Maadhuryam

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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

 

 

Maadhuryam-Sweetness

 

 

 

The Elusive Cup of Joy

 

 

Emperuman is the repository of innumerable auspicious attributes. Each of these

attributes is immeasurable and unparalelled. Though these are beyond

enumeration, Sri Ramanuja catalogues twenty-four of them in his Gadyam as the

principal ones, each of them being of immense utility to devotees. For instance,

Vaatsalyam prevents the Lord from looking too closely at our misdeeds. Aarjavam

ensures His sincerity and synchronisation of His word, thought and deed in His

dealings with us. Kaarunyam makes Him rush to our rescue when we are in trouble,

intolerant to our suffering.

 

 

 

All the aforesaid divine attributes are fine, but they do not evoke in us any

joy or overwhelming bliss. We might be grateful to the Lord for overlooking our

sins, but not joyful at the prospect. While His sincerity reinforces our faith

in His fairness, this too cannot generate a feeling of euphoria. We are indeed

glad to find Emperuman to be a faithful friend in need, ever ready to dispel our

distress, but this too can make us heave a sigh of relief, but not prompt a hoop

of joy. Is there no attribute of the Lord which would give us simple, pure and

unadulterated pleasure and enjoyment? Is He such a goody-goody person, who can

inspire in us only devotion, grattitude, relief and friendliness, but not

delight?

 

 

 

Eureka! Maadhuryam!

 

 

As mentioned already, Emperuman's kalyana gunas are countless and while some

are reserved for affording protection to the faithful, some others are intended

to educate.Similarly, there are gunas specifically meant for providing unalloyed

ecstasy to bhaktas. Gunas in this category do nothing else but entertain,

fascinate and immerse the devotee in immeasurable bliss. These attributes are

pure fun, so to say, having no other function than to afford delight. If the

Lord is a mere paragon of forbiddingly righteous virtues, He can at best be

portrayed as a sombre person, good to devotees but not much fun to deal with. He

can be a benefactor but not a bewitching one. It is attributes like Maadhuryam

that attract the devotee to the Lord and hold him fast, unable to pry his eye

and mind away. Prakritam Srimad Azhagiasingar has been one of the innumerable

worthies who have fallen victim to this attribute of Emperuman and has vaxed

eloquent on the same in his magnum opus, " Eraar gunangalum ezhil vadivum " .

 

 

 

Sweet, Allover

 

 

Before we go on to the definitions (of the divine trait of Maadhuryam) by great

Acharyas, let us analyse what the word means prima facie, to the layman. If one

were to refer to the dictionary meaning of the word, one would come up with the

synonym " Sweetness " . The Lord is incredibly sweet, attracting everyone to Him as

would ants by spilled sugar. Sri Nammazhwar puts this in characteristic layman's

language by calling Him a lot of names indicative of His sweetness- " enakku tene,

pale, kannale, amude! " . Since sweetness is a taste to be experienced personally

rather than described, Sri Nammazhwar mentions honey, milk, nectar etc., trying

to give us an inkling of how sweet Emperuman is. The Lord is sweet all over,

without exception, says the Madhurashtakam, devoted solely to the eulogy of this

charming attribute- " adharam madhuram, vadanam madhuram...Mathuraadhipate:

akhilam madhuram " . His walk, His talk, His conduct, His lips, His face--

everything about Him is sweet. Srimad Ramayanam too confirms that the Lord is

sweetness personified- " Priya abhibhaashee madhura: deerghabaahu: arindama: "

Kodai Nacchiar too, who should know, tells us that His coral lips are extremely

sweet- " tiurppavala chevvaai taan titthitirukkumo " . His feet are sweet, so much

so that the surfeit of sweetness flows from the tiruvadi like a river of honey,

according to the Shruti- " Vishno: pade parame madhva utsa: " .

 

 

 

Sri Alavandar concurs with this in his Stotra Ratnam- " tava amrita syandini paada

pankaje " . He also enquires as to who in his right mind would forsake these sweet

tiruvadis of Emperuman for the bitingly bitter and severely sour experiences of

Samsara. Would any bee relinquish the honey and pollen-filled lotus for a

tasteless, thorny cactus, enquries he rhetorically- " stithe aravinde makaranda

nirbhare madhuvrato na ikshurakam hi veekshate " . While ordinary sweetening

agents like sugar, honey etc. stop with satisfying the palate, Emperuman, who is

sweeter than anything else, also enters the mind of the devotee and makes him

ecstatical all over, says Sri Nammazhwar- " ullam pugundu titthikkum amude!,

imayor adhipatiye! " . The Lord is capable of affording us such an eminently sweet

experience that we feel as if we have drowned, without suffocating, in an ocean

of nectar, making us awash with elation all over- " amrita saagara antar nimagna:

sarva avayava: sukham aaseeta " (Gadyam)

