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Oppiliappan List Archive: Message 00074 Aug 2005

 
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Dear Swamin

Very enjoyable posting.

Any book on stress management is not complete without a chapter on good 
night's sleep. The present day lifestyle (materialistic) seldom affords 
people a relaxing night's sleep. No wonder, early birds are rare.

The final line of "Sitram Sirukaale" probably provides a great clue to this. 
When "Matrai nam kaamangal" are removed, there is perhaps great freshness 
after a relaxing few hours of sleep.

Regards

Balajee Thiruppukkuzhi Narasimhan

>From: sadagopan <sadagopaniyengar@xxxxxxxx>
>Reply-To: Oppiliappan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>To: malolan_net@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, oppiliappan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>CC: Tiruvenkatam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, ramanuja@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: [Oppiliappan] The Early Bird
>Date: Tue, 09 Aug 2005 15:05:24 +0530
>
>Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
>
>
>
>The Early Bird
>
>
>
>"Please, five more minutes!"-this is the standard request I hear from my 
>son and daughter, whenever I wake them up in the morning. And when they say 
>five minutes, you shouldn't take it literally and expect them to be up and 
>about after three hundred seconds. One block of five minutes naturally 
>leads to another and before the kids actually get up, it is anywhere from 
>25 to 30 minutes from the time they were woken up. I am sure that my 
>experience is not unique and must be shared by many a parent. Though we 
>expect our children to rise and shine early in the morning, they invariably 
>tend to disagree, reluctant to forego their beauty sleep.
>
>
>
>When you come to think of it, this disinclination for early rising is not 
>confined to children-many adults too are equally guilty. "Guilty!-is that 
>the correct word to use for merely enjoying a few more minutes or hours of 
>sleep!" I hear you saying. Well, I leave you to decide for yourself, after 
>going through the following.
>
>
>
>Coming back to getting up early, many of us tend to wake up only when the 
>sunlight falls on our face, forcing us to open our eyes and blink. Yet 
>others wake up when the milkman sounds his bell, while some sleep on, 
>oblivious to the chirping of birds or to the shrill tones of the proverbial 
>cock, heralding the imminent sunrise. (Incidentally, it is quite some time 
>since I heard a cock-the urban environs appear to have taken a toll on this 
>species too, which used to faithfully function as an effective alarm 
>system, waking us up in time). In any case, even if a dutiful alarm clock 
>were to emit loud rings, we are accustomed to snuggling back into the 
>bedcovers after stifling its strident tones. Somehow, the hours and minutes 
>just before our waking appear to be especially precious and we are prone to 
>resent any intrusion into our slumber more at those times than at others. 
>Like the "Maamaan magal" in Tiruppavai, who is loathe to leave her bed of 
>swan feather_-("Toomani maadatthu suttrum vilakku eria, dhoopam kamazha 
>tuyilanai mel kan valarum maamaan magale!"), we too are deep in slumber in 
>our comfortable beds, with a "Good Knight" battling valiantly to drive away 
>mosquitoes.
>
>
>
>"Kousalya supraja! Rama! Poorvaa sandhyaa pravartate
>
>  Uttishtta nara saardoola! Kartavyam daivam aahnikam"
>
>
>
>This is a slokam from Srimad Ramayanaam, with which all of us are 
>familiar-so much so that in cinemas and TV serials, this couplet finds a 
>place whenever daybreak is depicted. It is Visvaamitra Maharshi who utters 
>this slokam, urging the young Sri Rama, who is sound asleep, to rise and 
>shine, the time for performance of morning prayers being at hand. (My son 
>murmurs with indignation, "So, it appears to be an age-old practice for 
>elders to torment kids, forcing them to get up at unearthly hours!"). The 
>point is that Visvaamitra attaches so much importance to early rising, that 
>he doesn't mind waking up the obviously tired Sri Rama,  whom he 
>(Visvaamitra) had taken by walk all the way from Ayodhya into the 
>inhospitable forests, paying scant attention to the Prince's tender years 
>and the creature comforts to which He was accustomed. We are faced with a 
>question-Why?  Why should the Rishi urge the young Prince to rise early, 
>knowing full well that the latter must have been tired by the long journey 
>by foot?
>
>
>
>As in everything else, here too, Srimad Ramayanam is a guide book for human 
>conduct, telling us how we ought to live our lives.
>
>
>
>The Shastras are emphatic that barring invalids, all others ought to be up 
>and about pretty early in the morning. What exactly does "early morning" 
>mean?
>
>
>
>The day is divided into eight "Yaamaas", each consisting of 3 hours, four 
>of them accounting for Day and the remaining four constituting the Night. 
>However, half of the first Yaama of the night and the latter half of the 
>fourth Yaama of the night are counted along with the day, which really 
>leaves the Night with just three Yaamas. Thus the last part, of the last 
>Yaaama of the night, roughly corresponding to around 4.30 a.m., is the 
>ideal time prescribed for our rising.  This is the auspicious hour known as 
>the "Braahma Muhoortam" --"Yaaminyaa: charamo yaama: Braahma eerita:". It 
>is at this hour that we should rise, say the Smritis-"Braahme muhoorte 
>utthaaya".
>
>
>
