"Good Evening!"

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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta

Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

“Good Evening!”

 

Which would you say is the best part of the day?

 

Some would plump for the morning, which generates uplifting emotions

in us, being a time of the day when the Sattva guNa comes to the

fore. It is this time of the day which is suited best for elevating

emotions, when we feel most inclined to engage in prayer, worship,

etc. You would definitely have felt the difference that a cleansing

early morning bath makes —you feel clean, pure and nearer to

God than otherwise. It is this feeling that prompts many to favour

the Morning as the finest part of the day.

 

Diametrically opposite are those who prefer the Night, for the rest

it affords to the body and mind, exhausted with a hard day’s

toil. It is during night that we forget all the tensions of mundane

existence and give ourselves up to blissful sleep, which enables us

to wake up the next morning, well prepared to face the challenges of

yet another day. Thus there is nothing like the night to wipe off

both physical fatigue and mental ennui. Is there any wonder,

therefore, that some consider this as the culminating glory of every

day?

 

There is however one more part of the day, that is neither

day nor night, but carries the best features of both, without the

negative aspects of the two. This is the time of day when the blazing

Sun that makes the mornings and afternoons torrid affairs, is on the

wane. However, the gloom and murkiness of the night, that make it

such an opportune time for nefarious activities, are yet to make

their advent. A pleasant twilight envelops everything, imparting it a

reddish-golden hue, the wind picks up the fragrance of flowers opening

their petals to welcome the birds and bees who have rid themselves of

the stupor induced by the hot day, the cheery chirping and tweeting

of birds, returning to their nest for a reunion with their little

ones after a day in search of food, adds music to the

ambience—in short, to quote a kindred spirit, “God is in

His heaven and everything appears to be all right “ with the

world, in the evening. The Evening, therefore, appears to be the best

part of the day, heralding, as it does, the dawn of peace and

tranquillity vis-à-vis the fierce competition and turbulence of the

day and the absolute inaction of the night.

 

All this is from the outlook of a layperson. From that of

the Vaidka too, the Evening easily triumphs over the other parts of

the day. To mention but one reason, this was the time chosen by the

Lord to manifest Himself as the magnificent man-lion Nrsimha. To this

day, every evening is a glorious reminder to us of this spontaneous

avatara that the Lord assumed, apparently without any premeditation.

And apart from the avowed objectives of all avatAras, those of

protecting the good and destroying evil (“SAdhu paritrANam and

dushkrit vinAsanam”) the third and most endearing objective of

this evening avatAra was validating the words of an ardent

devotee—“Satyam vidhAtum nija bhritya bhAshitam”.

It was to confirm Sri PrahlAdA’s golden words that Hari was

present everywhere, be it a blade of grass or a pillar of stone, that

Sri Nrsimha popped out of a column in Hiranyakasipu’s palace, of

an evening. To honour the terms of the boon the asurA had obtained

from an indiscriminately generous demigod, that he should face death

neither in the day nor in the night, Sri Nrsimha manifested Himself

in the evening, which is neither morning, afternoon, nor night. It is

to commemorate this event that evenings are prescribed as an ideal

period for the worship of this adhbuta KesarI. PradOsha kAla is

therefore ideal for the ArAdhanam of Sri Nrihari, which is sanctified

by the practice obtaining till date in Sri AhObila Mutt, with PAnaka

ArAdhanam being performed to Sri MAlOla at every sundown.

 

If Speech is silver, Silence in golden, says the adage. The value of

silence need not be overemphasised. When we come to think about it,

our tongues are continually engaged in vocalisation of some thought

or the other, with scarce consideration for whether or not the

listener really wants to hear it all. Often what emanate from our

mouth are words unpalatable to others, invective, innuendos and

worthless gossip. What better atonement could there be for such

offences, than to refrain absolutely from using this faculty, at

least for some time? And the beneficial effects of absolute silence

are to be experienced to be believed—if observed in all

sincerity, it would result in a rejuvenation of the spirit and even a

communion with the elusive Inner Dweller. If Mahatma Gandhi was an

ardent votary of Silence and practiced it with regularity and

earnestness, it is because of the glorious inner peace it brought

him. When we cease to speak either with the tongue or the mind, it

silences not only the external noise but also the inner clamour and

clatter, enabling us to listen to the Inner Voice, which is otherwise

lost in the din of speech and thought. It is with this in view that

the Shruti enjoins upon us to devote the glorious Evening to absolute

silence, to contemplation of the Ultimate in blissful quiet. The Vedas

tell us to practice silence daily and with devotion, at

sundown—“ativriksha SooryE vAcham visrujati”. Thus

the Evening represents a welcome change from the constant racket and

din of the day, being a time of hush and quietitude, to be spent in

blissful contemplation of the Almighty, with all faculties focussing

on Him, with the silence prescribed by the Shruti.

