The Ultimate Arsenal

April 7, 2004

Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta

Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

“ommAcchI, kai kooppu” is what our

parents told us to do, in our childhood. And it is what their parents

told them to, when they in turn were children. Thus, as a tradition,

we have been taught to fold our palms in supplication, when standing

before the Lord. What exactly does this gesture, which has been in

vogue from time immemorial and is being passed on from one generation

to another, actually mean? Is it based on some scriptural authority or

is it just an empty mannerism which, rightly or wrongly like so many

others of its ilk, has somehow survived the test of time?

Scripture refers to this gesture of supplication with

folded palms, as “anjali”. And references to this anjali

are numerous and adulatory, be it in Srimad Ramayana, Sri

Mahabharata, Puranas or Acharya sreesooktis. The greatness and glory

of this simple gesture are so vast that Swami Desikan thought it fit

to author a separate work on the same, titled “anjali

Vaibhavam”. Sri Alavandar has enshrined the significance of

this gesture in his Stotra Ratnam, while other Acharyas too are not

lacking in glorifying the greatness of anjali.

If we look into the etymological structure of this word, we find

it to be extremely significant—“am jalayati iti

anjali:”—this tells us that the apparently simple folding

of palms is so potent that it completely floors the Lord and melts Him

down, making Him abandon all idea of awarding commensurate penalty for

our innumerable misdeeds. “am” in the aforesaid sentence

refers to the Lord, who is represented by the letter “A”

(“akArArtthO VishNu:”). Sage BharadvAja tells us that

this anjali is the best of all gestures and secures for us the

favours of the Lord , with all expedition—“anjali: paramA

mudrA, kshipram dEva prasAdinI”. There are any number of good

deeds which earn us merit and ultimately afford us liberation from

this mundane morass—cleaning up the Lord’s temple,

adorning it with floral designs, fashioning garlands for Emperuman

out of fragrant blooms, lighting up the Lord’s abode with lamps

lit with ghee, gingelly oil etc., circumambulation of His sannidhi,

prostrating before Him in such a way that all eight parts of the body

touch the ground (“sAshtAnga praNAmam”), constant

contemplation on esoteric formulations incorporating His hallowed

names (Mantra japam), engaging in melodious exposition of His praises

and so on. If the ultimate aim of all these endeavours is to please

the Lord, then one need not resort to all these at all, and could

confine himself to a mere anjali, which is more powerful than all the

aforesaid in earning us the Lord’s pleasure. Whatever merits the

other kainkaryams listed above might earn us in course of time, a

single gesture of folded palms secures for us in a trice, says Sri

Bharadvaja—“Kshipram dEva prasAdinI”.

Sri Alavandar devotes a full verse to adulate this anjali—

“ tvat anghrim uddisya kadApi kEnachit yathA tathApi sakrit krita anjali:

tadaivam mushNAti asubhAni asEshata: subhAni pushNAti na jAtu heeyatE”

Each word of this verse is pregnant with meaning.

“Tvat anghrim uddisya”—This gesture is meaningful

only if addressed to the Lord. Anjali to all and sundry human beings

or to lesser dieties would not bring us any lasting benefit.

“kadApi”—There is no time specification for anjali.

Unlike Sandhyavandanam which can be performed only at the confluence

of the three sandhIs, unlike Mantra japam which requires purity of

body and soul, unlike yAgAs and yagyAs which too are time-specific,

this gesture of folded palms can be adopted any time, with absolutely

no restriction. Night or day, summer or winter, full moon or new moon,

makes no difference for joining our palms in supplication to the Lord.

We can do it the moment we develop the urge.

“kEnachit”—Performing sacrifices is the prerogative

of the traivarNikAs. BrahmachArIs alone can perform SamidAdAnam.

Only males of the aforesaid group can imbibe and propagate the Vedas.

Unlike all these restriction-bound deeds which are subject to

constraints of VarNa, Ashrama etc., anjali falls within the domain of

everyone, irrespective of cast, creed, colour, age or sex.

“yathA tathA vApi”—Most of the karmAs which earn us

merit have to be performed in a particular fashion. Doing them

otherwise would not only deny us of the intended fruit, but would

also prove counter-productive. We thus hear of TvashtA begetting a

son who would be killed by Indra, while his actual prayer was for an

offspring who would end Indra’s life, all because Tvashta erred

in the intonation of a Veda mantra. We hear of Brahmins turning into

BrahmarAkshasAs due to shortcomings in the performance of sacrifices.

