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

 

Bountiful grace of the Almighty

 

CHENNAI, AUG. 11. Devotion can be enhanced by different means

according to the capacity of the person to practice it.

Scriptures describe these methods and among them listening to the

glory of God, especially His deeds during His incarnations,

chanting His names and singing hymns in His praise, and

remembering Him while engaged in day-to-day activities are

considered most practical to adopt and also most favoured by the

Lord Himself. The Almighty's manifestation in human form, as

Krishna, provides insight into the dynamics of God-devotee

relationship which is dealt with in detail in the Bhagavata

Purana.

 

The singular status of this Purana is due to the thread of

devotion that runs through the episodes related in it and thus it

is not just a narrative of the advents of the Supreme Being like

the other Puranas and it reaches its zenith in the 10th canto

which describes Lord Krishna's incarnation and His divine deeds.

Many were favoured with His grace during His childhood in Gokul.

Every sacred place has a special significance associated with it

and devotees who undertake pilgrimages make specific offerings.

According to the spiritual lore the earth at Gokul was considered

very holy by saints and devotees, said Sri K.Srikanta Sarma in

his discourse.

 

To appreciate this one has to understand the glory of those who

were recipients of His grace - the simple cowherd community of

Gokul and His foster-parents, especially Yashoda. They were great

devotees of the Lord, realised souls, who had accompanied the

Lord during His advent and it was to heighten the love and

devotion which bound them to Him that they were singled out for

enjoying the divine deeds of His childhood. When Uddhava

witnessed for himself their overwhelming devotion to the Lord he

prayed spontaneously, ``Let me be any one of the shrubs, creepers

or herbs in Brindavana, catching the dust of the feet of these

blessed Gopis who trod the path of devotion leading to Sri

Krishna - the path which is still to be strenuously sought for

even by the Upanishads...''

 

It was the dust of the feet of these cowherd women that such a

great devotee like Uddhava wanted to partake. It was to proclaim

His love for His devotees that the Almighty chose this sanctified

place on the Earth to perform His deeds. The special grace

showered on Yashoda by revealing to her the infinitude of His

cosmic form when she chastised Him for eating mud when His

friends complained to her is an instance oft-quoted in the

spiritual tradition to highlight His quality of easy

accessibility to His devotees.

 

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