 

 

 

Prince Charming

 

 

 

Acharyas have outlined two distinct facets of this Maadhuryam. The first aspect

is the incredible charm the Lord exudes, from a physical perspective. The very

sight of Him makes us tingle with ecstasy. His perfectly proportioned tirumeni,

His luminous lotus eyes, His jet black hair falling in curls over His broad and

beautiful forehead, the broad chest that is the permanent residence of Sri

Mahalakshmi, long and lovely limbs and incredibly delicate lotus feet-all these

are such a treat to the eyes that one never feels like taking one's eyes away,

as Sri Tiruppanazhwar confirms- " en amudinai kanda kangal mattrondrinai kaanaave "

Our glances remain riveted to the bewitching figure, incapable of moving away.

Just as the full moon appearing in the night sky is a sight to behold,

generating waves of joy in our hearts, the sight of the Lord too brings us

eternal ecstacy, says Sri Valmiki- " Somavat priyadarsana: "

 

 

 

The Honeyed-Tongue

 

 

Secondly, Emperuman is sweet not only to the eyes, but to the ears too, with His

pleasing words, always reflecting the truth- " Priyavaadee cha bhootaanaam

satyavaadee cha Raghava: " . Describing the Lord's incredibly sweet voice, Sri

Bhashyakara remarks, " snigdha gambheera madhurayaa gira " - a deeply reasonant,

sugary voice filled with love, affection and goodwill. Sri Rama's voice is sweet

not only because of its timbre and content, but also due to His endearing habit

of speaking first and initiating the conversation, without standing on prestige

and waiting for the other person to speak first- " mita bhaashi poorva bhaashi

cha " .

 

 

 

The Lord's Maadhuryam appears infectious, as others too, who speak of Him, are

automatically endowed with sweet tones, as happens to Sage Visvamitra, when He

calls out Rama's name- " Rameti madhuraam vaaneem Visvaamitro abhyabhaashata " . Any

recounting of His glorious exploits becomes sweet ipso facto-a ready example

being Srimad Ramayanam, which is filled with wonderful words dripping with

sweetness-Madhuram madhuraaksharam. These words and sentences are sweet not only

when set to music, but also to merely read and recite-'Paatye geye cha

madhuram'.

 

 

 

In Sri Krishnavatara too, this sweetness of speech translates itself into

enchanting strains emanating from His flute, mesmerising not only

musically-inclined human beings but also dumb deer, who listen with rapt

attention, forgetting all thought of grazing and with their mouths open in

enthralment, with half-chewn grass spilling out- " marunda maan kanangal meygai

marandu, meynda pullum kadai vaai vazhi sora " . It goes without saying, of

course, that Piratti's voice too is unbelievably sweet, as behoves Her feminine

nature, as the Lord Himself confirms- " madhuraa madhuraalaapa "

 

 

 

Tasty, yet Wholesome

 

 

We know from experience that things which are good to the palate are not

necessarily conducive to our health-a diabetic's mouth waters at the sight of

sweets, but he knows his health would suffer a set back if he were to succumb to

temptation. Spicy and oily food is tasty to consume, but wreaks havoc on one's

stomach and heart. On the other hand, food which is good for health is often

tasteless or even bitter-take for instance kashaayam given to a feverish person.

Bitter gourd (paagarkaai) is supposed to work wonders to the physique, but is

unpalatable, as are Margosa leaves which improve digestion dramatically. It is

thus difficult to find food which is delectable as well as beneficial.

 

 

 

How good would it be to find some fare which is at once incredibly sweet on

the tongue, extremely beneficial to the physique and more so to the soul! Sounds

too good to be true? We need not despair, for we do have a ready delicacy on

hand, which is good both for the palate and the soul, being none other than the

Lord. He is not only sweet on the eyes, His voice is extremely pleasant to the

ears, His sacred names sit sweet on our tongues, He fills our minds with the

sweetest of thoughts ( " Manatthukku iniyaan " ) when we meditate on Him; service or

kainkaryam to Him is the most pleasant of professions. It is as if the Doctor

has prescribed us honey, which we even otherwise relish consuming.

