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"The Scarred Psyche"

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sadagopaniyengar • February 21, 2003 


                          
                                 Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

                                                              The Scarred Psyche

 

             When I was three, I fell down from the rocking horse and broke my nose. The resultant scar still adorns my nose, considerably enhancing (!) my looks. If you run into a war veteran, he would launch into a long reminiscence at the drop of a hat, if you ask him about his scars. Each scar will have its very own story to tell and whenever you happen to touch it, it automatically brings to your mind the background of the scar. Thus the scar is not merely a physical vestige of a long-healed wound; it is also a storehouse of memories, some nostalgic, some tragic. Scars need not always be physical and perceptible. A particularly heart-rending incident, an exceptionally sharp barb of an insult, an unforgivable act of betrayal by a trusted friend or relative-all these leave scars too, scars on the psyche, which are invisible but none the less painful. In fact, physical wounds heal fast and the resultant scar is usually painless. This is not so with the other type of scars-you tend to remember the insult fo

 

    There are some scars, which we bear proudly. Scars resulting from bravery are preserved more lovingly than medallions awarded by authorities. Some, however, like mine, are merely the result of accidents, and are nothing to write home about. Again, the scars on one's shoulders resulting from the purifying touch of the Divine Discus and Conch applied by the Preceptor on the occasion of Pancha SamskAram or SamAshrayaNam, are to be borne as proud symbols of one's belonging to the Lord. In fact, the Shruti, emphasizing the significance of SamAshrayaNam and the emblazoning of the Lord's symbols on our shoulders, says that one who is not fortunate to undergo the purificatory process of such initiation into the fold of the faithful, is not entitled to liberation-" atapta tanoo: na tadAmo asnutE". It is customary, when buying vessels at the time of marriage, to etch the bride's initials on them, so that they wouldn't get mixed up with others'. We might treat the etching of Sudarsana and Panchajanya on our shoulde

 

 Whenever we visit MadhurAntakam, our eyes cloud with tears of gratitude to Sri Peria Nambi, who adorned Sri Ramanuja's handsome shoulders with the symbols of the Lord under the famous Maghizha maram in the temple prAkAram. We are also thrilled to be shown the very silver instruments which were used by Sri Peria Nambi for the purpose, and feast our eyes on them with the reverential realisation that they had the fortune of touching the tirumEni of the BhAshyakAra, if only for a second. They serve as powerful links with the hoary past, reminding us that every single chronicled event of Sri Ramanuja's life had indeed happened and is not the result of mere fevered imagination or facile fabrication.

 

Coming back to the scars, you would be able to see some pretty deep ones on the shoulders of the privileged ones who carry the vAhanams of the Lord customarily-the SripAdam tAngis. One would be proud to sport such scars, resulting from constant kainkaryam. According to Sri Alavandar, even Sri Garuda's flanks bear glowing scars resulting from pressure from the Lord's feet. The Lord is always in a terrific hurry while rushing to save souls in distress and VainatEya can never measure up to Emperuman's expectations of speed. So the Lord spurs Garuda on, with His tiruvadi pressing hard into the divine bird's sides, giving him magnificent scars, which lend him a brilliant glow-

" tvat anghri sammardha kiNAnka sObhinA" says Sri Alavandar in Stotra Ratnam.

 

There are more such scars, which Sri Periazhwar would like us to bear with pride-the Lord's holy names should constantly be on our tongue and their incessant repetition should cause scars on it, says the Azhwar. While scars normally result from painful injury or wound, these scars are products of a more pleasurable exercise and are to be treasured and cherished as such.

 

             Piratti too must be bearing a scar on her otherwise unblemished tirumEni. Her spotless divya mangala vigraham should be bearing one blemish- that on Her chest caused by KAkAsura, the dastardly crow who dared to peck at her with malicious intent, when Sri Rama was resting with His head in Her lap. Unwilling to wake the Prince of Ayodhya who is tired with walking long miles with His delicate feet ("nadanda kAlgaL nondavO" inquires Sri Tirumazhisai Piran with concern), Sri Janaki suffers the harassment of the cruel crow for quite some time. However, when the crow pecks time and again drawing blood, Piratti does wake the Lord up, who plucks a nearby blade of grass, fortifies it with the astra mantra and sends it after the crow. It is this repeated pecking of the crow, with its razor-sharp beak, that must have caused a scar on Piratti's body. When the crow, pursued by the relentless astra, tries to fly away and seek refuge in supposedly powerful quarters, they promptly turn it away with the homily th

 

We have seen how devotees of the Lord, ranging from you and I who have undergone PanchaSamskaram, all our merciful Acharyas, all the Azhwars, nitya sUris like Sri VainatEya and even the Piratti, are adorned by scars. It is therefore hardly surprising that the Lord too is scarred. Being a great believer in egalitarianism, He too sports scars like His votaries. These are the scars on His thumb and palm, resulting from frequent use of the bow, drawstring and the arrow in numerous battles with asurAs- "jyAgiNa karkasai: shubhai:" says Sri Alavandar, attesting to how the Lord's hands are adorned with scars and calluses, all in the cause of protecting the good and establishing Dharma. As Sri Parthasarathi, He also bore innumerable scars and pockmarks on His divine face, all acquired during His assignment as ArjunA's charioteer. Our hearts fill with anger at the PAndava's insensitivity. We reflect- had the arrows, which caused all these scars, found their intended target, they would have drilled Arjuna's body lifel

 

More than Arjuna, many of us are guilty of causing innumerable scars on the Lord's psyche. Every transgression of ours creates a scar in His tiruvuLLam. He is indeed pained to find people flagrantly violating His dicta, as laid down in the Shruti and Smritis. Despite all the guidance He provides in person (as our antarAtmA) and through Acharyas, we continue to distance ourselves from His outstretched arms, preferring the poisonous pleasures of this mundane world to the eternal ones of Paradise, which the Lord is ready to bestow on us. Every harsh word we use against BhAgavatAs, however deserving they may be of such language, causes an indelible scar in the Lord's heart. Every lie uttered, every act of ingratitude, betrayal and unfaithfulness and every word of abuse hurled at the devout-every one of these strikes His heart as a painful barb and creates a scar. If we want to remedy this situation, the only way is to apply the salve of Sharanagati, repenting in full measure for all our acts of commission and om

 

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

Dasan, Sadagopan.

          



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