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“Is There Anything More Beautiful Than My Wife’s Eyes?”

Discussion in 'Wednesdays with Varalotti' started by varalotti, May 27, 2008.

  1. varalotti

    varalotti IL Hall of Fame

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    dear pavi,

    thanks for those kind words.Not only Ponnachi and Vill are lucky; but we are also lucky. Nay, we are truly blessed, otherwise this story would not have appealed to us so much. Your quoting the lines from Anbe Sivam is very apt.

    I am not going to wait till next Wednesday to commence the next part. It may happen sooner.
    Stay tuned, Pavithra.
    regards,

     
  2. Sriniketan

    Sriniketan IL Hall of Fame

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    Sridhar,
    Love has to be channelised otherwise it will take an ugly turn...the act of Villi is sure to bring criticisms in the town where he lived...potraying him as 'hen-pecked husband' and what not...as Acharyas look into only good things, Ramanujar saw this love which can be channelised and shown to the world that we should also be like Villi is showing Love to the Lord....
    Many births accumulation of punniyams made this one possible for Villi and Ponnachi...through Sri Ramanujar...their Guru...is this not one of the qualities of the Guru?
    sriniketan
     
  3. varalotti

    varalotti IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Sriniketan,
    In fact that is the traditional version of this story. In fact one Tamil book says that Ramanuja asked Villi, "You are the best wrestler. Aren't you ashamed to behave like that in a public place?"
    But honestly Sriniketan, I am still not able to buy the argument. You are right in saying that Villi's act would invite criticism in the town he lived. Yes, he may be branded as henpecked, or the more apt word in Tamil, Pondatti Dasan. But I don't think Villi would have minded that. With that kind of love he had for Ponnachi, which was so wonderfully reciprocated, they would have lived a full life, criticism or no criticism.
    But then the other people, we, would not have known about the couple at all. Even if the others in the town knew about Villi, it would have been just a matter of gossip.
    By shifting the object of love from his wife to Sri Renganathar, without in any way reducing the intensity of it, Ramanuja presented us with an easily replicable model of love. Ramanuja in short proclaimed to us, "Your love should be like this."
    Well, Ramanuja could have done that without shifting the object of love. But then people would say,
    "I would also love my wife if only she were half as good as Ponnachi."

    True. Another way of saying this is that they have been growing spiritually over several life times and in that particular life time the growth reached a point where Sri Ramanuja intervened and Sri Renganatha showed his eyes for Villi to see.

    thanks Sriniketan.
    regards,

     
  4. varalotti

    varalotti IL Hall of Fame

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    My Dear GFs,

    Bowing to your requests I am posting the concluding part of the story early. Right now.

    Why should Villi come running to Ramanuja crying,
    "We Have Sinned, Acharya"?

    To know the answer read on.

    I don't have words to thank you all for your wonderful responses. Writing these posts has had a very beneficial effect on me too. I am able to do somethings now which I earlier considered as difficult if not, impossible.

    And I am sure if his story can reform a hardened man like me, it can do wonders to your young and energetic minds.

    May you and yours be always blessed by the Great Acharya, and by the Great Lord of Love, Sri Renganatha.

    love,

     
  5. Jananikrithsan

    Jananikrithsan Gold IL'ite

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    Dear Sridhar,
    After the boni for the final part I am here to tell you the way in which this episode affected as I was among the first few to read it.Irandu Kann podhadu for Villi to have captured that moment when the Lord looked at him!!!!
    That is all what we need to make our life Andha oru Kann parvai, andha oru nimidam.Pirandha palna aadaindhan Villidasan.
    Our life and our mission for being humans is complete.
    Villi's love for Ponnachi is something that comes out of affection, buit with the Lord it is complete surrender.
    Kudos!!!!!!!! to you!!!!!!!!!!!!
     
    Last edited: May 30, 2008
  6. Vysan

    Vysan Gold IL'ite

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    Dear Varalotti,

    That was a beautiful story about the acharya and villi.... It was really enthralling... to read about the experiences.... That is history...

    This reminds me of two movies...