>What is so special about this "Braahma Muhoortam", I hear you enquire. The 
>Smriti Ratnaavali, a comprehensive compendium of rules for good conduct, 
>tells us that this hour belongs to the Deities. Devas and Pitru devataas 
>visit our homes at this auspicious hour, says the Smriti. When we have 
>distinguished visitors, it is only courteous on our part to be up and 
>about. The Smriti is very specific that these celestial visitors deem it a 
>great insult if we remain in bed, with predictable consequences. In fact, 
>the Smriti goes to the extent of terming such a home, where the residents 
>are asleep at the Braahma Muhoortam, as a "Smasaanam" (burial ground). In a 
>rather wholesale condemnation of sound sleepers who know not what sunrise 
>is, the Smriti calls them permanently impure and ineligible to undertake 
>any vaidika karma.  We may well slumber on irrespective of sunrise, but we 
>do it at the risk of all our merits (Punyam), accumulated through lifetimes 
>of good deeds, being destroyed. Such inconsiderate slumber is considered 
>not merely a minor misdemeanour, but a veritable sin, warranting atonement 
>or Praayaschittam. One who sleeps on beyond sunrise (known as an 
>"Abhyudita") can wash off the sin only through Gayatri Japam for the whole 
>day, while remaining on fast. Failure to atone in such a fashion leads to 
>accumulation of great "Paapam", says Manu.
>
>
>
>Aapasthamba Maharshi adds to the difficulty of the aforesaid 
>Praayaschittam, by saying that it should be done while on one's feet-no 
>sitting or lying down is permitted during the entire day, which is to be 
>spent in Gayatri Japam and fasting.
>
>
>
>Frightening, isn't it? And all for merely sleeping! Well, we must keep in 
>mind that Shastras are guidebooks fashioned by our kind Lord, indeed His 
>helping hand, extended for lifting us up from the mundane morass-"magnaan 
>uddharate lokaan kaarunyaat Shastra paanina". Shastras are indeed the voice 
>of the ever-merciful Emperuman, enunciated through venerated seers, to 
>guide us in this world and others. As such, the Shruti and the Smritis have 
>nothing but extreme benevolence towards us-- all that they say are indeed 
>for our good, even if some of their injunctions may sound unpalatable and 
>inconvenient. Remember, medicine may be bitter, but it cures us of our 
>ills.
>
>
>
>And it is not only what the Smritis lay down, but is also what the Doctor 
>ordered. Ask any doctor, and he will list for you the advantages of early 
>rising. The mind and body are fresh and compliant and the hour is extremely 
>conducive to all good deeds. The Biological Clock which nature has endowed 
>us with at birth, comes with the alarm set to the early morning hours. It 
>is hence natural for us to get up before sunrise. Our body and mind are 
>designed to function at their peak during the early morning hours-if a 
>survey of inventions and discoveries is undertaken, I am sure we would find 
>that many of the sparks, which ignited the ideas, occurred during the wee 
>hours of the morning. And as the day wears on, so do our strength and mind 
>power, till they reach their nadir at night, when rest is prescribed in the 
>form of sleep. With peace and quiet reigning within and without, isn't the 
>early morning the ideal time for all creative work? Only those who have 
>savoured the pre-dawn serenity would be able to appreciate the beauty of 
>the hour and its conduciveness to all endeavour, especially spiritual.
>
>
>
>The references in Tiruppavai to early rising are numerous and noteworthy. 
>Of these, the most poignant is "Chittram chiru kaale vandu unnai sevitthu". 
>The venerated commentators wax eloquent on the auspiciousness of the 
>Braahma Muhoortam, as signified by the words, "Chittram chiru kaale". They 
>point out that it is this time of the day/ night which is ideally suited 
>for worshipping the Lord, as it is then that all the noble qualities of man 
>come to the fore. Sri Nammazhwar too advocates paying obeisance to 
>Emperuman in the wee hours of the morning-"Kaalai nal gnaanatturai padindu 
>aadi".
>
>
>
>With all these in favour of early rising, is it a wonder that all the 
>Smirtis exhort us to be early birds? Admittedly, before it becomes a habit, 
>early rising does tend to torment one, the natural instinct being not to 
>relinquish the comfortable warmth of the bed-however, once we brave the 
>first few days, grit our teeth and get up at the golden hour, once we 
>experience fully what it has to offer in terms of peace, tranquility, 
>productivity and concentration, once we restore our biological clock to its 
>original settings, the elation you experience is a commensurate reward for 
>your efforts. Clarity of thought, creative sparks, good resolutions and 
>spiritual inclination-all these automatically follow, when you rise early. 
>Even black swallows get up early, so why not we human beings, hints Sri 
>Andal-
>
>"Kaalai ezhundirundu karia kuruvi kanangal
>
>Maalin varavu solli marul paadudal meimmai kolo!"
>
>
>
>For those who are still loathe to leaving their bed, all that we can do is 
>to despair, along with Sri Kodai Naachiar-"Elle! Ilam Kiliye! Innam 
>urangudiyo!", stopping short of Her more uncomplimentary epithet, "Pey 
>Penne!".
>
>
>
>Srimate Sri LakshmiNrisimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana 
>Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
>
>
>
>Dasan, sadagopan
>Internal Virus Database is out-of-date.
>Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
>Version: 7.0.296 / Virus Database: 265.5.0 - Release Date: 12/9/2004

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