The Divine Drug
From the Bhakti List Archives
• December 22, 2001
Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra
Mahadesikaya Nama:
The Divine Drug
__________________
“Ugh!”- The feverish child turns her face away from
the hand proffering the medicine that would supposedly
make her well. She knows that the medicine would be
bitter and unpalatable, and has a feeling that the
fever would be much easier to endure than repeated
dosages of the potion that the doctor has prescribed.
Our own reactions to drugs are much similar. We do
try to swallow pills (untasted) with a large drink of
water. Despite this precaution, if the pill touches
our tongue, its bitterness sticks to our palate for
quite some time. This is why Ayurveda prescribes
several drugs to be taken, duly camouflaged in a
medium such as honey or sugar. Even after enduring
all this, one is never sure of a cure. Some of the
drugs, instead of, or in the process of providing
relief for a particular malady, give rise to quite a
different ailment, as a side effect.
All this makes us long wistfully for a Wonder Drug-,
which would be sweet, which would offer a sure-cure
and would have absolutely no harmful side effects. And
how wonderful would it be, if this drug were to be a
panacea to cure all possible maladies! And, apart from
curing maladies of the physique, if the drug were to
cure us once and for all from the greatest of all
diseases-the unending cycle of births and deaths!
This may appear to be a far-fetched Technicolor dream
or science fiction. You can take it on good authority
that it is indeed real.
Ages before the advent of modern science, our Sages
were very much aware of the existence of such a
Cure-All, and were in fact using it to insure against
all sickness, physical and otherwise. Sri
Kulasekharazhwar gives a clarion call to the world –
“Oh Inhabitants of this world of disease! Hearken. I
shall disclose a Secret Drug, which will release you
from the vicious whirlpool of births and deaths, and
will afford you eternal bliss. This is none other than
“Krishna RasAyanam”, which shines singularly inside
you, if only you care to look inwards. Drink of this
Elixir that is Krishna and be delivered of all your
diseases, including the chronic ones. If you donÂ’t
believe me, then listen to Sages like Sri YagnavalkyA,
who have derived the benefit of this Wonder Drug.”—As
this translation sounds a bit hackneyed, adiyen quotes
the original Mukunda MalA sloka here-
“hE lOkA! ShruNuta prasooti maraNa vyAdhE: chikitsAm
imam
YogagnyA: samudAharanti munayO yAm YagnavalkyAdaya:
AntarjyOti: amEyam Ekam amrutam KrishNAkyam
ApeeyatAm
Tat peetam paramoushadham vitanutE nirvANam
Adyantikam”.
Azhwar goes on to describe what else this Krishna
Oushadham (medicine) is capable of-
“VyAmOha: prasamoushadham, muni manO vritti
pravruttyoushadham
daityOnmoolakaroushadham bhava bhaya
pradhvamsanaikoushadham
BhaktAtyanta hitoushadham tribhavanE
sanjeevanaikoushadham
ShrEya: prApti karoushadham piba manO Sri Krishna
Divya Oushadham”
This is a Powerful Potion indeed- it destroys
RakshasAs, is ever in the thoughts of Saints and
Rishis, annihilates fears caused by this dreadful
SamsArA, ensures the well being of devotees, is a
rejuvenating Elixir for the three worlds, and confers
upon the partaker all that is good and desirable.
Sri Kulasekhara Perumal is only concurring with Sri
PEyAzhwar, who declares that Emperuman is indeed the
medicine that saves us from the inexorable fires of
Hell-
“MannttuLLAn mAkadal neeruLLAn
MalarAL danattuLLAn tanduzhAi mArban-sinatthu
Cherunar uga chetruganda tEngOda vaNNan
Varu narakam teerkkum marundu”.
The MudalAzhwar reiterates this in the very next
pasuram thus-“marundum poruLum amudamum
tAnE…SengaNmAl”.
Sri Vishnu Sahasranama too confirms that the Lord is
indeed the Divine Drug, “BhEshajam”.
One might think that Sage VyAsA differs, when he
declares, “oushadham JanhavI tOyam”(The water of the
Holy Ganga is indeed a panacea for all ills)-but we
must remind ourselves that Ganga originated after all
from the LordÂ’s Tiruvadi. As is well known, during
TrivikramAvatAram, when the LordÂ’s feet, in their
quest for the second measure of land, reached BrahmAÂ’s
abode SatyalOkam, Brahma performed tirumanjanam to the
LordÂ’s feet, and the bath water, so to say, became the
Ganges, the Holiest of Holy Rivers. Thus the waters of
the Ganga are acclaimed as medicine by Vyasa, only due
to their sacred origins.
