"Smile, Please!"
From the Bhakti List Archives
• April 2, 2003
Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
"Smile, Please!"
Doctors say that a smile does us a power of good. They follow it up with statistics to show that it takes almost a hundred muscles to assume an expression of anger, whereas the number required for a smile is much less. Even the normally humourless Incometax Department has tried to cash in on the ubiquitous smile, with its catchy slogan, "File, Smile and Go"(it is however a moot point whether anyone would still be in a position to smile after an interview with one's Incometax Inspector). We are very particular, while posing for photographs, that we should be shot with a smile on our face, for we would like posterity to remember us as benign, amicable specimens of humanity. We have heard of smiles that launched a thousand ships and of enigmatic smiles like that of Mona Lisa, in unravelling the purport of which people have spent futile hours.
Somehow, we tend to associate a smile more with women than men. Perhaps the male population is too weighed down with familial care to smile often. This is not to say that ladies are any the less responsible, but smiles somehow appear more natural on the fairer sex than on their harder counterparts. Whole treatises have been written about ladies and their smiles. A smile enhances considerably the attractiveness of a woman, says Sri Tirumangai Mannan-"vAl nilA muruval sirunudal perunthOL mAdarAr", attesting to how difficult it is not to be floored by the radiant smiles of delightful damsels. Ladies' laughter could also be dangerous, as the Mahabharata teaches us: the Kurukshetra war appears to have had its genesis in the intemperate laughter of Draupati, occasioned by DuryOdanA's inability to distinguish between land and water, while on a visit to the "arakku mALigai" constructed by the PandavAs.
When we come to think of it, we find that Scripture has quite a few smiles and laughs embedded in it. One would be surprised, for the popular perception is that of ithAsAs and purAnAs being heavy and sober stuff. Let's look for a few smiles then.
When somebody smiles at us in derision, we feel quite infuriated. It is this feeling that Sri Yasoda tries to exploit, when she exhorts her boisterous brat to have a much-needed bath. Sri Krishna's tirumEni is a deep hue of black. Adding to this is the grime and dust of horseplay with fellow cowherds. None needs to announce the arrival of this Ayar kozhundu, for the smell of milk, curds and butter wafts ahead of the little Lord, wherever He goes. He just smells. Sri Yasoda, like all mothers desiring fair-skinned offspring, does harbour a grievance that her son is a blackie. Even black could be beautiful, if properly cared for by timely and frequent baths, staying in the shade, applying appropriate creams, etc. However, Sri Krishna is absolutely uncooperative in all this. Even getting Him to bathe daily is quite an arduous task, as Periazhwar recounts in "VeNnai aLainda kuNungum". Having used all persuasive measures for bringing the elusive Krishna to the bathtub, Sri Yasoda tells Him finally that
The Lord's smile is something the entire world longs to look at. It is no insincere baring of the lips as is usual in most cases, but is a beautiful, beaming and bona fide smile, which gladdens the heart of the onlooker. It is filled with compassion, goodwill and affection, and touches the innermost corners of the heart, generating instant and overwhelming bliss. If the Nitya SUris of Sri Vaikuntam keep their eyes fixed forever on the Lord ("SadA pasyanti sooraya:"), surely this bewitching smile on His magnificent visage must be the reason! This is why Sri KrishnAshtakam characterises the Lord's smile as "ChAruhAsam".
For those who missed this enthralling spectacle enacted during the Vibhava avatArAs, the Lord at various divya desams, in His arcchA form, still continues to wear the same beautiful smile, if only one cares to look closely. A case in point is Sri Parthasarathy of ThiruvallikkENi. Whoever looks at the majestic countenance is rewarded with a broad and beaming smile, accentuated by the roguish moustache the Lord sports. Cartoonists would agree that the best way to make a person look sad and depressed is to paint him with a drooping moustache. In contrast, the one adorning Sri Parthasarathy's visage curls upwards at the ends, bestowing Him with a virtually beaming expression. And those who have visited the Govindarajan Sannidhi at Tiruppathi would attest to the benign and beautiful smile of the TayAr, saying so much with just a simple smile. Unfortunately, most of the sanctum sanctorums are not well lit, with the result that we are unable to appreciate the Lord's smiling face at most of the divyadesams.
Sri Alavandar is so captivated by the Lord's smile, that he characterises it as "suchi"-pure and unadulterated. Swami Desikan, expanding on this phrase, quotes the saying, "smayan iva nripa: hanti". You can't really believe Kings-they would be sporting a smile one moment, but the next, they would order your execution with the same smile still in place. In contrast, the Lord's smile is the genuine article and is filled with nothing but goodwill and mercy for the suffering mankind. The Lord's smile comes as soothing balm to those tormented by the travails of samsara, says the Poushkara Samhita-
"Poorva karma anala ArtAnAm dhyAyatAm khEda shAntayE
svadantE induchayOtthEna hlAdayan gOgaNEna tu"
Both the Kousheetaki Upanishad and the "Soozh visumbu ani mugil" decad of Tiruvaimozhi provide a graphic account of the enthusiastic welcome the Jeevatma is accorded upon his entry into SriVaikuntam.
After being greeted by the various nitya sUrIs and others with flowers, when the Jeeva approaches the Lord, ensconced on His snake-bed, the ultimate welcome is provided by the Lord Himself, who beckons to the Jeeva to come closer. While doing so, the Lord greets the Atma with a warm smile of welcome, says Sri Bhashyakara, in his Vaiknta Gadyam-
"Sasmitam Ahooya". From this phrase, one gets the impression that the invitation to come closer and to ascend the Paryankam (snake bed) is conveyed by the precious smile itself, without words being used. Thus the "inviting smile" is another aspect of the Lord's beauty.
