World Cup of Life...

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(The following was posted by a member in Bhakti List ):

 

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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

Clean Bowled!

 

The World Cup fever has gripped everybody and all we hear at home

these days are about the venues of matches between different countries, India's

own (usually) dismal performance, hot debates about the batting styles of

Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly, the disappointing disqualification of

Shane Warne, disputes about the authorities' decisions about "Man of the Match"

awards, etc. If somebody doesn't know cricket or takes no interest in the

proceedings, he is treated with the contempt and pity he deserves. Old and

young, the active and the infirm, well read and the unlettered, man and

woman-everyone's thoughts are focussed on cricket. Even the ears of the babe in

arms pick up at the cry of "Six!". The home resounds with the cacophony of the

commentary, the frenzied voices of the onlookers raised in excitement and that

of the Grandma pleading to somebody to raise the sound output of the

television. Even the mistress of the house, nearing fifty, stops by amidst her

domestic chores, with a derisive comment or two about the bowling or fielding.

The vegetable vendor on the street rings the doorbell to inquire about the

score. The names of the players are more on everyone's lips than those of the

Lord. Where usually people used to perform archanAs to the Lord in temples for

specific requirements such as a pass in the exams, now they have started

seeking improvement in the fortunes of individual players or whole teams.

ArchakAs are no longer surprised to receive requests for performance of

archanAs in the names of Mohammed Kaif or Harbhajan Singh, though they

tactfully omit asking for the relevant GOthra or nakshatra. Gone are the days

when matinee idols used to rule the billboards as well as the minds of young

women, which are now filled with the dashing images of the new Centurions.

Marriage dates are fixed so that they don't clash with crucial one-day matches.

On this, there is a rare unanimity among the bride's side, the Groom's and that

of the officiating priest. Not only are they personally interested in watching

the match, but are also sure that most of the invitees wouldn't turn up if the

wedding were to clash with cricket. Even Cabinet meetings are postponed, if

there is the slightest possibility of their falling on the same day as a

popular match. After all, politicians only reflect the will of the people. The

English, who used to colonize the world a century ago using their firepower,

are doing it now with the game of Cricket, which after all originated in

England. If their tall claim was that the Sun never set in the British Empire,

it is now replaced by the averment that the Sun never sets on the Cricket

Ground, what with the game being played in some part of the world or the other

throughout the day and all the time. The pity, however, is that the originating

country has now lost its monopoly over and even primacy in the game and has

been reduced to an "also-ran" team. Thus the only entities appearing unaffected

by Cricket fever are the Sun and the Moon, who rise and set as per their usual

schedule, whether or not there is a fixture. Even here, one does have sneaking

doubts- one feels that on occasion, the Sun deliberately hides behind rain

clouds and induces a downpour too, to favour the team of his choice.

 

When we reflect on it, we feel that the popularity of Cricket is perhaps due

to its marked resemblance to life itself. For, as everyone recognises, Life is

itself a game, as absorbing, enthralling and unpredictable as Cricket. For the

most part, people play a game all the time to outwit their counterparts in

business or profession. They play games feigning love and affection in their

personal relationships and more games with the Government in the matter of

paying taxes. Politicians play the confidence game on the unsuspecting public

and more games on one another, games of Grab-the-Chair and the toppling game.

And all of us play a confidence trick on the Lord, inducing Him to believe in

the sincerity of our devotion and grant us all that we need. And the Lord too

plays an unending game of Hide and Seek with us. Thus the "Games People Play"

are varied.

 

Coming back to Cricket, there are several similarities between this game and

Life. Every innings represents a lifetime. Just as every batsman is given the

opportunity to amass as many runs as he can, everybody in life if free to make

the best of its opportunities and exploit it to the hilt. While some hit

centuries, some get out cheaply, as in life too, some make good while some just

languish economically, socially, spiritually and otherwise.

 

Just as there are eleven people of the opposing team trying to get the batsman

out, in life too, our five faculties (pancha indriyAs), apart from the six

sworn enemies, viz., KAma, KrOdha, MOha, lObha,Mata and MAtsarya are constantly

trying their best to get us down and out. One has to constantly dodge these

rivals and keep them under strict surveillance, in the manner of a batsman who

keeps close track of field placements, and hits balls to unmanned locations, if

we are to emerge victorious in the game of life.

