Cheery Chimes

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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika

yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

Cheery Chimes

 

All of us are gladdened by the chimes of the bell. When we were school

children, the ringing of the bell at the end of the day spelled

freedom from the academic prison and from gimlet-eyed teachers. It

was what we (at least the less studious ones like me) used to look

forward to, after lunch. Even after growing up, the mellifluous

chimes of the bell have always fascinated us. I remember that cows in

Tiruvallikkeni invariably had small bells hung around their necks,

emitting tinkling sounds whenever the creatures moved their heads

this way and that. (Only much later did I discover that the practice

of tying bells around the neck of cattle was quite ancient, from Sri

Tondaradippodi’s lines in Tiruppalliezhucchi—“Mettu

iLa mEdigaL talai vidum AyargaL vEynkuzhal Osayum vidai maNi

kuralum”). And the itinerant sweet-vendor had a bell hung

underneath his pushcart and just used to pull the bell-rope to

announce his arrival, rather than hawk his wares with raucous cries.

The temple doors too used to be adorned with numerous small bells,

which jingled and jangled whenever the doors were pushed open or

closed. And children, with their penchant for making some form of

noise or the other constantly, used to mark attendance at the

sannidhi by invariably making these bells ring incessantly. The

arrival of the temple elephant was always heralded by the mellifluous

chimes of the ridiculously small bell hung around its huge neck, at

which sound we children used to rush out of our homes in anticipation

of the visual treat that the pachyderm always provided and for the

fear-tinged pleasure of benediction by the touch of its trunk to our

heads (which, incidentally, was done free of charge, compared to the

current day elephants which have been trained to even look at you

only upon payment of a rupee coin).

 

However, by far the best use of the bell is during the daily worship

of the Lord (“TiruvArAdhanam”), be it at home or the

temple. Whether it be for gently waking up the Lord from His yOga

nidrA or feigned slumber, for lovingly offering Him water for washing

His hands or feet, during His ceremonial bath, for submitting our

humble offering of food, drink, incense or lighted camphor, sounding

of the bell is mandatory, according to manuals of worship dotingly

drafted by affectionate Acharyas.

 

The PAncharAtra SamhitAs impress upon us the indispensability of the

Bell and the modes of its use, during the Lord’s worship. In

fact, the JayAkhya SamhitA tells us that one who wishes to derive the

full benefit of the TiruvArAdhanam

(viz., Bhagavat preeti) should never forsake sounding the bell during the same—

 

“PoojA kAlam vinA anyatra hitam nAsyA: prachAlanam

nAnayA tu vinA kAryam poojanE siddhim icchatA”.

 

This sloka also tells us not to sound the bell except during the Lord’s worship.

 

It is interesting to note the nuances in using the bell. For instance,

on some occasions like opening the PerumAL sannidhi, offering Him

water for wash, during His ceremonial bath and while offering Him

incense and the lamp, the tongue of the bell should be made to touch

only one wall of the bell. On the other hand, while offering Him lit

camphor, food, drink etc., the bell’s tongue should move both

sides, touching the opposite inner walls of the bell alternately.

This is what the VAsudEva SamhitA tells us—

 

“GhantAyA: tAdanam kuryAt HarE: poojAdi karmasu

udghAtanE kavAtasya prastutE poojanE tathA

AvahanE arghyE snapanE vivAhE dhoopa deepakE

Bali karMaNi hOmE cha Eka pArsvEna tAdayEt

neerAjanE yavanikA samuddhArE nivEdanE

ParsvAbhyAm tAdanam kuryAt upachArAnatarEshu tu”.

 

The chimes of the sanctified bell represent the sweetest of strains

from all musical instruments, just as Sri Hari is the embodiment of

all gods. All auspicious sounds emanate from the GhantA (Bell), says

the JayAkhya SamhitA—

 

“Sarva vAdya mayee ghantA sarva dEva mayO Hari:

GhantA shabda gatam sarvam tasmAt tAm chAlayEt purA”.

 

However, while offering the Lord incense or a lighted lamp, we have to

necessarily use our left hand for sounding the bell. We are assailed

by a

doubt here—would it be correct to lift and use the ghantA with

our left hand, for, the right would necessarily be engaged in holding

the incense or lamp? From all the aforesaid, the Bell appears to be

such a sacred component of worship that touching or using it with our

inauspicious left hand appears incorrect. This can be done, says the

ShrIkara SamhitA (“Dhoopam dadyAt svayam kinchit ghantAm vAmEna

nAdayEt”) for, if you insist on holding the bell in your right

hand, then the lamp, camphor, incense etc. would have to be offered

to the Lord with the left hand, which is absolutely unthinkable.

However, while lifting the bell, the right hand should be used and

thereafter its use on the aforesaid occasions should be with the

left.

 

We thus find that the sounding of the bell is intended

1. to drive away evil spirits inimical to spiritual endeavours,

2. to notify devotees and kindred spirits of the ongoing

ArAdhanam and invite their participation in the same and

3. to call upon dEvatAs to honour us with their presence and

accept our ministrations.

