A Drop in the Ocean

[Guest guest]

0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">Srimate SrivanSatakopa

Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">

0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">                               A Drop in the

Ocean

0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">

       

“Orondru tAnE amayAdo!” enthuses a devotee of Swami Desikan,

pointing  out that even if we have

neither the time nor the powers of comprehension to master all the works of the

Acharya, the regular study of even one of the exalted works, is eminently

capable of leading us on to liberation. However, ardent students of Desikaite

literature would aver that not even an entire stotra or work need be studied: a

single sloka, a single line of a sloka, would bestow such wisdom as to make us

eligibe for emancipation. This is because all the works of the illustrious

Acharya are power-packed, designed to generate in us a deep-rooted devotion

towards the Lord and His votaries, which would ultimately reach us at the

coveted goal of Moksha. Like the invisible golden thread on which precious

pearls and gems are strung, forming an enchanting necklace, the concept of

Prapatti runs through all works of Swami Desikan, whether they be stotras,

plays, kAvyAs, philosophical or polemical works. Knowing fulwell that the

mortals of the future would like everything in capsule form, suffering as they

would from a misplaced sense of priorities and having little time for things

that matter most, the Acharya has made the precept of Prapatti and its practice

the cornerstone of almost all of his works, so that the study of even one would

bless us with the requisite abhiruchi for the performance of Sharanagati through

our own Acharya.

0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">

0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">Two slokas from the

“NyAsa Tilakam” of Swami Desikan are dealt with here, to illustrate the

aforesaid.

0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">

0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">“andha: anandha grahaNa

vasaga: yAti RangEsa! yadvat

0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> pangu: noukA kuhara nihita: neeyatE nAvikEna

0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> bhunktE bhOgAn avidita nripa: sEvakaya

arbhakAdi:

0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> tvat samprAptou prabhavati yathA dEsikO mE

dayAlu:”

0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">

0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">This beautiful verse

tells us that just as a blind man reaches his destination, hand-led by by

another blessed with sight, just as a lame person is able to cross the river by

being put on a boat and taken to the other shore by the boatman, just as the

family of a royal servant, even in the absence of direct contact and

acquaintance with the Sovereign, is able to derive the benefits of the

latter’munificence second-hand, the Jeeva too is guided by the merciful

Acharyas to the otherwise unattainable portals of Paramapadam.

0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">

0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">Though simple in

structure and apparently in purport too, this sloka holds a wealth of 

wisdom to the connoisseur. The reference to

the blind man is indicative of lack of knowledge—GnAnam. Comprehensive

knowledge, about the Self, the Lord, the strategy for liberation and the

hurdles that impede the Pilgrim’s Progress, is absolutely essential for

liberation from our mundane shackles. Few mortals can lay claim to such wisdom,

which is indeed difficult to acquire and assimilate. People without such

knowledge blunder through life aimlessly and knowing not either the place to be

reached or how to reach there, go around in circles and endup where they

started. Such peregrination through the jungle of life leads us deeper and

deeper into the swampland of Samsara, with our getting caught up in the vicious

cycle of births and deaths, with no means of deliverance.  Just as a blind man needs someone to lead

him by hand to ensure safe passage, we too need an Acharya to lead us through

the fierce forest that is life. The Acharya, who knows the terrain well, is

able to guide us through safe trails, avoiding pits filled with the dangerous

vipers of KAma, KrOdha etc., widely skirting dense thickets which might

hide  deadly predators which are but our

own senses (which lie in wait to ensnare and gobble us up). In effect, the

Acharya endows us with wonderful wisdom about who we are truly, what our mission

on this earth is, what is our real stature, who is our Master, how we got

separated from Him and how to be reunited with Him and be a partner in His

endless bliss. Thus the Preceptor leads us by hand, step by step, in our quest

for freedom and ensures that we surrender ourselves at the Lord’s lotus feet.

He supports us when we stumble, lends a shoulder to lean on when we are

fatigued, has a word of encouragement when we are depressed with the long and

apparently unending journey and never tires himself till he delivers us at the

gates of Paradise, handing over charge to the inhabitants of Srivaikunatam.

0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">

0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">The reference to

“anandha:”, or an “unblind” person leading the blind one, is to emphasize the

futility of entrusting our lives to pseudo Gurus, who know not where they

themselves are going, leave alone lead others to the cherished goal. Putting

ourselves in the hands of such impostors would result in the blind being led by

the blind—“andhEnaiva neeyamAnA yathA andhA:” as the Upanishad says. It is

therefore imperative to search for an Acharya belonging to a hoary and proven

tradition, owing allegiance to the time-tested tenets of our Sampradaya, rather

than some nine-day wonder who has managed to garner a motley crowd of

undiscerning disciples about him, irrespective of how persuasive his teachings

are. It is to such an Acharya, belonging to the distinguished lineage of our

beloved Bhashyakara, that we must entrust ourselves, heart and soul.

