The closed eyes of Thine, my Lord!
Ramanuj Asawa
Svayambhoo, Padmanaabha, Hiranyagarbha, Satya, Rudra, and Aravindaaksha. These are only a few of the one thousand names of Lord Vishnu, the Supreme deity in the Hindu mythology. Aravindaaksha, which literally means the one who has eyes as beautiful as a lotus, describes the beauty of His eyes.
In South India, Tirupati is a pilgrimage city located in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. It is located at the foothills of Tirumala. It owes its existence to the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple situated on the Tirumala Hills. The Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, situated on one of these hills, houses Lord Venkateswara, one of the Avatars of Lord Vishnu. This temple is the richest and most visited place of worship in the world, so says Wikipedia, not me. However, if Lord Venkateswara is an avatar of Lord Vishnu, the one with eyes as beautiful as a lotus, why are His eyes always closed? Why can’t we mortals have a glimpse of his beautiful eyes?
In iconographic depictions, Lord Venkateswara's eyes are covered, because it is said, that his gaze is so intense, it would scorch the universe.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venkateswara#Symbolic_Description
I guess what Wikipedia says indeed is true. Not because Wikipedia says it, but because I have a theory of my own, based on some of the facts.
Lord Venkateswara, or Balaji, is always depicted with golden ornaments. This, actually, is an understatement. He is adorned with the gold ornaments as if it were his armour, as if he was preparing to go out for the biggest war. This analogy isn’t really politically correct, for He too advocates non violence, but I find this a good way to explain it. This does make Him the God of the rich people! If not, keep reading. The pilgrims who come to worship Him, most of them are either filthy rich, just rich, or aspire to be rich. And to be rich, one must keep honesty at bay. You have to be Macbeth!
Macbeth, a play by Shakespeare, is a tragedy about a general in the army of King Duncan, Macbeth. The Three Witches in the play hail Macbeth as "Thane of Glamis", "Thane of Cawdor", and the third proclaims that he shall "be King hereafter". After the first two of the prophesies are fulfilled, Macbeth’s wife goads him to kill the King, so that the third prophesy be fulfilled. And then, when the two sons of the King flee for their lives, Macbeth is proclaimed as the King. He does get his just desserts later, but who gives a damn if you get to be the King!? And “that” is what most of the people who are filthy rich, just rich, or aspire to be rich, think.
I have an explanation what Macbeth has to do here. If you have a rich dad, and no siblings, and your dad loves you blindly, like Dhritrashtra loved Duryodhana, you have nothing to worry about. Your hands are clean. If, however, they are dirty, they are only a consequence of this inheritance, or the knowledge of the fact of inheritance. You don’t have to get your hands dirty to inherit the wealth.
But if you have a rich dad, and siblings, or a rich dad who is just too ethical, or any of the permutations and combinations, you sure as hell have to do a lot of dirty work. If you aspire to be rich, the same goes for you too. Honesty might be the best policy, but it never makes everyone rich. Dishonesty will make you rich, but you can’t be dishonest if you’re conscientious! If you have something called conscience, you have to kill it. If you don’t have any, skip the first step. J
Conscience is like a pair of eyes, and to be dishonest, you either have to close your eyes, or you should be blind. Either way, you don’t need your eyes, so you can keep ‘em covered. Now we get back to Balaji. You know why Balaji has his eyes covered? It is because He is waiting for us to open ours. Balaji is much too patient, for he has waited for a long time, and such patience is not humane, it is Divine. There is a limit, indeed there is one. And one day, if we fail to open our eyes, He will have to open his, to save his innocent children.
Have you opened yours?
Thus spake Kushal Asawa
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Ramanuj Asawa
Company Secretary
cell 094228-03662