The Means and the End

[Guest guest]

Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama:

 

 

 

The Means and The End

 

 

 

 

 

The cornerstone of our Sampradaya is an unflinching faith (MahA VisvAsam) in

the Lord Sriman Narayana, a faith that He would take care of us at all times,

that He would bestow on us all that is required, at the appropriate time and in

due measure, a faith that would withstand the test of severe adversity. He is an

Arbiter, who ensures that we have a fair deal in life, in tune with our acts of

commission and omission, good and bad, accumulated over countless births.

Endowed as we are with a large measure of independence, what we are and what we

attain, are but functions of what we have done and omitted to do.

 

 

 

Many a time, we find ourselves in difficult situations, ranging from illness of

the self or of the family members, emergent need of money with no known source

to raise it from, challenging exams looming ahead with preparation therefor

being woefully inadequate, etc. What do we do at such times? We pray. Of

course, we leave no stone unturned to achieve the desired goal or to resolve the

problem, but when we find these inadequate, we pray to the Lord to come to our

aid. This is known as " KAmya prArtthanA " . Our philosophy tells us that such

prayer should be avoided, as it reflects our lack of faith in the Lord's

dispensation and His capacity to understand and fulfill our needs. We might

desperately desire a car or a mansion, but whether these are in our real

interests or not is unknown to us. As somebody rightly said, more people are

unhappy because their wishes are granted than those with unfulfilled wants.

Hence the best thing to do is to perform our duties to the best of our abilities

and to leave everything to Him, with the conviction that He would indeed endow

us with everything we really need. If we fail to get a deserved promotion, if a

desired acquisition fails to materialize at the last minute, we should reconcile

ourselves with the thought that perhaps it was not really in our interest to

have attained the desired goals. This might be easier said than done, but would

definitely save us a lot of heartburn and grief, while training us to accept the

divine dispensation with equanimity.

 

In a scenario of unfulfilled desires, probably the worst thing to do is to

rush to an anya devata, forsaking our own Lord and Master. However, for people

like us with fickle minds and wavering intellects, it is natural to obtain

relief wherever available, irrespective of the tradition and faith in which we

were born and brought up. When the sick child fails to get better despite

treatment, a concerned neighbour suggests prArtthanA to a famed demigod nearby

or to a shrine known for its sure-cures. And in our desperation to see the

child back in normal health and unable to endure its suffering, we grasp at the

neighbour's suggestion as would a drowning man at mere straws. And if the effort

is fruitful, we develop a faith in the demigod who has apparently cured the

child with alacrity. This faith in turn erodes our original confidence in our

Lord and whenever we are in trouble, we acquire the habit of turning to the

demigod for succour, and ultimately become votaries of an alien faith. We have

also seen some Vaishnavites flocking to even Christian and Moslem shrines for

relief.

 

 

 

Logically speaking, if a particular deity (other than our Lord) is able to cure

an illness or grant a wish, why should we not pay obeisance to that deity? After

all, doesn't the granting of a wish prove the power of the deity, and what is

wrong in resorting to this? If the argument is that only Sriman Narayana can

grant us Moksham, we can always come back to Him after getting our mundane

desires fulfilled through other lesser Gods, can't we, thus ensuring the best

deal in both the worlds?

 

There are several fallacies in such facile arguments.

 

 

 

For one thing, the act of approaching anya devatas for assistance is a virtual

declaration of " no confidence " in Sriman Narayana, whom the Shruti avers is the

Parabrahmam or the Ultimate. In comparison, other deities can hardly be

superior. If such be the case, what would be the point in praying to them for

succour, when we have the all-powerful Lord awaiting a word from us? It would be

like forsaking the Master Physician at our door and rushing to a quack for

treatment.

 

 

 

Secondly, Shastras lay down that only Sriman Narayana is the " Purusha " , and all

the rest are women. He is the " Pati " and all others " PatnIs " . If we were to pray

to a demigod for fulfilling a particular desire, it would be akin to a hitherto

faithful wife seeking satisfaction from somebody other than her husband.

 

 

 

Thirdly, a person becomes a Vishnu bhakta as a result of countless births of

devotion to other lesser devatas. Hence, if one were to go back to worship of

other deities for achieving mundane goals, it would be like a graduate student

reverting to kindergarten.

