Article sent from The Hindu

[Guest guest]

=============================================================

This article is emailed to you by Ram Chandran ( rchandran )

=============================================================

Source: The Hindu (http://www.hinduonnet.com)

 

Significance of the Almighty's advent

 

CHENNAI, JULY 16. The purpose of the Almighty's manifestations

from time to time in the world has been proclaimed by Him during

one of His advents - to establish righteousness. To protect those

who followed the scriptural injunctions and exterminate those who

posed a threat to His devotees, the Lord had assumed diferent

forms to suit each occasion. The significance of His incarnation

in human form as King Dasaratha's son has been conveyed by

Valmiki at the outset of the Ramayana itself.

 

The king had been childless for long and as though ordained, he

performed a sacrifice with the intent of begetting sons just when

the atrocities perpetrated by the demon-king Ravana had become

intolerable and the denizens of heaven and the gods supplicated

to the creator, Brahma, to come to their rescue. Brahma beseeched

the Lord to assume a human form and manifest in the world to

punish the demon king. When the gods and the creator were

propitiating Lord Vishnu, after assuring them of His protection,

He willed Himself to be born as Dasaratha's son, said Sri B. T.

Srinivasa Raghavachariar in his discourse.

>From the sacrificial fire arose an extraordinary being of

matchless splendour with a golden bowl covered with a silver lid

in his hand. Handing over the bowl to the king, he instructed him

to give the porridge contained in it to his wives saying that

this would enable him to have the sons he desired. After

disclosing his identity as a messenger of the Lord, he

disappeared into the fire assuring that his visit heralded the

descent of the Lord into the world. The manifestation of the

Almighty was hinted even by the vessel handed over to Dasaratha.

Creation according to the Puranas proceeds by the intermingling

of the three qualities (Gunas) - Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. Every

non-sentient and sentient being in the world has a mix of these

qualities and some exclusively display one quality also. Human

nature is an admixture of all the three qualities and in each

individual one quality is preponderant.

 

The Supreme Being is beyond these qualities and the scriptures

describe His supernatural form as made up of Suddhasattva. It was

to convey that the Lord had assumed a human form that the gold

vessel with a silver lid was presented to Dasaratha, gold

representing the quality of Rajas (activity) and silver

indicative of Sattva (purity). Only few were aware of Rama's

divine nature during His manifestation and the three women, Tara,

Mandodari and Sabhari, knew the significance of His advent.

 

Copyrights: 1995 - 2001 The Hindu

 

Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly

prohibited without the consent of The Hindu