A Drop in the Ocean

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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

A Drop in the Ocean

 

" Orondru tAnE amayAdo! " enthuses a devotee of Swami Desikan, pointing

out that even if we have neither the time nor the powers of comprehension to

master all the works of the Acharya, the regular study of even one of the

exalted works, is eminently capable of leading us on to liberation. However,

ardent students of Desikaite literature would aver that not even an entire

stotra or work need be studied: a single sloka, a single line of a sloka, would

bestow such wisdom as to make us eligibe for emancipation. This is because all

the works of the illustrious Acharya are power-packed, designed to generate in

us a deep-rooted devotion towards the Lord and His votaries, which would

ultimately reach us at the coveted goal of Moksha. Like the invisible golden

thread on which precious pearls and gems are strung, forming an enchanting

necklace, the concept of Prapatti runs through all works of Swami Desikan,

whether they be stotras, plays, kAvyAs, philosophical or polemical works.

Knowing fulwell that the mortals of the future would like everything in capsule

form, suffering as they would from a misplaced sense of priorities and having

little time for things that matter most, the Acharya has made the precept of

Prapatti and its practice the cornerstone of almost all of his works, so that

the study of even one would bless us with the requisite abhiruchi for the

performance of Sharanagati through our own Acharya.

 

Two slokas from the " NyAsa Tilakam " of Swami Desikan are dealt with here, to

illustrate the aforesaid.

 

" andha: anandha grahaNa vasaga: yAti RangEsa! yadvat

pangu: noukA kuhara nihita: neeyatE nAvikEna

bhunktE bhOgAn avidita nripa: sEvakaya arbhakAdi:

tvat samprAptou prabhavati yathA dEsikO mE dayAlu: "

 

This beautiful verse tells us that just as a blind man reaches his destination,

hand-led by by another blessed with sight, just as a lame person is able to

cross the river by being put on a boat and taken to the other shore by the

boatman, just as the family of a royal servant, even in the absence of direct

contact and acquaintance with the Sovereign, is able to derive the benefits of

the latter'munificence second-hand, the Jeeva too is guided by the merciful

Acharyas to the otherwise unattainable portals of Paramapadam.

 

Though simple in structure and apparently in purport too, this sloka holds a

wealth of wisdom to the connoisseur. The reference to the blind man is

indicative of lack of knowledge-GnAnam. Comprehensive knowledge, about the Self,

the Lord, the strategy for liberation and the hurdles that impede the Pilgrim's

Progress, is absolutely essential for liberation from our mundane shackles. Few

mortals can lay claim to such wisdom, which is indeed difficult to acquire and

assimilate. People without such knowledge blunder through life aimlessly and

knowing not either the place to be reached or how to reach there, go around in

circles and endup where they started. Such peregrination through the jungle of

life leads us deeper and deeper into the swampland of Samsara, with our getting

caught up in the vicious cycle of births and deaths, with no means of

deliverance. Just as a blind man needs someone to lead him by hand to ensure

safe passage, we too need an Acharya to lead us through the fierce forest that

is life. The Acharya, who knows the terrain well, is able to guide us through

safe trails, avoiding pits filled with the dangerous vipers of KAma, KrOdha

etc., widely skirting dense thickets which might hide deadly predators which

are but our own senses (which lie in wait to ensnare and gobble us up). In

effect, the Acharya endows us with wonderful wisdom about who we are truly, what

our mission on this earth is, what is our real stature, who is our Master, how

we got separated from Him and how to be reunited with Him and be a partner in

His endless bliss. Thus the Preceptor leads us by hand, step by step, in our

quest for freedom and ensures that we surrender ourselves at the Lord's lotus

feet. He supports us when we stumble, lends a shoulder to lean on when we are

fatigued, has a word of encouragement when we are depressed with the long and

apparently unending journey and never tires himself till he delivers us at the

gates of Paradise, handing over charge to the inhabitants of Srivaikunatam.

 

The reference to " anandha: " , or an " unblind " person leading the blind one, is to

emphasize the futility of entrusting our lives to pseudo Gurus, who know not

where they themselves are going, leave alone lead others to the cherished goal.

Putting ourselves in the hands of such impostors would result in the blind being

led by the blind- " andhEnaiva neeyamAnA yathA andhA: " as the Upanishad says. It

is therefore imperative to search for an Acharya belonging to a hoary and proven

tradition, owing allegiance to the time-tested tenets of our Sampradaya, rather

than some nine-day wonder who has managed to garner a motley crowd of

undiscerning disciples about him, irrespective of how persuasive his teachings

are. It is to such an Acharya, belonging to the distinguished lineage of our

beloved Bhashyakara, that we must entrust ourselves, heart and soul.

