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Source: The Hindu (http://www.the-hindu.com)

 

Characteristics of a devotee

 

CHENNAI, FEB. 12. Taste for spiritual life must be acquired early

in life contrary to the common notion that it can be relegated to

the twilight years. There are two reasons why the scriptures

advise human beings to pursue the spiritual goal along with their

worldly pursuits.

 

First, there is no guarantee about an individual's lifespan.

Human life has been compared to the bubbles that arise in the

water which drift along in the current for a while and burst at

any moment.

 

Moreover, man is a creature of habit and what he does not

cultivate in his youth cannot be acquired in his old age

especially when his faculties start failing. So a person who is

convinced that human birth is meant for realising God must

constantly remember God and work for his salvation without any

delay. Devotion to God thus becomes the means and the end of

human life in the world.

 

After discoursing on the glory of the Lord in His various

manifestations, Sage Suka advised Parikshit, ``Day after day, by

force of the all-powerful Time, righteousness, veracity, purity

of mind and body, forgiveness, compassion, length of life, bodily

strength and keeness of memory will decline... Therefore, with

all your being install Lord Sri Krishna in your heart thinking of

Him with a concentrated mind while dying; you will thereby attain

the supreme goal.''

 

In his discourse, Sri B. Sundar Kumar said that a devotee who had

totally dedicated his life to God developed certain

characteristic traits which distinguished him from those who

pursued material pleasures for gratification. He accepts the

vagaries of life with equanimity of mind and his devotion gives

him the strength of mind to do so. He knows that all worldly

attainments are relative in nature and hence does not get elated

by his successes and dejected when he loses position and power.

 

Another distinct trait a devotee exhibits is the way he treats

everyone in the same manner. He does not favour anyone and gives

everybody equal respect as he sees only the Lord in every being.

 

The Lord in His incarnation as Kapila said of His devotee, ``I

find no living being higher than the man who has no sense of

doership and regards all with the same eye. Treating all living

beings with equal respect under the belief that it is the

Almighty Lord who has entered their body as the inner controller

of the soul tenanting it, one should mentally bow to them.''

 

When such an attitude of treating everyone alike becomes second

nature to a devotee he naturally becomes a friend to all beings

and he is compassionate towards all creatures also.

 

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