 

 

 

The Measure of Madhuryam

 

 

What is the measure of Emperuman's maadhuryam? Is he as sweet as sugar, as

honey, as tender coconut raised with river water, or on par with that ultimate

delicacy, Nectar? As with the other gunas of the Lord, there are no limits to

His Maadhuryam too. All we can say is that He is immeasurably sweet, there being

no yardsticks for fathoming this great Guna. Sri Nammazhwar, who tentatively

likens His sweetness to Nectar ( " en amudam " ), turns around with regret at the

poor comparison and corrects himself by saying that the Lord is sweet beyond

measure, when compared to Nectar- " amizhdilum aattra inian. "

 

 

 

Aaraavamudam-An honourable Exception to Laws of Economics

 

 

The Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility applies only too well to sweet things--

the more one consumes of these items, the less one wants additionally. If you

are fond of laddus, for instance, you may eat two, three or four, or if you have

an extraordinarily sweet tooth, perhaps half a dozen. After that, it begins to

pall and you would start protesting if you were offered more of the delicacy. At

a certain stage, probably with the 7th or 8th laddu, your liking for the item

would turn into positive revulsion. However, the Lord's sweetness never

diminishes, however much we experience Him. Each second's anubhavam brings with

it fresh and fascinating waves of ecstasy, the entire experience never palling,

however long it lasts, leaving us only craving for more- " appouzhudaikku

appouzhudu en Aaraavamudame " exclaims Sri Nammazhwar, marvelling at the

ever-fresh sweetness of the Lord.

 

 

 

Satakopa Muni on the Sweet Lord

 

 

However, if there is one single pasuram which portrays the Lord's Maadhuryam in

abundant measure, it is perhaps this Tiruvaimozhi-

 

 

 

" Achuthan amalan engo, adiyavar vinai kedukkum

 

nacchu maa marundam engo, nalam kadal amudam engo

 

acchuvai katti engo, arusuvai adisil engo

 

nei suvai teral engo, kani engo paal engeno "

 

 

 

In this, Azhwar likens the Lord first to a panacea that cures all ills,

especially the incurable disease of Karma. This wonderful drug, while

eradicating all our sins without trace or side effects, is also incredibly

sweet-- an indeed unbeatable combination. Though the sweetness of this wonder

cure defies description, Azhwar attempts this impossible task by holding out

first Nectar, obtained with herculean effort from the depths of the ocean. Then

he rejects the simile, realising that unlike Amudam, Emperuman never puts

insuperable hurdles in the way of His devotees, being easily accessible to those

who wish to attain Him with ardour- " karutthukku nandrum eliyaanai " . He is the

" kadal padaa amudam " , the Celestial Nectar with absolutely no association with

the salty sea. To those who point out that He is not in a liquid state like

Nectar, Azhwar offers the alternative simile of a huge slab of jaggery (acchuvai

katti) which is sweet all over. Then Azhwar has second thoughts, realising that

while jaggery has only one quality, Emperuman has lots more, and he comes up

with the description " arusuvai adisil " or a gastronomic delight, a meal which

makes the tastebuds water, with all the six basic tastes providing variety and

fulfilment. Remembering the Shruti vaakyam associating Emperuman with honey,

Azhwar tries out the simile of delectable honey, fortified with clarified

butter. Both these items, while being independantly tasty on their own, provide

a scrumptious amalgam, which reminds Azhwar of the Lord's own sweetness.

Dissatisfied with all these unworthy comparisons, Sri Satakopa Muni turns to a

ripe and luscious fruit, full of syrupy juice and sweet pulp, and to thick,

sweet cow's milk as items to compare the Lord with. Rejecting all of these in

turn, Azhwar despairs of finding a suitable simile and ends on a wistful note,

" engeno " - " With what indeed would I compare His incredible sweetness! " , wonders

Azwar. The essence of the aforesaid paasuram is that the Lord is sweeter than

the sweetest thing imaginable and unimaginably and incomaparably sweet at that.

 

 

 

The Sweet Adversary

 

 

Impressing devotees is child's play for the Lord, for they are already

favourably inclined towards Him. The real measure of His Maadhuryam lies,

however, in enchanting His sworn enemies. This is reflected in the reaction of

Soorpanakha, who, despite bleeding profusely from a nose-cut inflicted by

Lakshmana at the instance of Sri Rama, has nothing other than the choicest words

of praise, while reporting the ignominous incident to Ravana. Instead of

showering them with the worst of abuse as would be natural for a woman not only

scorned but injured too, all she recounts is the incredibly sweet nature and

physical beauty of the brothers Rama-

 

 

 

" Tarunou roopa sampannou sukumaarou mahaabalou

 

Pundareeka visaalaakshou cheera krishnaajina ambarou " .

 

 

 

Sri Krishna's adversary from birth, the Chhedi Raja Sisupala too, who spent a

lifetime abusing the Lord, was mesmerised by the Lord's overwhelming sweetness,

when his moment of reckoning arrived. When the breath-takingly beautiful

Krishna, with His broad lotus eyes, took the Sudarsana Chakra in His delicate

hand spelling doom for Sisupala, the latter, though aware of the impending end,

could concentrate on nothing but the Lord's bewitching beauty in the second

before the Chakra cut his head off. Though a life-long enemy of the Lord, he was

unable to resist the overpowering charm of his divine adversary, knowing

fullwell that his end was at hand. Such is the sweetness of the Lord, making Him

irresistible even to sworn enemies, making them lose themselves, their sight and

speech in the exquisiteness of the divine experience, notwithstanding the fact

that the Lord is about to deal out retribution, says Swami Desikan- " dveshataam

jighaamsitaanaam drishti chitta apahaaritvena rasaavahatvam vaa madhuryam, yena

Sisupaalasya taadrusee charama avasttha " .

 

 

 

" Come and Get me, My Lord! "

 

 

If this incredible charm could impress hardened adversaries like Sisupala, one

can predict the effect it would have on devotees like Sri Bhishma, who was

forced to fight on the other side due to a misplaced sense of loyalty. Though

the Lord had vowed not to touch a weapon in the Kurukshetra war, He was forced

to lift His

Chakrayudha and advance menacingly on Bhishma, who was overwhelming Arjuna with

his virtual deluge of arrows, each finding its mark painfully and reducing the

Paandava to a state of unresponsive numbness. Totally taken up with the

spectacle of the incredibly beautiful Lord approaching him in a run, with the

Chakra held aloft ready for despatch on its deadly mission of cutting his (Sri

Bhishma's) head off, the Pitamaha just drops his bow and bows down to the Lord,

inviting Him to complete His mission. The very sight of the Lord captivates

Bhishma so much that he doesn't even think of self-defence, (leave alone

offence) and starts eulogising Sri Krishna. All thoughts of the bloody

battlefield and of winning the war for Duryodhana are instantly banished from

Bhishma's mind and all he is able to perceive is the bewitching form of the

Lord, notwithstanding its deadly posture. So much so that Bhishma eagerly

invites the Lord to finish what He contemplated- " ehi ehi pullaambuja netra! " .

 

 

 

The Exhilarating Effect

 

 

The Lord Himself describes the effect of this magnificent virutue of Maadhuryam

on His devotees-

 

 

 

" mat chittaa: mat gata praanaa: bodhayanta: parasparam

 

katayantascha maam nityam, tushyanti cha ramanti cha "

 

 

 

Drunk with the heady nectar of Bhagavat anubhavam, bhaktas are unable to do

anything else but think about Him, recount to each other with relish tales of

the Lord during His various avataras, share with others enlightening divine

wisdom to which only they are privy and imbibe from others incomparable insights

into the Lord's endearing nature and inimitable attributes. They delight in

swapping notes about their respective sublime experiences with the Lord and are

verily in the seventh heaven (though they might still inhabit only the earth),

prompted by their " anubhava janita preeti " for the Lord. They are unable to

tolerate even a second's separation from the Lord and His votaries " kshanepi yat

viraho ati dussaha: " . This is what Maadhuryam does to devotees, making them

forget their milieu and burst into uninhibited song and dance, often making them

the objects of derision among the uninitiated and ignorant masses mad after

Mammon.

 

 

 

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When we read all this, we wish fervently that we too might, some day, in some

birth, get a taste of the Lord's Maadhuryam, which is obviously a heady elixir

with an overwhelming sweetness. We need not despair of not being Vaikunta

Vaasis, who are so enamoured of this virtue as to enjoy it without a break even

for a blink ( " sadaa pasyanti sooraya: " ). Nor do we need to worry about not

having been around when Emperuman took avataras as Rama and Krishna and regaled

contemporaries with His incredible and endearing exploits. If we need a taste of

Emperuman's sweetness, all that we need to do is to visit the nearest

divyadesam, where the Lord awaits us in all splendour, ready to afford us an

unforgettable taste of Himself, with His bewitching and beckoning tirumukha

mandalam, coral-red lips bared in an enthralling and endearing smile,

resplendent with the Divine Discus and Conch on His upraised arms, meant to

afford us protection and wisdom, one beautiful palm raised in a gesture of

offering refuge with the other pointing downwards in a mudra of munificence,

ready to give everyone everything if only they would ask, and with two tender

feet providing asylum to those driven by the incredible heat and sorrow of

Samsara. He awaits our arrival with eager anticipation, all ready to sweeten our

lives with a display of His most endearing attribute-Maadhuryam.

 

 

Srimate Sri LakshmiNrisimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana

Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

 

 

dasan, sadagopan