The Improbable Lie

Hearing some unusual sounds in her kitchen, she rushed inside.

“Hey, who are you?”

“Balaanujaa !” (The younger brother of Balarama)

The gopi smiled, realizing that it was a poor attempt to redeem himself in her eyes. For, Balarama was known to be the ‘good’ child of Nanda quite in contrast to this mischievous one!

“Why are you in my house?”

The lotus-like eyes grew wider, and those dark unruly curls danced as he glanced around, as if confused.

“It looked just like my house, so I entered!”

The gopi just about managed to not roll her eyes in disbelief.

“Ok, accepted, but please tell me, why is your hand in my butter pot?”

He threw the gopi a calculating look and loudly declared,

“Actually, one little calf is missing from the herd I took grazing today. So, I’m searching if he’s there inside this pot!”

The gopi struggled to suppress her mirth at the utter improbability of this scenario. 

Putting on an innocent face, she said, sotto voce,

“Well, did you find your calf in my butter pot?”

He blessed her with His famed mesmerizing smile.

The poor gopi melted faster than the butter in her pot!

And before she could recover from the effect of that bewitching smile, He had run away, shouting out with a backward glance, “No, my calf isn’t here! I was just waiting for you to come, so that I could tell you so. Now that I’ve done that, I’m going, ok, bye!”

As we read and bask in the glory of this leela described by Bilvamangala Thakur in his writing (called, I think, Krishna Karanaamrutham), may the playful butter-thief of Gokula steal from us all that stands in the way of us reaching His lotus feet!

Happy Krishna Jayanti!

The Swami Seeks Upadesam!

“Vadugaaa…., Vadugaaa….come here! Where are you?”

Swami Ramanujacharya was calling out to his dear shishya, Vaduga Nambi, to annoint him with the ‘thirumann’. (The Urdhva Pundra that a Srivaishnava adorns on his forehead)

Every day, after he had finished annointing himself with the 12 urdhva pundraas, Swami would do the honours for Vaduga.

The next moment, Vaduga rushed in breathlessly, as if he had been running, sat down, and let the Acharyar decorate him.

“Come, come, it’s time to take darshan of the Lord,” said Acharyar, and hurried into the precinct of the temple at Thirukurungudi, with Vaduga and other disciples following him.

The group reached the temple dhwajastambham, and again the Acharyar called out, “Vaduga!” to give some instruction.

But Vaduga had disappeared!

All the disciples looked around, but Vaduga was not to be found.

The group continued into the shrine to worship the Lord.

And what a glorious sight met their eyes!

The Lord of Thirukurungudi stood majestically in the sanctum sanctorum.

But what drew everyone’s attention was the still wet ‘thirumann’, glistening on His forehead, looking exactly like that which Acharyar had annointed on Vaduga Nambi’s forehead!

Can you guess what had happened?

Vaduga Nambi had been held up at the previous place the Acharyar’s group had visited.

So eager was the Lord to serve Ramanujaacharya, that He had Himself taken the place of Vaduga! The Swami had become the Dasa! The Owner had become the Servant!

Acharyar realized what had happened, and sought forgiveness of the Lord for his error. 

Image: https://guruparamparai.wordpress.com/2013/04/01/vaduga-nambi/ 

Worship completed, he turned to leave the sanctum sanctorum, when a voice boomed:

“I want you to initiate me into the Srivaishnava fold!”

Although flabbergasted at this request, Acharyar never lost his cool.

“Really? Then give me the sthaanam of the higher position as befits an Acharyar, and You take the lower position as befits a shishyan, only then will I do upadesam to You!”

The very next moment, there was a pedestal for the Acharyar to sit, and the Lord bent down, put His ears close to the Acharyar’s mouth, and obtained mantropadesam from him!

And it is in this very position that one can have darshan of “Vaishnava Nambi” even today at the Ramanujar Sannidhi at the place called Tiruparivattai Parai about one kilometre away from the main shrine of the temple in Thirukurungudi.

Following this ‘initiation,’ the Lord had a question for the Acharyar.

