The Divine Drug

[Guest guest]

Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra

Mahadesikaya Nama:

 

The Divine Drug

__________________

 

“Ugh!”- The feverish child turns her face away from

the hand proffering the medicine that would supposedly

make her well. She knows that the medicine would be

bitter and unpalatable, and has a feeling that the

fever would be much easier to endure than repeated

dosages of the potion that the doctor has prescribed.

Our own reactions to drugs are much similar. We do

try to swallow pills (untasted) with a large drink of

water. Despite this precaution, if the pill touches

our tongue, its bitterness sticks to our palate for

quite some time. This is why Ayurveda prescribes

several drugs to be taken, duly camouflaged in a

medium such as honey or sugar. Even after enduring

all this, one is never sure of a cure. Some of the

drugs, instead of, or in the process of providing

relief for a particular malady, give rise to quite a

different ailment, as a side effect.

All this makes us long wistfully for a Wonder Drug-,

which would be sweet, which would offer a sure-cure

and would have absolutely no harmful side effects. And

how wonderful would it be, if this drug were to be a

panacea to cure all possible maladies! And, apart from

curing maladies of the physique, if the drug were to

cure us once and for all from the greatest of all

diseases-the unending cycle of births and deaths!

This may appear to be a far-fetched Technicolor dream

or science fiction. You can take it on good authority

that it is indeed real.

 

Ages before the advent of modern science, our Sages

were very much aware of the existence of such a

Cure-All, and were in fact using it to insure against

all sickness, physical and otherwise. Sri

Kulasekharazhwar gives a clarion call to the world –

“Oh Inhabitants of this world of disease! Hearken. I

shall disclose a Secret Drug, which will release you

from the vicious whirlpool of births and deaths, and

will afford you eternal bliss. This is none other than

“Krishna RasAyanam”, which shines singularly inside

you, if only you care to look inwards. Drink of this

Elixir that is Krishna and be delivered of all your

diseases, including the chronic ones. If you don’t

believe me, then listen to Sages like Sri YagnavalkyA,

who have derived the benefit of this Wonder Drug.”—As

this translation sounds a bit hackneyed, adiyen quotes

the original Mukunda MalA sloka here-

“hE lOkA! ShruNuta prasooti maraNa vyAdhE: chikitsAm

imam

YogagnyA: samudAharanti munayO yAm YagnavalkyAdaya:

AntarjyOti: amEyam Ekam amrutam KrishNAkyam

ApeeyatAm

Tat peetam paramoushadham vitanutE nirvANam

Adyantikam”.

 

Azhwar goes on to describe what else this Krishna

Oushadham (medicine) is capable of-

 

“VyAmOha: prasamoushadham, muni manO vritti

pravruttyoushadham

daityOnmoolakaroushadham bhava bhaya

pradhvamsanaikoushadham

BhaktAtyanta hitoushadham tribhavanE

sanjeevanaikoushadham

ShrEya: prApti karoushadham piba manO Sri Krishna

Divya Oushadham”

 

This is a Powerful Potion indeed- it destroys

RakshasAs, is ever in the thoughts of Saints and

Rishis, annihilates fears caused by this dreadful

SamsArA, ensures the well being of devotees, is a

rejuvenating Elixir for the three worlds, and confers

upon the partaker all that is good and desirable.

 

Sri Kulasekhara Perumal is only concurring with Sri

PEyAzhwar, who declares that Emperuman is indeed the

medicine that saves us from the inexorable fires of

Hell-

“MannttuLLAn mAkadal neeruLLAn

MalarAL danattuLLAn tanduzhAi mArban-sinatthu

Cherunar uga chetruganda tEngOda vaNNan

Varu narakam teerkkum marundu”.

The MudalAzhwar reiterates this in the very next

pasuram thus-“marundum poruLum amudamum

tAnE…SengaNmAl”.

 

Sri Vishnu Sahasranama too confirms that the Lord is

indeed the Divine Drug, “BhEshajam”.

One might think that Sage VyAsA differs, when he

declares, “oushadham JanhavI tOyam”(The water of the

Holy Ganga is indeed a panacea for all ills)-but we

must remind ourselves that Ganga originated after all

from the Lord’s Tiruvadi. As is well known, during

TrivikramAvatAram, when the Lord’s feet, in their

quest for the second measure of land, reached BrahmA’s

abode SatyalOkam, Brahma performed tirumanjanam to the

Lord’s feet, and the bath water, so to say, became the

Ganges, the Holiest of Holy Rivers. Thus the waters of

the Ganga are acclaimed as medicine by Vyasa, only due

to their sacred origins.

Speaking of Sri PAda teerttham, it is no wonder that

water sanctified by association with the Holy feet of

Bhagavatas is equally potent in destroying sins of the

most virulent kind. Due to misfortune, Sri Kandadai

Tozhappar, an Acharya Purusha, unwittingly committed

an apachArA to Swami Desikan. Ever since, Sri

Tozhappar lost his health, fell prey to a debilitating

disease, and was without an issue for long. When he

analysed the reason for the sudden loss of health, he

found out about the injustice done to Sri Vedanta

Desikan, and, realising the dreadful nature of

BhAgavata apachArA, rushed to the latter, seeking his

pardon. After imbibing Sri Desikan’s sri pAda

teerttham, Sri Tozhappar regained the full bloom of

health and also begot a son, whom he named “Teerttha

PiLLai”, in memory of his association with Sri

Desikan. This Teerttha Pillai later became one of the

illustrious disciples of Sri Desikan. This episode

shows that not only the Lord, but His devotees too

qualify as Wonder Drugs.

 

 

Similarly, the prescriptions of another of the Lord’s

devotees, Manu, (the predecessor of Sri Rama in the

IkshvAku Vamsam, and the author of the famous Dharma

Shastra which has guided mankind from time

immemorial), are hailed by the Vedas as good medicine

-“yet vai Manu: avadat tat bhEshajam” (Whatever Manu

opines is good medicine).

Our Doctors prescribe any number of drugs-Gentamysin,

Streptomysin, Erithromysin, Chloromysin, and what not:

but none of them are real cures for the greatest of

diseases-“my sins”.

The Divine Drug Store has but a single drug in

stock-Narayanocillin-which, however, can combat any

disease, whether of the body or of the soul, (like

ahamkArA and MamakArA) however virulent they are.

Predictably, this different Drug Store doesn’t do much

business, as people who visit it once have no need to

come back. If anyone needs the address of this

wonderful pharmacy, one may contact one’s Acharyas,

who are the pharmacists manning this Drug Store, and

dispense the drug in adequate dosage, after due

assessment of the patient’s need.

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka

SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra mahadesikaya

Nama:

--------dasan,sadagopan.

 

 

 

 

Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra

Mahadesikaya Nama: