Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
The Godfather
This has nothing to do with Mario Puzo or Mafia Dons or Italian intrigues, much
less with sinister Sicilian secrets. There is perhaps some truth in what my
daughter, who is my resident editor and relentless critic, says-that the titles
I give my articles are mostly misnomers, much like Tamil movies, where you have
to search hard for a connection between the name of the movie and the theme.
I, however, am satisfied if I can somehow make the title figure somewhere in
the body of the text, in or out of context, more often the latter.
Coming to the point, Do we have a choice of whom we are born to? In other
words, can we choose our parents? It doesn't appear possible, as ours are
births ordained by our karma and we are born to good or bad parents, as
dictated by our deeds past. Given the option, perhaps some of us would prefer
to have been brought into this world by a father and mother other than those we
were born to, but it is only wishful thinking, for we have absolutely no say in
the matter. It is a different matter that many of our parents too would have
liked to have begot more considerate, more obedient and more affectionate
progeny, than some of us are.
In striking contrast, the Lord, whenever He decides to come down to this
mundane world for Dharma samrakshanam, for protecting the good and weeding out
the evil elements, is extremely particular as to whom He is born to. He doesn't
leave it to chance and plans well in advance as to who His parents would be and
ensures that He is indeed born to the couple of His choice. We have this on
good authority, that of Sri Valmiki, who tells us that when Emperuman decided
upon the RAmavatAra, He simultaneously chose the elderly Emperor of Ayodhya as
His would-be father-"pitaram rOchayAmAsa vriddham Dasaratham nripam".
Why should the Lord chose Dasaratha and not any other person, King or
otherwise, for His father? We must remember that the purpose of Sri Ramavatara
was to showcase to the mortals the virtues, conduct and comportment of an Ideal
Man. Sri Rama was the Model Monarch, an exemplary son, husband, brother and
friend. He was rectitude personified, the very epitome of virtues of all sorts
and a Paragon of Perfection, the consummate Man in all respects, everybody's
idea of what an ideal human being should look like, how he should behave and
the standards he should maintain.
If He was to serve as an exemplar, the Lord had to have the proper background.
His avatara had to be set in a milieu conducive to generating confidence in the
minds of those He sought to impress. Right from birth, there should not be even
a speck of stigma to His person or those associated with Him. His lineage
should be an impeccable one, lest He had to bear the cross for some misdeed of
His forbears. Then, and only then, would this cynical world attach credence to
anyone professing to be a model to others. It is a hallmark of the Lord's
extreme soulabhyam that He tailored His birth milieu to impress mundane
mortals, for they are of such nature as to disregard Him even if He were to
declare Himself to be such-"maNmisai yOnigaL tOrum pirandu-engaL MayavanE
kaNNura nirkilum kANagillA ulagOrgaL" is what Sri Amudanar has to say about
sceptical and mocking mortals. A horse from reputed stables would command any
number of backers, while a dark horse would hardly find anyone to bet on it,
and the Lord knew this well when deciding His lineage and locale.
It is with all this in mind that Emperuman chose Dasaratha, himself an
exemplary Emperor, a magnificent warrior of proven track record, a benevolent
ruler loved by all the subjects, with all his deeds deeply rooted in Dharma and
an administrator par excellence, taking his kingdom from one pinnacle of
prosperity to another. The reign of Dasaratha was characterised by peace,
prosperity, plenty and piety. It was again with this in mind that the Lord
chose the IkshvAku Vamsam to be born in, with its long and illustrious lineage
of sovereigns known not only for their valour and martial skills, but also for
their righteousness, administrative acumen and deep dedication and commitment
to the welfare of their charges.
Thus the Lord had a flying start, so to say, in His mission of winning over
errant mortals by setting a personal example, as common people are more prone
to set store by what great ones, belonging to great lineages say, rather than
the utterances of another nondescript specimen of humanity like themselves, as
the following sloka aptly puts-
"yat yat Acharati shrEshtta: tat tat Eva itarO jana:
Sa yat pramANam kurutE lOka: tat anuvartatE".
