The Godfather

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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

The Godfather

 

This has nothing to do with Mario Puzo or Mafia Dons or Italian intrigues, much

less with sinister Sicilian secrets. There is perhaps some truth in what my

daughter, who is my resident editor and relentless critic, says-that the titles

I give my articles are mostly misnomers, much like Tamil movies, where you have

to search hard for a connection between the name of the movie and the theme. I,

however, am satisfied if I can somehow make the title figure somewhere in the

body of the text, in or out of context, more often the latter.

 

Coming to the point, Do we have a choice of whom we are born to? In other words,

can we choose our parents? It doesn't appear possible, as ours are births

ordained by our karma and we are born to good or bad parents, as dictated by our

deeds past. Given the option, perhaps some of us would prefer to have been

brought into this world by a father and mother other than those we were born to,

but it is only wishful thinking, for we have absolutely no say in the matter. It

is a different matter that many of our parents too would have liked to have

begot more considerate, more obedient and more affectionate progeny, than some

of us are.

 

In striking contrast, the Lord, whenever He decides to come down to this

mundane world for Dharma samrakshanam, for protecting the good and weeding out

the evil elements, is extremely particular as to whom He is born to. He doesn't

leave it to chance and plans well in advance as to who His parents would be and

ensures that He is indeed born to the couple of His choice. We have this on good

authority, that of Sri Valmiki, who tells us that when Emperuman decided upon

the RAmavatAra, He simultaneously chose the elderly Emperor of Ayodhya as His

would-be father- " pitaram rOchayAmAsa vriddham Dasaratham nripam " .

 

Why should the Lord chose Dasaratha and not any other person, King or otherwise,

for His father? We must remember that the purpose of Sri Ramavatara was to

showcase to the mortals the virtues, conduct and comportment of an Ideal Man.

Sri Rama was the Model Monarch, an exemplary son, husband, brother and friend.

He was rectitude personified, the very epitome of virtues of all sorts and a

Paragon of Perfection, the consummate Man in all respects, everybody's idea of

what an ideal human being should look like, how he should behave and the

standards he should maintain.

 

If He was to serve as an exemplar, the Lord had to have the proper background.

His avatara had to be set in a milieu conducive to generating confidence in the

minds of those He sought to impress. Right from birth, there should not be even

a speck of stigma to His person or those associated with Him. His lineage should

be an impeccable one, lest He had to bear the cross for some misdeed of His

forbears. Then, and only then, would this cynical world attach credence to

anyone professing to be a model to others. It is a hallmark of the Lord's

extreme soulabhyam that He tailored His birth milieu to impress mundane mortals,

for they are of such nature as to disregard Him even if He were to declare

Himself to be such- " maNmisai yOnigaL tOrum pirandu-engaL MayavanE kaNNura

nirkilum kANagillA ulagOrgaL " is what Sri Amudanar has to say about sceptical

and mocking mortals. A horse from reputed stables would command any number of

backers, while a dark horse would hardly find anyone to bet on it, and the Lord

knew this well when deciding His lineage and locale.

 

It is with all this in mind that Emperuman chose Dasaratha, himself an exemplary

Emperor, a magnificent warrior of proven track record, a benevolent ruler loved

by all the subjects, with all his deeds deeply rooted in Dharma and an

administrator par excellence, taking his kingdom from one pinnacle of prosperity

to another. The reign of Dasaratha was characterised by peace, prosperity,

plenty and piety. It was again with this in mind that the Lord chose the

IkshvAku Vamsam to be born in, with its long and illustrious lineage of

sovereigns known not only for their valour and martial skills, but also for

their righteousness, administrative acumen and deep dedication and commitment to

the welfare of their charges.

 

Thus the Lord had a flying start, so to say, in His mission of winning over

errant mortals by setting a personal example, as common people are more prone to

set store by what great ones, belonging to great lineages say, rather than the

utterances of another nondescript specimen of humanity like themselves, as the

following sloka aptly puts-

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

Sa yat pramANam kurutE lOka: tat anuvartatE " .