 

 

 

Fourthly, the powers of other deities to make our dreams come true, are derived

from Sriman Narayana, who is the master of all sentient beings, be they animals,

humans or devatas. " avaravar irayavar kuraivilar irayavar " says Sri Nammazhwar,

making it clear that other deities are able to satisfy their votaries only due

to the power bestowed in them by the Lord. The Bhagavat Gita too confirms this-

 

" Sa tayA shraddhayA yukta: tasya ArAdhanam IhatE

 

labhatE cha tata: kAmAn mayaiva vihitAn hi tAn " .

 

 

 

Fifthly, the Lord being the antaryami of all beings, including these demigods,

any prayer to the latter is automatically transmitted to the inner-dweller.

Thus, even though we may think we are worshipping another devata, the recipient

of our adulation is actually Sriman Narayana.

 

Under these circumstances, we might as well worship the Lord directly, instead

of through the medium of other devatas. Says the Lord in the Gita-

 

" YEpi anya dEvatA bhakta: yajantE shraddhyAnvitA:

 

TEpi mAmEva KountEya yajanti avidhi poorvakam "

 

 

 

Sixthly, if the Lord decides to bless us with bounties, there is none who can

prevent Him from doing that. Conversely, if He decides to take away what we

have, none can stand in His way. Once we realize this, we also understand that

whatever desire has been fulfilled by the anya devata has come to fruition only

because the Lord willed it. And once this dawns on us, we would feel no need to

turn to anyone other than Emperuman for succour.

 

" tvayi pravrittE mama kim prayAsai:

 

tvayi apravrittE mama kim prayAsai: "

 

says Swami Desikan in Sri KamAsikAshtakam.

 

 

 

Seventhly, where would be prefer to shop-at a huge departmental store where we

can get all that we want at bargain prices, with a wide variety to choose from,

or at a small neighborhood store selling but a limited range of products? Sriman

Narayana is capable of granting every wish of ours and ultimately bless us with

perennial bliss and liberation, while anya devatas may be able to fulfill only

certain of our desires, and are in any case unable to liberate us from the

shackles of Karma.

 

Sri Tirumazhisai Piran does some plain speaking in his Tirucchandaviruttam-

 

" KANilum uruppolAr sevikkinAda keertthiyAr

 

PENilum varam tara midukkilAda dEvar " .

 

 

 

Eighthly, which other devata has Sree as his consort? That the Lord is

constantly accompanied by TirumagaL ensures that He always treats His devotees

with compassion, whether or not they deserve it. His justice is always tempered

with mercy, as Piratti would never hear of the Lord meting out commensurate

punishment. Further, the nature of the First Lady is that whenever a devotee

comes to Her with a prayer, She blesses him with all that is auspicious, ranging

from unimaginable riches to Sri Vaikuntam itself, and, after showering him with

all this and other bounties, is consumed by a sense of inadequacy and feels that

whatever she has given the devotee is hardly enough. " Tvam lajjasE amba kOyam

udAra bhAva:! wonders Sri Bhattar. Hence Sri Tirumazhisai Piran says that only

the Lord is to be worshipped and not other deities, who do not have the good

fortune of having Piratti as Consort

 

" TiruvillA dEvarai trElmin dEvu " .

 

With such an overwhelming array of reasons, it would be in the fitness of things

if we remain unmoved by the slings and arrows of fortune, by the trial and

tribulations fate may throw our way, preserve the chastity of our faith in

Sriman Narayana, and resist with all our might the temptation to seek refuge in

somebody else for petty, ephemeral gains. If we need inspiration in this

endeavour, we only have to remember Sri Nammazhwar's immortal lines-

 

" KaLaivAi tunbam kaLAyadu ozhivAi kaLaikaN mattrilEn "

 

" unnAl allAl yAvarAlum ondrum kurai vENdEn " .

 

 

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrisimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana

Yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama:

 

Dasan, sadagopan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

dear shri vijay, thanks very much for pointing out the error-the lines " tvayi

pravritte mama kim prayasai: tvayi apriavritte mama kim prayasai: " are from Sri

Ashtabhujashtakam and not Sri Kamasikashtam. thanks again and regards, dasan,

sadagopan.