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"Holy Smoke!"

From the Bhakti List Archives

sadagopaniyengar • April 28, 2003 


                               
Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

                                     " Holy Smoke!"

 

              Quite a huge crowd has collected. As is common to such gatherings, none seems to know what exactly the excitement is about, except perhaps the original members of the inner circle, though others at the periphery keep hazarding guess after erroneous guess as to what exactly the crowd is for. Everybody seems to be staring at the distant horizon, from where thick smoke is billowing, blotting out the entire landscape with a black pall. Those who have gathered arrive at the instant conclusion that some huge building or other must be on fire.

 

            The presence of Smoke thus automatically presupposes the existence of a fire. The process by which the existence of a fire is arrived at from the presence of Smoke is known as "anumAnam" or Deduction. This, along with Pratyaksham, the Shruti, etc., constitutes the principal PramAnAs or sources of knowledge.        However, the subject of the present piece is not anumAnam but Smoke. This does appear to be a rather smoky and nebulous topic to write on, but one would be surprised to find that quite a lot has been said on the subject by people of eminence. Here are a few samples.

 

        First and foremost, we find that Smoke resulting from yAgAs and yagyAs performed by VaidikAs merits frequent mention in the Divya Prabandas, especially in Peria Tirumozhi of Sri Tirumangai Mannan. While singing of TirunarayUr near Oppiliappan Koil, Sri Kalian comments on the thick smoke emanating from the sacrificial fires at the homes of Brahmins. The smoke is so luxuriant and widespread that it blocks out the entire sky-

 

"marayArum peru vELvi chezhum pugai pOi vaLarndu engum

 nirayAra vAn moodum neeL selva TirunarayUr"

 

That such smoke resulting from sacrificial fires was considered auspicious and to be a symbol of prosperity and well-being, is brought out by the words "neeL selva TirunarayUr". This is understandable, for Vaidikas would engage themselves in yAgAs for universal welfare, only if other circumstances are conducive therefor. That such smoke is extremely beneficial to the physical welfare of the residents has been proved beyond doubt by the survival of a family at Bhopal, which performed Agnihotram daily, and was saved thereby, when poisonous gas from the Union Carbide plant claimed several thousand victims.

 

The smoke caused by offering Ahutis of pure ghee in the sacrificial fire, to the accompaniment of the relative Veda mantras like "agnayE svAha, SOmAya svAhA" etc., covers the entire divyadesam of TiruvazhundUr, remarks Sri Kalian-

"anthaNar tam Ahutiyin pugayAr selvatthu aNi azhundUrE"

 

     This is the scene at Srirangam too, says Azhwar. However, the smoke originating from the sacrificial fires mingles with the perfumed smoke used by women to dry their hair after bath and to keep it sweet-smelling, emanating from the various towering mansions tall enough to touch the skies-

 

"Manju sEr mALigai needu agil pugayum

 marayOr senchol vELvi pugayum

kamazhum Ten arangamE"

 

This "akil pugai" is primarily used as "dhoopam" for the Lord, to prevent His catching a cold after bath and is offered to Him lovingly during TiruvArAdhanam. Lest offering the smoke directly make His eyes water, discerning archakAs first capture the smoke in an absorbent cloth, thereby imprisoning its essence in the cloth, and gently touch the Lord's tirumEni with it, thus ensuring that only the fragrant and medicinal essence of the smoke reaches Emperuman and not the smoke itself, which may sting His gentle lotus eyes. The simultaneous offering of such dhoopam to the Lord from all the homes of Tiruvarangam, along with that emanating from the temple of Rangaraja, is so thick and pervasive as to make the entire town fragrant, says Sri Kalian.

 

At TiruvazhundUr too, smoke emanating from burning "akil" (a fragrant wood which gives off extremely sweet-scented smoke) is so widespread and the manors from which it emanates so tall, that the smoke seems to mingle with puffy clouds populating the sky-

 

"akilin pugayAl mugilEykkum

 aNiyAr veedi azhundUrE"

 

The smoke is so dense and so pervasive that it resembles rain-bearing clouds, giving an impression of imminent precipitation.

