Cheery Chimes

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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

 

 

Cheery Chimes

 

 

All of us are gladdened by the chimes of the bell. When we were school children,

the ringing of the bell at the end of the day spelled freedom from the academic

prison and from gimlet-eyed teachers. It was what we (at least the less studious

ones like me) used to look forward to, after lunch. Even after growing up, the

mellifluous chimes of the bell have always fascinated us. I remember that cows

in Tiruvallikkeni invariably had small bells hung around their necks, emitting

tinkling sounds whenever the creatures moved their heads this way and that.

(Only much later did I discover that the practice of tying bells around the neck

of cattle was quite ancient, from Sri Tondaradippodi's lines in

Tiruppalliezhucchi- " Mettu iLa mEdigaL talai vidum AyargaL vEynkuzhal Osayum

vidai maNi kuralum " ). And the itinerant sweet-vendor had a bell hung underneath

his pushcart and just used to pull the bell-rope to announce his arrival, rather

than hawk his wares with raucous cries. The temple doors too used to be adorned

with numerous small bells, which jingled and jangled whenever the doors were

pushed open or closed. And children, with their penchant for making some form of

noise or the other constantly, used to mark attendance at the sannidhi by

invariably making these bells ring incessantly. The arrival of the temple

elephant was always heralded by the mellifluous chimes of the ridiculously small

bell hung around its huge neck, at which sound we children used to rush out of

our homes in anticipation of the visual treat that the pachyderm always provided

and for the fear-tinged pleasure of benediction by the touch of its trunk to our

heads (which, incidentally, was done free of charge, compared to the current day

elephants which have been trained to even look at you only upon payment of a

rupee coin).

 

 

 

However, by far the best use of the bell is during the daily worship of the Lord

( " TiruvArAdhanam " ), be it at home or the temple. Whether it be for gently waking

up the Lord from His yOga nidrA or feigned slumber, for lovingly offering Him

water for washing His hands or feet, during His ceremonial bath, for submitting

our humble offering of food, drink, incense or lighted camphor, sounding of the

bell is mandatory, according to manuals of worship dotingly drafted by

affectionate Acharyas.

 

 

 

The PAncharAtra SamhitAs impress upon us the indispensability of the Bell and

the modes of its use, during the Lord's worship. In fact, the JayAkhya SamhitA

tells us that one who wishes to derive the full benefit of the TiruvArAdhanam

 

(viz., Bhagavat preeti) should never forsake sounding the bell during the same-

 

 

 

" PoojA kAlam vinA anyatra hitam nAsyA: prachAlanam

 

nAnayA tu vinA kAryam poojanE siddhim icchatA " .

 

 

 

This sloka also tells us not to sound the bell except during the Lord's worship.

 

 

 

It is interesting to note the nuances in using the bell. For instance, on some

occasions like opening the PerumAL sannidhi, offering Him water for wash, during

His ceremonial bath and while offering Him incense and the lamp, the tongue of

the bell should be made to touch only one wall of the bell. On the other hand,

while offering Him lit camphor, food, drink etc., the bell's tongue should move

both sides, touching the opposite inner walls of the bell alternately. This is

what the VAsudEva SamhitA tells us-

 

 

 

" GhantAyA: tAdanam kuryAt HarE: poojAdi karmasu

 

udghAtanE kavAtasya prastutE poojanE tathA

 

AvahanE arghyE snapanE vivAhE dhoopa deepakE

 

Bali karMaNi hOmE cha Eka pArsvEna tAdayEt

 

neerAjanE yavanikA samuddhArE nivEdanE

 

ParsvAbhyAm tAdanam kuryAt upachArAnatarEshu tu " .

 

 

 

The chimes of the sanctified bell represent the sweetest of strains from all

musical instruments, just as Sri Hari is the embodiment of all gods. All

auspicious sounds emanate from the GhantA (Bell), says the JayAkhya SamhitA-

 

 

 

" Sarva vAdya mayee ghantA sarva dEva mayO Hari:

 

GhantA shabda gatam sarvam tasmAt tAm chAlayEt purA " .

 

 

 

However, while offering the Lord incense or a lighted lamp, we have to

necessarily use our left hand for sounding the bell. We are assailed by a

 

doubt here-would it be correct to lift and use the ghantA with our left hand,

for, the right would necessarily be engaged in holding the incense or lamp? From

all the aforesaid, the Bell appears to be such a sacred component of worship

that touching or using it with our inauspicious left hand appears incorrect.

This can be done, says the ShrIkara SamhitA ( " Dhoopam dadyAt svayam kinchit

ghantAm vAmEna nAdayEt " ) for, if you insist on holding the bell in your right

hand, then the lamp, camphor, incense etc. would have to be offered to the Lord

with the left hand, which is absolutely unthinkable. However, while lifting the

bell, the right hand should be used and thereafter its use on the aforesaid

occasions should be with the left.

 

 

 

We thus find that the sounding of the bell is intended

 

1. to drive away evil spirits inimical to spiritual endeavours,

 

2. to notify devotees and kindred spirits of the ongoing ArAdhanam and

invite their participation in the same and

 

3. to call upon dEvatAs to honour us with their presence and accept our

ministrations.

 

 

 

There is an interesting tale about the Bell, worth narrating. All her efforts at

safeguarding her milk and butter (from Krishna and His band of urchins) having

failed to bear fruit, an ingenious Gopi hits upon the idea of tying bells to the

ropes by which the pots of butter are suspended from the roof, so that any

effort at reaching them would automatically set off the bells and sound an

alarm. When He finds the bell, Krishna makes it a co-conspirator by requesting

it not to ring and give Him away. How can anyone say no to a request from the

absolutely enchanting boy, who is none other than the Parabrahmam itself? So the

Bell agrees not to ring during Sri Krishna's nefarious activities. Emboldened by

such consent, Sri Krishna puts His beautiful hand into the butter pot, scoops up

several handfuls, offers them to His acolytes and fondly watches them consume

the same. True to its promise, the Bell remains silent. And finally, when Sri

Krishna puts some butter into His own mouth and swallows, the Bell rings

stridently, waking up the Gopi and all others within hearing distance. Angered

by this apparent breach of trust by the Bell, Krishna queries it as to why it

chose to ring just then, when He had begun to eat, having remained silent all

along after the thievery had commenced. The Bell tells the Lord that it could

not remain silent when the Paramapurusha was partaking of food, as it is the

Bell's honourable duty to ring whenever any offering is made to the Lord.

Mollified by the extremely reasonable explanation, Sri Krishna forgives the bell

and makes good His escape.

 

 

 

The glorious GhantA serving the Lord at Tirumala had a strange desire, almost

eight hundred years ago-it wanted to be born as a human being. Dissatisfied with

emitting just sweet and stentorian sounds without any profound purport, the Bell

of TiruvEnkatamudayAn prayed to the Lord for a human birth: not any humdrum

janmA, but that of a highly gifted and devoted individual, whose scholarship and

bhakti would be the envy of all those who were born before or after him. And the

Bell desired a path-breaking sojourn on Earth, spreading enlightenment and

showing an easy path to Paradise.

 

 

 

" So be it! " said Srinivasa, granting His ghantA's desire. Just as Sri Rama chose

His parents with care ( " Pitaram rOchayAmAsa vriddham Dasaratham nripam " ), the

Lord's Bell too was pretty particular as to whom it was born to. After careful

consideration and evaluation, the Bell chose a couple from Kancheepuram, one

PuNdarIkAksha YajwA and TOtAramba, a pair renowned for their flawless devotion

and impeccable conduct. To them was born the Bell, in the form of a male child

of varied accomplishments, an amalgam impossible to find elsewhere.

 

Sri PrativAdibhayamkaram aNNA records this fact in his Saptati RatnamAlikA thus-

 

 

 

" AvirbhUti: yasya vamsAt anarghAt VaisvAmitrAt VishNu ghantA amsakasya

 

SrImAn sOyam sarva tantra svatantra: vaktA vyAkhyA sArvabhoumO vibhAti "

 

 

 

Within the young age of twenty, he had mastered all that was there to master and

had earned the bountiful blessings of his Acharyas, Sri VainatEya and of Sri

HayagrIva Himself, all of which made him a scintillating scholar, pleasing poet,

lofty logician, perfect philosopher and, above all, a bhaktimAn beyond compare.

Exhibiting in abundant measure the characteristics of his previous form as the

Lord's ghantA (bell), Sri VEnkatanAtha regaled scholars and the proletariat

alike with his erudition, revealing the sweet and endearing chimes of the Bell.

To opponents, he was verily a terror ( " vibudha vairi varoothinee " ), striking

fear in their hearts with his irrefutable propositions and flawless

formulations, reflecting the stern tones of the GhantA in driving away forces

inimical to the Lord ( " Daitya ripu ghantA " ). Just as the tones of the GhantA

provide the perfect accompaniment to the Lord's worship, so do the devotional

works of Swami Desikan, the recitation of which would endow us with the ideal

emotional state conducive to adulating Emperuman. And just as the stentorian

tones of the bell serve to frighten away demoniac and evil forces, Tooppul

Pillai's works too sound the death knell for the so-called philosophies of

agnostics, atheists and others of their ilk who do not accept the authority of

the Shruti, as also others of skewed perceptions ( " Kudrishti " ) who pay lip

service to the Shruti but impose their own uninformed theories on it, in the

name of interpretation.

 

 

 

Just as the bell's chimes are heard over long distances, Sri Venkatanatha's

glory too spread far and wide, bringing him laurels and accolades, which,

however, he shunned like serpents.

 

 

 

Our homes have been provided with calling bells, which visitors sound to gain

admittance. Similarly, the gates of Sri Vaikuntam too are adorned with a

beautiful bell, which we have to ring, for entry into Paradise. It is this bell

that announces to the Lord our arrival at the gates of Paramapadam and it is at

the sound of this bell that He rushes to welcome us with open arms, sending

hordes of nitya sUrIs as an advance reception party. Once we propitiate this

Divine Bell, which is none other than our revered Venkatanatha, our admittance

into the Divine Residence is assured, for the Bell, in its special tones, sends

a sweet-sounding message to Emperuman, announcing to Him the unblemished soul

awaiting admittance into His abode and the need for His expeditious action in

the matter. Sri Vedanta Desika has authored so many works in so many languages,

all with Bhakti and Prapatti as the constantly recurring theme, that our

acceptance of him and his illustrious successors as our preceptors would ensure

for us emancipation. Once we adopt the simple but effective strategy of

Prapatti, Sri Venkatanatha, the Lord's Bell, emits sweet chimes that guide us

unerringly from the mundane morass to the Promised Land, announcing

simultaneously to the Lord our arrival for inclusion into His fold.

 

 

 

" Dharma trANAya ya: abhoot sa jayatu BhagavAn VishNu GhantAvatAra: "

 

 

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrisimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana

Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

dasan, sadagopan