 

Just as a bowler has a variety of balls in his armoury, life too hurls at us a

fast ball first, a slower one next, an inswinger later, to be followed by an

outswinger. You never know what the next ball has in store for you, so

unpredictable is life's bowling. Sometimes things you are sure of turn out to

be diametrically opposite, just like a Googly.

 

It is the batsman who faces the hostile bowling while the runner at the other

end does little except to watch the former's performance and providing running

support. The Lord too is like a runner, never participating in the proceedings

but watching the Jeevatma battle with the slings and arrows of fortune,

according to its accumulated Karma. The only important difference is that while

the runner too has to take his turn at batting, the Paramatma remains an

observer always and never comes to the batting crease.

 

The Crease represents to the batsman a safe haven, within which he is secure

and after crossing which he is on his own, liable to be run out. Similarly,

Shastras represent the Crease to the Jeevatma. As long as he stays within its

confines, he is safe and secure. Once he crosses this line, he is out on a limb

and liable to be floored by the eleven enemies, who are always alert for the

slightest transgression to take advantage of.

 

The pitch is something over which the batsman has no control, and if he has to

play on a queer one that gives an unpredictable bounce to the ball, his innings

would be short and miserable. In life too, one's baggage of good and bad deeds

is the pitch one has to play on. While some inherit a sunny pitch and blaze

their way into Wisden's Cricketers' Almanac or the pages of history, some fail

miserably even to open their account and form part of the unremarkable, unsung

and nondescript masses, who "also lived".

 

The Dharma DEvata is the Umpire in our lives, judging all our actions

impartially, keeping count of the balls, overs and runs (the seconds, minutes

and hours of our life and our various acts of commission and omission). He is

the final authority on all matters on the field and if one is given out, one

just leaves the ground without even a semblance of protest, irrespective of his

own feelings in the matter. On the field of life too, the Yamadharma Raja is

the final arbiter of when we leave the field. His ruling is final and there is

no use arguing with him, irrespective of whether the moment and manner of exit

are convenient to us or not.

 

Runs represent the years of our life. We may hit a century or get out for a

duck, depending on whether fortune (or our own Karma) favours us or not. Some

batsmen, though they may hit a hundred, might do it all in undistinguished

singles and may take an unconscionably long time doing it, while some others

may blaze their way to a century, all hit in fours and sixes. In life too, we

find brilliant people achieving a lot within a very short life span, while

others may live to be a hundred and have nothing remarkable to show for it.

 

Winning the Cup is not a matter of mere luck or chance, but requires careful

planning, coordination among the team, excellence in all departments of the

game, impeccable execution of carefully considered strategies with clockwork

precision. For success in life too, all these elements are indispensable. One

cannot depend on Lady Luck to smile on one always, and has to plan for

everything, implement the chosen strategy with focus and dedication. This is

especially true of our spiritual lives, where careful control of the senses,

sustained focus on the Lord and His attributes and adoption of a suitable

strategy for Moksha, are indispensable.

 

The Team's Coach plays a vital role in the personal and professional

development and performance of the players, and is often the real reason for

the team's victory. He points out the pitfalls that await each batsman, the

trick of avoiding them, and the ball-by-ball strategy for ensuring a win. In

our spiritual life too, the Acharya guides us carefully through the

heavily-mined and dangerous field of life and puts us through the process of

Prapatti, so that we reach SriVaikuntam safely.

 

There may be any number of trophies, instituted by all and sundry, ranging from

"The Ashes" to the "Wills Trophy" to the Fourth Junior League played under the

aegis of the ACC (accharappAkkam Cricket Club). Though these may have their own

votaries at the different levels of the game, the World Cup represents the

Ultimate Victory in the cricketing world, the crowning glory for which every

team and every cricketer aspires and toils ceaselessly for. The winning team

represents the cream of the cricketing fraternity and is held in high esteem by

one and all the world over.

 

Life too offers any number of minor trophies in the form of flashy new

vehicles, palatial mansions, riches, fame and acclaim, social positions and

political power. However, the discerning seeker is never satisfied with these

baubles and trinkets, and aspires only for the ultimate trophy of Liberation

and service to the Lord at Sri Vaikuntam. He is never tempted by other minor

rewards and keeps his sight steady on the target of Paramapadam and achieves it

by adopting the strategy of Bhakti or Prapatti.

 

Come, let's play for the World Cup!

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana

Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

Dasan, sadagopan

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