The Senior Citizen

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Srimate SrivanSsatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama:

 

 

 

The Senior Citizen

 

 

 

Ageing is a continuous process. Every day we grow a little older. The

progression is so slow and inconspicuous that we realize our having aged, only

when the neighbour's small boy starts calling us " ThAtthA " , instead of the

customary " MamA " that we are used to. Age simply creeps up on us like a slow,

inexorable and incurable disease.

 

 

 

Sri Dasarata was aware of age having caught up with him only when he detected a

white hair on his head.

 

We see others, our relatives or acquaintances, slowly being transformed from

youth to the prime of their lives and thereafter to old age: but even the

obvious ageing of our contemporaries does not arouse in us the realisation that

we too are getting older. Many people have a curious reluctance to acknowledge

the advance of age, and continue to retain the vestiges of youth by artificially

clinging on to the original colour of their hair and facial vegetation.

Instances are also not infrequent, of people going in for cosmetic surgeries to

hang on to the appearance of youth, even in middle or old age. All these,

however, can at best be temporary palliatives, which appear to delay the onset

of old age.

 

 

 

The socially correct terminology for an aged person is " Senior Citizen " , which

expresses society's regard for the elderly man and its acknowledgement of his

past contributions. It is interesting to note that Shastras use the term

" Seniority " to mean more things than just old age.

 

The Sanskrit word " Vriddha: " refers to an old person. The term " Vriddha: " is

used in three senses in Srimad Ramayanam.

 

 

 

The first usage is in the obvious sense, of age- " VayO vriddha: " . It is said that

Sri Dasarata's reign lasted sixty thousand years. And only when he espied grey

hairs on his head did Sri Dasarata became concerned at his lack of progeny to

carry on the distinguished line of succession in the IkshvAku Dyansty.

 

When a person gracefully accepts the advance of old age and accordingly adopts

a suitable lifestyle, he invites the respect and regard of all around him, who

look up to him for guidance and moral support. It should be realised that old

people carry with them a lifetime of experience, that comes to one only with

age. During this lifetime, they see, hear and experience so much that they

become a walking encyclopaedia of do's and don'ts. The joint family system, when

in vogue, had much to offer, as the elders in the family were able to guide the

young ones in all sorts of tricky situations calling for moral and material

judgement. The aged members of the family were especially careful in ensuring

that their descendants did not commit the same mistakes as they did, thus

preventing the young ones from learning things the hard way.

 

 

 

The second type of " Vriddha: " refers to those who have acquired seniority by

their exceptional knowledge- " GnAna vriddhA: " Of the two types of seniority dealt

with so far, that acquired by old age is attained automatically, without any

effort on one's part, as part of the processes of nature. It is with us one day,

willy nilly. However, the second type of seniority, " GnAna vArddhikyam " ,

requires a lot of concentrated effort in its acquisition. When we talk of

" GnAna " , we mean, naturally, the type of knowledge that aids us in liberation,

and not the mundane education ( " sumayAna kalvigaL " ), which helps us only in

amassing material fortunes, which are but mere baubles, compared to the endless

bliss that awaits the seeker after emancipation. " sA vidyA ya vimukatayE " says

the Scripture, acknowledging as wisdom only that which helps in deliverance.

 

 

 

Though one would expect the two types of seniority (one attributable to old age

and the other to wisdom), to be concomitant, it is often not so. Old age and

wisdom are not synonymous, in many cases. We find several people who have gone

through a long life without acquiring the wisdom and maturity that should be the

hallmark of a good life. Like the proverbial rolling stone, they do not gather

the moss of wisdom in their journey through life. Despite opportunities aplenty,

they do not care to seek out an Acharya and to learn about themselves, their

real mission in life, the trick of getting out of Samsara and its recurring

miseries and the everlasting bliss that could be theirs, if only they would just

ask. AjAmiLa's is one such instance of a wasted lifetime, irrespective of what

happened to him at the end.

 

 

 

It is perhaps to demonstrate that wisdom has nothing to do with age, that the

Lord has blessed us with the likes of Sri Dhruva ,Sri Prahlada and ParIkshit

Maharaja, who acquired the knowledge that matters in their infancy. Blessed with

ParamAtma gnAnam early on, they built painstakingly upon their good fortune to

become models of wisdom. Sri Prahlada, despite his unflattering antecedents, was

able to shake off the genetic influences and the immediate threats from his

powerful father to state with conviction that Sri Hari was the only one worth

worshipping. He is mentioned reverently even by the Shruti- " PrahrAdhO ha vai

KAyAdhava " .

 

 

 

Sri Dhruva, whatever his driving motive, was so focussed on his penance, that

the Lord had to appear before him. And Sri ParIkshit, knowing full well that he

had only seven more days to live, chose to spend those days in listening to the

divine exploits of the Lord, rather than in the innumerable pleasures he could

have enjoyed for the asking.

