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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:



Clean Bowled!



The World Cup fever has gripped everybody and all we hear at home these days 
are about the venues of matches between different countries, India's own 
(usually) dismal performance, hot debates about the batting styles of Sachin 
Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly, the disappointing disqualification of Shane 
Warne, disputes about the authorities' decisions about "Man of the Match" 
awards, etc. If somebody doesn't know cricket or takes no interest in the 
proceedings, he is treated with the contempt and pity he deserves. Old and 
young, the active and the infirm, well read and the unlettered, man and 
woman-everyone's thoughts are focussed on cricket. Even the ears of the babe in 
arms pick up at the cry of "Six!". The home resounds with the cacophony of the 
commentary, the frenzied voices of the onlookers raised in excitement and that 
of the Grandma pleading to somebody to raise the sound output of the 
television. Even the mistress of the house, nearing fifty, stops by amidst her 
domestic chores, with a derisive comment or two about the bowling or fielding. 
The vegetable vendor on the street rings the doorbell to inquire about the 
score. The names of the players are more on everyone's lips than those of the 
Lord. Where usually people used to perform archanAs to the Lord in temples for 
specific requirements such as a pass in the exams, now they have started 
seeking improvement in the fortunes of individual players or whole teams. 
ArchakAs are no longer surprised to receive requests for performance of 
archanAs in the names of Mohammed Kaif or Harbhajan Singh, though they 
tactfully omit asking for the relevant GOthra or nakshatra. Gone are the days 
when matinee idols used to rule the billboards as well as the minds of young 
women, which are now filled with the dashing images of the new Centurions. 
Marriage dates are fixed so that they don't clash with crucial one-day matches. 
On this, there is a rare unanimity among the bride's side, the Groom's and that 
of the officiating priest. Not only are they personally interested in watching 
the match, but are also sure that most of the invitees wouldn't turn up if the 
wedding were to clash with cricket. Even Cabinet meetings are postponed, if 
there is the slightest possibility of their falling on the same day as a 
popular match. After all, politicians only reflect the will of the people. The 
English, who used to colonize the world a century ago using their firepower, 
are doing it now with the game of Cricket, which after all originated in 
England. If their tall claim was that the Sun never set in the British Empire, 
it is now replaced by the averment that the Sun never sets on the Cricket 
Ground, what with the game being played in some part of the world or the other 
throughout the day and all the time. The pity, however, is that the originating 
country has now lost its monopoly over and even primacy in the game and has 
been reduced to an "also-ran" team. Thus the only entities appearing unaffected 
by Cricket fever are the Sun and the Moon, who rise and set as per their usual 
schedule, whether or not there is a fixture. Even here, one does have sneaking 
doubts- one feels that on occasion, the Sun deliberately hides behind rain 
clouds and induces a downpour too, to favour the team of his choice.



When we reflect on it, we feel that the popularity of Cricket is perhaps due to 
its marked resemblance to life itself. For, as everyone recognises, Life is 
itself a game, as absorbing, enthralling and unpredictable as Cricket. For the 
most part, people play a game all the time to outwit their counterparts in 
business or profession. They play games feigning love and affection in their 
personal relationships and more games with the Government in the matter of 
paying taxes. Politicians play the confidence game on the unsuspecting public 
and more games on one another, games of Grab-the-Chair and the toppling game. 
And all of us play a confidence trick on the Lord, inducing Him to believe in 
the sincerity of our devotion and grant us all that we need. And the Lord too 
plays an unending game of Hide and Seek with us. Thus the "Games People Play" 
are varied.



Coming back to Cricket, there are several similarities between this game and 
Life. Every innings represents a lifetime. Just as every batsman is given the 
opportunity to amass as many runs as he can, everybody in life if free to make 
the best of its opportunities and exploit it to the hilt. While some hit 
centuries, some get out cheaply, as in life too, some make good while some just 
languish economically, socially, spiritually and otherwise.



Just as there are eleven people of the opposing team trying to get the batsman 
out, in life too, our five faculties (pancha indriyAs), apart from the six 
sworn enemies, viz., KAma, KrOdha, MOha, lObha,Mata and MAtsarya are constantly 
trying their best to get us down and out. One has to constantly dodge these 
rivals and keep them under strict surveillance, in the manner of a batsman who 
keeps close track of field placements, and hits balls to unmanned locations, if 
we are to emerge victorious in the game of life.



