(continued from Part 8) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- When one completes the difficult journey up the first two steps of Swami Desikan's 'parama-pada-sOpAnam' viz. 'vivEkam' and 'nirvEdam', it is said one is ready to climbs onto the stairway's next stepping-stone: 'virakthi' or 'vairAgyam'. While 'nirvedam' is described as revulsion directed against oneself, 'virakthi/vairAgyam' is said to be an emotion of revulsion directed outwards. Desikan portrays exactly what even modern psychology confirms -- that any strong or intense emotion directed inwardly towards oneself will invariably get deflected outwards, at least some of it, against the external world. For example, if one loves oneself, "loving thy neighbour" becomes very easy and natural. On the other hand, an "angry young man" who raves and rants against the world is deep down very enraged with himself. (In the parlance of modern Behavioural Psychology -- this phenomenon is described by experts as "projection syndrome" which, in rudimentary terms, means that a person tends to view the external world through the prism of his inner emotions). Desikan's 'parama-pada-sOpAnam' describes how a 'vivEki's' inwardly-directed emotion of 'nirvEdam' manifests in outwardly-directed emotion called "virakthi/vairAgyam". This emotion relates the inner state of the 'vivEki's' mind to his external environment. Now, "virakthi" makes the 'vivEki' gradually develop 2 mind-states: (a) a sense of distaste for and (b) a bit of distance from all things worldly. It helps to start a process of slow transformation within him. It turns him from being an 'active player' in the world into an increasingly 'disengaged spectator' of the world. The world with which he had hitherto been so enchanted and enamoured suddenly begins to appear to him in an altogether different and not-so-attractive light. In fact, disdain for the mundane begin to quickly build up within him. The riches and pleasures of the world may be his for the mere asking, or the taking, but somehow and, for reasons not fully fathomed, they do not hold the allure they previously held before the emotion of "virakthi/vairAgyam" gripped him. We might recall that before Buddha became "the Buddha", he was actually Prince Siddhartha who suddenly one day came to be afflicted with a great and overpowering sense of "virakthi-vairAgyam". Similarly, we also get a very good picture of the depth of the 'virakthi' emotion when we read the following Tamil 'pAsuram' of Tondaradi-podi AzhwAr in his "tirumAlai": "vEdanoor pirAyUm nooru manisarthAm puguvarElUm; pAthiyUm urangipOgum; ninradhir padhinaiyANdu; pEthai bAlagan adhu AgUm; piNi pasi mUpputh thunbam; AdhalAl, piravi vEndEn arangamA nagaruLAnE !" (tirumAlai - 3) If I were granted a lifetime of 100 years, the AzhwAr says, I do not look forward to it since I know half of it will be wasted in sleep, the other half frittered away in youth. The rest will all be lost in old age and disease. If I have no time in this world in which to attain you, O Ranga, I despise it. I have no use for it. Swami Desikan himself, as we all know from his famous poem titled 'vairAgya-panchakam', was the greatest example of this emotion of 'virakthi/vairAgyam'. When invited by his friend Vidyaranya to serve the royal court of the Vijayanagar Empire as poet-laureate -- a plum-post which would have secured for Swami Desikan a comfortable livelihood for the rest of his career and post-retirement benefits too -- Desikan rejected it without hesitation. The idea of serving a King, which many might have regarded as a rare opportunity of honour and privilege, seemed to Desikan utterly distasteful. In short, "virakthi/vairAgyam" is a state of mind wherein a man's pre-occupation with matters spiritual begin to overtake, and eventually exclude, matters mundane. ******** ********** ********* The late "ubhaya-vEdAnta" exponent, SrimAn Mukkur Lakshmi- narasimhachariar used to recount in many of his public discourses a humorous anecdote illustrating this emotion of 'virakthi/vairAgyam'. The incident, he reported, was narrated to him by the 44th Jeeyar, Srimad Azhagiyasingar, in great style. In his 'pUrvAshramam' (pre-'sanyasa' period), the Azhagiyasingar was known as Swami Rajagopalachariar, a short-term resident of Mannargudi. As a resident there, he used to frequent the great Rajagopalaswamy 'sannidhi' (shrine) there. It was 'gokulashtami' one day when Swami was returning