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RE: [Oppiliappan] The Means and the End

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Krishna Kashyap • November 26, 2002 


Dear sri Sadagopan iyengar, this article is excellent. Everyone should keep
a copy of this article on the wall so that they remember the information
forever.

adiyen Krishna kashyap
  -----Original Message-----
  From: sadagopaniyengar [mailto:sadagopaniyengar@vsnl.net]
  Sent: Tuesday, November 26, 2002 6:52 AM
  To: malolan_net@yahoogroups.com; bhakti-list@yahoogroups.com;
tiruvengadam; Oppiliappan; radha jagannathan; j.srinivasan; cs srinivasan;
padmaja; mythily ramadesikan
  Cc: sadagopaniyengar@vsnl.net
  Subject: [Oppiliappan] The Means and the End



  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 LordÂ’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 everything to Him, with the
conviction that He would indeed endow us with everything we really need. If
we fail to get a deserved promotion, if a desired acquisition fails to
materialize at the last minute, we should reconcile ourselves with the
thought that perhaps it was not really in our interest to have attained the
desired goals. This might be easier said than done, but would definitely
save us a lot of heartburn and grief, while training us to accept the divine
dispensation with equanimity.

    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 neighbourÂ’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 Vaishnavites
flocking to even Christian and Moslem shrines for relief.



   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, doesnÂ’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, canÂ’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 NammazhwarÂ’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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