Depending on one's own frame of mind, one is able to read a wealth of meaning into the Lord's smile, especially at divya desams like Thiruvallikkeni, where the Lord wears a beautiful smile. When one has committed an infringement recently, the smile seems to be tinged with annoyance or remonstration. When we find an occasion to be of service to His devotees, the very same smile appears to convey appreciation and approval. And when we find ourselves unable to toe the right path laid down by the Shastras, the Lord's smile seems to be laced with sadness and despair at the incorrigibility of the human nature, despite any amount of guidance provided by generations of merciful Acharyas. He appears to be smiling ruefully at the propensity of the errant human race to ignore divine injunctions and to persist in sinning, despite the numerous avatArAs He had taken for curing it of its delinquent ways-
"maNmisai yOnigaL tOrum pirandu, engal MAyavanE
kaNNura nirkilum kANagillA ulagOrkaL"
It is not only the Lord who wears a smile-the arcchA tirumEni of Swami Desikan at Thooppul wears a beatific smile too. We cannot but be captivated by the Acharya's prasanna vadanam, which appears to reflect the eternal bliss that he is enjoying in the service of the Lord at Paramapadam. It is also indicative of the immeasurable contentment and vairAgya Swami Desikan displayed during his sojourn of five score and odd years on this earth, spurning riches and honours for the pleasure afforded by Bhagavat BhAgavata kainkaryam. We agree cent percent with Sri Kumara VaradAcharya's mangalasasnam- "nin thoomuruval koNda mukham vAzhi!"
In recent times, however, Swami Desikan's smile also appears to be laced with irony. The inability of the Thooppul temple establishment to cope with the mounting expenses and dwindling income has made those in charge of the administration throw up their hands in despair and appeal to Swami Desikan himself to shower upon them the wherewithal for running the temple without any let up in daily TiruvArAdhanam or utsavAms. Swami Desikan seems to smile back at them, apparently saying," When I was in your world, I did not care for the untold wealth that sought me out, firm in the belief that my only wealth was the Emperuman at Hasthigiri ("asti mE HastisailAgrE vastu paitAmaham dhanam"). Do you expect me to strive for funds for my own tiruvArAdhanam now?"
As beneficiaries of the Acharya's munificence in showing us an easy and effective path to liberation, it behoves us to ensure that the daily worship of Swami Desikan at his own avatAra stthalam of Thooppul is not hampered by funds constraints and the corpus trust is replenished adequately, so that the tiruvArAdhanam can flourish unhindered for all time to come.
Coming back to the Lord's smile, we find that He is capable of not only a bewitching smile that gladdens the heart, but also a horribly harsh and loud laughter, which strikes terror in the hearts of the unholy. Thus, compared to His normal "ChAruhAsam", He also uses an "attahAsam" occasionally. In the NrsimhAvatara, we are told that the Lord's laughter was terrifyingly loud and made the whole world shake on its foundations and effectively killed Hiranyakasipu, even before he was physically dead-"satA patala bheeshaNE sarabhasa attahAsa udbhatE" says Swami Desikan in Sri KAmAsikAshtakam, attesting to the variety of the Lord's laughter.
Have you ever laughed at yourself? There is any number of lessons on practical living, to be learnt from Azhwars' sreesooktis. One of these is the ability to smile or laugh at one's own behaviour. When we indulge in hypocritical conduct, especially in the spiritual realm, we realise that irrespective of how good an act we put on, we can never pull wool over the ubiquitous eyes of the Lord, who is present at very close quarters as our antaryAmi, watching every action of ours. Thus our very attempt to con the unconnable Lord brings to our lips a derisive smile of disgust at our own deceit and duplicity. The following ThirumAlai pasuram teaches us to laugh at ourselves-
"uLLatthE urayaum MAlai uLLuvAn uNarvu ondu illA
kaLlatthEn nAnum tondAi tondukkE kOlam pooNdu
uLLuvAr uLLittru ellAm udan irundu aridi endrE
veLgi pOi ennuLE nAn vilavara siritthittEnE"
If we do not learn the art of smiling at ourselves, and initiating due corrective action in our conduct, we would land ourselves in a position where others would laugh at us, for this world has the rather nasty habit of laughing at the foibles of others while being blissfully unaware of its own.
However, once we are convinced of the righteousness of our conduct, we should persevere on our course, oblivious to the amusement of people who do not share our thoughts. Staunch devotees of the Lord, who indulge in song, dance and other types of exuberant behaviour, unable to contain the ecstasy occasioned by the Lord's sweet name and thought, are usually laughed at by worshippers of Mammon. Notwithstanding this, they stick faithfully to their chosen path and are ultimately venerated even by the Celestials, says Sri Nammazhwar, confirming that it is not always bad to be laughed at-
"VAr punal anthaN aruvi Vada ThiruvEnkatatthu endai
pEr pala solli pidattri pitthar endrE pirar koora
oor pala pukkum pugAdum ulOgar sirikka nindru Adi
Arvam perugi kunippAr amarar tozhappaduvArE"
If the Lord laughs at us, then so do we, at Him. We smile at His naiveté in believing that we can be brought around to toe the perfect path, irrespective of the innumerable innings of sin we have had on this earth.
We laugh at His perseverance in trying to ensure our liberation, despite our determination to wallow in the mundane morass. We are amused at His untiring efforts in taking any number of avatArAs, in being born amongst us as fish, boar, turtle and Man, for the sole purpose of inspiring and guiding us through His exemplary conduct.
It is a moot point as to who will have the last laugh-ourselves or the Lord.
Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
Dasan, sadagopan.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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