Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
The Lord Remembers Not
We saw how the Lord has a prodigious memory for our good deeds, "KritagyatA'
being one of His principal attributes. However, this, by itself, is not enough.
If the Lord were to be an extremely fair person, guided solely by the rulebook,
meting out rewards for the merits we accumulate and commensurate retribution
for our transgressions, we would be nowhere. Many of us commit lapses,
knowingly and otherwise, all through our lifetime, and in life after endless
life. If the Lord were to cumulate all the sins we commit and insist on
exemplary punishment, we would forever be wallowing in the mundane morass. As
Swami Desikan remarks, if the Lord is the repository of all auspicious
attributes, we too are no less in stature- we are Titans in Transgression
("aparAdha ChakravartthI"). This being so, we are able to commit in a trice
grave and innumerable sins, which would take the Lord years to process and
pardon.
Thus, given our predilection for PApam, the Lord can never lay down His
instruments of reprisal, if He were to act as an Avenging Angel. It would
however be an impossible task, even for the omnipotent Lord, to keep count of
and mete out just punishment for each and every one of our misdeeds. Perhaps it
is this factor, which forces Him to adopt a forgiving attitude.
Recalling Sri Rama's goodness, Sri Valmiki remarks that even if a person were
to do Him a hundred bad turns, the Prince of Ayodhya never remembered them.
There are those who tolerate insults and refrain from punitive reprisals, but
even they would definitely harbour some misgiving or other against the
offender. Sri Raghava was not only unmoved by offences against Himself, however
grave and numerous they were, but also promptly forgot about them, says Sri
Valmiki-
"na smarati apakArANAm satamapi AtmavattayA".
When we analyse the true purport of the term "Atmavatthaya"(which is ascribed
as the reason for the Lord readily forgetting all our wrongdoings), we arrive
at the conclusion that it refers to the beneficial presence of Piratti. "ardhO
vA Esha Atmana: Yat patnI" says the Shruti, giving the Better Half a
significant stature in the scheme of things, and Emperuman appears to be no
exception to the Universal Law. Thus, even though the Lord might, by nature, be
inclined to be just and expect us to reap the fruits of our misdeeds, His
justice is liberally tempered with Mercy, due to the constant presence of His
Consort.
According to the Maharshi, Sri Rama took cognizance of transgressions, but
never remembered them. Swami Desikan, going a step further, avers that the Lord
never even recognizes the offences as such, turning a blind eye to them-"Bhakta
dOshEshu adarsanam". Lest anyone misconstrue this to be the result of the
Lord's own loving nature, Swami Desikan hastens to add that it is due to the
seductive glances of Sri NeeLA. dEvi that the Lord is prevented from casting
even a cursory glance at the offences of His devotees-
"nisAmayatu mAm NeelA yat bhOga patalai: dhruvam
BhAvitam SrinivAsasya bhakta dOshEshu adarsanam"
That the Lord falls heavily for the charms of His Consorts is borne out by Sri
Nammazhwar's sreesookti,
"alli malar magaL bhOga mayakkugal Agiyum nirkum ammAn"
Thus Sridevi, Bhoodevi and Neeladevi keep the Lord entangled in their romantic
web, such that He is able to neither take cognizance of our misdeeds nor award
appropriate punishment.
"Isvaranai azhagAlE tirutthum" says Sri Pillai Lokacharya, confirming that the
Divine Consorts use their boundless beauty as a tool of blackmail, to ensure
that the Lord never lifts a punitive finger against any devotee for his
misdemeanours. Sri Manavala Mamuni's beautiful lines of elaboration in this
regard are as follows:
"Unakku paNi andrO idu, endru upadEsatthai udari taLLinavArE, kaNNai
purattudal, kacchayai negizhtthudal seydu, tan azhagAlE avanai picchEttri, tAn
sonnapadi seidu alladu nirka mAttAdapadi paNNi angeekAra unmukhan Akkugai"
Piratti tells the Lord that there is none in the world who doesn't commit
mistakes and that as the Divine Father, it is the Lord's duty to forgive and
forget, irrespective of the graveness of the offence. If the Lord is not
inclined to listen, either due to the offence being deadly serious or because
the offender is a habitual one, Piratti throws Him a glance filled with love,
and exercising all Her feminine guile, makes Him so enamoured with Her that He
is ready to do Her bidding in the matter of absolution for the sinner.
