The Hindu Article - Service to God, end in itself

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Date:25/11/2002 URL:

http://www.thehindu.com/2002/11/25/stories/2002112500920900.htm

 

Miscellaneous - Religion

 

Service to God, end in itself

 

CHENNAI NOV.25 . Performance of eternal service to God is the finest

expression of man's relationship with God. In the initial stage of

spiritual development a person's ego will be strong and hence he may

not understand the significance of performing service to God. Man

rightly belongs to the Supreme Being and when knowledge of the

relationship between them blossoms, the attitude of service evolves

and passes through stages to its fruition till the ego gets totally

effaced and he exists only to please the Lord.

 

The phases through which a devotee evolves can be appreciated from

scriptural texts. Lakshmana's service to Rama and Sita is legion.

When Rama went to the forest in exile He tried His best to dissuade

Lakshmana from accompanying Him by pointing out that he should remain

in Ayodhya to serve their parents. But he insisted on following Rama.

Lakshmana is thus given as the best example of the phase in spiritual

development when man discovers his relationship with God and revels

in performing service to Him. The next phase is marked by maturity

with the knowledge that service must be performed not for one's

edification but to please the Almighty. Bharata best exemplifies this

stage. He went in search of Rama to the forest only to persuade Him

to return to Ayodhya and accept the throne but when Rama expressed

His mind, he obeyed His wishes faithfully thus showing that he was

only too willing to do whatever pleased the Lord, said Villivakkam

Sri T.A.Varadachariar in his discourse.

 

The final stage is marked by total absence of ego wherein the devotee

behaves like an insentient object. Satrughna is cited as example for

this. The Ramayana states that when Bharata proceeded to his maternal

uncle's house, Satrughna "was taken away" by him (as though he was an

object and did not have a will of his own). Tiruppan Azhwar's

redemption by Lord Ranganatha is a classic example of this pinnacle

of service to God. When the Lord ordered the priest of the temple,

Lokasaranga Mamuni, to bring Panan to His sanctum bearing him on his

shoulders as expiation for slighting him, he who had never even set

foot inside the temple because of his social standing and maintained

a distance from the priestly class, without any reservation obeyed

the instruction and came into the temple with all honours.

Commentators observe that it was Tiruppan Azhwar's spiritual

maturity, which made him surrender totally to the Lord by implicitly

following whatever he was asked to do.

 

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