“I incarnated as Krishna, and imparted all knowledge of the shaastraas through the Bhagavad Geeta, and yet, there are very few who follow My instructions. Yet, you, O Ramanujacharya, have succeeded in drawing the entire society towards a spiritual life. What is the secret of your success?”

With all humility, the Swami smiled and explained.

“You see, people feel affronted when someone thumps his own chest and says, ‘I am the Lord, and you must follow Me.’ But, when I preach, I point towards You, and say, ‘Follow Him because He is the Lord!’ and that is palatable to them!”

Ramanujachaarya is often addressed with honour as Jagadaachaarya. Now we know why. 

Because He was Acharyar to not just people in this world, but to Jagannaathan Himself!

 

 

 

 

The Second Binding

The decision had been made.

Krishna would go as a messenger to the Kaurava court, to seek justice for the Pandavas who had completed the terms of the fateful wager.

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“Strive for peace, Krishna,” instructed Yudhisthira, “But if they do not relent, convey our intention to fight for our right!”

(Yudhisthira talking about rights is not just a petty sense of entitlement in a family feud. It comes from a deeper understanding of the true duty of a kshatriya, which is, to rule, in keeping with the principles of rajadharma.)

Krishna asked the other Pandavas for their opinion.

Bheema agreed with Yudhisthira. So did Arjuna and Nakula.

Only Sahadeva was silent, and looked at Krishna with undisguised amusement.

“Well, Sahadeva, what do you have to say?” asked Krishna.

“Whether WE want the war or not, dear Krishna, I’m sure that YOU certainly want it!”

A glint of mischief appeared in Krishna’s eyes.

“I don’t understand you, Sahadeva!”

“Why, it’s very simple, Krishna! If YOU want, You can certainly avoid this conflict. But I’m pretty sure that it is war that You want!”

“How do you think I can avert this war, Sahadeva?”

“Well, we could break Bheema’s gada, and destroy Arjuna’s Gandiva; and tonsure Draupadi’s head, and automatically, there would be no war. But You know what would be an even easier way to stop the war, Krishna? Capturing You and keeping You imprisoned so that You DO NOT go as our doota to the Kaurava court!”

Krishna gazed with appreciation on the youngest, and probably, the wisest Pandava.

But laughing, He said, “Certainly, Sahadeva, you can do the first three things, but not the last! Capture Me? Impossible!”

“I beg to differ, Krishna!”

“Really? Ok, challenge accepted! Come on, Sahadeva, bind Me right now!”

Sahadeva sat down and closed his eyes in meditation. In his mind’s eye, he visualized Krishna as a small baby, and prayed to Him.

“Allow me to bind You, O Damodara!”

(Remember how Krishna got the name Damodara?)

The next moment, Sahadeva had snatched a flower garland and playfully bound the hands of the Lord!

No matter what Krishna did, He could not free Himself!

“Please, Sahadeva, remove this shackle from my arms!” pleaded the Lord of the Universe.

Sahadeva had managed to bind the Boundless One!

What was the rope Sahadeva had used? His jnaana of the Lord's true nature! He had achieved the unachievable, just like Mother Yashoda, by using the rope of love!

Having proved his point, Sahadeva then proceeded to ‘free’ Krishna.

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This episode appears in the Tamil version of the Mahabharata titled Villi Bharatam, composed by Villiputhurar in the 14th centure CE.

It drives home a significant lesson for the bhakta – you cannot bind Krishna except by His will. And you cannot bind Him except by your love.

The Lord then went as “Pandavadoota” and the result – as Sahadeva had rightly predicted – was the success of His mission of “paritraanaaya saadhunaam, vinaashaaya cha dushkrutaam and dharma samsthaapanaa.”

The Temple Game

A group of young boys was playing on the hot streets of Srirangam.

“I’m tired of all the old games, let’s play something different today!”

“I know, let’s play Temple-Temple!”

“What’s that?”

“Let’s imitate all the actions we have seen our parents and elders do during the daily pooja to Lord Ranganatha!”

“Yes! Yes! Let’s do that!”

And so it came to be, that a group of little boys in the street around the Srirangam temple, began their make-believe game of worshipping the Lord.

