Virakti

When one completes the difficult journey up the first two steps of
Swami Desikan's 'parama-pada-sOpAnam' viz. 'vivEkam' and 'nirvEdam',
it is said one is ready to climbs onto the stairway's next
stepping-stone: 'virakthi' or 'vairAgyam'.

While 'nirvedam' is described as revulsion directed against oneself,
'virakthi/vairAgyam' is said to be an emotion of revulsion directed
outwards.

Desikan portrays exactly what even modern psychology confirms -- that
any strong or intense emotion directed inwardly towards oneself will
invariably get deflected outwards, at least some of it, against the
external world. For example, if one loves oneself, "loving thy
neighbour" becomes very easy and natural. On the other hand, an
"angry young man" who raves and rants against the world is deep down
very enraged with himself. (In the parlance of modern Behavioural
Psychology -- this phenomenon is described by experts as "projection
syndrome" which, in rudimentary terms, means that a person tends to
view the external world through the prism of his inner emotions).

Desikan's 'parama-pada-sOpAnam' describes how a 'vivEki's'
inwardly-directed emotion of 'nirvEdam' manifests in
outwardly-directed emotion called "virakthi/vairAgyam". This emotion
relates the inner state of the 'vivEki's' mind to his external
environment.

Now, "virakthi" makes the 'vivEki' gradually develop 2 mind-states:
(a) a sense of distaste for and (b) a bit of distance from all things
worldly. It helps to start a process of slow transformation within
him. It turns him from being an 'active player' in the world into an
increasingly 'disengaged spectator' of the world. The world with
which he had hitherto been so enchanted and enamoured suddenly begins
to appear to him in an altogether different and not-so-attractive
light. In fact, disdain for the mundane begin to quickly build up
within him. The riches and pleasures of the world may be his for the
mere asking, or the taking, but somehow and, for reasons not fully
fathomed, they do not hold the allure they previously held before
the emotion of "virakthi/vairAgyam" gripped him.

We might recall that before Buddha became "the Buddha", he was
actually Prince Siddhartha who suddenly one day came to be afflicted
with a great and overpowering sense of "virakthi-vairAgyam".

Similarly, we also get a very good picture of the depth of the
'virakthi' emotion when we read the following Tamil 'pAsuram' of
Tondaradi-podi AzhwAr in his "tirumAlai":

"vEdanoor pirAyUm nooru manisarthAm puguvarElUm;
pAthiyUm urangipOgum; ninradhir padhinaiyANdu;
pEthai bAlagan adhu AgUm; piNi pasi mUpputh thunbam;
AdhalAl, piravi vEndEn arangamA nagaruLAnE !"

(tirumAlai - 3)

If I were granted a lifetime of 100 years, the AzhwAr says, I do not
look forward to it since I know half of it will be wasted in sleep,
the other half frittered away in youth. The rest will all be lost in
old age and disease. If I have no time in this world in which to
attain you, O Ranga, I despise it. I have no use for it.

Swami Desikan himself, as we all know from his famous poem titled
'vairAgya-panchakam', was the greatest example of this emotion of
'virakthi/vairAgyam'. When invited by his friend Vidyaranya to serve
the royal court of the Vijayanagar Empire as poet-laureate -- a
plum-post which would have secured for Swami Desikan a comfortable
livelihood for the rest of his career and post-retirement benefits
too -- Desikan rejected it without hesitation. The idea of serving a
King, which many might have regarded as a rare opportunity of
honour and privilege, seemed to Desikan utterly distasteful.

In short, "virakthi/vairAgyam" is a state of mind wherein a man's
pre-occupation with matters spiritual begin to overtake, and
eventually exclude, matters mundane.

******** ********** *********

The late "ubhaya-vEdAnta" exponent, SrimAn Mukkur Lakshmi-
narasimhachariar used to recount in many of his public discourses a
humorous anecdote illustrating this emotion of 'virakthi/vairAgyam'.
The incident, he reported, was narrated to him by the 44th Jeeyar,
Srimad Azhagiyasingar, in great style.

In his 'pUrvAshramam' (pre-'sanyasa' period), the Azhagiyasingar was
known as Swami Rajagopalachariar, a short-term resident of
Mannargudi. As a resident there, he used to frequent the great
Rajagopalaswamy 'sannidhi' (shrine) there.

