Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
The Scarred Psyche
When I was three, I fell down from the rocking horse and broke my nose. The
resultant scar still adorns my nose, considerably enhancing (!) my looks. If
you run into a war veteran, he would launch into a long reminiscence at the
drop of a hat, if you ask him about his scars. Each scar will have its very own
story to tell and whenever you happen to touch it, it automatically brings to
your mind the background of the scar. Thus the scar is not merely a physical
vestige of a long-healed wound; it is also a storehouse of memories, some
nostalgic, some tragic. Scars need not always be physical and perceptible. A
particularly heart-rending incident, an exceptionally sharp barb of an insult,
an unforgivable act of betrayal by a trusted friend or relative-all these leave
scars too, scars on the psyche, which are invisible but none the less painful.
In fact, physical wounds heal fast and the resultant scar is usually painless.
This is not so with the other type of scars-you tend to remember the insult for
years together, whenever you set eyes on the offender or even otherwise. A
tragic bereavement lingers on in people's memory for long, the loss irreparable
and unforgettable. The tears might dry up with time, but the heart still
grieves in its privacy. Similarly, acts of ingratitude from scarcely-expected
quarters leave us stunned and psychologically wounded -Shakespeare says in a
sonnet that the icy winter wind is not so unkind as man's ingratitude. All
these leave our psyches permanently scarred, with the mind jogging up the
painful memories at the least provocation. Physical or psychological, scars
have their own tales to tell.
There are some scars, which we bear proudly. Scars resulting from bravery are
preserved more lovingly than medallions awarded by authorities. Some, however,
like mine, are merely the result of accidents, and are nothing to write home
about. Again, the scars on one's shoulders resulting from the purifying touch
of the Divine Discus and Conch applied by the Preceptor on the occasion of
Pancha SamskAram or SamAshrayaNam, are to be borne as proud symbols of one's
belonging to the Lord. In fact, the Shruti, emphasizing the significance of
SamAshrayaNam and the emblazoning of the Lord's symbols on our shoulders, says
that one who is not fortunate to undergo the purificatory process of such
initiation into the fold of the faithful, is not entitled to liberation-"
atapta tanoo: na tadAmo asnutE". It is customary, when buying vessels at the
time of marriage, to etch the bride's initials on them, so that they wouldn't
get mixed up with others'. We might treat the etching of Sudarsana and
Panchajanya on our shoulders in a similar fashion- we are branded as belonging
to the Lord and to none else. From an aesthetic angle too, these scars serve as
an adornment to our bare shoulders. These scars are constant reminders to us
not to transgress the dictums of the Shruti or Smriti, which are the Lord's own
commandments. Whenever our glance falls on the Sudarsana on our shoulder, the
punitive power of this nitya sUri (who is very much an enforcer of the Lord's
laws) would leap to our mind and deter us from going astray. These sacred scars
are also aide memoires that the Lord made us all in His own mould and that it
is incumbent on us to act accordingly. The practice of bearing these sacred
scars on one's shoulders has the sanction of the Shruti as pointed out above
and is also sanctified by references by Sri Periazhwar-"Theeyil poligindra sem
sudar Azhi tigazh thiru chakkaratthin kOil poriyAlE ottrundu nindru kudi kudi
AtcheygindrOm".
Whenever we visit MadhurAntakam, our eyes cloud with tears of gratitude to Sri
Peria Nambi, who adorned Sri Ramanuja's handsome shoulders with the symbols of
the Lord under the famous Maghizha maram in the temple prAkAram. We are also
thrilled to be shown the very silver instruments which were used by Sri Peria
Nambi for the purpose, and feast our eyes on them with the reverential
realisation that they had the fortune of touching the tirumEni of the
BhAshyakAra, if only for a second. They serve as powerful links with the hoary
past, reminding us that every single chronicled event of Sri Ramanuja's life
had indeed happened and is not the result of mere fevered imagination or facile
fabrication.
Coming back to the scars, you would be able to see some pretty deep ones on the
shoulders of the privileged ones who carry the vAhanams of the Lord
customarily-the SripAdam tAngis. One would be proud to sport such scars,
resulting from constant kainkaryam. According to Sri Alavandar, even Sri
Garuda's flanks bear glowing scars resulting from pressure from the Lord's
feet. The Lord is always in a terrific hurry while rushing to save souls in
distress and VainatEya can never measure up to Emperuman's expectations of
speed. So the Lord spurs Garuda on, with His tiruvadi pressing hard into the
divine bird's sides, giving him magnificent scars, which lend him a brilliant
glow-
" tvat anghri sammardha kiNAnka sObhinA" says Sri Alavandar in Stotra Ratnam.