Unlike all these rule-bound deeds, an anjali can be executed in any

fashion.

“Sakrit krita:”—While most of the meritorious deeds

require repetitive performance, a single performance of anjali

destroys all inauspiciousness and builds up all that is good for us.

Why is this simple gesture touted to be such an effective instrument

in accomplishing such exalted goals? Because it signifies the

surrender of one’s soul, the absolutely priceless offering

which is relished by Emperuman. If we consider the

“anjali” mudrA, the palms folded together resemble a

lotus bud, which is also the shape of our heart (Hridaya

Kamalam)—“Padma kOsa prateekAsam hridayam chApi adhO

mukham” says the Narayana anuvAkam. Just as the lotus is the

best of flowers one can offer the Lord, our heart and the soul

resident therein, are indubitably the most valuable of tributes that

we can submit at His feet. It is thus that the anjali pleases

Emperuman no end, signifying, as it does, the ultimate offering that

can be submitted by anyone. And a tip here about the folded palm,

learnt from elders—the palms should not be pressed flat

together, but held loosely together with the tips of the fingers

touching one another, so that the joined palms resemble a lotus.

A further beauty of the anjali mudrA is that while it represents a

gesture of surrender to the arcchA murtthi we stand before at the

Sannidhi, it simultaneously envisages obeisance to the Inner Dweller,

the antaryAmi, who is forever resident in our hearts and souls. The

position of the palms in this mudrA is such that it is in line with

our chest, inside which is situated our heart, in which is enshrined

the Lord, in His form as the “HArda” or the Inner

Dweller.

We might adorn the Lord at temples with any number of the most

brilliant of gems and jewels made of the most precious of metals, but

the ornament the Lord likes the most is our “anjali”, the

simple gesture of folded palms with an accompanying attitude of

self-surrender, says Sri Nammazhwar—

“dEsamAna aNikalanum en kai kooppu seigayE”.

Just as a diamond’s brilliance is enhanced by a glittering gold

setting, so too the efficacy of the anjali is heightened by certain

accompaniments, says Sri KulasekharAzhwar. The palms folded in

obeisance should be accompanied by a head bowed in devotion, hairs

standing erect with the intensity of Bhagavat anubhavam, a voice made

extremely shaky with emotion, eyes full of tears occasioned by depth

of feeling for the Paramatma and so on, all of which cumulatively

take us to unimaginable heights of sublime spiritual experience. It

is those who have all these external signs of devotion, whose

constant company we should crave for, says Azhwar. Here is the

beautiful sloka from Sri Mukunda MAlA—

“baddhEna anjalinA natEna shirasA gAtraischa rOmOdgamai:

kanttEna svara gadgadEna nayanEna utkeerNa bAshpAmbunA

nityam tvat charaNAravinda yugaLa dhyAna amruta AsvAdinAm

asmAkam SaraseeruhAksha! satatam sampadyatAm jeevitam”.

However, many a folded hand hides a lethal weapon, as happened in the

case of MahAtmA Gandhi, whose life was taken by NAturAm GhotsE,

hiding a pistol between his folded palms. People like me are very

much like Ghotse, for the anjali mudra addressed to the Lord often

hides an attitude of ahankAram and MamakAram (Pride and

Possessiveness), both of which are deadly weapons causing extensive

damage to the soul. These “kAram”s, apart from being

hurtful to oneself, also bring tears of pain and sorrow to Emperuman,

who is saddened at the incorrigibility of the human race despite His

efforts for its emancipation. Hence, it is not enough to simply fold

our hands, for anjali to be effective and rewarding—all the

external accompaniments as prescribed by Sri Kulasekhara Perumal

should be there. More important than these, we should make the anjali

with the right attitude of mind, with our souls shorn, at least for

the moment, of the stigma of the crippling ahankAram and killing

MamakAram. “Easier said than done!”, I hear readers

remark sceptically, but all this comes out of constant practice, as

Sri Krishna tells Arjuna—“abhyAsEna tu KountEya!”.