 

 

 

If it is any consolation to us, such " gnAna vriddhAs " , however, are rare to

come across, as the Lord Himself acknowledges in the Gita-

 

" bahoonAm janmanAm anthE gnAnavAn mAm prapadyathE

 

VAsudEva: sarvam iti sa mahAtmA sudurlabha: "

 

However, it is the seniors in wisdom that the Lord considers equal to Himself

and treats with deep appreciation-

 

" GnAnI tu Atmaiva mE matam "

 

 

 

Difficult as it might be, we have to make the effort to acquire this gnAna, for,

this is what distinguishes us from the other species in the Lord's Creation. A

person bereft of such effort is no better than an animal, says the Scripture-

 

" GnAnEna heena: pasubhi: samAna: " . The purport is that having been blessed with

a human body with its immense potential for upliftment, if we were to use it as

a mere instrument for eating, drinking and making merry, without making any

effort to rid ourselves of Karmic bondage, we would be hardly different from

animals, who have no such opportunity for emancipation.

 

 

 

Further examples of " GnAna vArddhikyam " or seniority by virtue of wisdom, are

the GOpis of Nandagokulam, who had acquired, at a very young age, the wisdom of

the eternal relationship between the Paramatma and ourselves, (SEshatva gnAnam)

which is on display in various pasurams of Thiruppavai-

 

" unakkE nAm AtcheyvOm, mattrai nam kAmangaL mAttru "

 

" nee kuttrEval engaLai koLlAmal pOgAdhu "

 

" NarayananE namakkE parai tharuvAn " .

 

" untannOdu uravEl namakku ingozhikka ozhiyAdu "

 

Etc.

 

 

 

The third type of seniority is that displayed through Good Conduct. Those who

possess this attribute are known as " Sheela vriddhA: " One would be under the

mistaken impression that wisdom automatically begets good conduct. This need not

always be so. We may find vidvAns renowned for their scriptural knowledge sadly

lacking in putting what they know into practice. Such dichotomy between precept

and practice makes their distinction dubious. Whatever wisdom we acquire would

be meaningful only if put it into actual practice. GnAnam should always beget

" anushttAnam " . If a vidwan , master of four Shastras, doesn't perform

Sandhyavandanam or Brahma Yagyam, the knowledge acquired by him is indeed

weighty in the real sense of the word and is burdensome. Conversely, one need

not be well read in the scriptures to adopt good conduct. There are innumerable

instances of this-Sri Shabhari, Sri GuhapperumaL, et al.

 

 

 

SadhAchAram or good conduct is to be acquired by emulating elders, who serve as

role models.

 

" Yat yat Acharati shrEshtta: tat tat Eva itarO jana:

 

Sa yat pramANam kurutE lOka: tat anuvartatE "

 

Says the Gita, emphasising the need for taking a leaf out of the conduct of good

people.

 

This is all the more necessary because rules of conduct differ from time to

time, place to place and from person to person, though there are some basic

conventions of conduct which never change. In such scenarios, where we are in

doubt as to the right course of conduct, all we have to do is to look for

precedents set by exemplars like the Lord and His devotees. Laying down that it

is the conduct of great people which shows us the right direction, Sri Rama

says,

 

" Dharmasya tatvam nihitam guhAyAm..mahAjanA yEna gatA: sa panttA: "

 

Thus the best way to acquire seniority with respect to good conduct is to follow

the right type of leaders-Acharyas.

 

 

 

From all the above, it would appear that the only seniority attainable without

much effort is that by virtue of age, while the other two categories are

difficult to achieve. Lest we should despair, our great Acharyas, both past and

present, have shown us that a combination of age, wisdom and good conduct is not

impossible of attainment.

 

 

 

We are told that Sri Ramanuja lived to be a ripe old 120 years. He acquired

wisdom beyond his age when he was quite young and kept building on it till his

last breath. And as for sadAchAra, he set sterling examples by his impeccable

personal conduct. In his 120th year, Guruparampara has it that he stood up with

difficulty, with support from his disciples and performed " arghyapradAnam " ,

demonstrating for posterity the need for adherence to one's dharma, irrespective

of age and other constraints. Swami Desikan is another Acharya who could

attain gnAna, sheela and vayo vArdhikyam, and spent his entire life in the

acquisition and propagation of right knowledge and right conduct, even at the

cost of great personal sacrifice and inconvenience. If we eulogize our Acharyas

as " Peerless Preceptors " , it is because they not only laid down the precept but

themselves followed it too, without exception.

 

 

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana

Yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama:

 

Dasan, Sadagopan.