Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
Flexible Faculties
During a recent visit to Tirumala, I accidentally fell into one of the deep
trenches that are being dug all over the hills for some strange purpose known
only to the TTD authorities. They did not deem it fit to provide warning signs
and in the pitch dark of 3 a.m., not being endowed with sensors, I could not
help stepping involuntarily into the trench. The result was an immediate and
searing pain in the calf muscle and walking became extremely difficult.
Accepting this as a prasaadam the Tirumalayappan had bestowed on me even before
granting an audience, I managed to crawl, limp and drag myself through the next
few hours and, as soon as the glorious Saattrumurai was over at the Sannidhi
(during which Srinivasa seemed to smile rather mischievously at me) returned
home post-haste, in considerable pain. For a couple of days thereafter, I
couldn't set my foot down and was confined to the bed due to doctor's orders,
having torn a ligament.
There is nothing like an enforced rest to set you thinking and I too indulged
in this idle pastime. Having temporarily lost the use of a leg, I wondered
wistfully how nice it would be if one organ of the body were able to perform
the function of another, when the latter is out of order. For instance, if you
had conjunctivitis and had difficulty seeing with your eyes, how convenient
would it be if the ears could also see! If you had a hearing problem, how handy
would it be if the eyes could take over as conveyors of sound too, in addition
to sight! If only the tongue could smell and the nose act as a taste bud! In
short, if one crucial part of the body were able to substitute the functions of
another, we would have absolutely no problems even in the case of a temporary
or even permanent loss of one faculty. And it appeared rather remiss of the
Lord, for not having provided the requisite interchangeability among our
faculties, which would make them substitute for one another in case of need.
The sad fact, however, remains that all our knowledge is faculty-based-we are
unable to see, hear, smell or taste, without the respective organs doing their
duty.
Chiding myself for such fanciful thoughts, I pondered as to whether there were
indeed instances of such substitutive faculties and, to my surprise, I did come
up with a few. (Incidentally, I was mortified to find that even a snake was
able to hear with its eyes, as could be gathered from its Sanskrit
sobriquet-"Chakshushrava:")
Describing the Raasa Leela, Sri Nammazhwar paints us an enchanting picture of
Sri Krishna playing the flute, surrounded by an adoring bevy of Gopis. While
doing so, Azhwar comes up with an interesting formulation, (in the ten
paasurams beginning with "Malligai kamazh tendral")-
"toodu sei kangal kondu ondru pesi, too mozhi isaigal kondu ondru nokki"
Azhwar tells us that Sri Krishna spoke volumes to the Gopis with His beautiful
eyes, conveying all possible intimate endearments-"toodu sei kangal kondu ondru
pesi". And simultaneously, He saw the Gopis with love-filled glances, through
His music-"too mozhi isaigal kondu ondru nokki".
Normally, the eye can only see-it can't speak. Even granting that expressions
can be exhibited in the eye, they can only be extremely inadequate and can
convey meaning fully, only when supplemented by the spoken word. By itself,
eye-contact, as a means of communication, would be ineffective.
Not so, however, in the case of Sri Krishna-He managed to convey to Gopis with
His dark, passionate and red-lined eyes, all that He could have actually said
through speech. All the love and affection He had for them, all the endearments
that lovers utter at great emotional heights-all these were conveyed to the
Gopis with utmost effectiveness, as if Sri Krishna was actually speaking
volumes, says Sri Nampillai-"pecchaal pirakkum spashttathai nokkaale pirakkai".
The message went through to the Gopis through the Lord's eyes with all the
clarity that only the spoken word can convey.
And what was the need for speaking through the eyes, when He did have a pearly
mouth ("tirupppavala chevvaai") with which to speak and dulcet tones which were
music to the ears?
Sri Krishna was playing the flute, regaling man, woman and beast alike and
could not be bothered to take it off from His mouth, interrupting the flow,
every time He wanted to speak to a Gopi. However, He could not also refrain
from speaking to His female fans frequently. As much as they wanted to speak to
Him, Krishna too was enamoured of whispering sweet nothings in their ears
constantly. And as a way out, He continued with His concert, simultaneously
conversing with Gopis through His eloquent eyes, managing to communicate as
effectively as if He were speaking to them lovingly and at length. We wonder
whether it is this act of Emperuman which inspired Tiruvalluvar's words "
Kannodu kan nokkin vaaicchorkkal enna payanum ila".
And the mesmerising music that emanated from the flute had no less an impact on
the audience than a captivating look from the Lord's beautiful eyes. A mere
glance from Sri Krishna's eyes has the effect of comprehensively winning over
the onlooker and making the latter a slave for eternity. Azhwar avers that the
Venu gaanam was so enchanting as to enslave all those present and Sri
Nampillai, commenting on the line "too mozhi isaigal kondu ondru nokki", says-
"Azhagia pecchodu koodiya isaigalaale kannaale nokki eedu padutthumaa pole
eedupadutthi".