Speaking of Sri PAda teerttham, it is no wonder that
water sanctified by association with the Holy feet of
Bhagavatas is equally potent in destroying sins of the
most virulent kind. Due to misfortune, Sri Kandadai
Tozhappar, an Acharya Purusha, unwittingly committed
an apachArA to Swami Desikan. Ever since, Sri
Tozhappar lost his health, fell prey to a debilitating
disease, and was without an issue for long. When he
analysed the reason for the sudden loss of health, he
found out about the injustice done to Sri Vedanta
Desikan, and, realising the dreadful nature of
BhAgavata apachArA, rushed to the latter, seeking his
pardon. After imbibing Sri DesikanÂ’s sri pAda
teerttham, Sri Tozhappar regained the full bloom of
health and also begot a son, whom he named “Teerttha
PiLLai”, in memory of his association with Sri
Desikan. This Teerttha Pillai later became one of the
illustrious disciples of Sri Desikan. This episode
shows that not only the Lord, but His devotees too
qualify as Wonder Drugs.
Similarly, the prescriptions of another of the LordÂ’s
devotees, Manu, (the predecessor of Sri Rama in the
IkshvAku Vamsam, and the author of the famous Dharma
Shastra which has guided mankind from time
immemorial), are hailed by the Vedas as good medicine
-“yet vai Manu: avadat tat bhEshajam” (Whatever Manu
opines is good medicine).
Our Doctors prescribe any number of drugs-Gentamysin,
Streptomysin, Erithromysin, Chloromysin, and what not:
but none of them are real cures for the greatest of
diseases-“my sins”.
The Divine Drug Store has but a single drug in
stock-Narayanocillin-which, however, can combat any
disease, whether of the body or of the soul, (like
ahamkArA and MamakArA) however virulent they are.
Predictably, this different Drug Store doesnÂ’t do much
business, as people who visit it once have no need to
come back. If anyone needs the address of this
wonderful pharmacy, one may contact oneÂ’s Acharyas,
who are the pharmacists manning this Drug Store, and
dispense the drug in adequate dosage, after due
assessment of the patientÂ’s need.
Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka
SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra mahadesikaya
Nama:
--------dasan,sadagopan.
Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra
Mahadesikaya Nama:
The Divine Drug
__________________
“Ugh!”- The feverish child turns her face away from
the hand proffering the medicine that would supposedly
make her well. She knows that the medicine would be
bitter and unpalatable, and has a feeling that the
fever would be much easier to endure than repeated
dosages of the potion that the doctor has prescribed.
Our own reactions to drugs are much similar. We do
try to swallow pills (untasted) with a large drink of
water. Despite this precaution, if the pill touches
our tongue, its bitterness sticks to our palate for
quite some time. This is why Ayurveda prescribes
several drugs to be taken, duly camouflaged in a
medium such as honey or sugar. Even after enduring
all this, one is never sure of a cure. Some of the
drugs, instead of, or in the process of providing
relief for a particular malady, give rise to quite a
different ailment, as a side effect.
All this makes us long wistfully for a Wonder Drug-,
which would be sweet, which would offer a sure-cure
and would have absolutely no harmful side effects. And
how wonderful would it be, if this drug were to be a
panacea to cure all possible maladies! And, apart from
curing maladies of the physique, if the drug were to
cure us once and for all from the greatest of all
diseases-the unending cycle of births and deaths!
This may appear to be a far-fetched Technicolor dream
or science fiction. You can take it on good authority
that it is indeed real.
Ages before the advent of modern science, our Sages
were very much aware of the existence of such a
Cure-All, and were in fact using it to insure against
all sickness, physical and otherwise. Sri
Kulasekharazhwar gives a clarion call to the world –
“Oh Inhabitants of this world of disease! Hearken. I
shall disclose a Secret Drug, which will release you
from the vicious whirlpool of births and deaths, and
will afford you eternal bliss. This is none other than
“Krishna RasAyanam”, which shines singularly inside
you, if only you care to look inwards. Drink of this
Elixir that is Krishna and be delivered of all your
diseases, including the chronic ones. If you donÂ’t
believe me, then listen to Sages like Sri YagnavalkyA,
who have derived the benefit of this Wonder Drug.”—As
this translation sounds a bit hackneyed, adiyen quotes
the original Mukunda MalA sloka here-
“hE lOkA! ShruNuta prasooti maraNa vyAdhE: chikitsAm
imam
YogagnyA: samudAharanti munayO yAm YagnavalkyAdaya:
AntarjyOti: amEyam Ekam amrutam KrishNAkyam
ApeeyatAm
Tat peetam paramoushadham vitanutE nirvANam
Adyantikam”.
