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

Miscellaneous

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Religion

 

 

True devotees can see Lord's Beautiful Form

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHENNAI, DEC. 13. There is no ``communication gap'' between God and devotees.

While the latter are anxious to reach Him as early as possible, He is also ready

to respond to their prayers and He knows when to come to them. Those who

dedicate all their actions to Him, ever bent on Him alone, concentrate and

worship Him with intent mind, are in no time rescued from the ocean of ceaseless

rounds of births and deaths. Single-minded devotion to God's Eternal, Beautiful

Human Form, is the characteristic trait of His devotees. He delivers them from

repeated appearances in this world.

 

That a devotee desires to reach Him quickly has been demonstrated in the case of

Vibhishana (in the Ramayana) who discarded his family and position so as to take

refuge in the Lord. ``Lead me quickly to Him'', he pleaded with those around

Rama. By himself, a devotee cannot cross this terrible sea of worldly life. The

waters may appear from a distance very beautiful, but once a person enters it in

a boat, he will face innumerable hazards like turbulent waves and ferocious

varieties of fish. God, when His help is sought, will take him across safely.

 

The Lord says in the Bhagavad Gita that no amount of the study of the Vedas,

performances of austerities, gifts or sacrifices was of any avail in beholding

it (His Form) as the one he (Arjuna) has seen. Only with single-minded devotion

that he could perceive and realise it. It was then that Arjuna sought to know

from the Lord as to who among the devotees, whether those who worship Him with

abiding faith or those who desire the undefined, are better. In this connection,

there are two kinds of persons, said Srimathi Prema Pandurang in a lecture.

 

Some worship the Lord with ever harmonised mind subjecting the physical, mental

and social functions to unalloyed devotion to Krishna and (second) those who

follow the unmanifested, formless principle of the Lord. The Lord's reply was

that those who worship Him as the Absolute, unchangeable, impersonal, unmanifest

and inimitable keeping the senses under control, with a calm and tranquil vision

rejoicing in the well-being of all, no doubt attain Him but with the greatest

possible difficulty and trouble, greater than those who adore the Manifest Form.

``We cannot think of anything vague. We want something concrete.'' The former

path is beset with obstacles for the embodied souls. ``Concentrate then, your

mind, on My Eternal Beautiful Human Form and rely on Me. Then you will attain

pure love,'' the Lord has said.

 

 

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