The Scarred Psyche

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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika

Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

 

 

The Scarred Psyche

 

 

 

When I was three, I fell down from the rocking horse and broke my

nose. The resultant scar still adorns my nose, considerably enhancing (!) my

looks. If you run into a war veteran, he would launch into a long reminiscence

at the drop of a hat, if you ask him about his scars. Each scar will have its

very own story to tell and whenever you happen to touch it, it automatically

brings to your mind the background of the scar. Thus the scar is not merely a

physical vestige of a long-healed wound; it is also a storehouse of memories,

some nostalgic, some tragic. Scars need not always be physical and perceptible.

A particularly heart-rending incident, an exceptionally sharp barb of an insult,

an unforgivable act of betrayal by a trusted friend or relative-all these leave

scars too, scars on the psyche, which are invisible but none the less painful.

In fact, physical wounds heal fast and the resultant scar is usually painless.

This is not so with the other type of scars-you tend to remember the insult for

years together, whenever you set eyes on the offender or even otherwise. A

tragic bereavement lingers on in people's memory for long, the loss irreparable

and unforgettable. The tears might dry up with time, but the heart still grieves

in its privacy. Similarly, acts of ingratitude from scarcely-expected quarters

leave us stunned and psychologically wounded -Shakespeare says in a sonnet that

the icy winter wind is not so unkind as man's ingratitude. All these leave our

psyches permanently scarred, with the mind jogging up the painful memories at

the least provocation. Physical or psychological, scars have their own tales to

tell.

 

 

 

There are some scars, which we bear proudly. Scars resulting from bravery

are preserved more lovingly than medallions awarded by authorities. Some,

however, like mine, are merely the result of accidents, and are nothing to write

home about. Again, the scars on one's shoulders resulting from the purifying

touch of the Divine Discus and Conch applied by the Preceptor on the occasion of

Pancha SamskAram or SamAshrayaNam, are to be borne as proud symbols of one's

belonging to the Lord. In fact, the Shruti, emphasizing the significance of

SamAshrayaNam and the emblazoning of the Lord's symbols on our shoulders, says

that one who is not fortunate to undergo the purificatory process of such

initiation into the fold of the faithful, is not entitled to liberation- " atapta

tanoo: na tadAmo asnutE " . It is customary, when buying vessels at the time of

marriage, to etch the bride's initials on them, so that they wouldn't get mixed

up with others'. We might treat the etching of Sudarsana and Panchajanya on our

shoulders in a similar fashion- we are branded as belonging to the Lord and to

none else. From an aesthetic angle too, these scars serve as an adornment to our

bare shoulders. These scars are constant reminders to us not to transgress the

dictums of the Shruti or Smriti, which are the Lord's own commandments. Whenever

our glance falls on the Sudarsana on our shoulder, the punitive power of this

nitya sUri (who is very much an enforcer of the Lord's laws) would leap to our

mind and deter us from going astray. These sacred scars are also aide memoires

that the Lord made us all in His own mould and that it is incumbent on us to act

accordingly. The practice of bearing these sacred scars on one's shoulders has

the sanction of the Shruti as pointed out above and is also sanctified by

references by Sri Periazhwar- " Theeyil poligindra sem sudar Azhi tigazh thiru

chakkaratthin kOil poriyAlE ottrundu nindru kudi kudi AtcheygindrOm " .

 

 

 

Whenever we visit MadhurAntakam, our eyes cloud with tears of gratitude to Sri

Peria Nambi, who adorned Sri Ramanuja's handsome shoulders with the symbols of

the Lord under the famous Maghizha maram in the temple prAkAram. We are also

thrilled to be shown the very silver instruments which were used by Sri Peria

Nambi for the purpose, and feast our eyes on them with the reverential

realisation that they had the fortune of touching the tirumEni of the

BhAshyakAra, if only for a second. They serve as powerful links with the hoary

past, reminding us that every single chronicled event of Sri Ramanuja's life had

indeed happened and is not the result of mere fevered imagination or facile

fabrication.

 

 

 

Coming back to the scars, you would be able to see some pretty deep ones on the

shoulders of the privileged ones who carry the vAhanams of the Lord

customarily-the SripAdam tAngis. One would be proud to sport such scars,

resulting from constant kainkaryam. According to Sri Alavandar, even Sri

Garuda's flanks bear glowing scars resulting from pressure from the Lord's feet.

The Lord is always in a terrific hurry while rushing to save souls in distress

and VainatEya can never measure up to Emperuman's expectations of speed. So the

Lord spurs Garuda on, with His tiruvadi pressing hard into the divine bird's

sides, giving him magnificent scars, which lend him a brilliant glow-

 

" tvat anghri sammardha kiNAnka sObhinA " says Sri Alavandar in Stotra Ratnam.