What resources did they have in hand? None, except for their imagination.

One boy who was good at drawing etched out the form of the great Lord in the sand on the street. 

Another child officiated as the priest. He recited the mantras offering worship; he waved his hands around as if performing an arathi. 

A third kid made lumps of the sand to offer as prasadam.

The priest-child offered the sand-prasadam to the sand-Lord. Then, as is customary in the temple, he called out, “Jeeyo!” which was the call for Swami Ramanujacharya to come forward and accept the prasadam that had been offered to the Lord.

Purely by chance, at that very moment, Swami Ramanuja was passing that way. Hearing the familiar call, he rushed to the spot.

He noticed the ‘game’ the kids were playing and yet, heedless of the hot sand of the streets, the Swami rushed to prostrate to Lord Ranganatha’s form they had drawn.

Then he rose, and eagerly stretched out his hand to the priest-child in acceptance of the sand-prasadam.

Holding it with utmost reverence in his hand, he popped a pinch of the prasadam into his mouth, and gently moved away.

Swami Ramanujacharya’s disciples were aghast!

“You have soiled yourself, Swami! After all, it was just a game! Why did you have to prostrate on the street and accept that sand?” they cried out.

Calmly came the Swami’s reply, “To you, it was just a game. To you, it was just a drawing of the Lord in the sand. To you, it was just grains of sand as prasadam. But to the boys, it was real. They believed the Lord was there, and what they distributed was truly His prasadam. And where there is belief, the Lord IS definitely there! I did what I’m bound to do – I offered my obeisance to Him!”

Yet again, Swami Ramanujacharya proved how he is an icon of equality. His respect extended to all devotees – irrespective of not just gender, class and caste, but also age.

In this particular case, Swami was only explaining that which the compassionate Lord Srimannarayana has demonstrated innumerable times. 

Think Gajendra, think Prahlada, think Draupadi, why, even for the fallen-from-aachara Ajamila who only called out his son’s name as Narayana – the Lord has always rushed to the rescue of the devotee who remembers Him and calls out His name!

Do we remember this compassionate Lord during our ritualistic worship of Him?

Or do we only go through the actions mechanically? 

Do we remember Him in gratitude for all the things that go right for us throughout the day? 

Or do we only crib that He has forsaken us when we go through difficult times? 

Let us introspect, and learn to imbibe the spirit of devotion of Swami Ramanujacharya!

Let us call out to the Lord not merely in times of trouble, but also in joy, just as the young boys playing the Temple game!

The Audacious Boatman

“Hey, Kevat, get ready with your boat. You must ferry my dear friend, his wife, and his brother across the Ganga,” called out the tribal king Guha.

The boatman Kevat waited quietly until the passengers were close to the boat. Then, in a loud voice, looking straight at Rama, he shouted:

“Stop! I will not let you enter the boat unless you agree to my condition!”

“What do you want?” came the calm query.

“I will let you to step into the boat only after I’ve washed your feet and completely removed all the dust sticking to them!”

“Why this strange condition?”

“Well, I’ve heard weird stories about you, and now, I’m worried for my well-being. They say that when the dust of your feet fell on a stone, that stone turned into a woman called Ahalya! How do I know that the same dust will not turn my boat into another woman? I can’t take this risk, I’m a poor man and already finding it difficult to make ends meet – I don’t have the means to provide for another mouth!”

Lakshmana frowned in anger, ready to take on the boatman, but Rama and Sita only looked at each other and smiled knowingly at Kevat.

“OK, have it your way,” agreed Rama before Lakshmana could object.

Kevat brought water from the Ganga and washed those holy feet with loving care, quite in contrast to the harshness of his words.

Condition fulfilled, his passengers made their way into the boat.

Excitedly, Kevat called out to his wife and children, and all other people standing around.

“Hurry up, what are you waiting for? Here, sprinkle this holy water on your heads and be blessed forever!”

The boat set off across the Ganga, and soon, Kevat brought his passengers to their destination. Rama had nothing to give him as payment for the trip, and glanced at Sita. Understanding her lord’s predicament, she pulled the gold ring off her finger and handed it to him.

