Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
The Ultimate Arsenal
"ommAcchI, kai kooppu" is what our parents told us to do, in
our childhood. And it is what their parents told them to, when they in turn
were children. Thus, as a tradition, we have been taught to fold our palms in
supplication, when standing before the Lord. What exactly does this gesture,
which has been in vogue from time immemorial and is being passed on from one
generation to another, actually mean? Is it based on some scriptural authority
or is it just an empty mannerism which, rightly or wrongly like so many others
of its ilk, has somehow survived the test of time?
Scripture refers to this gesture of supplication with folded palms,
as "anjali". And references to this anjali are numerous and adulatory, be it in
Srimad Ramayana, Sri Mahabharata, Puranas or Acharya sreesooktis. The greatness
and glory of this simple gesture are so vast that Swami Desikan thought it fit
to author a separate work on the same, titled "anjali Vaibhavam". Sri Alavandar
has enshrined the significance of this gesture in his Stotra Ratnam, while
other Acharyas too are not lacking in glorifying the greatness of anjali.
If we look into the etymological structure of this word, we find it to be
extremely significant-"am jalayati iti anjali:"-this tells us that the
apparently simple folding of palms is so potent that it completely floors the
Lord and melts Him down, making Him abandon all idea of awarding commensurate
penalty for our innumerable misdeeds. "am" in the aforesaid sentence refers to
the Lord, who is represented by the letter "A" ("akArArtthO VishNu:"). Sage
BharadvAja tells us that this anjali is the best of all gestures and secures
for us the favours of the Lord , with all expedition-"anjali: paramA mudrA,
kshipram dEva prasAdinI". There are any number of good deeds which earn us
merit and ultimately afford us liberation from this mundane morass-cleaning up
the Lord's temple, adorning it with floral designs, fashioning garlands for
Emperuman out of fragrant blooms, lighting up the Lord's abode with lamps lit
with ghee, gingelly oil etc., circumambulation of His sannidhi, prostrating
before Him in such a way that all eight parts of the body touch the ground
("sAshtAnga praNAmam"), constant contemplation on esoteric formulations
incorporating His hallowed names (Mantra japam), engaging in melodious
exposition of His praises and so on. If the ultimate aim of all these
endeavours is to please the Lord, then one need not resort to all these at all,
and could confine himself to a mere anjali, which is more powerful than all the
aforesaid in earning us the Lord's pleasure. Whatever merits the other
kainkaryams listed above might earn us in course of time, a single gesture of
folded palms secures for us in a trice, says Sri Bharadvaja-"Kshipram dEva
prasAdinI".
Sri Alavandar devotes a full verse to adulate this anjali-
" tvat anghrim uddisya kadApi kEnachit yathA tathApi sakrit krita anjali:
tadaivam mushNAti asubhAni asEshata: subhAni pushN
Ati na jAtu heeyatE"
Each word of this verse is pregnant with meaning.
"Tvat anghrim uddisya"-This gesture is meaningful only if addressed to the
Lord. Anjali to all and sundry human beings or to lesser dieties would not
bring us any lasting benefit.
"kadApi"-There is no time specification for anjali. Unlike Sandhyavandanam
which can be performed only at the confluence of the three sandhIs, unlike
Mantra japam which requires purity of body and soul, unlike yAgAs and yagyAs
which too are time-specific, this gesture of folded palms can be adopted any
time, with absolutely no restriction. Night or day, summer or winter, full moon
or new moon, makes no difference for joining our palms in supplication to the
Lord. We can do it the moment we develop the urge.
"kEnachit"-Performing sacrifices is the prerogative of the traivarNikAs.
BrahmachArIs alone can perform SamidAdAnam. Only males of the aforesaid group
can imbibe and propagate the Vedas. Unlike all these restriction-bound deeds
which are subject to constraints of VarNa, Ashrama etc., anjali falls within
the domain of everyone, irrespective of cast, creed, colour, age or sex.
"yathA tathA vApi"-Most of the karmAs which earn us merit have to be performed
in a particular fashion. Doing them otherwise would not only deny us of the
intended fruit, but would also prove counter-productive. We thus hear of
TvashtA begetting a son who would be killed by Indra, while his actual prayer
was for an offspring who would end Indra's life, all because Tvashta erred in
the intonation of a Veda mantra. We hear of Brahmins turning into
BrahmarAkshasAs due to shortcomings in the performance of sacrifices. Unlike
all these rule-bound deeds, an anjali can be executed in any fashion.
"Sakrit krita:"-While most of the meritorious deeds require repetitive
performance, a single performance of anjali destroys all inauspiciousness and
builds up all that is good for us.