Why should the Lord chose an old man ("vriddham") almost sixty thousand years
old at the time of begetting a son, as His father? It is said that Dasaratha,
after these long years, felt the need for a son only when he espied a grey hair
or two on his head. This attests to the fact that Dasaratha was definitely not
a doddering old man, beyond the tasks of begetting or bringing up children.
With age comes maturity, the hot-bloodedness of youth yielding place to
measured and mellowed responses, and such a person would be much better placed
both to know and impart the ways of the world to his progeny, than any other.
Dasaratha was senior not only on account of his years, but also due to his vast
wisdom and impeccable conduct, qualifying him to the three appellations, "GyAna
viriddha:, sheela vriddha: and VayO vriddha:". This perhaps was the reason for
the Lord's choice of this particular soveriegn as His progenitor.
We have a difficulty with this line of argument,when we consider the other
popular avatara, that of Sri Krishna. Here, though the Lord was indeed born
into an illustrious lineage and had for His father the famed VasudEva, He
voluntarily relinquished His royal credentials and hurried to NandagOkulam on
the very night of His birth, to assume the garb of a mere cowherd's
son-"orutthi maganAi pirandu Oriravil orutthi maganAi oLithu vaLara". Atleast
in the Ramavatara, the Lord set an example only through His conduct and did not
take on the role of a Universal Teacher-"Jagadguru"--, which our Krishna did
later. Is it not all the more important for the GitAchArya to have had an
illustrious background, for His words of wisdom to command acceptance and
following? Literally and figuratively Sri Krishna was a dark horse-why didn't
this affect His credibility, as is evident from Gita the Guidebook being
popular beyond measure throughout the ages and till today? And look at the garb
the Lord sported, while delivering His sermon in the battlefield of
KurukshEtra-it was that of a lowly charioteer, with the reigns in His hand, a
stick to goad the horses with tucked into His belt, His entire tirumEni covered
with the dust and dirt of the battle, freely prespiring as He stood in the hot
sun preaching to Arjuna who was comfortably ensconced under the protective
canopy of the chariot. All these hardly make for an ideal personality or locale
for imparting eternal insights and intelligence. However, despite all these, if
Arjuna and the whole world listened spellbound to the Sarathy, it was the
compelling wisdom in the words, as well as the credentials of the racounteur.
Why should the world till date adualte this cowherd-turned-preacher as
"neriyellAm edutthu uraittha nirai gnAnatthu oru moorthi" and as "GitAchArya"?
Much as the world likes to listen to those who preach from the high podium of
moral authority, much as it venerates people of high birth and descent, much as
it is attracted by the pomp and glitter of royalty, the man-in-the-street,
when confronted by a dilemma or doubt of significance, runs to a person of his
own acquaintance and background living round the corner for clarification,
rather than call on the Emperor, whom he reveres but hardly knows, to seek
wisdom. It is this propensity of mortals that the Lord encashed on, during the
Krishnavatara. Having failed to fully reform errant humanity during His
previous sojourns in this world, He tries a new trick-being born as one among
mundane mortals, to live and move with them as one of their own kind, to gain
their confidence by displaying some of their own failings, feigning their own
frailties and appearing affected by their own concepts of happiness and sorrow.
It is this strategy that prompts Him to grow up as "NandagOpan Kumaran", son of
NandagOpa, a mere cowherd, though an opulent one. What a come down in the
choice of a Father, we might wonder-from Dasaratha, the all-powerful,
universally acclaimed and undisputed Emperor of all worlds, belonging to the
Surya Vamsam, whose assistance in warfare is sought by even the Celestials, on
the one hand-- and on the other, an unlettered cowherd Nandagopa, belonging to
a clan with a wholly pastoral occupation, whose movement is with only bovine
creatures, whose ignorance is self-acknowledged without reservation
("arivondrum illAda Aykkulam"). Whither the urbane and all-knowing Emperor
Dasaratha, and whither the unsophisticated and ignorant rustic Nandagopa?