With a sweet smile, Rama held out the ring to Kevat.

“Thank you for ferrying us across the river. Here, take this as payment for your service.”

Kevat stood with his arms across his chest, refusing to accept the gift. When Rama insisted, he said:

“I cannot accept payment from someone who belongs to my profession!”

Outraged, Lakshmana burst out before Rama could intervene.

“How dare you! I tolerated your nonsense before, but now you’re going too far. You, a mere boatman, how do you have the audacity to pull my brother, the Chakravarti Ramachandra, to your petty level! I’ll take care of you!”

Restraining Lakshmana, Rama smiled at Kevat.

“What are you trying to say, my dear man? How can you say we belong to the same profession?”

“My Lord, I am an ordinary boatman, taking passengers merely across the Ganga. But aren’t You that extraordinary boatman who ferries souls across the bhavasaagara, the ocean of this samsaara? ”

An insignificant boatman had understood the secret that far more sophisticated people fail to recognize!

In the Mukunda Mala stotra, Kulashekhara Azhwar sings:

भव जलधि गतानां द्वन्द्व वात आहतानां
सुत दुहितृ कलत्र त्राण भार अर्दितानाम् |
विषं विशय तोये मज्जताम् अप्लवानां
भवतु शरणम् एको विष्णुपोतो नराणाम् ॥ ११ ॥

bhava-jaladhi-gatānāṁ dvandva-vātāhatānāṁ
suta-duhitṛ-kalatra-trāṇa-bhārārditānām
viṣama-viṣaya-toye majjatām aplavānāṁ
bhavati śaraṇam eko viṣṇu-poto narāṇām

Travelling in this sea of birth and death,

Being tossed hither and thither ,

By the cyclone of love and hate,

Carrying the heavy care,

Of son , daughter and wife ,

And being drowned ,

In this troublesome sea of attachments,

The only boat to save us is our Lord Vishnu

Let us pray that Shri Rama bless us with the simple yet deep faith of Kevat!

 

The One who Tasted the Lord!

A young boy ran into the Srirangam temple, yelling from afar to catch the Bhattar’s attention.

“Swamin, come fast, everyone is waiting for you at the Aryabhatta Gate!”

“What happened? Why the hurry?”

“Some people have come from Tirupati, carrying an utsava murthy looking just like ours! And they’re calling him AzhagiyamanavAzhan and claiming that He is the Lord of Srirangam!”

Bhattar and the boy rushed to the site of the pandemonium. A clash of words had broken out between the visitors – the Kodavar family of Tirupati, and the residents of Srirangam.

“We have our utsava murthy, our ThiruarangumAzhagiAr here already. Who is this Lord whom you bring?” thundered the Srirangam side.

“Sixty years ago, the Srivaishnavas from Srirangam were fleeing from the Mughal invaders. At the risk of their lives, they brought AzhagiyamanavAzhan to us, and all these years, we protected Him. Now that the danger of the invaders has passed, we wish Him to be installed in His rightful home!” came the firm reply from the Kodavar family members.

Everyone looked to Bhattar for the solution, but he was equally clueless. The issue was taken to the king.

“Look all over the kingdom! Find anyone who was living in those days during the Mughal invasion!” ordered the king. “Let us see if we can ascertain the truth of this claim.”

News spread of this strange turn of events.

An old washerman of the Srirangam temple tottered towards Bhattar.

“I was a young boy during the Mughal invasion. I can help you find out which is the original utsava murthy.”

“You! But you are blind! You can’t even see the form of the Lord!”

The old washerman explained his plan. Preparations were made at once. 

Thirumanjanam (ritualistic bath of the Lord) was performed to both the utsava murthys. 

The devotees waited with bated breath. 

Water was wrung out of the clothes of the two utsavar murthys. 

Bhattar offered this thirumanjana teertham of the newly arrived murthy AzhagiyamanavAzhan to the blind old washerman.

No sooner did he swallow it, then the old man sang out in ecstasy.

“NamPerumal! This is our Perumal!" 

"Are you sure?" asked a few doubting voices.

