DW AG

The word Azhvar means one who is deeply involved in something. To be involved in something, one must like it. Secondly, one must get an opportunity for involvement. And finally, and most importantly, the thing one is involved in must be something that engages one for a lifetime. It must not be something temporary, here now, gone the next minute. And given the nature of the mind, it is difficult for us to find something that holds our attention always. The mind has, after all, been likened to a monkey, which cannot stay in one place for long, but keeps jumping about here and there. The only thing that is capable of lasting forever is attachment to Lord Narayana. Once one realises that there is nothing worth thinking of than the Lord, the involvement begins and never goes away.

 We see this in the case of Pillai Urangavilli Dasar, said Kidambi Narayanan in a discourse. Initially, he was enamoured by the beauty of his wife’s eyes. He would walk in front of her, holding an umbrella to shield her eyes. Ramanuajacharya asked him if he would give up this obsession, if he (Ramanuja) showed him something more beautiful. Pillai Urangavilli Dasar agreed. Ramanuja showed him the beauty of the eyes of Lord Ranganatha of Srirangam, and Pillai Urangavilli Dasar became a slave to Ranganatha’s charms. So, he reached the point where he focused on the indestructible, whereas earlier he had focused on the temporary. But God’s guiding hand is what takes us to the point where we see Him as our only refuge. If Dasar had not been in Srirangam, and if Ramanuja had not witnessed the odd sight of a man guarding his wife’s eyes, the transformation of Dasar would not have happened. Both divine will and an Acharya’s guidance are necessary for us to take the right path.