from a visit to the temple. Just as he was about to step out of the temple, Swami was accosted by an aged friend of his. This friend was known to Swami for many years. This friend who had his 'mEl-vastram'(upper-cloth) tied into a bundle suddenly untied it on seeing our Swami. "Hello, Rajagopala," the elderly friend said, untying his little bundle, "Hello, Rajagopala, how are you? Did you have a good 'darshan' of the Lord ?". "Yes, sir, and what about you? Did 'krishna-jayanthi' celebrations go off well in your house?", enquired our Swami. "Oh, yes, very well,indeed, Rajagopal. And here, I have some 'jayanthi bakshaNam' (sweets) from home for you! Please accept these." So saying, the old friend offered Rajagopala Swami some home-made sweets and delicacies like 'mysore-pAk' etc. Our Swami accepted them all with touching kindness. Next the old friend offered Swami a very special snack called in Tamil, "cheedai". This is a famous delicacy without which no "krishna-jayanthi" is consummated in Tamil homes. It is made of "gram-paste", rolled into small balls the size of playing-marbles and deep-fried in oil to a magnificent golden hue. After it is well-done, "cheedai" serves as everyone's favourite snack because, being cute and ball-like in appearance, they look truly lovable; and also because they are good and crunchy-hard to bite into. Believe me, one gets a strange, pleasurable experience when one lobs a "cheedai"-ball into one's mouth and proceeds to gnash it with gusto, producing through one's jaws peculiar grating sounds ("kaRRu-muRRu", in Tamil !) which itself are a sort of rare music to the ears! All in all, eating "cheedai"-balls is a delectable gourmet experience which only "cheedai"-eaters can truly appreciate. Anyway, to return to our tale of the 44th Azhagiyasingar, the old friend of his in the Mannargudi temple, seems to have offered our Swami a lot of 'cheedai' and asked him to enjoy it. Swami began munching and enjoyed it too. In a moment, seeing his old friend not partaking of his own delight, Rajagopala Swami offered some 'cheedai' back to the older one, saying, "Sir, why don't you enjoy some "cheedai" yourself with me?". The old one remonstrated, "No, no, Rajagopala, don't force me. You know I am indeed extremely fond of 'cheedai'; I used to love them. But these days I shun them." "And pray tell me Why, Sir?", said our Swami, the Azhagiyasingar of 'pUrvAshramam'. "Well, you could say, Rajagopala, I am practising a kind of "virakthi" or 'vairAgyam" replied the old friend. "Oh, I see, and what is the cause for such severe 'virakthi', Sir," queried Swami politely. The old friend replied sadly, "Rajagopla, you know, in the old days I would have gobbled up all the "cheedai" in the world to my hearts content. But alas today, as you can see, I have lost every single one of my molar-teeth. So I'm unable these days to enjoy this delicacy on 'krishna-jayanthi' day." The 44th Azhagiyasingar, it seems, that day learnt a very important lesson on true "virakthi/vairAgyam"! Sri.Mukkur Lakshminarasimhachariar related it as follows: "When we practice 'virakthi' as Swami Desikan describes it in the 'paramapada-sOpAnam', and deny ourselves enjoyment of things mundane, we should ask ourselves first whether the self-denial is genuine. Do we shun it because (A) we feel genuine revulsion for it, or whether (B) because we do not have the necessary means or capacity to indulge in its pleasurable enjoyment (a sort of "sour grapes")? "If we practice 'virakthi' in the former way (A), we can be said to be following Swami Desikan's personal example of "virAkthi" in the 'vairAgya-panchakam'. If we practice 'virakthi' in the latter way (B), then, we can be said to be following the example of the 44th-Azhagiyasingar's old friend of Mannnargudi -- who had given up eating 'cheedai' only because, in his advanced years, he had lost the dental means to enjoy it!" "If you follow Swami Desikan's example of 'virakthi/vairAgyam' you will immediately proceed to the next higher step on the "paramapada- sOpAnam'. If you follow the 'vairAgyam' of the old gentleman of the Mannargudi temple, it will mean surely that you have failed to climb the first "pariankai" (step) of "vivEkam" even!" (to be continued) dAsan, Sudarshan __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Y! Web Hosting - Let the expert host your web site http://webhosting.yahoo.com/
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