You are here: SriPedia - SriRangaSri - Archives - Mar 2004

SriRangaSri List Archive: Message 00050 Mar 2004

 
Mar 2004 Indexes ( Date | Thread | Author )
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]


               
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



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




 
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
     http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SriRangaSri/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
     SriRangaSri-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
     http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
 


[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index ] [Thread Index ] [Author Index ]
Home Page
http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia
srirangasri-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To subscribe to the list