 

 

 

There are more such scars, which Sri Periazhwar would like us to bear with

pride-the Lord's holy names should constantly be on our tongue and their

incessant repetition should cause scars on it, says the Azhwar. While scars

normally result from painful injury or wound, these scars are products of a more

pleasurable exercise and are to be treasured and cherished as such.

 

 

 

Piratti too must be bearing a scar on her otherwise unblemished

tirumEni. Her spotless divya mangala vigraham should be bearing one blemish-

that on Her chest caused by KAkAsura, the dastardly crow who dared to peck at

her with malicious intent, when Sri Rama was resting with His head in Her lap.

Unwilling to wake the Prince of Ayodhya who is tired with walking long miles

with His delicate feet ( " nadanda kAlgaL nondavO " inquires Sri Tirumazhisai Piran

with concern), Sri Janaki suffers the harassment of the cruel crow for quite

some time. However, when the crow pecks time and again drawing blood, Piratti

does wake the Lord up, who plucks a nearby blade of grass, fortifies it with the

astra mantra and sends it after the crow. It is this repeated pecking of the

crow, with its razor-sharp beak, that must have caused a scar on Piratti's body.

When the crow, pursued by the relentless astra, tries to fly away and seek

refuge in supposedly powerful quarters, they promptly turn it away with the

homily that none could save the target of Sri Raghava's ire. After having tried

in vain in all the worlds to find a saviour, the crow returns, thoroughly

fatigued and consumed by fear for its life, falls helter-skelter at the feet of

Sri Rama. This the crow does, not with any intention of surrendering itself to

the Lord, but in sheer fatigue, unable to lift a wing. The ever-merciful Mythily

turns its body such that its head lies at the Lord's feet, in an implied gesture

of Sharanagati, and the KaruNA Kukutsttha, despite the offender deserving the

gravest of retributions, lets it off with a minor rap on the knuckles, viz., the

loss of an eye. Thus it is Piratti who is ultimately responsible for the crow

being spared commensurate punishment. It is her oft-repeated tenet that there is

none in this world who hasn't sinned ( " na kaschit na aparAdhyati " ) and therefore

lapses, however grave, should not be held against people, every one of whom

deserves to be saved. It is this overwhelming mercy for and maternal instinct

towards the sinner that must have prevented Her from confiding even to Sri Rama

about the scar She must definitely have borne. This is perhaps why even Sri

Valmiki doesn't mention this in his otherwise exhaustive epic. Though this is

pure conjecture, knowing, as we do, Piratti's extremely compassionate nature and

Her leniency towards the gravest of offenders, it is not beyond the realm of

possibility.

 

 

 

We have seen how devotees of the Lord, ranging from you and I who have undergone

PanchaSamskaram, all our merciful Acharyas, all the Azhwars, nitya sUris like

Sri VainatEya and even the Piratti, are adorned by scars. It is therefore hardly

surprising that the Lord too is scarred. Being a great believer in

egalitarianism, He too sports scars like His votaries. These are the scars on

His thumb and palm, resulting from frequent use of the bow, drawstring and the

arrow in numerous battles with asurAs- " jyAgiNa karkasai: shubhai: " says Sri

Alavandar, attesting to how the Lord's hands are adorned with scars and

calluses, all in the cause of protecting the good and establishing Dharma. As

Sri Parthasarathi, He also bore innumerable scars and pockmarks on His divine

face, all acquired during His assignment as ArjunA's charioteer. Our hearts fill

with anger at the PAndava's insensitivity. We reflect- had the arrows, which

caused all these scars, found their intended target, they would have drilled

Arjuna's body lifeless. On reconsideration, our anger subsides and is replaced

by unstinted admiration for the Lord, who willingly allowed His normally

beautiful countenance to be disfigured thus, in a display of Soulabhyam and

Souseelyam.

 

 

 

More than Arjuna, many of us are guilty of causing innumerable scars on the

Lord's psyche. Every transgression of ours creates a scar in His tiruvuLLam. He

is indeed pained to find people flagrantly violating His dicta, as laid down in

the Shruti and Smritis. Despite all the guidance He provides in person (as our

antarAtmA) and through Acharyas, we continue to distance ourselves from His

outstretched arms, preferring the poisonous pleasures of this mundane world to

the eternal ones of Paradise, which the Lord is ready to bestow on us. Every

harsh word we use against BhAgavatAs, however deserving they may be of such

language, causes an indelible scar in the Lord's heart. Every lie uttered, every

act of ingratitude, betrayal and unfaithfulness and every word of abuse hurled

at the devout-every one of these strikes His heart as a painful barb and creates

a scar. If we want to remedy this situation, the only way is to apply the salve

of Sharanagati, repenting in full measure for all our acts of commission and

omission and surrendering ourselves unreservedly at His lotus feet. Don't we all

look forward to the day when the Lord's heart is restored to its original

immaculate form, shorn of all the ugly marks we have helped create?

 

 

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana

Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

Dasan, Sadagopan.