 

GnAnam or wisdom about matters which matter is indeed essential for liberation,

but mere wisdom, without attendant practice, would be meaningless. What is the

use of a doctor with a string of degrees behind his name, who is unable to treat

a common cold? To be effective, whatever is learnt must be put into practice.

When we learn that we are the Lord's servants, we should automatically cease

caring for ourselves, realising that He would indeed take care of us, as we are

His own property. When we get to know that all this world is His shareeram, we

should be able to eschew anger, jealousy, hatred etc. directed towards anyone or

anything, for, all of them are an integral part of Bhagavat vibhooti, and one

part of the body cannot be at loggerheads with another. Thus " anushttAnam " or

putting into practice what we have learnt, is extremely essential if we are to

cross the ocean of Samsara. And this is what we sadly lack, being beset by all

sorts of misconduct towards all and sundry, which is made the worse by our

knowledge that such behaviour is to be shunned at all cost. Sri Tondaradippodi

makes fun of such people, who do know what is to be done but lack the drive to

do it, who pose to be paragons of virtue while actually being nothing of the

sort, who sport the appearance of devotees but lack the Atma guNAs and

impeccable conduct that should accompany such postures.

 

It is such lack of anushttAnam that afflicts us with spiritual lameness. Despite

all these grievous faults in us, the Acharya takes pity on us, toils a lot as

does a diligent farmer on barren and unyielding soil, dins into us the need for

righteous conduct and behaviour behoving those who belong to the Lord. He makes

us promise to shun all acts abhorrent to the Lord and His devotees, to adopt

only that course of action which pleases our Maker, instils in us an unshakeable

faith in the Paramapurusha, persuades us to surrender ourselves, body and soul,

to the Universal Saviour and makes us realise our helplessness in saving

ourselves or what we regard as our own. In short, the Acharya either makes us

perform Prapatti or does it on our behalf, restoring to the Lord what is

rightfully His property. It is thus that he enables us to cross the perilous

ocean of Samsara, reaching us safe, sound and sane on the shores of Paramapadam.

 

It is customary in this world for people in high places to favour and oblige

only those whom they know personally. Favours are doled out only to friends,

relatives or acquaintances. In such a situation, where it is extremely difficult

to obtain favours from people without atleast a nodding acquaintance with them,

how are we going to wangle out the best of all boons, Moksha, from the Lord?

None of us knows the Lord. We have not spoken to him nor have been spoken to by

Him. We have not seen Him and would probably not recognise Him if He were to

stand right before our eyes this very minute. Many of us do not even know OF

Him, what He looks like, His attributes, His retinue etc. In sum, but for the

most accomplished of souls, none could claim to know Him or to have seen Him.

Granting all this, is it not a foolish dream to hope that He would favour us

with emancipation?

No, says Swami Desikan, furnishing the example of a palace servant, who is the

beneficiary of the King's munificence. The benefits of this royal largesse are

automatically passed on by the servant to his family members, despite their

having absolutely no connection with the King, except through the head of their

family.

Similarly, despite our not knowing the Lord personally, we too can attain the

unimaginable bliss of emancipation through the good offices of an Acharya, who

himself has a hot line to the heavens. Knowing Him well to be the Paramapurusha

with all auspicous attributes (including the all-important one of Mercy) and

ourselves to be sinners of the first order, the Acharya intercedes on our behalf

with the King of all Kings and ensures that we too are rewarded with the

fabulous fruit of deliverance.

 

Anyone who is unacquainted with any other work of Swami Desikan and happens to

read only this particular sloka, is given a fair amount of data about the

concepts of the Godhead, the Acharya, the individual soul, the extremely

effective strategy of Prapatti and the boundless benefits it bestows, in the

form of freedom from mundane shackles and attainment of the ultimate bliss--

that of kainkaryam to the Lord. If one were to compare the works of Swami

Desikan to an ocean of wisdom, this particular sloka might represent just a

single drop. Normally, drops are entirely insignificant, which is why a " drop in

the ocean " is an idiom used to indicate an inconsequential quantum. However, in

the ocean of Swami Desikan's works, each individual drop is significant and

noteworthy by itself, capable of independently imparting wonderful wisdom.

While in the case of other oceans, divers have to search long and deep for

locating pearls and gems, in the case of the unique ocean referred to above,

precious stones and pearls lie strewn on the shores, ours for the picking, if

only we make the effort.

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana

Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

Dasan, sadagopan