 

There is an interesting tale about the Bell, worth narrating. All her

efforts at safeguarding her milk and butter (from Krishna and His

band of urchins) having failed to bear fruit, an ingenious Gopi hits

upon the idea of tying bells to the ropes by which the pots of butter

are suspended from the roof, so that any effort at reaching them would

automatically set off the bells and sound an alarm. When He finds the

bell, Krishna makes it a co-conspirator by requesting it not to ring

and give Him away. How can anyone say no to a request from the

absolutely enchanting boy, who is none other than the Parabrahmam

itself? So the Bell agrees not to ring during Sri Krishna’s

nefarious activities. Emboldened by such consent, Sri Krishna puts

His beautiful hand into the butter pot, scoops up several handfuls,

offers them to His acolytes and fondly watches them consume the same.

True to its promise, the Bell remains silent. And finally, when Sri

Krishna puts some butter into His own mouth and swallows, the Bell

rings stridently, waking up the Gopi and all others within hearing

distance. Angered by this apparent breach of trust by the Bell,

Krishna queries it as to why it chose to ring just then, when He had

begun to eat, having remained silent all along after the thievery had

commenced. The Bell tells the Lord that it could not remain silent

when the Paramapurusha was partaking of food, as it is the

Bell’s honourable duty to ring whenever any offering is made to

the Lord. Mollified by the extremely reasonable explanation, Sri

Krishna forgives the bell and makes good His escape.

The glorious GhantA serving the Lord at Tirumala had a strange desire,

almost eight hundred years ago—it wanted to be born as a human

being. Dissatisfied with emitting just sweet and stentorian sounds

without any profound purport, the Bell of TiruvEnkatamudayAn prayed

to the Lord for a human birth: not any humdrum janmA, but that of a

highly gifted and devoted individual, whose scholarship and bhakti

would be the envy of all those who were born before or after him. And

the Bell desired a path-breaking sojourn on Earth, spreading

enlightenment and showing an easy path to Paradise.

 

“So be it!” said Srinivasa, granting His ghantA’s

desire. Just as Sri Rama chose His parents with care (“Pitaram

rOchayAmAsa vriddham Dasaratham nripam”), the Lord’s Bell

too was pretty particular as to whom it was born to. After careful

consideration and evaluation, the Bell chose a couple from

Kancheepuram, one PuNdarIkAksha YajwA and TOtAramba, a pair renowned

for their flawless devotion and impeccable conduct. To them was born

the Bell, in the form of a male child of varied accomplishments, an

amalgam impossible to find elsewhere.

Sri PrativAdibhayamkaram aNNA records this fact in his Saptati RatnamAlikA thus—

 

“AvirbhUti: yasya vamsAt anarghAt VaisvAmitrAt VishNu ghantA amsakasya

SrImAn sOyam sarva tantra svatantra: vaktA vyAkhyA sArvabhoumO vibhAti”

 

Within the young age of twenty, he had mastered all that was there to

master and had earned the bountiful blessings of his Acharyas, Sri

VainatEya and of Sri HayagrIva Himself, all of which made him a

scintillating scholar, pleasing poet, lofty logician, perfect

philosopher and, above all, a bhaktimAn beyond compare. Exhibiting in

abundant measure the characteristics of his previous form as the

Lord’s ghantA (bell), Sri VEnkatanAtha regaled scholars and the

proletariat alike with his erudition, revealing the sweet and

endearing chimes of the Bell. To opponents, he was verily a terror

(“vibudha vairi varoothinee”), striking fear in their

hearts with his irrefutable propositions and flawless formulations,

reflecting the stern tones of the GhantA in driving away forces

inimical to the Lord (“Daitya ripu ghantA”). Just as the

tones of the GhantA provide the perfect accompaniment to the

Lord’s worship, so do the devotional works of Swami Desikan,

the recitation of which would endow us with the ideal emotional state

conducive to adulating Emperuman. And just as the stentorian tones of

the bell serve to frighten away demoniac and evil forces, Tooppul

Pillai’s works too sound the death knell for the so-called

philosophies of agnostics, atheists and others of their ilk who do

not accept the authority of the Shruti, as also others of skewed

perceptions (“Kudrishti”) who pay lip service to the

Shruti but impose their own uninformed theories on it, in the name of

interpretation.

 

Just as the bell’s chimes are heard over long distances, Sri

Venkatanatha’s glory too spread far and wide, bringing him

laurels and accolades, which, however, he shunned like serpents.

 

Our homes have been provided with calling bells, which visitors sound

to gain admittance. Similarly, the gates of Sri Vaikuntam too are

adorned with a beautiful bell, which we have to ring, for entry into

Paradise. It is this bell that announces to the Lord our arrival at

the gates of Paramapadam and it is at the sound of this bell that He

rushes to welcome us with open arms, sending hordes of nitya sUrIs as

an advance reception party. Once we propitiate this Divine Bell, which

is none other than our revered Venkatanatha, our admittance into the

Divine Residence is assured, for the Bell, in its special tones,

sends a sweet-sounding message to Emperuman, announcing to Him the

unblemished soul awaiting admittance into His abode and the need for

His expeditious action in the matter. Sri Vedanta Desika has

authored so many works in so many languages, all with Bhakti and

Prapatti as the constantly recurring theme, that our acceptance of

him and his illustrious successors as our preceptors would ensure for

us emancipation. Once we adopt the simple but effective strategy of

Prapatti, Sri Venkatanatha, the Lord’s Bell, emits sweet chimes

that guide us unerringly from the mundane morass to the Promised Land,

announcing simultaneously to the Lord our arrival for inclusion into

His fold.

 

“Dharma trANAya ya: abhoot sa jayatu BhagavAn VishNu GhantAvatAra:”

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrisimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri

Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

dasan, sadagopan