0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">

0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">GnAnam or wisdom about

matters which matter is indeed essential for liberation, but mere wisdom,

without attendant practice, would be meaningless. What is the use of a doctor

with a string of degrees behind his name, who is unable to treat a common cold?

To be effective, whatever is learnt must be put into practice. When we learn

that we are the Lord’s servants, we should automatically cease caring for

ourselves, realising that He would indeed take care of us, as we are His own

property. When we get to know that all this world is His shareeram, we should

be able to eschew anger, jealousy, hatred etc. directed towards anyone or

anything, for, all of them are an integral part of Bhagavat vibhooti, and one

part of the body cannot be at loggerheads with another. Thus “anushttAnam” or

putting into practice what we have learnt, is extremely essential if we are to

cross the ocean of Samsara. And this is what we sadly lack, being beset by all

sorts of misconduct towards all and sundry, which is made the worse by our

knowledge that such behaviour is to be shunned at all cost. Sri Tondaradippodi

makes fun of such people, who do know what is to be done but lack the drive to

do it, who pose to be paragons of virtue while actually being nothing of the

sort, who sport the appearance of devotees but lack the Atma guNAs 

and impeccable conduct that should accompany

such postures.

0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">

0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">It is such lack of

anushttAnam that afflicts us with spiritual lameness. Despite all these

grievous faults in us, the Acharya takes pity on us, toils a lot as does a

diligent farmer on barren and unyielding soil, dins into us the need for

righteous conduct and behaviour behoving those who belong to the Lord. He makes

us promise to shun all acts abhorrent to the Lord and His devotees, to adopt

only that course of action which pleases our Maker, instils in us an

unshakeable faith in the Paramapurusha, persuades us to surrender ourselves,

body and soul, to the Universal Saviour and makes us realise our helplessness

in saving ourselves or what we regard as our own. In short, the Acharya either

makes us perform Prapatti or does it on our behalf, restoring to the Lord what

is rightfully His property. It is thus that he enables us to cross the perilous

ocean of Samsara, reaching us safe, sound and sane on the shores of

Paramapadam.

0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">

0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> It is customary in this world for people in

high places to favour and oblige only those whom they know personally. Favours

are doled out only to friends, relatives or acquaintances. In such a situation,

where it is extremely difficult to obtain favours from people without atleast a

nodding acquaintance with them, how are we going to wangle out the best of all

boons, Moksha, from the Lord? None of us knows the Lord. We have not spoken to

him nor have been spoken to by Him. We have not seen Him and would probably not

recognise Him if He were to stand right before our eyes this very minute. Many

of us do not even know OF Him, what He looks like, His attributes, His retinue

etc. In sum, but for the most accomplished of souls, none could claim to know

Him or to have seen Him.

0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> Granting all this, is it not a foolish dream

to hope that He would favour us with emancipation?

0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">No, says Swami Desikan,

furnishing the example of a palace servant, who is the beneficiary of the

King’s munificence. The benefits of this royal largesse are automatically

passed on by the servant to his family members, despite their having absolutely

no connection with the King, except through the head of their family.

0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">Similarly, despite our

not knowing the Lord personally, we too can attain the unimaginable bliss of

emancipation through the good offices of an Acharya, who himself has a hot line

to the heavens. Knowing Him well to be the Paramapurusha with all auspicous

attributes (including the all-important one of Mercy) and ourselves to be

sinners of the first order, the Acharya intercedes on our behalf with the King

of all Kings and ensures that we too are rewarded with the fabulous fruit of

deliverance.

0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">

0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">Anyone who is

unacquainted with any other work of Swami Desikan and happens to read only this

particular sloka, is given a fair amount of data about the concepts of the Godhead,

the Acharya, the individual soul, the extremely effective strategy of Prapatti

and the boundless benefits it bestows, in the form of freedom from mundane

shackles and attainment of the ultimate bliss-- that of kainkaryam to the Lord.

If one were to compare the works of Swami Desikan to an ocean of wisdom, this

particular sloka might represent just a single drop. Normally, drops are

entirely insignificant, which is why a “drop in the ocean” is an idiom used to

indicate an inconsequential quantum. However, in the ocean of Swami Desikan’s

works, each individual drop is significant and noteworthy by itself, capable of

independently  imparting wonderful

wisdom. While in the case of other oceans, divers have to search long and deep

for locating pearls and gems, in the case of the unique ocean referred to

above, precious stones and pearls lie strewn on the shores, ours for the

picking, if only we make the effort.

0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">

0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">Srimate Sri

LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra

Mahadesikaya nama:

0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> Dasan, sadagopan