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The Means and the End

From the Bhakti List Archives

sadagopaniyengar • November 26, 2002 


 
Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama:

 

                  The Means and The End

 

 

 The cornerstone of our Sampradaya is an unflinching faith (MahA VisvAsam) in the Lord Sriman Narayana, a faith that He would take care of us at all times, that He would bestow on us all that is required, at the appropriate time and in due measure, a faith that would withstand the test of severe adversity. He is an Arbiter, who ensures that we have a fair deal in life, in tune with our acts of commission and omission, good and bad, accumulated over countless births. Endowed as we are with a large measure of independence, what we are and what we attain, are but functions of what we have done and omitted to do.

 

 Many a time, we find ourselves in difficult situations, ranging from illness of the self or of the family members, emergent need of money with no known source to raise it from, challenging exams looming ahead with preparation therefor being woefully inadequate, etc.  What do we do at such times? We pray. Of course, we leave no stone unturned to achieve the desired goal or to resolve the problem, but when we find these inadequate, we pray to the Lord to come to our aid. This is known as "KAmya prArtthanA". Our philosophy tells us that such prayer should be avoided, as it reflects our lack of faith in the Lord's dispensation and His capacity to understand and fulfill our needs. We might desperately desire a car or a mansion, but whether these are in our real interests or not is unknown to us. As somebody rightly said, more people are unhappy because their wishes are granted than those with unfulfilled wants. Hence the best thing to do is to perform our duties to the best of our abilities and to leave everythi

  In a scenario of unfulfilled desires, probably the worst thing to do is to rush to an anya devata, forsaking our own Lord and Master. However, for people like us with fickle minds and wavering intellects, it is natural to obtain relief wherever available, irrespective of the tradition and faith in which we were born and brought up. When the sick child fails to get better despite treatment, a concerned neighbour suggests prArtthanA to a famed demigod nearby or to a  shrine known for its sure-cures. And in our desperation to see the child back in normal health and unable to endure its suffering, we grasp at the neighbour's suggestion as would a drowning man at mere straws. And if the effort is fruitful, we develop a faith in the demigod who has apparently cured the child with alacrity. This faith in turn erodes our original confidence in our Lord and whenever we are in trouble, we acquire the habit of turning to the demigod for succour, and ultimately become votaries of an alien faith. We have also seen some

 

 Logically speaking, if a particular deity (other than our Lord) is able to cure an illness or grant a wish, why should we not pay obeisance to that deity? After all, doesn't the granting of a wish prove the power of the deity, and what is wrong in resorting to this? If the argument is that only Sriman Narayana can grant us Moksham, we can always come back to Him after getting our mundane desires fulfilled through other lesser Gods, can't we, thus ensuring the best deal in both the worlds?

  There are several fallacies in such facile arguments.

 

For one thing, the act of approaching anya devatas for assistance is a virtual declaration of "no confidence" in Sriman Narayana, whom the Shruti avers is the Parabrahmam or the Ultimate. In comparison, other deities can hardly be superior. If such be the case, what would be the point in praying to them for succour, when we have the all-powerful Lord awaiting a word from us? It would be like forsaking the Master Physician at our door and rushing to a quack for treatment.

 

Secondly, Shastras lay down that only Sriman Narayana is the "Purusha", and all the rest are women. He is the "Pati" and all others "PatnIs". If we were to pray to a demigod for fulfilling a particular desire, it would be akin to a hitherto faithful wife seeking satisfaction from somebody other than her husband.

 

Thirdly, a person becomes a Vishnu bhakta as a result of countless births of devotion to other lesser devatas.   Hence, if one were to go back to worship of other deities for achieving mundane goals, it would be like a graduate student reverting to kindergarten.

 

Fourthly, the powers of other deities to make our dreams come true, are derived from Sriman Narayana, who is the master of all sentient beings, be they animals, humans or devatas. "avaravar irayavar kuraivilar irayavar" says Sri Nammazhwar, making it clear that other deities are able to satisfy their votaries only due to the power bestowed in them by the Lord. The Bhagavat Gita too confirms this-

"Sa tayA shraddhayA yukta: tasya ArAdhanam IhatE

  labhatE cha tata: kAmAn mayaiva vihitAn hi tAn".

 

Fifthly, the Lord being the antaryami of all beings, including these demigods, any prayer to the latter is automatically transmitted to the inner-dweller. Thus, even though we may think we are worshipping another devata, the recipient of our adulation is actually Sriman Narayana.

Under these circumstances, we might as well worship the Lord directly, instead of through the medium of other devatas. Says the Lord in the Gita-

"YEpi anya dEvatA bhakta: yajantE shraddhyAnvitA:

  TEpi mAmEva KountEya yajanti avidhi poorvakam"

 

Sixthly, if the Lord decides to bless us with bounties, there is none who can prevent Him from doing that. Conversely, if He decides to take away what we have, none can stand in His way. Once we realize this, we also understand that whatever desire has been fulfilled by the anya devata has come to fruition only because the Lord willed it. And once this dawns on us, we would feel no need to turn to anyone other than Emperuman for succour. 

"tvayi pravrittE mama kim prayAsai:

  tvayi apravrittE mama kim prayAsai:"

says Swami Desikan in Sri KamAsikAshtakam.

 

Seventhly, where would be prefer to shop-at a huge departmental store where we can get all that we want at bargain prices, with a wide variety to choose from, or at a small neighborhood store selling but a limited range of products? Sriman Narayana is capable of granting every wish of ours and ultimately bless us with perennial bliss and liberation, while anya devatas may be able to fulfill only certain of our desires, and are in any case unable to liberate us from the shackles of Karma.

Sri Tirumazhisai Piran does some plain speaking in his Tirucchandaviruttam-

"KANilum uruppolAr sevikkinAda keertthiyAr

  PENilum varam tara midukkilAda dEvar".

 

Eighthly, which other devata has Sree as his consort? That the Lord is constantly accompanied by TirumagaL ensures that He always treats His devotees with compassion, whether or not they deserve it. His justice is always tempered with mercy, as Piratti would never hear of the Lord meting out commensurate punishment. Further, the nature of the First Lady is that whenever a devotee comes to Her with a prayer, She blesses him with all that is auspicious, ranging from unimaginable riches to Sri Vaikuntam itself, and, after showering him with all this and other bounties, is consumed by a sense of inadequacy and feels that whatever she has given the devotee is hardly enough. "Tvam lajjasE amba kOyam udAra bhAva:! wonders Sri Bhattar. Hence Sri Tirumazhisai Piran says that only the Lord is to be worshipped and not other deities, who do not have the good fortune of having Piratti as Consort

"TiruvillA dEvarai trElmin dEvu".

With such an overwhelming array of reasons, it would be in the fitness of things if we remain unmoved by the slings and arrows of fortune, by the trial and tribulations fate may throw our way, preserve the chastity of our faith in Sriman Narayana, and resist with all our might the temptation to seek refuge in somebody else for petty, ephemeral gains. If we need inspiration in this endeavour, we only have to remember Sri Nammazhwar's immortal lines-

"KaLaivAi tunbam kaLAyadu ozhivAi kaLaikaN mattrilEn"

"unnAl allAl yAvarAlum ondrum kurai vENdEn".

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrisimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama:

Dasan, sadagopan.

 

 

 



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