder that bhaktAs flock to see Him attired in these special costumes,

for the sight is so exceptionally beautiful, that the devotee knows not

whether the finery adds to Emperuman's appeal or whether it is the Lord who

makes the costume look great. What would look good on an ordinary person

looks extraordinarily gorgeous on the Lord-it is thus clear that is

the wearer who makes the difference and not the cloth.

 

Some of these stunning clothes are the Mutthangi and the

RatnAngi. The former consists of beautiful pearls sewn closely into a

coat of velvet or equally enhancing fabric, while the latter has dazzling

diamonds and gorgeous gems set into the golden-Silver base . These garments

are exceedingly beautiful, as those who have seen these would attest.

The Mutthangi is so closely adorned with brilliant white pearls that it

appears to be a dress made solely out of pearls, and not merely of pearls

in fabric.

 

If pearls themselves could be so beautiful, need we say anything about

the RatnAngi? The splendorous precious stones studding the shiny golden

coat give off a luster that takes your breath away. Each nugget throws up

a kaleidoscope of colours and the combined effect of all the gems is

indeed stupendous.

 

Clothes are clothes and jewels are jewels. They enhance

the looks of the wearer in different ways. The uniqueness of the Mutthangi

and the RatnAngi is that they double as coats and ornaments too. They are

"angi" studded with pearls or precious stones, and, as such, afford the

advantages of both. While no cloth can independently account for so much

splendour, gems too cannot be worn on one's body (though they are worn,

set into jewels, around the neck, on the ears and as rings and bracelets on

the fingers and arms). A RatnAngi affords opportunity for both cloth and

diamond to combine and produce a scintillating effect worthy of the Lord.

When Sri Nammazhwar describes Emperuman's innumerable adornments,("pala

palavE AbharaNam, pErum pala palavE") he must have had items like the

RatnAngi in mind , which perform kainkaryam in several ways to the

Lord-they serve as garments and as adornments too.

 

If the angis themselves are so beautiful, what about the

wearer? The Paramapursha is acclaimed to be the sole repository of all

magnificence, awash with natural brilliance and beauty. He loses none of

His splendour in any of His forms, be it the ParaVasudeva svarupam, the

Vibhava avataras like Sri Rama and Sri Krishna, the arcchavatara or the

beautiful images He inhabits in various sannidhIs on earth or as antaryAmi.

 

The combined effect of the lustrous Lord and the radiant

RatnAngi is a sight fit for the eyes of the celestials. However,

Namperumal lets us mortals too have a brief taste of the blissful vision,

on the day of Vaikunta Ekadasi. As always with the Lord, we are

unable to concentrate on His whole form at once, for its breath-taking

magnificence is too much for our frail faculties. We have to take in part

by beautiful part of His tantalizing tirumEni and the radiant RatnAngi and

even after ogling at the stupefying sight for long, we return unsatisfied

with the

adequacy of our visionary intake. We also feel that the nitynsUrIs must be

staring unblinkingly ("sadA pasyanti") at this very RatnAngi sEvai of the Lord,

for there could be no other sight so impressive as to make us apprehensive of

losing a moment's bliss through winking.

 

We may think, why should the Lord need such adornments,

which must cost a fortune? Would it not be enough if we offered to Him

good, sturdy and clean apparel? Does he insist on such ostentation or

has some of humanity's monopoly-vanity-rubbed off on Him too? If He is

indeed lustrous, what difference would a RatnAngi make on Him?

 

A doting mother likes to dress her child in a variety of

garments every day. She is never satisfied with the vast wardrobe she

has accumulated for the kid and would like him to look his best, always.

For her, all the gorgeous garments in the cloth store appear to have been

made specifically for her son, and she spends all that she can afford

to make him look impeccable. She is thus concerned with making her child

look not merely well-dressed, but exceptionally impressive, though

the child might be naturally beautiful and in need of no such

enhancements.

 

Similar is the predilection of the bhakta. He wants all that is best

in the world for his Lord. He knows fully well that the naturally

magnificent Lord needs no RatnAngi to augment His good looks, but would

still like to adorn Himself with the best of perfect pearls, gorgeous

gems and dazzling diamonds, much in the fashion of the mother described

above.

 

To the Lord who has given us this beautiful world all the great things in

it, who lavishes so much attention on each of us as His own children, forgives

our every grave transgression as a mere lapse, provides us with Shastras

and Acharyas to ensure that we are guided well on the narrow and difficult

path to liberation- is it not our duty to pay Him back at least in some

meager measure to show our gratitude for all His immeasurable love,

though He would be the last person to expect any quid pro quo? All these

baubles are but small recompense for His unlimited affection and

protection-"chattrallavO munnam pettradarkkE!"

 

There is an endearing kainkaryam currently under way-that of adorning

Sri DeivanAyakan of Tiruvaheendrapuram with a RatnAngi. It would be no

exaggeration to say that it is this Emperuman who is dearest to the

heart of our Thooppul VaLLal, who might have been born at Thooppul,

but made "ayindai" his second home, due to his overwhelming devotion for

Sri Devanathan. DEvanAyaka PanchAsat and Achyuta Satakam are standing

testimony to the Acharya's unmatched devotion to the Emperuman of this

divyadesam, who is glorified variously as "DAsa Satyan", "adiyavarkku

Meyyan" etc.

 

The RatnAngi kainkaryam would be dear to the Acharya's heart. Piratti

too would be extremely pleased to see Her Lord resplendent in

a gem-studded garment. Anything that pleases His Consort and

his favourite Acharya would be automatically pleasing to the Lord.

Thus, by participating in the RatnAngi kainkaryam by contributing

our mite, we would be able to earn the appreciation of not merely

the Acharya but also that of the Divya Dampati.And appreciation

or not, it is our "svaroopam", as enlightened Bhagavatas to involve

ourselves whole-heartedly in any such endeavour. In the days

past, there were devoted Kings who built towering temples and adorned

the Lord with any number of precious ornaments, unmindful of the cost.

Alas, there are no such people today, singly endowed with so much wealth,

and even if there are some, they lack the inclination. Under the circumstances,

participative kainkaryam is perhaps what we can afford, so that the per

capita share is quite light. The munificent and well-endowed among us

can contribute sizeable sums, the not so fortunate can chip in with their

mite, however little, and those unable to do even that can spread

the message by word of mouth and otherwise.

 

Though the fund-raising effort of Shri Oppiliappan Koil Satakopan Swami

has been quite encouraging so far, yet in view of the target date

(Purattasi Shravanam-Oct 5,2003) being not all that far off,

the assistance of every one of us is required in this magnificent

and mighty effort, much in the fashion of every single devotee in town

turning up to pull the Lord's "thEr".

 

May the Lord bless us with the opportunity to be a part, big or small,

of this glorious kainkaryam!

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri

Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

Dasan, Sadagopan