    1. Sri - Where the hero for the purpose of saving the local people takes the law in his own hand... His father not able to bear this makes complaint and the case goes to the court... Where he says... The people want somebody to be the hero to save their lives... but they dont want to sacrifice their own son for that... He wants his son to be a normal and not to take the law in his won hands... There you see the love of the father for the son....

    2. Sri Raghavendra... Where the Swamiji foregoes the marital life and takes up the sanyasam, because his guru says so... The wife commits sucide...

    The question lies here is... Is it not the responsibility of the husband to take care of the wife and family... If at all he has to take sanyasam, why should he marry... The great Guru, why cant he say that before his marriage...

    These are all the questions which comes to my mind... Please dont take me on the wrong... I have read this one post from the middle... I didnt read the earlier or the next one... Sorry I dont know, whether the next continuation has been posted or not...

    I am not against sanyasam or spiritual awakening... I just want to know... Is it ok to ditch the family... Wife, who comes with you, purely depending on you... kids, whom you have created... What about the responsibility... If we say that for the great cause ... For the world purpose... It is better to sacrifice, one family for saving lot of people... I find it difficult to accept... May be my thinking is wrong....

    Now coming back to the real life situation... Since you have compared politicians... Can we apply the same logics... For the purpose of the party's success.... For the party to win... You find self immolation... by will or by force... which we see in the movies... We all feel it is wrong... But, for the great purpose... The party to succeed in the elections... For all the people in the party.... From the peon to the leader all to earn money... Why not... is it not justified...

    Sorry!!!.... I know I am not justified... and the comparisons are literally absurd... But look at it as a process of evolution... Those days... people were more spiritual and wanted the spirituality to grow... and to help others... Today the same thing continues... But only the God has changed - Money God... and today they want to help themselves and their related people...

    Thanks for all the patience.... I am not here to hurt anybody's sentiments... If I have done somebody I sincerely apologise...

    But at the same time... this is what I felt... I just thought I can voice it, so that learned people can help me to understand better and to look at it in a better perspective....

    Veda
     
  7. geeth

    geeth Senior IL'ite

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    The channels of love do not sanctify it! On the other hand love sanctifies the channels through which it flows! Love towards God, may be Vishnu, Shiva, Jesus, Allah or the Buddha, is in no way superior to the love Villidasan had for his wife, Ponnachi.

    I will go one step further. If you love your pup then that is much, much better than your sitting in the Puja room mindlessly repeating some God-names. Love for your pup or even a street mongrel is no less than the love you can have for the Infinite, All powerful, God. The quality of love is not dependent on the object of love.

    Ramanuja’s movement is not like that of the Congress or the BJP. It was not a political movement where you need all the power you can gather. It was a movement of love.

    Dear varalotty sir,
    Well said sir. i loved these lines. Yes love is not what we common people interpret. Love is vast. it should flow without any expectation. our prayers should flow with love to God. it should never carry any bargains as we all do normally. When we expand our love, there is no hatred, no jealousy, no anger, no comparisons nothing. but only happiness and peace! love is God. God is love. Ramanuja the Great is an embodiment of love. enjoyed reading your story.

    regards
    geeth
     
  8. varalotti

    varalotti IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Janani,
    thanks for the boni for the other thread, (done jointly with Lalitha, and as you said, sema boni)
    When our hearts lack love, we go in search of the Lord. We go to the farthest temples, those on the mountains, those on the deserts, and those that are beyond the seven seas. Even then we do not have a fulfilling dharshan. We come back as unloving as we went.
    But for someone like Villi, whose heart is full of love, the Great God, Himself reaches to him through saints like Ramanuja.
    You are right. That one second of dharshan is worth waiting for a million janmas.
    There used to be a beautiful girl near our house. She was fair, tall, and very very good looking. Her parents were decently rich. But somehow her marriage got delayed. Every day was a hell for the family. People would talk behind their backs. There will be some insinuations during conversation in the family circles. If they attended any marriage function, somebody would ask, "Why is that Latha is not yet married? Any problems? Did you check her horoscope? Go to this temple or do that parikaram."
    The family was crying. And then just like that a chartered accountant from Chennai came to see the girl. He liked her and she liked him. They were married the very next month. I was there for the marriage. Everyone was so happy. Neither the girl nor her parents ever remembered their days of hell, waiting for that occasion.
    In the case of God's Dharshan, it is only a million times more so. In that nano second, the griefs and worries we would have accumulated during a thousand lifetimes would vanish without a trace.
    Such is Villi's blessing. And such is our blessing, as we are able to know about and relate to Villi's story.
    thanks again, Janani.
    regards,
     
  9. varalotti

    varalotti IL Hall of Fame

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    My dear, dear Vedya Vyasan,

    I am happy that you could make it to this thread. I almost started missing you, when you walked in, let's say with a bang.