Just as a bowler has a variety of balls in his armoury, life too hurls at us a 
fast ball first, a slower one next, an inswinger later, to be followed by an 
outswinger. You never know what the next ball has in store for you, so 
unpredictable is life's bowling. Sometimes things you are sure of turn out to 
be diametrically opposite, just like a Googly.



It is the batsman who faces the hostile bowling while the runner at the other 
end does little except to watch the former's performance and providing running 
support. The Lord too is like a runner, never participating in the proceedings 
but watching the Jeevatma battle with the slings and arrows of fortune, 
according to its accumulated Karma. The only important difference is that while 
the runner too has to take his turn at batting, the Paramatma remains an 
observer always and never comes to the batting crease. 



The Crease represents to the batsman a safe haven, within which he is secure 
and after crossing which he is on his own, liable to be run out. Similarly, 
Shastras represent the Crease to the Jeevatma. As long as he stays within its 
confines, he is safe and secure. Once he crosses this line, he is out on a limb 
and liable to be floored by the eleven enemies, who are always alert for the 
slightest transgression to take advantage of.



The pitch is something over which the batsman has no control, and if he has to 
play on a queer one that gives an unpredictable bounce to the ball, his innings 
would be short and miserable. In life too, one's baggage of good and bad deeds 
is the pitch one has to play on. While some inherit a sunny pitch and blaze 
their way into Wisden's Cricketers' Almanac or the pages of history, some fail 
miserably even to open their account and form part of the unremarkable, unsung 
and nondescript masses, who "also lived".



The Dharma DEvata is the Umpire in our lives, judging all our actions 
impartially, keeping count of the balls, overs and runs (the seconds, minutes 
and hours of our life and our various acts of commission and omission). He is 
the final authority on all matters on the field and if one is given out, one 
just leaves the ground without even a semblance of protest, irrespective of his 
own feelings in the matter. On the field of life too, the Yamadharma Raja is 
the final arbiter of when we leave the field. His ruling is final and there is 
no use arguing with him, irrespective of whether the moment and manner of exit 
are convenient to us or not. 



Runs represent the years of our life. We may hit a century or get out for a 
duck, depending on whether fortune (or our own Karma) favours us or not. Some 
batsmen, though they may hit a hundred, might do it all in undistinguished 
singles and may take an unconscionably long time doing it, while some others 
may blaze their way to a century, all hit in fours and sixes. In life too, we 
find brilliant people achieving a lot within a very short life span, while 
others may live to be a hundred and have nothing remarkable to show for it.



Winning the Cup is not a matter of mere luck or chance, but requires careful 
planning, coordination among the team, excellence in all departments of the 
game, impeccable execution of carefully considered strategies with clockwork 
precision. For success in life too, all these elements are indispensable. One 
cannot depend on Lady Luck to smile on one always, and has to plan for 
everything, implement the chosen strategy with focus and dedication. This is 
especially true of our spiritual lives, where careful control of the senses, 
sustained focus on the Lord and His attributes and adoption of a suitable 
strategy for Moksha, are indispensable.



The Team's Coach plays a vital role in the personal and professional 
development and performance of the players, and is often the real reason for 
the team's victory. He points out the pitfalls that await each batsman, the 
trick of avoiding them, and the ball-by-ball strategy for ensuring a win. In 
our spiritual life too, the Acharya guides us carefully through the 
heavily-mined and dangerous field of life and puts us through the process of 
Prapatti, so that we reach SriVaikuntam safely.



There may be any number of trophies, instituted by all and sundry, ranging from 
"The Ashes" to the "Wills Trophy" to the Fourth Junior League played under the 
aegis of the ACC (accharappAkkam Cricket Club). Though these may have their own 
votaries at the different levels of the game, the World Cup represents the 
Ultimate Victory in the cricketing world, the crowning glory for which every 
team and every cricketer aspires and toils ceaselessly for. The winning team 
represents the cream of the cricketing fraternity and is held in high esteem by 
one and all the world over. 

Life too offers any number of minor trophies in the form of flashy new 
vehicles, palatial mansions, riches, fame and acclaim, social positions and 
political power. However, the discerning seeker is never satisfied with these 
baubles and trinkets, and aspires only for the ultimate trophy of Liberation 
and service to the Lord at Sri Vaikuntam. He is never tempted by other minor 
rewards and keeps his sight steady on the target of Paramapadam and achieves it 
by adopting the strategy of Bhakti or Prapatti.



Come, let's play for the World Cup!



Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana 
Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

Dasan, sadagopan























[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





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