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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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