    First things first,Veda Vyasan. I will never be upset or hurt with such posts. I love them. I want my forums to be discussion boards and not fan clubs.

    I will be upset only if you do not visit my forum. I will be hurt only if you ignore my writings, not when you oppose them.

    I am just an ordinary member of this extraordinary forum, neither more, nor less than you. So when you want to oppose my views, please go ahead and do it. I have just one request to make to you. Please don't be apologetic. There's no need for that.
    Varalotti's ancestors should have gathered a lot of punyam! Otherwise how could he have had the privilege of replying to Veda Vyasar himself on Ramanuja?
    Now let's get back to the reply.

    Thanks.



    This reminds me of two movies...

    Very interesting examples, Veda Vyasan. But I am not very sure of their relevance here. Because here Ramanujar did not insist that Villi should renounce his wife. They were living together near the Ashram for the rest of their lives. And at no point of time Villi had let Ponnachi down.


    That is Raghavendra's case. I do have a reply for that. But it is pretty long and it is not proper to insert that here when we are discussing Villi and Ramanuja.

    The continuation has been posted. It's title is, "We Have Sinned, Acharya" Please click the link below my signature to read that.

    Though in this case Villi did not ditch his family, I am attempting a brief reply for your arguments.
    It so happens that in some marriages, the husband and wife are in varying degrees of spiritual development. When the difference becomes huge the relationship cannot be sustained. That was why Meera "ditched" her husband for Krishna's sake.
    I had a friend while I was in school. We were inseparable. We stayed in touch even after we got married and all. But at one stage we slowly drifted away. In a way I ditched him and he ditched me. The truth is that we grew in different directions and at one stage had to grow away from each other.
    In the examples you have stated what's happening is that the concerned person graduated from one stage to another.
    In the case of Villi and Ponni, the graduation was simultaneous. In the case of Raghavendra, one graduated while the other failed. Or I would put it this way. They were together when they were doing their 10th. In Plus Two, Raghavendra took humanities while his wife opted for the science group. Something like that.

    And for us, who have but limited logic and limited knowledge of how the Universe is functioning that might look like 'ditching'
    Please also read my reply to Mithila Kannan post #21 in this thread.




    My Dear Veda Vyasan, I did not compare Ramanuja with Politicians. I only contrasted him from them. He did not want Villi to jump from "Ponnachi Party" to "Ramanuja Party" so that he could stake a claim for Ministership. No, it was all about love, unconditional, pure love, which Ramanuja wanted to show to his disciples. (Now read the third part to know how this was accomplished)
    Of our politicians, their greed, their exploitation, self-immolation etc. let's not talk about them here in this discussion. For this discussion is all about love and God.

    Let me repeat again, no need for apologies, Veda Vyasan. God is Love and Love is God. And money has no business there.

    You have every right to voice your views. And I am happy you did it in my forum. Thanks.
    Love,
    Veda[/quote]
     
  10. varalotti

    varalotti IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Geeth,

    I am happy that you liked these lines.

    Well said, Geeth. We do not love God. We only demand privileges from Her. And we have absolutely nothing to give to Her. I can understand our loving God, for She can give us the whole world.
    But I can never understand why She should love us, when we have nothing to give to her, when we are repulsive, when we are petty-minded, greedy, lustful, angry and almost always loveless?
    I can understand her omnipotence, omniscience and her omnipresence. But even after a million lifetimes I can never never comprehend a zillionth of Her love for us.

    thanks once again, Geeth. Please do read the concluding part of the story as well.
    regards,
     

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