Why is this simple gesture touted to be such an effective instrument in
accomplishing such exalted goals? Because it signifies the surrender of one's
soul, the absolutely priceless offering which is relished by Emperuman. If we
consider the "anjali" mudrA, the palms folded together resemble a lotus bud,
which is also the shape of our heart (Hridaya Kamalam)-"Padma kOsa prateekAsam
hridayam chApi adhO mukham" says the Narayana anuvAkam. Just as the lotus is
the best of flowers one can offer the Lord, our heart and the soul resident
therein, are indubitably the most valuable of tributes that we can submit at
His feet. It is thus that the anjali pleases Emperuman no end, signifying, as
it does, the ultimate offering that can be submitted by anyone. And a tip
here about the folded palm, learnt from elders-the palms should not be pressed
flat together, but held loosely together with the tips of the fingers touching
one another, so that the joined palms resemble a lotus.
A further beauty of the anjali mudrA is that while it represents a gesture of
surrender to the arcchA murtthi we stand before at the Sannidhi, it
simultaneously envisages obeisance to the Inner Dweller, the antaryAmi, who is
forever resident in our hearts and souls. The position of the palms in this
mudrA is such that it is in line with our chest, inside which is situated our
heart, in which is enshrined the Lord, in His form as the "HArda" or the Inner
Dweller.
We might adorn the Lord at temples with any number of the most brilliant of
gems and jewels made of the most precious of metals, but the ornament the Lord
likes the most is our "anjali", the simple gesture of folded palms with an
accompanying attitude of self-surrender, says Sri Nammazhwar-
"dEsamAna aNikalanum en kai kooppu seigayE".
Just as a diamond's brilliance is enhanced by a glittering gold setting, so too
the efficacy of the anjali is heightened by certain accompaniments, says Sri
KulasekharAzhwar. The palms folded in obeisance should be accompanied by a head
bowed in devotion, hairs standing erect with the intensity of Bhagavat
anubhavam, a voice made extremely shaky with emotion, eyes full of tears
occasioned by depth of feeling for the Paramatma and so on, all of which
cumulatively take us to unimaginable heights of sublime spiritual experience.
It is those who have all these external signs of devotion, whose constant
company we should crave for, says Azhwar. Here is the beautiful sloka from Sri
Mukunda MAlA-
"baddhEna anjalinA natEna shirasA gAtraischa rOmOdgamai:
kanttEna svara gadgadEna nayanEna utkeerNa bAshpAmbunA
nityam tvat charaNAravinda yugaLa dhyAna amruta AsvAdinAm
asmAkam SaraseeruhAksha! satatam sampadyatAm jeevitam".
However, many a folded hand hides a lethal weapon, as happened in the case of
MahAtmA Gandhi, whose life was taken by NAturAm GhotsE, hiding a pistol between
his folded palms. People like me are very much like Ghotse, for the anjali
mudra addressed to the Lord often hides an attitude of ahankAram and MamakAram
(Pride and Possessiveness), both of which are deadly weapons causing extensive
damage to the soul. These "kAram"s, apart from being hurtful to oneself, also
bring tears of pain and sorrow to Emperuman, who is saddened at the
incorrigibility of the human race despite His efforts for its emancipation.
Hence, it is not enough to simply fold our hands, for anjali to be effective
and rewarding-all the external accompaniments as prescribed by Sri Kulasekhara
Perumal should be there. More important than these, we should make the anjali
with the right attitude of mind, with our souls shorn, at least for the moment,
of the stigma of the crippling ahankAram and killing MamakAram. "Easier said
than done!", I hear readers remark sceptically, but all this comes out of
constant practice, as Sri Krishna tells Arjuna-"abhyAsEna tu KountEya!".
We have been talking about weapons lurking between folded palms. Swami Desikan
says, however, that the folded palms are themselves a weapon and the most
potent of them at that. You can imagine the efficacy of this missile, if I tell
you that it has the capability of flooring Emperuman Himself and of proving to
be an effective shield against any arrows that the Lord might let loose against
us, fed up with our constant transgression of His dicta. In His anger at our
unrepentant attitudes and continuing crimes against ourselves, humanity and the
Lord, the Lord often considers possibilities of punitive action, when all else
(SAmam, bhEdam and dAnam) fails. And He lets loose against us arrows of token
punishment for our sins. However, even the Lord's weapons loose their efficacy,
when confronted by our gesture of "anjali". This potent weapon in our hands
melts down the Lord to such an extent that He throws down bow and arrow,
forgets everything about chastising us and comes running to embrace us and to
take us to His abode, to treat us to the eternal and boundless bliss that He
Himself enjoys at Paramapadam. Thus even the most potent of punitive arrows
lose their cutting edge and become mere blunt and impotent missiles, when
warded off with the weapon of anjali, says Swami Desikan in Sri Varadaraja
Panchasat-
"HastIsa! Du:kha visha digdha phalAnubandhini
Abrahma keetam aparAhata samprayOgE
Dushkarma sanchaya vasAt duratikramE na:
Pratyastram anjali: asou tava nigrahAstrE"
Anjali is thus both a protective weapon (guarding us against exemplary divine
retaliation on account of our sins) and an offensive one, flooring the Lord
with a single shot, making Him feel compelled to rush to our rescue from the
mundane morass.
Is there any doubt in declaring Anjali to be The Ultimate Arsenal?
Srimate Sri LakshmInrisimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana
Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
dasan, sadagopan
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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