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"Clean Bowled!"

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sadagopaniyengar • February 23, 2003 


                                 
      Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

                            Clean Bowled!

         The World Cup fever has gripped everybody and all we hear at home these days are about the venues of matches between different countries, India's own (usually) dismal performance, hot debates about the batting styles of Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly, the disappointing disqualification of Shane Warne, disputes about the authorities' decisions about "Man of the Match" awards, etc. If somebody doesn't know cricket or takes no interest in the proceedings, he is treated with the contempt and pity he deserves. Old and young, the active and the infirm, well read and the unlettered, man and woman-everyone's thoughts are focussed on cricket. Even the ears of the babe in arms pick up at the cry of "Six!". The home resounds with the cacophony of the commentary, the frenzied voices of the onlookers raised in excitement and that of the Grandma pleading to somebody to raise the sound output of the television. Even the mistress of the house, nearing fifty, stops by amidst her domestic chores, with a derisive

  When we reflect on it, we feel that the popularity of Cricket is perhaps due to its marked resemblance to life itself. For, as everyone recognises, Life is itself a game, as absorbing, enthralling and unpredictable as Cricket. For the most part, people play a game all the time to outwit their counterparts in business or profession. They play games feigning love and affection in their personal relationships and more games with the Government in the matter of paying taxes. Politicians play the confidence game on the unsuspecting public and more games on one another, games of Grab-the-Chair and the toppling game. And all of us play a confidence trick on the Lord, inducing Him to believe in the sincerity of our devotion and grant us all that we need. And the Lord too plays an unending game of Hide and Seek with us. Thus the "Games People Play" are varied.

Coming back to Cricket, there are several similarities between this game and Life. Every innings represents a lifetime. Just as every batsman is given the opportunity to amass as many runs as he can, everybody in life if free to make the best of its opportunities and exploit it to the hilt. While some hit centuries, some get out cheaply, as in life too, some make good while some just languish economically, socially, spiritually and otherwise.

Just as there are eleven people of the opposing team trying to get the batsman out, in life too, our five faculties (pancha indriyAs), apart from the six sworn enemies, viz., KAma, KrOdha, MOha, lObha,Mata and MAtsarya are constantly trying their best to get us down and out. One has to constantly dodge these rivals and keep them under strict surveillance, in the manner of a batsman who keeps close track of field placements, and hits balls to unmanned locations, if we are to emerge victorious in the game of life.

Just as a bowler has a variety of balls in his armoury, life too hurls at us a fast ball first, a slower one next, an inswinger later, to be followed by an outswinger. You never know what the next ball has in store for you, so unpredictable is life's bowling. Sometimes things you are sure of turn out to be diametrically opposite, just like a Googly.

It is the batsman who faces the hostile bowling while the runner at the other end does little except to watch the former's performance and providing running support. The Lord too is like a runner, never participating in the proceedings but watching the Jeevatma battle with the slings and arrows of fortune, according to its accumulated Karma. The only important difference is that while the runner too has to take his turn at batting, the Paramatma remains an observer always and never comes to the batting crease. 

The Crease represents to the batsman a safe haven, within which he is secure and after crossing which he is on his own, liable to be run out. Similarly, Shastras represent the Crease to the Jeevatma. As long as he stays within its confines, he is safe and secure. Once he crosses this line, he is out on a limb and liable to be floored by the eleven enemies, who are always alert for the slightest transgression to take advantage of.

The pitch is something over which the batsman has no control, and if he has to play on a queer one that gives an unpredictable bounce to the ball, his innings would be short and miserable. In life too, one's baggage of good and bad deeds is the pitch one has to play on. While some inherit a sunny pitch and blaze their way into Wisden's Cricketers' Almanac or the pages of history, some fail miserably even to open their account and form part of the unremarkable, unsung and nondescript masses, who "also lived".

The Dharma DEvata is the Umpire in our lives, judging all our actions impartially, keeping count of the balls, overs and runs (the seconds, minutes and hours of our life and our various acts of commission and omission). He is the final authority on all matters on the field and if one is given out, one just leaves the ground without even a semblance of protest, irrespective of his own feelings in the matter. On the field of life too, the Yamadharma Raja is the final arbiter of when we leave the field. His ruling is final and there is no use arguing with him, irrespective of whether the moment and manner of exit are convenient to us or not. 

Runs represent the years of our life. We may hit a century or get out for a duck, depending on whether fortune (or our own Karma) favours us or not. Some batsmen, though they may hit a hundred, might do it all in undistinguished singles and may take an unconscionably long time doing it, while some others may blaze their way to a century, all hit in fours and sixes. In life too, we find brilliant people achieving a lot within a very short life span, while others may live to be a hundred and have nothing remarkable to show for it.

Winning the Cup is not a matter of mere luck or chance, but requires careful planning, coordination among the team, excellence in all departments of the game, impeccable execution of carefully considered strategies with clockwork precision. For success in life too, all these elements are indispensable. One cannot depend on Lady Luck to smile on one always, and has to plan for everything, implement the chosen strategy with focus and dedication. This is especially true of our spiritual lives, where careful control of the senses, sustained focus on the Lord and His attributes and adoption of a suitable strategy for Moksha, are indispensable.

The Team's Coach plays a vital role in the personal and professional development and performance of the players, and is often the real reason for the team's victory. He points out the pitfalls that await each batsman, the trick of avoiding them, and the ball-by-ball strategy for ensuring a win. In our spiritual life too, the Acharya guides us carefully through the heavily-mined and dangerous field of life and puts us through the process of Prapatti, so that we reach SriVaikuntam safely.

There may be any number of trophies, instituted by all and sundry, ranging from "The Ashes" to the "Wills Trophy" to the Fourth Junior League played under the aegis of the ACC (accharappAkkam Cricket Club). Though these may have their own votaries at the different levels of the game, the World Cup represents the Ultimate Victory in the cricketing world, the crowning glory for which every team and every cricketer aspires and toils ceaselessly for. The winning team represents the cream of the cricketing fraternity and is held in high esteem by one and all the world over. 

Life too offers any number of minor trophies in the form of flashy new vehicles, palatial mansions, riches, fame and acclaim, social positions and political power. However, the discerning seeker is never satisfied with these baubles and trinkets, and aspires only for the ultimate trophy of Liberation and service to the Lord at Sri Vaikuntam. He is never tempted by other minor rewards and keeps his sight steady on the target of Paramapadam and achieves it by adopting the strategy of Bhakti or Prapatti.

Come, let's play for the World Cup!

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

Dasan, sadagopan


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