This episode tells us that it is indeed possible for one faculty to perform the
function of another and that too quite effectively-"vaak vyavahaaramum netra
vrittiyum maaraadina padi". However, this is possible only for the Lord, who
does not depend upon His faculties for generating data.
If this is what Sri Krishna did, He must have continued where He left off in
His previous avatara, for, we find Sri Rama too employing one faculty to
perform the function of another. If Krishna spoke with His eyes, we are told by
Sri Valmiki that Sri Rama drank with His! When Sri Vibhishana falls at
Raghava's feet in a gesture of Saranagati, what does Rama do? The Prince of
Ayodhya extends refuge to the distressed rakshasa with sweet words of
reassurance, all the time looking at Vibhishana with compassionate eyes which
appear to drink him in. Here are Sri Valmiki's beautiful words-
"Tasya tat vachanam shrutva Ramo vachanam abraveet
vachasa saantayitvainam lochanaabhyaam piban iva"
Sri Rama's eyes appeared to drink in Vibhishana, says Sri Valmiki, highlighting
the Lord's abundant love and affection for one who has realised the folly of
his ways and surrenders totally to the Lord, forsaking all that he has held
dear so far. Swami Desikan compares the passion in the Lord's eyes to that of a
traveller in the desert, tormented by thirst, when he sights water at
last-"peru vidaai pattavan tanneerai kandaal oru kaalum vida maattadaar pole".
Emperuman's eyes thirst for the sight of a Saranagata and once He sights a
surrendered soul, He is so eager that His eyes appear to drink in the Prapanna.
We see thus that quite unlike human faculties, which are designed to perform a
single function, the Lord can speak with His eyes, see with His speech, drink
with His eyes and so on. And how is He able to substitute the function of His
faculties at will? Because He is not dependant on His Indriyas or senses, for
cognition. Though He sports a magnificent tirumeni for the edification of His
devotees, replete with eyes, ears, nose and limbs, apparently meant for
respective cognitive functions, His faculties are not mundane and moribund like
those of mortals. In fact, He does not need faculties or senses at all, for
seeing, hearing or for any of the other functions. The Upanishad tells us that
He sees without eyes, hears without ears, travels without legs and so on-
"Apaani paadou javano griheetva pasyati achakshu: shrunoti akarna:".
While sitting at the same place, He can commute to quite a distant place--
"Aaseeno dooram vrajati". Seated at Sri Vaikunttam, He is aware of all that
happens at every nook and cranny of all the universes, instantaneously, as if
in a live telecast, says Sri Nathamuni-
"Yo vetti yugapat sarvam, pratyakshena sadaa svata:"
This article started with my wishful thinking about faculties which could be
used interchangeably. However, when I went through the Varadaraja Stavam of Sri
Koorattazhwan, I found that my thoughts were not as fanciful as they appeared
initially. Azhwan too expresses a yearning for such a state, where each of his
organs wishes to perform the duty of another, apart from its own assigned task.
And what is the provocation for the Acharya's wish for faculties overreaching
their respective roles and trying to usurp those of their companions?
It is the magnificent and mesmerising vision of Sri Varadaraja, which makes
Azhwan long for his sense of touch being able to drink in the Lord's boundless
beauty. The Acharya wishes that his tongue would hear the sweet words of the
Lord's praise. So also is Azhwan's wish for his nose, which is loathe to
confining itself to smelling and craves a much greater role in Bhagavat
anubhavam. It is an indication of the depth of Azhwan's devotion that all his
faculties compete with one another in not only securing their rightful share of
enjoyment of the Lord, but also encroach into that of the other faculties-- the
ear trying to see the incredible beauty of Varada, the eye wishing to hear His
praises, the skin longing for a blissful sight of Emperuman and so on. Here is
Sri Azhwan's beautiful verse, describing the plight of his faculties, driven to
madness by the sight of Sri Varadaraja-
"Tvak cha drik cha nipipaasati,
Jihvaa vihvalaa shravanavat para vrittou
Naasikaa tvayi Kareesa! Tatheti
Praapnuyaam katham imaamsvit avastthaam"
The Lord is generous and endows us with such flexible faculties, capable of
performing not only their allotted functions, but also those of their brethren.
However, He gifts us with such interchangeable indriyas, only after our
emancipation through an appropriate strategy like Prapatti. After release from
Samsara and reaching Sri Vaikunttam, it would appear that the liberated soul is
able to assume at will any sort of body, with faculties which are capable of
performing any function-eyes that hear, ears that see, etc. All this, however,
is done only to enhance the Mukta's enjoyment of the Lord and His boundless
beauty and not for any self-gratification.
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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