 

Why should the Lord chose an old man ( " vriddham " ) almost sixty thousand years

old at the time of begetting a son, as His father? It is said that Dasaratha,

after these long years, felt the need for a son only when he espied a grey hair

or two on his head. This attests to the fact that Dasaratha was definitely not a

doddering old man, beyond the tasks of begetting or bringing up children. With

age comes maturity, the hot-bloodedness of youth yielding place to measured and

mellowed responses, and such a person would be much better placed both to know

and impart the ways of the world to his progeny, than any other. Dasaratha was

senior not only on account of his years, but also due to his vast wisdom and

impeccable conduct, qualifying him to the three appellations, " GyAna viriddha:,

sheela vriddha: and VayO vriddha: " . This perhaps was the reason for the Lord's

choice of this particular soveriegn as His progenitor.

 

We have a difficulty with this line of argument,when we consider the other

popular avatara, that of Sri Krishna. Here, though the Lord was indeed born into

an illustrious lineage and had for His father the famed VasudEva, He voluntarily

relinquished His royal credentials and hurried to NandagOkulam on the very night

of His birth, to assume the garb of a mere cowherd's son- " orutthi maganAi

pirandu Oriravil orutthi maganAi oLithu vaLara " . Atleast in the Ramavatara, the

Lord set an example only through His conduct and did not take on the role of a

Universal Teacher- " Jagadguru " --, which our Krishna did later. Is it not all the

more important for the GitAchArya to have had an illustrious background, for His

words of wisdom to command acceptance and following? Literally and figuratively

Sri Krishna was a dark horse-why didn't this affect His credibility, as is

evident from Gita the Guidebook being popular beyond measure throughout the

ages and till today? And look at the garb the Lord sported, while delivering His

sermon in the battlefield of KurukshEtra-it was that of a lowly charioteer, with

the reigns in His hand, a stick to goad the horses with tucked into His belt,

His entire tirumEni covered with the dust and dirt of the battle, freely

prespiring as He stood in the hot sun preaching to Arjuna who was comfortably

ensconced under the protective canopy of the chariot. All these hardly make for

an ideal personality or locale for imparting eternal insights and intelligence.

However, despite all these, if Arjuna and the whole world listened spellbound to

the Sarathy, it was the compelling wisdom in the words, as well as the

credentials of the racounteur. Why should the world till date adualte this

cowherd-turned-preacher as " neriyellAm edutthu uraittha nirai gnAnatthu oru

moorthi " and as " GitAchArya " ?

 

Much as the world likes to listen to those who preach from the high podium of

moral authority, much as it venerates people of high birth and descent, much as

it is attracted by the pomp and glitter of royalty, the man-in-the-street, when

confronted by a dilemma or doubt of significance, runs to a person of his own

acquaintance and background living round the corner for clarification, rather

than call on the Emperor, whom he reveres but hardly knows, to seek wisdom. It

is this propensity of mortals that the Lord encashed on, during the

Krishnavatara. Having failed to fully reform errant humanity during His previous

sojourns in this world, He tries a new trick-being born as one among mundane

mortals, to live and move with them as one of their own kind, to gain their

confidence by displaying some of their own failings, feigning their own

frailties and appearing affected by their own concepts of happiness and sorrow.

 

It is this strategy that prompts Him to grow up as " NandagOpan Kumaran " , son of

NandagOpa, a mere cowherd, though an opulent one. What a come down in the choice

of a Father, we might wonder-from Dasaratha, the all-powerful, universally

acclaimed and undisputed Emperor of all worlds, belonging to the Surya Vamsam,

whose assistance in warfare is sought by even the Celestials, on the one hand--

and on the other, an unlettered cowherd Nandagopa, belonging to a clan with a

wholly pastoral occupation, whose movement is with only bovine creatures, whose

ignorance is self-acknowledged without reservation ( " arivondrum illAda

Aykkulam " ). Whither the urbane and all-knowing Emperor Dasaratha, and whither

the unsophisticated and ignorant rustic Nandagopa? However, we have it on the

authority of Sri Nammazhwar that the Lord relished His sojourn in Gokulam,

tending to cows as the pride of the YAdava clan ( " Ayar kozhundu " ) and as the son

of Nandagopa, than His permanent residence at Srivaikuntam- " divatthilum pasu

nirai mEyppu uvatthi " .

