Article sent from The Hindu

[Guest guest]

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

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

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

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

Miscellaneous

-

Religion

 

 

Path of devotion, easiest way to reach God

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHENNAI, FEB. 5. The period of stay of a human being in this world has been

described in holy texts in many dimensions, one of them being to that of the

crossing of a river. The Bhagavatham refers to the birth of Krishna (the Lord in

a cowherd colony) inside a prison cell, the guards lulled into sleep, the locks

opening automatically, the river giving way to the father to enable him to carry

the Divine Child and leave Him safe in a village and come back to the prison

chamber with a different child (all according to a Divine Plan, during a single

night). Likewise, a man who retains the Lord's vision always in his heart can

get over the hurdles in his sojourn in this world, by crossing the river that

keeps him away from his goal. If this person is deeply attached to God, the

gates of Heaven will open while the six sentries (like passion and anger) will

doze off, there will be bright moon shedding lustre and the senses controlled

(as people in the village were unaware of the tr!

ansfer of the children). The person so devoted will not yield to delusions. The

family fetters will get loosened by themselves.

 

While comparing the worldly existence to that of a turbulent river, a verse says

that it can be crossed by a human being either by swimming, or by getting into a

boat with an experienced oarsman as the guide or make a direct leap from one

bank to the other. These three methods are akin to the paths of duty, of

devotion and of knowledge mentioned in scriptures. As regards the merits of

these three methods, swimming may at times result in the person getting tired

midway and the chances of being washed away cannot be ruled out. Likewise in the

path of duty, there will be obstacles. Even should he reach Heaven (Swargam), he

has to come back after the fruits of his good deeds get depleted. The path of

spiritual knowledge, viz., like leaping across the river may appear easy but all

cannot count on it as only stalwarts or men of wisdom (like Anjaneya in the

Ramayana) will be capable of achieving this feat, explained Sri Sankaracharya of

Sakatapuram in a discourse. Hence, the path o!

f devotion is the best and it has been recommended for adoption by all the

spiritual leaders. Adi Sankara has no doubt stated that salvation can be

attained through the acquisition of spiritual knowledge but he has given equal

emphasis in his various works, that cultivation of devotion will ultimately

result in leading one to the higher plane of self-knowledge.

 

 

Copyrights: 1995 - 2001 The Hindu

 

Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly

prohibited without the consent of The Hindu