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"The Vigilant Witness"

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sadagopaniyengar • March 8, 2003 


                                      
Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

                                    The Vigilant Witness

              "The case is dismissed!" rules the Judge, banging his gavel to give the proceedings a touch of finality. The murderer walks free, with a smirk on his face and an unholy joy in his heart. The chagrined Public Prosecutor looks on helplessly, for he knows full well that the man is indeed guilty, but, in the absence of an eyewitness to the crime, he has not been able to prove his case to the judge's satisfaction. There might be any amount of circumstantial evidence to indicate guilt, but there is nothing like an eyewitness to impart authenticity to the averments of the prosecution. There are other cases where the prosecution, lacking credible evidence of guilt, but convinced that the man is indeed guilty, tutors the so-called eyewitness to tender damning evidence against the accused, thus securing a conviction. You only have to peruse a few Perry Mason novels to discover how witnesses can be "persuaded" to tender evidence for or against a person, how easy it is to mislead, confuse, browbeat and int

        The very term witness evokes images of courts and law, where there is no reward for good behaviour but only punishment for offences. We, however, are about to consider a different type of witness, who stands testimony not only to lapses but also to good deeds. While the aforesaid witnesses are present mostly by coincidence at the scene of the crime, the witness we are to deal with is present always, everywhere and with everybody. While the aforesaid witnesses are liable to lapses like "bhramam"(faulty perception), vipralambam(deliberate intention to mislead) etc., the witness we shall speak of has perfect perception and sincerity. He cannot be bought and would not perjure Himself for anything ("anritam na uktam poorvam mE, na cha vakshyE kadAchana"). None can confuse, mislead or intimidate Him, and He remains steadfast in His version. While ordinary witnesses lose their importance once the particular case is disposed of, the role of our witness is perennial and unchanging. While normal witnesses crin

        The Vishnu Sahasrama Stotra, amidst the one thousand plus tirunAmAs it attributes to the Lord, highlights one particular name, which stands out for its beauty, simplicity and significance- "SAkshI". The MundakOpanishad says that the luminescent Lord, residing in the same body as the Jeevatma, is a mute witness to whatever actions, good or bad, the Jeeva subscribes to, every moment of his waking life. Having given us our bodies in accordance with our past Karma, having endowed us with intelligence for discerning good from bad and having given us the Scripture too, for guiding us on the right path, He just watches while we use or abuse our lives. 

          What makes the Lord a reliable witness? It could be His innumerable eyes, spread all over the Universe, able to perceive what happens everywhere. That the Lord's eyes are countless, is brought out by the Purusha Sukta vakya, "Sahasra SirshA Purusha: SahasrAksha: sahasra path". There is thus no place on earth or heaven where His sight doesn't penetrate. Nothing can happen in this vast Universe and others, without His being aware of the same. What is more, He doesn't come to know of things post facto, but is aware of happenings as they take place, as His eyes are present everywhere-"YO vEtthi yugapat sarvam" says Sri Nathamuni, paying tribute to the Lord's omniscience and simultaneous perception.

          More than His all-pervasive vision, there is another and more important reason for His knowing everything everyone does. He is the antaryAmi or inner-dweller of all beings, sentient and otherwise. Residing within us, He is aware of each and every move of ours. People harbouring secret vices or having skeletons in cupboards may think nobody knows about them, but the Lord, residing inside their hearts, knows only too well.

Whenever people embark on some unholy enterprise, if they feel a prick of conscience, it is the Lord telling them not to go ahead with their nefarious agenda. More often than not, their accumulated Karma forces people to disregard such early warnings and continue on their evil endeavour. Be that as it may, the point is that there are no secrets in this world, for the Lord always knows what we are up to. He knows this not merely when we execute our design, but even at the conceptual stage. 

"uLLuvAr uLLittru ellAm udan irundu aridi" says Sri Tondaradippodi Azhwar, advising us not to harbour hypocritical thoughts, for the omniscient Lord, who resides with us constantly ("uLLatthE urayum MAl"), knows each and every intimate idea of ours, even before it is conceived. While most witnesses only see or hear things while or after they happen, the Divine Witness knows about happenings much before they are even thought of.

It is indeed difficult to develop the idea that the Lord resides within us constantly, seeing all that we do, hearing all that we utter and divining all that we think: but develop it we must, for, it helps us a lot in the long run.

If we are able to feel the presence of a witness to all our actions, we would surely refrain from acting in any but the most righteous of ways. If we know that somebody inside is listening intently to all that we say, no harsh word or untruth would ever pass our lips. And once we understand that there is someone who is privy to the most intimate of our thoughts, surely our mind would eschew all the garbage of emotions that pass through it and fill itself with the purest of thoughts. However, in picturising this, we should not think of the Lord in terms of a Peeping Tom, prying into the innermost of our thoughts, words and deeds. He is the benevolent father, watching constantly over us, wishing us well and anxious that we adhere to Dharma in all our actions, happy when we do or say the right things and indescribably sad when we don't.  When we become aware of this antaryAmi, this ever Vigilant Witness to all our actions, our lives become harmonious, our path dovetailing delightfully with the one the Paramatma
"ya Enam vidu: amrutA: tE bhavanti".

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

Dasan, sadagopan

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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