However, we have it on the authority of Sri Nammazhwar that the Lord relished
His sojourn in Gokulam, tending to cows as the pride of the YAdava clan ("Ayar
kozhundu") and as the son of Nandagopa, than His permanent residence at
Srivaikuntam-"divatthilum pasu nirai mEyppu uvatthi".
Thus, on balance, we might tentatively conclude that the Lord did much more by
way of enlightening and emancipating mankind (through the eternally relevant
Song Celestial, the Bhagavat Gita) as the son of non-descript Nandagopa, rather
than as the scion of the illustrious Raghukulam and the son of famed Dasaratha.
It is this avatara that Sri Nammazhwar praises as "ennai pettra at TAyAi
TandayAi ariyAdana arivittha atthA!"-one who, with infinite mercy, dispelled
the gloom of ignorance and lighted the lamp of knowledge in Azhwar's soul,
performing the functions of father, mother and Guru, all rolled into one. For
all the precepts set by Sri Rama, it is Sri Krishna who is till today known as
the "Jagadguru" ("Krishnam vanE Jagatgurum" is the refrain of the
KrishnAstakam). And it is Sri Krishna who is acclaimed as the "PoorNa avatAra",
despite Sri Rama having been a paragon of all possible virtues, perhaps because
His humble environs enabled Sri Krishna to exhibit in full the wonderful virtue
of Soulabhyam, endearing Him to the whole world.
If a popularity contest were to be conducted for these avataras, with
connoiseur devotees as the judges, which avatara do you think would emerge
winner? Pat would come the answer from everyone, "The Krishnavatara, of
course!". If one were to go by the depth of emotion generated in the devotee by
virtue of extreme accessibility (soulabhyam), the trait of mixing with lowly
mortals as one among them, adopting their food, dress and conduct (souseelyam),
the retention of Supremacy (Paratvam) even during the avatara and its effective
display when warranted, the universal appeal to various sections of the
proletariat and plutocracy alike, irrespective of age, erudition or
avocation-all these sterling qualities set Sri Krishna apart from other
avataras and endow Him with a popularity beyond measure. The extremely lovable
toddler whom everyone would like to cuddle, the mischievous urchin one would
love to play with, the handsome youth who is the heart throb of all eligible
damsels (and some ineligible ones too!), the mature King whose counsel and aid
are sought by opposing kingdoms and warriors, the master of subterfuge whose
strategies can transform the potential loser into an acclaimed winner, the
Universal Teacher who proclaims the guidebook of good conduct and emancipation
from the battlefield of Kurukshetra-these and other such stellar roles the Lord
donned during the Krishnavatara have no doubt been responsible for its being
adjudged a "Poorna avatara", despite close competition from His other roles as
Sri Rama, Sri Nrisimha etc.
In bringing up a child, it is the father' role and responsibility to ensure
that his son grows up into a fine specimen of humanity, wins world-wide acclaim
("avayatthu mundi iruppa seyal") and contributes the maximum to the welfare of
the society of which he is a part. Judged by this standard, Nandagopa towers
head and shoulders above Dasaratha as a Father of God. If we go by the dictum,
"The proof of the pudding is in the eating", Nandagopa seems to have ensured a
much more comfortable life for his offspring Krishna, who never had to
encounter any prolonged inconvenience or distress in His life, while Dasaratha
was responsible, directly or indirectly, for his beloved son spending fourteen
long years in the inhospitable jungle and enduring a lot of grief. Sri
Nandagopa was extremely protective of the little Krishna and would not let him
out of his eyesight, (leave alone be banished to the jungle) transforming
himself from a placid purveyor of milk and curds into a ferocious warrior
wielding a murderous spear, all for the protection of Sri Krishna ("koor vEl
kodum tozhilan Nandagopan"). Having at last justified the title to my
daughter's satisfaction, I would like to conclude this piece here without
testing readers' patience further.
Srimate Sri LakshmINrisimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana
Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
Dasan, sadagopan
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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