Enlightened bhakthi

[Guest guest]

Yesterday's NPR coverage of flood in the state of

Kentucky/Indiana included an interview of an old woman

marooned in her own home. She asked the listeners to

offer a prayer for her well being. Had she been an

enlightened soul she would have taken this adversity

in stride and not cared to offer any prayer, let alone

ask unknown others to intervene with God on her behalf!

 

I liked what Viji had to write on this subject. The

question of whether one should pray to the Lord for

anything less than mOksha would be brought to uncomfortable

focus only when one faces a crisis. I was in one such

crisis not long ago. I had to debate this question within

the confines of my own conscience. My initial thought was

NOT to pray to the Lord for a happy resolution for the

extremely heart wrenching situation. After all, the problem

was His will and He will resolve it according to the karma

of all involved. But later, after some thought, I felt

ashamed that I wanted something, but would not pray for

it because it is "unenlightened" to pray for anything

less than mOksham.

 

I feel there is nothing "unenlightened" in asking anything

from the Lord. Our Azhvaars have repeatedly stressed the

worldly pleasures one is sure to enjoy by reciting their

paasurams. Consider Thirumangai Mannan's "kulam tharum

selvam thanthidum ..." What is important, I think, is

how we view what come to pass after having offered, or

not offered, the prayer. I think those who pray to the

Lord for whatever worldly gain will be ever ready to accept

anything they get, good or bad, as His will. Those who

think it is beneath them to ask anything but mOksham from

the Lord may indeed face the danger of deluding themselves

that it is their intelligence and effort that have put them

in whatever agreeable situations they find themselves in.

 

Finally, wanting good things in life and then insisting

that I will not ask for anything but mOksham seems a little

cocky and arrogant to me. Who among us is free of wanting

good things in life?

 

 

Thanks, Dileepan

 

 

 

 

----

Parthasarati Dileepan Phone: 423-755-4675

School of Business Administration Fax: 423-755-5255

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

615 McCallie Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37403