We now know where our better halves inherit their persuasive skills from,
especially when they are intent on committing us to a course of action which we
would never even contemplate adopting. Ladies' powers of persuasion are such
that their male counterparts, who usually start with a firm "No!" to the
proposal, tone it down to "You know that this is not possible at this juncture"
five minutes later, and further to "let me see. I am not committing myself.".
After another ten minutes of listening, the man usually surrenders honourably,
with "Oh well! Have it your own way." Even the most resolute of men has no
reply to the ultimate weapon in women's armoury, viz, tears. If men are
pig-headed enough not to listen to the feminine voice of reason, then tears
come into the arena, usually enforcing a meek surrender. The Lord too is no
exception to this Universal Law, and ends up doing what the Lady of the house
desires. After all, He, like most of us, simply carries out His Lady's
wishes-"tad ingita parAdhIna:" says Sri Koorattazhwan. And when it is His
Consort's desire that devotees' misdeeds should not be taken cognizance of, the
Lord says "TathAstu" and turns a blind eye to them.
There are thus several reasons for the Lord's short memory, as for as His
bhaktAs' offences are concerned.
1. By nature, the Lord Himself is infinitely merciful. He is a "KaruNA
varuNAlayam", a veritable ocean of Mercy, and a "KaruNA Kakutstttha:". This
makes Him a lenient father tolerantly forgiving the lapses of his beloved
children. If someone were to carry tales to Him about us, He would just turn a
deaf ear, even in the impossible event of Piratti being the
complainant-"TamarayAL Agilum chidagu uraikkumEl, en adiyAr adu seyyAr,
seidAlum nandrE seidAr enbar pOlum"
2. Emperuman has the ever-merciful Mahalakshmi as His constant companion. Being
the Universal Mother, this Lady knows not what anger or punishment is-"nityam
agyAta nigrahAm". She is just incapable of being offended by anything we do,
and would do all that is in Her immense power to ensure that we come to no
grief, interceding with Her spouse on our behalf whenever necessary. "na
kaschit na aparAdhyati" is Her oft-repeated averment, reminding the Lord that
He would find none except sinners in this world, however hard He might search,
and hence He should take a tolerant view of His bhaktAs' misdemeanours.
3. Sri Bhoodevi, the Lord's other Consort, is the personification of
tolerance-"Sarvam SahA". Searching for an apt simile for the Lord's "porumai",
Sri Valmiki ends up comparing Him with His own Consort, unable to find a better
repository of this virtue-"KshamayA PrithivI sama:". Every day, She forgives us
our innumerable transgressions, but for which our burden of misdeeds would
become unbearably heavy.
4. Sri NilA Devi is known for the exercise of Her feminine charms on the Lord,
to ensure that He forgives and forgets, and, better still, doesn't look our way
at all when we commit lapses-"bhAvitam SrinivAsasya bhakta dOshEshu adarsanam".
5. DayA Devi is another inseparable companion of the Lord, keeping in strict
check His other attributes like GnAnam, Shakti, Balam etc., which apprise Him
of our offenses and recommend just retribution. The magnificence of this
Consort of the Lord should be evident from the fact that Swami Desikan, who
devoted mere thirty-odd slokas to Sridevi, Bhoodevi and Kodai Nachiar, composed
108 brilliantly beautiful verses in praise of Daya Devi.
6. If all else should fail, there are our merciful Acharyas, who are of our own
ilk and hence in a better position to appreciate our frailties and compulsions.
They strongly intercede with the Lord on our behalf and spare us from what
would be one continuing saga of punishment.
With all the aforesaid entities pleading to the Lord on our behalf, is it any
wonder that the Lord Remembers Not?
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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