It was 'gokulashtami' one day when Swami was returning from a visit
to the temple. Just as he was about to step out of the temple, Swami
was accosted by an aged friend of his. This friend was known to Swami
for many years.

This friend who had his 'mEl-vastram'(upper-cloth) tied into a bundle
suddenly untied it on seeing our Swami.

"Hello, Rajagopala," the elderly friend said, untying his little
bundle, "Hello, Rajagopala, how are you? Did you have a good
'darshan' of the Lord ?". "Yes, sir, and what about you? Did
'krishna-jayanthi' celebrations go off well in your house?", enquired
our Swami.

"Oh, yes, very well,indeed, Rajagopal. And here, I have some
'jayanthi bakshaNam' (sweets) from home for you! Please accept
these." So saying, the old friend offered Rajagopala Swami some
home-made sweets and
delicacies like 'mysore-pAk' etc. Our Swami accepted them all with
touching kindness.

Next the old friend offered Swami a very special snack called in
Tamil, "cheedai". This is a famous delicacy without which no
"krishna-jayanthi" is consummated in Tamil homes. It is made of
"gram-paste", rolled into small balls the size of playing-marbles and
deep-fried in oil to a magnificent golden hue. After it is well-done,
"cheedai" serves as everyone's favourite snack because, being cute
and ball-like in appearance, they look truly lovable; and also
because they are good and crunchy-hard to bite into. Believe me, one
gets a strange, pleasurable experience when one lobs a "cheedai"-ball
into one's mouth and proceeds to gnash it with gusto, producing
through one's jaws peculiar grating sounds ("kaRRu-muRRu", in Tamil
!) which itself are a sort of rare music to the ears!

All in all, eating "cheedai"-balls is a delectable gourmet experience
which only "cheedai"-eaters can truly appreciate.

Anyway, to return to our tale of the 44th Azhagiyasingar, the old
friend of his in the Mannargudi temple, seems to have offered our
Swami a lot of 'cheedai' and asked him to enjoy it. Swami began
munching and enjoyed it too.

In a moment, seeing his old friend not partaking of his own delight,
Rajagopala Swami offered some 'cheedai' back to the older one,
saying, "Sir, why don't you enjoy some "cheedai" yourself with me?".
The old one remonstrated, "No, no, Rajagopala, don't force me. You
know I am indeed extremely fond of 'cheedai'; I used to love them.
But these days I shun them."

"And pray tell me Why, Sir?", said our Swami, the Azhagiyasingar of
'pUrvAshramam'.

"Well, you could say, Rajagopala, I am practising a kind of
"virakthi" or 'vairAgyam" replied the old friend.

"Oh, I see, and what is the cause for such severe 'virakthi', Sir,"
queried Swami politely.

The old friend replied sadly, "Rajagopla, you know, in the old days I
would have gobbled up all the "cheedai" in the world to my hearts
content. But alas today, as you can see, I have lost every single one
of my molar-teeth. So I'm unable these days to enjoy this delicacy on
'krishna-jayanthi' day."

The 44th Azhagiyasingar, it seems, that day learnt a very important
lesson on true "virakthi/vairAgyam"! Sri.Mukkur
Lakshminarasimhachariar related it as follows:

"When we practice 'virakthi' as Swami Desikan describes it in the
'paramapada-sOpAnam', and deny ourselves enjoyment of things mundane,
we should ask ourselves first whether the self-denial is genuine. Do
we shun it because (A) we feel genuine revulsion for it, or whether
(B) because we do not have the necessary means or capacity to
indulge in its pleasurable enjoyment (a sort of "sour grapes")?

"If we practice 'virakthi' in the former way (A), we can be said to
be
following Swami Desikan's personal example of "virAkthi" in the
'vairAgya-panchakam'. If we practice 'virakthi' in the latter way
(B), then, we can be said to be following the example of the
44th-Azhagiyasingar's old friend of Mannnargudi -- who had given up
eating 'cheedai' only because, in his advanced years, he had lost the
dental means to enjoy it!"

"If you follow Swami Desikan's example of 'virakthi/vairAgyam' you
will immediately proceed to the next higher step on the "paramapada-
sOpAnam'. If you follow the 'vairAgyam' of the old gentleman of the
Mannargudi temple, it will mean surely that you have failed to climb
the first "pariankai" (step) of "vivEkam" even