Azhwar goes on to describe what else this Krishna
Oushadham (medicine) is capable of-
“VyAmOha: prasamoushadham, muni manO vritti
pravruttyoushadham
daityOnmoolakaroushadham bhava bhaya
pradhvamsanaikoushadham
BhaktAtyanta hitoushadham tribhavanE
sanjeevanaikoushadham
ShrEya: prApti karoushadham piba manO Sri Krishna
Divya Oushadham”
This is a Powerful Potion indeed- it destroys
RakshasAs, is ever in the thoughts of Saints and
Rishis, annihilates fears caused by this dreadful
SamsArA, ensures the well being of devotees, is a
rejuvenating Elixir for the three worlds, and confers
upon the partaker all that is good and desirable.
Sri Kulasekhara Perumal is only concurring with Sri
PEyAzhwar, who declares that Emperuman is indeed the
medicine that saves us from the inexorable fires of
Hell-
“MannttuLLAn mAkadal neeruLLAn
MalarAL danattuLLAn tanduzhAi mArban-sinatthu
Cherunar uga chetruganda tEngOda vaNNan
Varu narakam teerkkum marundu”.
The MudalAzhwar reiterates this in the very next
pasuram thus-“marundum poruLum amudamum
tAnE…SengaNmAl”.
Sri Vishnu Sahasranama too confirms that the Lord is
indeed the Divine Drug, “BhEshajam”.
One might think that Sage VyAsA differs, when he
declares, “oushadham JanhavI tOyam”(The water of the
Holy Ganga is indeed a panacea for all ills)-but we
must remind ourselves that Ganga originated after all
from the LordÂ’s Tiruvadi. As is well known, during
TrivikramAvatAram, when the LordÂ’s feet, in their
quest for the second measure of land, reached BrahmAÂ’s
abode SatyalOkam, Brahma performed tirumanjanam to the
LordÂ’s feet, and the bath water, so to say, became the
Ganges, the Holiest of Holy Rivers. Thus the waters of
the Ganga are acclaimed as medicine by Vyasa, only due
to their sacred origins.
Speaking of Sri PAda teerttham, it is no wonder that
water sanctified by association with the Holy feet of
Bhagavatas is equally potent in destroying sins of the
most virulent kind. Due to misfortune, Sri Kandadai
Tozhappar, an Acharya Purusha, unwittingly committed
an apachArA to Swami Desikan. Ever since, Sri
Tozhappar lost his health, fell prey to a debilitating
disease, and was without an issue for long. When he
analysed the reason for the sudden loss of health, he
found out about the injustice done to Sri Vedanta
Desikan, and, realising the dreadful nature of
BhAgavata apachArA, rushed to the latter, seeking his
pardon. After imbibing Sri DesikanÂ’s sri pAda
teerttham, Sri Tozhappar regained the full bloom of
health and also begot a son, whom he named “Teerttha
PiLLai”, in memory of his association with Sri
Desikan. This Teerttha Pillai later became one of the
illustrious disciples of Sri Desikan. This episode
shows that not only the Lord, but His devotees too
qualify as Wonder Drugs.
Similarly, the prescriptions of another of the LordÂ’s
devotees, Manu, (the predecessor of Sri Rama in the
IkshvAku Vamsam, and the author of the famous Dharma
Shastra which has guided mankind from time
immemorial), are hailed by the Vedas as good medicine
-“yet vai Manu: avadat tat bhEshajam” (Whatever Manu
opines is good medicine).
Our Doctors prescribe any number of drugs-Gentamysin,
Streptomysin, Erithromysin, Chloromysin, and what not:
but none of them are real cures for the greatest of
diseases-“my sins”.
The Divine Drug Store has but a single drug in
stock-Narayanocillin-which, however, can combat any
disease, whether of the body or of the soul, (like
ahamkArA and MamakArA) however virulent they are.
Predictably, this different Drug Store doesnÂ’t do much
business, as people who visit it once have no need to
come back. If anyone needs the address of this
wonderful pharmacy, one may contact oneÂ’s Acharyas,
who are the pharmacists manning this Drug Store, and
dispense the drug in adequate dosage, after due
assessment of the patientÂ’s need.
Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka
SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra mahadesikaya
Nama:
--------dasan,sadagopan.
__________________________________________________
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