We have been talking about weapons lurking between folded palms. Swami

Desikan says, however, that the folded palms are themselves a weapon

and the most potent of them at that. You can imagine the efficacy of

this missile, if I tell you that it has the capability of flooring

Emperuman Himself and of proving to be an effective shield against

any arrows that the Lord might let loose against us, fed up with our

constant transgression of His dicta. In His anger at our unrepentant

attitudes and continuing crimes against ourselves, humanity and the

Lord, the Lord often considers possibilities of punitive action, when

all else (SAmam, bhEdam and dAnam) fails. And He lets loose against us

arrows of token punishment for our sins. However, even the

Lord’s weapons loose their efficacy, when confronted by our

gesture of “anjali”. This potent weapon in our hands

melts down the Lord to such an extent that He throws down bow and

arrow, forgets everything about chastising us and comes running to

embrace us and to take us to His abode, to treat us to the eternal

and boundless bliss that He Himself enjoys at Paramapadam. Thus even

the most potent of punitive arrows lose their cutting edge and become

mere blunt and impotent missiles, when warded off with the weapon of

anjali, says Swami Desikan in Sri Varadaraja Panchasat—

“HastIsa! Du:kha visha digdha phalAnubandhini

Abrahma keetam aparAhata samprayOgE

Dushkarma sanchaya vasAt duratikramE na:

Pratyastram anjali: asou tava nigrahAstrE”

Anjali is thus both a protective weapon (guarding us against exemplary

divine retaliation on account of our sins) and an offensive one,

flooring the Lord with a single shot, making Him feel compelled to

rush to our rescue from the mundane morass.

Is there any doubt in declaring Anjali to be The Ultimate Arsenal?

Srimate Sri LakshmInrisimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri

Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

dasan, sadagopan

April 12, 2004

Dear Sri Sadagopan,

Sure Anjali is the ultimate Arsenal. On reading your wonderful

posting adiyen was reminded of the excellent sloka of Sri Parasara

bhattar in his masterpiece "Sri Guna ratna gOsham" where Sri bhattar

beautifully portrays the reaction of periya pirattiyar on seeing her

kids with folded hands in front of her.

"Ishvaryam aksharagathim paramam padam vA

kasmaichit anjalibharam vahathE viteerya

asmai na kinchithuchitham krithamith yathAmbha !

tvam lajjasE kathaya kOya mudArabhAva: !"

Oh! Divine Mother you bless those who come infront of you with folded

hands with all the wealth, kaivalyam and even moksha and still feel

that you haven't done enough for the great strain he has taken to do

anjali to you and hence your head is bowed down due to shame. What

to say about your divine quality! Please tell.

Is doing anjali so very difficult? Yes it is not that easy for the

jeevatmas filled with ahankaram and mamakaram. So if one jeevatma

happens to lift his hand and do anjali the happiness of piratti is

boundless. 'Oh! he has overcome his ego and pride and has done

anjali what shall I do for him?' wonders and worries piratti and not

being able to satisfactority gift him she feels ashamed and hence

bows her head down says Sri Parasara bhattar.

Alwar emperumAnAr Jeeyer thiruvadigalE sharaNam

Adiyen ramanuja dAsee

Sumithra Varadarajan

-

sadagopaniyengar

; Oppiliappan ; tiruvenkatam

Wednesday, April 07, 2004 9:05 AM

The Ultimate Arsenal

Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta

Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

The Ultimate Arsenal

“ommAcchI, kai kooppu” is what our parents told us

to do, in our childhood. And it is what their parents told them to,

when they in turn were children. Thus, as a tradition, we have been

taught to fold our palms in supplication, when standing before the

Lord. What exactly does this gesture, which has been in vogue from

time immemorial and is being passed on from one generation to

another, actually mean? Is it based on some scriptural authority or

is it just an empty mannerism which, rightly or wrongly like so many

others of its ilk, has somehow survived the test of time?

Scripture refers to this gesture of supplication with

folded palms, as “anjali”. And references to this anjali are numerous

and adulatory, be it in Srimad Ramayana, Sri Mahabharata, Puranas or

Acharya sreesooktis. The greatness and glory of this simple gesture

are so vast that Swami Desikan thought it fit to author a separate

work on the same, titled “anjali Vaibhavam”. Sri Alavandar has

enshrined the significance of this gesture in his Stotra Ratnam,

while other Acharyas too are not lacking in glorifying the greatness

of anjali.

If we look into the etymological structure of this word, we find

it to be extremely significant—“am jalayati iti anjali:”—this tells us

that the apparently simple folding of palms is so potent that it

completely floors the Lord and melts Him down, making Him abandon all

idea of awarding commensurate penalty for our innumerable misdeeds.

