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

 

Divine Mother always protects devotees

 

CHENNAI, NOV. 27. While there is no need to doubt about God's

protection to a tormented soul, as He is sure to make His

presence felt when he cringes for His help, how He extends this

power is a mystery. All that a devotee, who displays his deep

faith and his firm conviction that God is ever merciful, has to

do is to continue to hold to His feet. Our scriptural texts

clearly declare that the Divine Mother will indeed shower Her

greater compassion on Her devotees and always protects them. She

possesses all the qualities of a mother who will not mind even

the insults heaped on her by her son, unlike a father who may be

harsh and always insist on his obedience and discipline. That

both stand bound by the devotion of the distressed has been

proved by several instances.

 

That it is absolutely necessary to place the entire

responsibilities of protection on God without wavering or feeling

skeptical or hoping that he (a devotee) can himself tackle

problems is illustrated from an episode when the Lord and the

Divine Mother were playing a game of chess. He suddenly stood up

and walked a few feet and returned. Asked about this, He

explained that a devotee was being assaulted by a group of

persons and on his appeal, He went to save him but the devotee

himself suddenly took steps to fight with them and so He got

back, leaving him to tackle the problem by himself. Likewise, no

plan can succeed if it has not received the Divinity's approval,

the Sakatapuram Sankaracharya explained through a story from the

Mahabharatam, in his discourse.

 

Realising that her sons would fail to win in the war, Gandhari

thought of ``transferring'' her spiritual power to her pet son,

Duryodhana, so that he could counter the attacks on him. So she

asked her son to come alone to her chamber, imposing certain

conditions. Lord Krishna, knowing about this plan, called on

Duryodhana and cleverly made him violate the conditions and go to

her. The mother was upset that her son had not carried out her

wishes. She made him wear an ``armour'' for the chest at the same

time warning him to be careful from attacks on the lower portion

of the body. Had he listened to his mother, events in the epic

would have taken a different turn. This illustrates the mother's

affection and there are several hymns in our scriptural

literature to seek the blessings of our mother if we want success

in our ventures. The Ramayana shows how at the instance of

Sumithra, Lakshmana always considered Rama as father, Sita as his

mother and their place of stay as Ayodhya.

 

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