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

 

Devotion that is an end in itself

 

CHENNAI, MARCH 23. The scriptural texts beseech human beings to

develop devotion to God by citing the instances of great saints

and mystics who had realised Him. While generally devotion is

practised as a means to realise the Supreme Being, in the case of

saints their devotion is an end in itself. The hymns of mystics

are thus first-hand accounts of the different ways they

experienced God and hence is a source of perennial inspiration to

the spiritual aspirant.

 

Among the incarnations of the Almighty it is Lord Krishna who has

caught the imagination of saints. His divine deeds (Lila) of His

childhood offer immense scope for enhancing devotion to Him and

the Bhagavata Purana forms the nucleus of this genre of

devotional literature. The other equally important corpus of

hymns which is revered on a par with the scriptures is the

Nalayira Divyaprabandham of the Azhwars embodying the experiences

of these mystics.

 

Lilasuka is a saint who was exclusively devoted to Lord Krishna.

An incident is related, which is reflected in his hymn also, that

when he visited a shrine of Rama, he entreated the Lord to lay

down His bow and play the flute instead. Such was his devotion

that the Almighty was only too ready to do His bidding.

 

In his discourse, Sri P. R. Venkatachalam said that the Almighty

who was posited to be beyond the ken of human understanding by

the scriptures and whom even sages had realised only after

performing intense penance, was easily accessible to His

devotees. That He can be bound by the chord of devotion has been

amply exemplified by these mystics.

 

Nammazhwar dared to ask Him, whether the Lord was greater or he

and to substantiate how he could even entertain such a notion,

says, that he had bound the Almighty Lord within the confines of

his heart. Nammazhwar could afford to take such liberties with

the Lord, for had he not in the Tiruvaymozhi (on the Lord at

Tirukkolur) declared, ``My food, drink and the betel I chew, are

all my Krishna...''?

 

Vishnuchitta came to be addressed as Periazhwar because his

overwhelming devotion to Lord Krishna made him bless the Lord in

his Tirumozhi (Pallandu). In one of the verses, the Azhwar while

describing Yashoda's preoccupations with her babe, Krishna, notes

perhaps with a twinge of jealousy, that she was the most blessed

indeed, as she had the great fortune of beholding the entire

creation within the tiny mouth of her baby. Tirumangai Azhwar

also alludes to Yashoda's greatness by remarking that the

omnipotent Lord actually stood looking at her with palpable fear

in His eyes when she chided Him for stealing butter.

 

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