“am” in the aforesaid sentence refers to the Lord, who is represented

by the letter “A” (“akArArtthO VishNu:”). Sage BharadvAja tells us

that this anjali is the best of all gestures and secures for us the

favours of the Lord , with all expedition—“anjali: paramA mudrA,

kshipram dEva prasAdinI”. There are any number of good deeds which

earn us merit and ultimately afford us liberation from this mundane

morass—cleaning up the Lord’s temple, adorning it with floral

designs, fashioning garlands for Emperuman out of fragrant blooms,

lighting up the Lord’s abode with lamps lit with ghee, gingelly oil

etc., circumambulation of His sannidhi, prostrating before Him in

such a way that all eight parts of the body touch the ground

(“sAshtAnga praNAmam”), constant contemplation on esoteric

formulations incorporating His hallowed names (Mantra japam),

engaging in melodious exposition of His praises and so on. If the

ultimate aim of all these endeavours is to please the Lord, then one

need not resort to all these at all, and could confine himself to a

mere anjali, which is more powerful than all the aforesaid in earning

us the Lord’s pleasure. Whatever merits the other kainkaryams listed

above might earn us in course of time, a single gesture of folded

palms secures for us in a trice, says Sri Bharadvaja—“Kshipram dEva

prasAdinI”.

Sri Alavandar devotes a full verse to adulate this anjali—

“ tvat anghrim uddisya kadApi kEnachit yathA tathApi sakrit krita anjali:

tadaivam mushNAti asubhAni asEshata: subhAni pushNAti na jAtu heeyatE”

Each word of this verse is pregnant with meaning.

“Tvat anghrim uddisya”—This gesture is meaningful only if addressed to

the Lord. Anjali to all and sundry human beings or to lesser dieties

would not bring us any lasting benefit.

“kadApi”—There is no time specification for anjali. Unlike

Sandhyavandanam which can be performed only at the confluence of the

three sandhIs, unlike Mantra japam which requires purity of body and

soul, unlike yAgAs and yagyAs which too are time-specific, this

gesture of folded palms can be adopted any time, with absolutely no

restriction. Night or day, summer or winter, full moon or new moon,

makes no difference for joining our palms in supplication to the

Lord. We can do it the moment we develop the urge.

“kEnachit”—Performing sacrifices is the prerogative of the

traivarNikAs. BrahmachArIs alone can perform SamidAdAnam. Only males

of the aforesaid group can imbibe and propagate the Vedas. Unlike all

these restriction-bound deeds which are subject to constraints of

VarNa, Ashrama etc., anjali falls within the domain of everyone,

irrespective of cast, creed, colour, age or sex.

“yathA tathA vApi”—Most of the karmAs which earn us merit have to be

performed in a particular fashion. Doing them otherwise would not

only deny us of the intended fruit, but would also prove

counter-productive. We thus hear of TvashtA begetting a son who would

be killed by Indra, while his actual prayer was for an offspring who

would end Indra’s life, all because Tvashta erred in the intonation

of a Veda mantra. We hear of Brahmins turning into BrahmarAkshasAs

due to shortcomings in the performance of sacrifices. Unlike all

these rule-bound deeds, an anjali can be executed in any fashion.

“Sakrit krita:”—While most of the meritorious deeds require repetitive

performance, a single performance of anjali destroys all

inauspiciousness and builds up all that is good for us.

Why is this simple gesture touted to be such an effective instrument

in accomplishing such exalted goals? Because it signifies the

surrender of one’s soul, the absolutely priceless offering which is

relished by Emperuman. If we consider the “anjali” mudrA, the palms

folded together resemble a lotus bud, which is also the shape of our

heart (Hridaya Kamalam)—“Padma kOsa prateekAsam hridayam chApi adhO

mukham” says the Narayana anuvAkam. Just as the lotus is the best of

flowers one can offer the Lord, our heart and the soul resident

therein, are indubitably the most valuable of tributes that we can

submit at His feet. It is thus that the anjali pleases Emperuman no

end, signifying, as it does, the ultimate offering that can be

submitted by anyone. And a tip here about the folded palm, learnt

from elders—the palms should not be pressed flat together, but held

loosely together with the tips of the fingers touching one another,

so that the joined palms resemble a lotus.

A further beauty of the anjali mudrA is that while it represents a

gesture of surrender to the arcchA murtthi we stand before at the

Sannidhi, it simultaneously envisages obeisance to the Inner Dweller,

the antaryAmi, who is forever resident in our hearts and souls. The

position of the palms in this mudrA is such that it is in line with

our chest, inside which is situated our heart, in which is enshrined

the Lord, in His form as the “HArda” or the Inner Dweller.

We might adorn the Lord at temples with any number of the most

brilliant of gems and jewels made of the most precious of metals, but

the ornament the Lord likes the most is our “anjali”, the simple

gesture of folded palms with an accompanying attitude of