Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Beauty is in the beholders eyes

Beautiful is in the beholders eyes.  Todays thought of the day was,
  'Love teaches us to speak little, to gaze much – gaze at the Beauty that is God!

After reading this thought I just remembered a story which was narrated to me by my father when I was a little girl, about beauty and its obsession.  I am just trying to blog it.

All must have heard of Sri Ramanujar, the founder of Vishistadwaitham.  He had a disciple who was his most favorite.  His name was "Villidasan". 
Villidasan was a wrestler by profession.  He lived in Srirangam.  Srirangam in a town in interior Tamilnadu.  River Kaveri passes through Srirangam.  While passing through a particular the river formed 2 very beautiful whirlpools.  Our wrestler was very very attracted to those whirlpools.  He used to wake up early in the morning, finish his day to day activities and go the Kaveri river bank and keep gazing at the whirlpools.  People used to wonder what was so beautiful about them, but he would never get tired of looking at its beauty.
There was a dancer living in the same place and she was used to people starring at her all the time for she was a very beautiful women.  She came to river bank one day and say the wrestler gazing at the whirlpools and was surprised.  She was surprised as to how a man could ignore her, and look at something else at her presence.  She went near the wrestler and tried to turn his attention towards her and failed.  The next day she dressed herself especially to attract the wrestler and went to the river bank.  She forcefully turned the wrestlers face and made him look into her eyes.
The wrestler could not believe his eyes.  He was looking at two beautiful eyes of a women which were more beautiful than the whirlpools.  He could not take his eyes off the dancers eyes.
From that day the wrestler woke up early in the morning, finished his day to day activities and started sitting in front of the dancer and started gazing at her beautiful eyes.  When she had to go out on some business he used to walk in front of her, facing her, with his back towards the road.  He became her slave.  One day the dancer and the wrestler were on the river bank.  In the same time Swami Ramanuja came to river bank.  He saw a young handsome wrestler sitting at the foot of a beautiful women and simply gazing at her, and people laughing at him.  Swami Ramanuja asked the people about what it was all about.  He came to know about the wrestlers obsession and was surprised.
He went towards the wrestler and asked him what was so beautiful about the women's eyes?  This question annoyed the wrestler and he told Swami Ramanuja that, if he showed him anything more beautiful than the women's beautiful, he would devote his whole life to that beauty. 
Swami Ramanuja took took the wrestler to Srirangam Sri Ranganatha Temple.
Sri Ranganatha temple is called 'Bhooloka Vaikundam'.  In this temple Lord Ranganatha is lying down in side posture with his rigt arms under his head.  Its called 'Anantha Sayanam'. 
Swami Ramanuja asked the wrestler to look into 'Lord Ranganatha's eyes.  That moment some changes took place in the wrestler.  He became enchanted by the beauty of the Lords eyes. 
He became a disciple of Swami Ramanuja.  He was called as 'Dhanurdasan'.  He did services to Lord Ranganathan without even sleeping at nights.  He was also called 'Uranga Villi', meaning 'Villi who never sleeps'.

Its'nt Beauty in the beholders eyes!!

1 comment:

  1. I think you narrate stories very beautifully.Am proud od you

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