Bhakti,Anugraham and Dayaa...

[Guest guest]

Namasthe.

 

The doubts and loss of faith that we experience many at times seems to take

on another form ; one begins to wonder whether one is deserving enough to

receive Ishvara anugraham;our retrospection seems uncharitable ,many choose

to ignore it;few have enough faith to sustain by Naama Japa alone,sure that

they are a part of God's leela; and a few saints seem to accept graciously

this objectivity as the prerogative of their human state and use them as

remembrancers for our raise, the pain of such a remembrance then serves as

tapas,it seems to enhance our Bhakti and our faith in Ishvara's Dayaa.The

abject faith by Naama Japam aloneis perhaps like that of Prahlaada's ,and

raise by introspection and retrospection seems like that of Dhruvaa's,where

he knows God but only slowly drowns in that bliss... this is probably the

difference between the esoteric bhakti of Prahlaada and the exoteric

Dhyaana and recognition and reclamation of Vishnu later by Dhruvaa.

The former is the Bhakti of the Heart,the later that through the heart and

that of the mind;It is probably like the relation to a circle's centre;God

is the centre, and an abject bhakti from the heart is like the relation

of the radius to the centre ( this is direct knowledge );wheras our

reclamation of faith by retrospection is like the involution to this centre

in concentric circles ( this is knowledge by anology and study and

understanding).

 

Two songs of such poignant retrospection comes to mind,both very similar

even in the thought content. One is that of Bhadraachala Ramadas, where

he says

"ye theeruga nannu ,daya chuuchedhevo ,ila vamshotthama rama;

naatharama ,bhava saagara needanu,nalinadalekshana rama"....( he then goes

on to say..)

"kroora karmamulu neraka cheysithee, neramulenchaku rama.

dhaaridyamu, parihaaramu seyave, dhaiva shikaamani rama."

 

In his song,Tyagaraja echoes this anguish, saying..

 

" Yetula brothuvo theliya-le; ekaantha ramayya.

Kata kata naa charithramu,karna katoramayya.

pattigoddu reethi,bhakshinchi thirigithi;

puttu lobhulanu,pottakai pogadeethi....".

 

In these songs the saints wonder how Rama might show his Dayaa on them,

while they have the burden of their karma behind them( the kroora karma

which Ramadas mentions, and the harsh charithram that Tyagaraja says is

his burden due to his praising insignificant men for food and then

wandering and eating aimlessly like a buffalo..).Tyagaraja's subsequent

reply to these doubts in 'karunaa jaladhe,Daasharathe' is really moving.

One cannot help coming to tears while studying Tyagaraja's songs,we will

all find instances where we see echoes of our own pain and anguish.In

this journey,it is really moving to see the Bhakti of the Gopi's on one

side expressing all the pains of separation from Krishna and the Bhakti

of Anjaneya to whom Rama Nama IS Rama.

 

Would the Bhaktas reading this consider posting stories and songs of saints

,or from the puranaas ,which reflect such attitudes in Bhakti?

 

With Pranaams.

Murali Manohar.