The Devil Can Cite Scripture: Deivam Thantha Veedu

The prince had a moment of epiphany. He woke up in the middle of the night, abdicated his throne and abandoned his wife and young son. Having sat down to meditate under perhaps the most famous tree in the world, he returned as the Buddha, the enlightened one.  Billions have been and continue to be inspired to walk the trail blazed by this great soul. 

But not every dead-beat dad that abandons his family is a Sidhartha; not every homeless wanderer is a Buddha.  Many an escapist in life has attempted to justify their actions with words that sound philosophical. But, as Shakespeare unmasks their hypocrisy, declaring, "Even the devil can cite scripture for his purpose;" they are nothing but "a goodly apple rotten at the heart."

Kannadasan's தெய்வம் தந்த வீடு Deivam Thantha Veedu takes the listener down the tempting path of sweet justification that every loser would love.

தெய்வம் தந்த வீடு வீதி இருக்கு 

தெய்வம் தந்த வீடு வீதி இருக்கு 

இந்த ஊரென்ன? சொந்த வீடென்ன? ஞானப்பெண்ணே 

வாழ்வின் பொருளென்ன, நீ வந்த கதை என்ன?

God given home, the street there is

God given home, the street there is

What is this town, what is this home, my enlightened lady

What for this life? Whence is your story?

Disheveled, dirty, inebriated, and stubbornly insolent, the protagonist feels the need to justify himself with a seemingly logical sense of intellectual honesty.  Thus, from the pulpit of the dusty streets, he waxes eloquently on his philosophy.  He absolves himself of any moral responsibility towards his family. 

நான் கேட்டு தாய் தந்தை படைத்தாரா, இல்லை 

என் பிள்ளை எனை கேட்டு பிறந்தானா...

Did my parents create me with my consent?

Or did my son ask me before he came

கொண்டதென்ன கொடுப்பதென்ன 

இதில் தாயென்ன மணந்த தாரம் என்ன 

What is that we had and what is that we give

In this, who is the mother and who is the wife

In the Bhaja Govindam, Adi Shankaracharya lovingly whips a sense of urgency in the deluded. He indicates a line of inquiry to get over our misguided attachments:
काते कान्ता कस्ते पुत्रः
संसारः अयमतीव विचित्रः
कस्यत्वं कह कुतायात
तत्त्वं चिन्तय तदिह भ्रातः
Who is your wife? who is your son?
Very strange is this world that we are in
Of who are you? Whence do you come?
Ponder thus my dear brother

Continuing later, Sankara asks:
कस्त्वं कोहं कुत आयातः
का मे जननी को मे तातः
Who are you? Who am I? Where do I come from? Who is my mother? Who is my father?

The lines sound eerily similar. On the surface, the drunkard's words seem to echo Adi Sankaracharya–one of the greatest poet-saint-philosophers that ever lived. However, it would be blasphemous to even consider comparing the two speakers.

Sankara and his disciples have seen the likes of this aimlessly wandering, empty vagabond. They are merciless in dismissing the hypocrite, who attempts to cloak his laziness with the entrapments of sainthood.
अग्रे वह्नि पृष्ठे भानुः
रात्रौ चुबुक समर्पित जानुः
करतल भिक्षस्तरुतलवास
तदपि न मुञ्चति आशापाशः
Fire in front, Sun in the back
Sits crouched at night with chin drawn to knees
Begs with open hands and lives under a tree
Yet he lives bound by his endless desires

How are we to identify a saint? How does he look? On the surface, a yogi's appearance may not be very dissimilar to the wandering madman. One could visualize a Ramakrishna Paramahamsa walking in an ecstatic trance as we read the following verse:
रथ्याचर्पट विरचितकन्थः
पुण्यापुण्य विवर्जितपन्थः
योगी योगनियोजनाचित्तः
रमते बालोन्मत्तवदेव
Wearing a garment made of nothing but rags
Walking the path free of virtue and vice
The yogi with his mind fixed in nothing but yoga
Enjoys verily like a child or a madman

The yogi and the drunkard could walk side-by-side and we may not be able to tell the difference.  So, how are we to distinguish the saint from the charlatan? Obviously, it is not from the external markings.

We go back to Sankara to explain the true saint:
योगरतो वा भोगरतो वा
संगरतो वा संगविहीनः
यस्य बृह्माणी रमते चित्तम
नन्दति, नन्दति नंदतत्येव
Reveling in meditation (yoga) or rejoicing in pleasure, 
Frolicking in company or content in solitude,
One whose mind is riveted in the Supreme
Enjoys, enjoys, verily he enjoys!!

A saint is he who is happy; nay, he is delirious with joy. A Vedavyasa living a Spartan life in the forest or a Janaka with all his royal entrapments in Mithila, a Ramana Maharishi staying rooted in a cave in Thiruvannamalai or a jet-setting Chinmaya. Their one distinguishing mark? very simple- they are truly happy!!