 

The evening belongs to the Lord of all Lords, as we saw from the

NrisimhAvatAra. This is confirmed by the SAyam SandhyAvandana mantrAs

too, which tell us to meditate upon GAyatri as a “VishNu

dEvata”, with magnificently mature looks, astride on Sri

VainatEya and holding the Sudarsana Chakra, reciting the glorious

SAma VEda—

 

“SAyam SarasvatIm shyAmAm Ravi mandala madhyakAm

SAma VEdam vyAharantIm chakrAyudha dharAm shubhAm

DhyAyAmi VishNu daivatyAm vriddhAm Garuda vAhanAm”

 

While every evening is a time for silence, devotion and worship as

aforesaid, there are Great Evenings that occur every fortnight

(“MahA PradOsham”), which are characterised by the

presence of the TrayOdasI tithi at sunset. Similarly, there are the

CharutthI PradOsham and the SaptamI PradOsham too. During the MahA

PradOsham, such emphasis is laid on silence that even VEda adhyayanam

is prohibited.

 

The Shruti also tells us that asurAs battle with the Soorya every

morning and evening and it is the waters of the arghya pradAnam,

thrown at the Sun every evening during SandhyAvandanam, that act as a

veritable VajrAyudha and bundle off these asurAs, comprehensively

vanquished, to a God-forsaken island called the MandEhAruNa dveepam.

One who contemplates on the ParamAtmA residing in the Soorya mandalam

in the evening and morning attains everything auspicious, says the

Shruti—“udyantam astamyantam Adityam abhi dhyAyan kurvan

BrAhmaNo vidvAn sakalam bhadram asnutE”.

 

The Evening might be a time for rest, relaxation and rejoicing for us,

but for Sri Nammazhwar, it is a time of torment and torture, as he

describes graphically in all of ten pAsurams, collectively known as

“MAlai poosal”. Though every moment of separation from

Sri Krishna, the Divine Lover, is indeed an ordeal for Azhwar , the

evening is especially cruel, with the threat of the impending, long

night of separation looming large. The gentle evening breeze from the

south carrying the intoxicating scent of the Jasmine (“Malligai

kamazh tendral eerumAlO”) appears to him to be worse than the

sharp winter wind, which chills you to the morrow. The bewitching

music of Kurinji rAga that the breeze carries sounds little better

than a raucous screech. The slanting rays of the setting Sun induce a

stupor, not of bliss but of distress. Reddish clouds, instead of

generating joy, cause only anguish. The mellifluous chime of bells

adorning the necks of cows sounds to be an unbearable din, as does

the incredibly sweet calling of the Koels. The rising Moon, normally

a symbol of romance, with its soft and inviting luminescence, now

appears to virtually blaze like a scorching Sun. While all the

allurements of the golden evening are indeed enchanting in the

company of Sri Krishna, the same sources of attraction turn into

tormenting factors, in His absence. Azhwar, assuming the role of a

GOpi weary with waiting for the wonderful cowherd, laments that the

promised evening of reunion has arrived, in all its splendour, but

there is no sign of Krishna turning up—

“MAlayum vandadu MAyan vArAn”.

 

On the other hand, the NArAyaNeeyam portrays the indescribable bliss

of an evening with Sri Krishna, amidst the sands of Yamuna, with the

rising Moon drenching those present with his soft beams, the balmy

spring breeze bearing the intoxicating scent of innumerable blooms

and the strains from Krishna’s flute transporting everyone to

new heights of delight—“SAyam kAle vAnAntE kusumita

samayE saikatE chandrikAyAm”.

 

Whenever we think of finer things like music, dance or uplifting

lectures on Bhagavat KathA, we find that they are invariably

associated with the evening. Music concerts or Hari KathA expositions

are held mostly in the magical evening rather than the prosaic

morning, for captivating the hearts of audiences. Even filmgoers

appear to prefer the evening show to the matinee, if the crowds are

any indication. So, looked at from the religious angle or the

secular, readers would agree that the Evening is definitely the

preferred portion of the day.

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri

Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

Dasan, sadagopan