"Yes, I'm sure! All those years ago, before the Mughal invasion, everyday, my father  used to give me the tirumanjana theertham of the Lord. Today, I recognize that same old taste in the teertham of this murthy!" cried the blind old washerman.

After sixty long years, the Lord’s original utsava murthy had finally returned home.

And that is why till today inside the sannidhi, we have the rare sight of two utsava murthys being worshipped.

Image and information: https://kshetrapuranas.wordpress.com/2009/03/07/the-saga-of-thulukka-naachiyaar-sri-rangam/

How great is the glory of this old washerman's devotion that he could not see the Lord, but he could taste Him!

In honour of his invaluable service, the washerman was given the name “Eeram Kolli” – which means “the one who recognized wetness”.

This incident brings to light how devotion can make even a blind man “see”.

But equally, important, it opens our eyes to the enormous efforts our ancestors took and the sacrifices they made to protect our Sanatana Dharma.

The least we can offer in homage is to lead our lives according to the teachings of that Sanatana Dharma.

How the Banana Leaf Got its Form

The battle of Lanka had ended.

Ravana had been killed.

Vibheeshana had been installed on the throne of Lanka.

He had requested Rama to stay in Lanka for some time, but his offer had been politely declined.

The Lord was in a hurry to return home, because the 14 years of vanavaasa were getting over the next day, and the desperate Bharata was waiting anxiously for the return of his dear brother.

Bharata had even taken a vow that if Rama did not return on the promised day, he would jump into the fire and give up his very life!

Now Rama and Seeta along with Sugreeva, Hanuman, Vibheeshana, and hundreds of vanaras were in the Pushpaka Vimana, hurrying to Nandigrama.

Why Nandigrama? Why not Ayodhya?

Because Nandigrama is where the devout Bharata had installed the Rama padukas in whose name he was supervising the kingdom’s administration.

Image: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Alone%2C_Bharat_worships_the_sandals.jpg

As the Pushpaka Vimana passed by the ashrama of Rishi Bharadwaja, the revered sage invited Rama to visit. Every moment was precious because dear Bharata was waiting, but how to refuse the hospitality of the great seer?

Rama found a way out.

He accepted the rishi’s invitation, but sent Hanuman to Nandigrama, to console Bharata with the news of their imminent arrival, and to explain the reason for the slight delay.

Yet again, Hanuman played messenger. Task completed, he returned to the sage’s ashrama.

Everyone had sat down to lunch, but there was no place for Hanuman, so he was told to please wait, and eat with the next batch.

Would Rama be able to bear this situation? No way!

He beckoned Hanuman to come and sit opposite Him. Using His nail, the Lord of Vaikuntha drew a line along the middle of the banana leaf, inviting His dear devotee to share His meal in the same leaf! That nail which had once destroyed the evil Hiranyakashipu to protect one devotee Prahlada, now became an instrument to create yet another example of the Lord’s affection for this devotee, Anjaneya!

Image: https://devamrutam.blogspot.com/2021/04/rama-shares-his-food-with-hanuman.html

Until then, it is said, the banana leaf was one big leaf without any partition. Thanks to the line drawn by Lord Rama for Hanuman, we now have the typical pattern of the banana leaf with a prominent midrib separating a single leaf into two distinct parts.

This event is described by Tirumangai Azhwar in his composition, the Periya Tirumozhi as he prays to Lord Ranganatha, begging Him to shower this same grace on him!

The Lord of the entire Universe, performed the action of “Sahabhojanam” – sharing His meal – with a mere vanara! How great is His love for His bhaktas! Can we ever manage to sufficiently praise this quality of the Lord – the gunam of “soulabhyam” – the quality of being easily accessible to one and all!

He stayed in a tent for decades, content with the home given to Him, blessing all of us, nonetheless. Today as He is housed in a grand structure and accorded all the respects and glory due to Him, He continues to smile and bestow that same benevolent gaze and grace on all of us.

Image: https://static.toiimg.com/thumb/imgsize-23456,msid-107123172,width-600,resizemode-4/107123172.jpg

Jai Shree Ram! Jai Siya Ram!