 

Thus, on balance, we might tentatively conclude that the Lord did much more by

way of enlightening and emancipating mankind (through the eternally relevant

Song Celestial, the Bhagavat Gita) as the son of non-descript Nandagopa, rather

than as the scion of the illustrious Raghukulam and the son of famed Dasaratha.

It is this avatara that Sri Nammazhwar praises as " ennai pettra at TAyAi

TandayAi ariyAdana arivittha atthA! " -one who, with infinite mercy, dispelled

the gloom of ignorance and lighted the lamp of knowledge in Azhwar's soul,

performing the functions of father, mother and Guru, all rolled into one. For

all the precepts set by Sri Rama, it is Sri Krishna who is till today known as

the " Jagadguru " ( " Krishnam vanE Jagatgurum " is the refrain of the

KrishnAstakam). And it is Sri Krishna who is acclaimed as the " PoorNa avatAra " ,

despite Sri Rama having been a paragon of all possible virtues, perhaps because

His humble environs enabled Sri Krishna to exhibit in full the wonderful virtue

of Soulabhyam, endearing Him to the whole world.

 

If a popularity contest were to be conducted for these avataras, with

connoiseur devotees as the judges, which avatara do you think would emerge

winner? Pat would come the answer from everyone, " The Krishnavatara, of

course! " . If one were to go by the depth of emotion generated in the devotee by

virtue of extreme accessibility (soulabhyam), the trait of mixing with lowly

mortals as one among them, adopting their food, dress and conduct (souseelyam),

the retention of Supremacy (Paratvam) even during the avatara and its effective

display when warranted, the universal appeal to various sections of the

proletariat and plutocracy alike, irrespective of age, erudition or

avocation-all these sterling qualities set Sri Krishna apart from other avataras

and endow Him with a popularity beyond measure. The extremely lovable toddler

whom everyone would like to cuddle, the mischievous urchin one would love to

play with, the handsome youth who is the heart throb of all eligible damsels

(and some ineligible ones too!), the mature King whose counsel and aid are

sought by opposing kingdoms and warriors, the master of subterfuge whose

strategies can transform the potential loser into an acclaimed winner, the

Universal Teacher who proclaims the guidebook of good conduct and emancipation

from the battlefield of Kurukshetra-these and other such stellar roles the Lord

donned during the Krishnavatara have no doubt been responsible for its being

adjudged a " Poorna avatara " , despite close competition from His other roles as

Sri Rama, Sri Nrisimha etc.

 

In bringing up a child, it is the father' role and responsibility to ensure that

his son grows up into a fine specimen of humanity, wins world-wide acclaim

( " avayatthu mundi iruppa seyal " ) and contributes the maximum to the welfare of

the society of which he is a part. Judged by this standard, Nandagopa towers

head and shoulders above Dasaratha as a Father of God. If we go by the dictum,

" The proof of the pudding is in the eating " , Nandagopa seems to have ensured a

much more comfortable life for his offspring Krishna, who never had to encounter

any prolonged inconvenience or distress in His life, while Dasaratha was

responsible, directly or indirectly, for his beloved son spending fourteen long

years in the inhospitable jungle and enduring a lot of grief. Sri Nandagopa was

extremely protective of the little Krishna and would not let him out of his

eyesight, (leave alone be banished to the jungle) transforming himself from a

placid purveyor of milk and curds into a ferocious warrior wielding a murderous

spear, all for the protection of Sri Krishna ( " koor vEl kodum tozhilan

Nandagopan " ). Having at last justified the title to my daughter's satisfaction,

I would like to conclude this piece here without testing readers' patience

further.

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrisimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana

Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

Dasan, sadagopan