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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

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