There are more such scars, which Sri Periazhwar would like us to bear with
pride-the Lord's holy names should constantly be on our tongue and their
incessant repetition should cause scars on it, says the Azhwar. While scars
normally result from painful injury or wound, these scars are products of a
more pleasurable exercise and are to be treasured and cherished as such.
Piratti too must be bearing a scar on her otherwise unblemished tirumEni. Her
spotless divya mangala vigraham should be bearing one blemish- that on Her
chest caused by KAkAsura, the dastardly crow who dared to peck at her with
malicious intent, when Sri Rama was resting with His head in Her lap. Unwilling
to wake the Prince of Ayodhya who is tired with walking long miles with His
delicate feet ("nadanda kAlgaL nondavO" inquires Sri Tirumazhisai Piran with
concern), Sri Janaki suffers the harassment of the cruel crow for quite some
time. However, when the crow pecks time and again drawing blood, Piratti does
wake the Lord up, who plucks a nearby blade of grass, fortifies it with the
astra mantra and sends it after the crow. It is this repeated pecking of the
crow, with its razor-sharp beak, that must have caused a scar on Piratti's
body. When the crow, pursued by the relentless astra, tries to fly away and
seek refuge in supposedly powerful quarters, they promptly turn it away with
the homily that none could save the target of Sri Raghava's ire. After having
tried in vain in all the worlds to find a saviour, the crow returns, thoroughly
fatigued and consumed by fear for its life, falls helter-skelter at the feet of
Sri Rama. This the crow does, not with any intention of surrendering itself to
the Lord, but in sheer fatigue, unable to lift a wing. The ever-merciful
Mythily turns its body such that its head lies at the Lord's feet, in an
implied gesture of Sharanagati, and the KaruNA Kukutsttha, despite the offender
deserving the gravest of retributions, lets it off with a minor rap on the
knuckles, viz., the loss of an eye. Thus it is Piratti who is ultimately
responsible for the crow being spared commensurate punishment. It is her
oft-repeated tenet that there is none in this world who hasn't sinned ("na
kaschit na aparAdhyati") and therefore lapses, however grave, should not be
held against people, every one of whom deserves to be saved. It is this
overwhelming mercy for and maternal instinct towards the sinner that must have
prevented Her from confiding even to Sri Rama about the scar She must
definitely have borne. This is perhaps why even Sri Valmiki doesn't mention
this in his otherwise exhaustive epic. Though this is pure conjecture, knowing,
as we do, Piratti's extremely compassionate nature and Her leniency towards the
gravest of offenders, it is not beyond the realm of possibility.
We have seen how devotees of the Lord, ranging from you and I who have
undergone PanchaSamskaram, all our merciful Acharyas, all the Azhwars, nitya
sUris like Sri VainatEya and even the Piratti, are adorned by scars. It is
therefore hardly surprising that the Lord too is scarred. Being a great
believer in egalitarianism, He too sports scars like His votaries. These are
the scars on His thumb and palm, resulting from frequent use of the bow,
drawstring and the arrow in numerous battles with asurAs- "jyAgiNa karkasai:
shubhai:" says Sri Alavandar, attesting to how the Lord's hands are adorned
with scars and calluses, all in the cause of protecting the good and
establishing Dharma. As Sri Parthasarathi, He also bore innumerable scars and
pockmarks on His divine face, all acquired during His assignment as ArjunA's
charioteer. Our hearts fill with anger at the PAndava's insensitivity. We
reflect- had the arrows, which caused all these scars, found their intended
target, they would have drilled Arjuna's body lifeless. On reconsideration, our
anger subsides and is replaced by unstinted admiration for the Lord, who
willingly allowed His normally beautiful countenance to be disfigured thus, in
a display of Soulabhyam and Souseelyam.
More than Arjuna, many of us are guilty of causing innumerable scars on the
Lord's psyche. Every transgression of ours creates a scar in His tiruvuLLam. He
is indeed pained to find people flagrantly violating His dicta, as laid down in
the Shruti and Smritis. Despite all the guidance He provides in person (as our
antarAtmA) and through Acharyas, we continue to distance ourselves from His
outstretched arms, preferring the poisonous pleasures of this mundane world to
the eternal ones of Paradise, which the Lord is ready to bestow on us. Every
harsh word we use against BhAgavatAs, however deserving they may be of such
language, causes an indelible scar in the Lord's heart. Every lie uttered,
every act of ingratitude, betrayal and unfaithfulness and every word of abuse
hurled at the devout-every one of these strikes His heart as a painful barb and
creates a scar. If we want to remedy this situation, the only way is to apply
the salve of Sharanagati, repenting in full measure for all our acts of
commission and omission and surrendering ourselves unreservedly at His lotus
feet. Don't we all look forward to the day when the Lord's heart is restored to
its original immaculate form, shorn of all the ugly marks we have helped create?
Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana
Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
Dasan, Sadagopan.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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