 

Three sources of fragrant smoke have been identified by Sri Parakala, as indicated above-that originating from dhoopam offered to the Lord, that emanating from the sacrificial fires of yAgAs and yagyAs and the third from akil burned by women for drying and perfuming their hair. Sri Kalian says that there is a fourth too-

 

"Alai pugayAl azhal kadirai maraikkum veedi azhundUrE"

 

This pasuram gives the lie to the popular impression that all industry has developed only after the Industrial Revolution that occurred in England. Even during Azhwar's times, there appear to have flourished huge factories for crushing sugarcane and for extraction of sugar. As if to attest to this, for miles around Tiruvazhundur and its environs, we find that the principal crop is still sugarcane, till today. The smoke billowing out of these cane-crushing plants effectively shuts out the rays of the hot Sun and makes the weather quite cool, says Sri Tirumangai Mannan.

 

An important inference to be drawn from this is that contrary to the current concerns about industrial effluents and environmental pollution, the plants of yore were designed with concern for the atmosphere, the earth and its inhabitants. 

 

We are also told that several cane fields had their own small-scale crushing plants, which generated sweet-smelling smoke. This is at ArimEya ViNNagaram, one of the TirunAngur divyadesams.-

"AdEru vayal Alai pugai kamazhu NangUr

arimEya viNnagaram vaNangu mada nenjE"

 

Apart from the four sources of Smoke enumerated above, Sri Kalian indicates a fifth too, this one confined to Tiruvengadam. The tribal inhabitants of Tirumala, consisting of hunters, gypsies, etc., make fires for cooking, warming themselves during cold winter evenings, etc. For this purpose, they use wood cut from 'Akil" trees, which are found aplenty in the forests of Tirumala. The smoke emanating from the fires so made makes the entire hills fragrant, says Sri Parakala-

 

"KAnavar idu kAr akil pugai Ongu Venkadam mevi"

 

Thus the smoke generated by hunters from fires meant for their own use, serves to spread fragrance in the entire hills of TiruvengadamudayAn, resulting in a "YAdrucchika sukritam" or incidental kainkaryam for the bestial tribes. For those who wonder whether even undiscerning gypsies would use precious "akil" trees as firewood, the only answer we have is that familiarity breeds contempt, and the plentiful availability of any item only reduces its preciousness, resulting in widespread and indiscriminate use for any odd purpose.

 

Let us conclude this Smoky tale with an itihyam relating to Sri Bhattar and his illustrious disciple, Sri Nanjeeyar. Sri Nammazhwar comes out with a beautiful formulation in Tiruvaimozhi (1-6-1), which runs as follows:

 

"Parivadil eesanai pAdi virivadu mEval uruvIr

 pirivagai indri nanneer tooy purivaduvum pugai poovE"

 

Azhwar tells us in this pasuram that we should not be put off by the Lord's eminence and our own insignificance before Him, nor need we, in worshipping Him, search for the best of materials for ArAdhanam and face bewilderment in the process. He is satisfied with any common garden flower, water from none too pure a source and any ordinary dhoopam without insisting on the best of "akil" or sandalwood. What He expects is sincerity and devotion and a heart brimming with bhakti. The Eedu MupatthArAyirappadi has beautiful things to say here -"Dravya tAratamyam pArppadillai: idugiravan nenjil eeramE Ayittru pArppadu". The Lord is not bothered about the preciousness or otherwise of the materials used for His worship-He is concerned more about the way in which they are offered to Him and the piety and love which accompany the offering.

 

While normally only smoke generated by burning incense or fragrant wood from "akil", "karumugai" or Sandalwood trees is used to offer "dhoopam" to the Lord, what matters more is offering the same with unadulterated bhakti, without expecting anything in return, prompted purely by kainkarya ruchi and uncontainable love and affection for the Lord. If these qualities accompany the offering, the Lord is eminently pleased with even smoke generated by burning ordinary firewood or even rubbish-"chedugai ittu pugaikka amayum"-says Sri Bhattar. Conversely, the Lord would turn His tirumukham away, even if the most scented of smoke is offered, if the same is presented with indifference, insincerity and lack of devotion.

 

What Sri Bhattar emphasises is that along with the dhoopam, along with the relative Veda Rk ("dhoorasi dhoorva dhoorvantam dhoorvatam yOsmAn dhoorvati tam dhoorvayam vayam dhoorvAma: tvam dEvAnAm asi.".),what is an indispensable component is an all-consuming love for the Lord. The whole process of offering incense to the Lord thus takes on the hue of "preeti kArita" kainkaryam and not merely a "smoky" affair. Fragrant smoke offered to the Lord in this fashion bestows on the devotee eternal fame, says Sri Nammazhwar-

"sAndodu viLakkam dhoopam tAmarai malargaL nalla

 Ayndu kondu Ettha vallAr andamil pugazhinArE".

 

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

Dasan, sadagopan

 



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