The Hindu Article - God incarnates for humanity's sake

[Guest guest]

Date:22/03/2003 URL:

http://www.thehindu.com/2003/03/22/stories/2003032203550900.htm

 

Miscellaneous - Religion

 

God incarnates for humanity's sake

 

CHENNAI MARCH 22 . The scriptural statement describing the Almighty's

nature "He who does not have birth manifests in myriad forms" may

appear paradoxical but it is not so. The Lord has incarnated time and

again in the world out of compassion for humanity. But His birth

unlike that of human beings is out of His will and thus not due to

Karma. Lord Krishna has clarified this in the Bhagavad Gita, "Though

without birth and deathless, and the Lord of all beings as well, yet

I take birth by My inherent mysterious power employing the pure

aspect of My material nature." Even though the Lord's incarnations

are said to be 10, they are numerous. Among them His manifestation in

human form as Rama is important for mankind. The Ramayana of Valmiki

is hailed as the foremost epic in verse.

 

In his discourse, Kalyanapuram Sri R.Aravamudan said the Vedas were

hailed as the breath of the Supreme Being. They eulogise the Lord and

in His incarnation as Rama in the world, the Vedas were written as

the Ramayana. The sages have composed the epics and the Puranas with

the intention of making available the teachings of the Vedas for

humanity in an easy manner. The Mahabharata is called the fifth Veda

due to its encyclopaedic nature. Both the epics are thus on a par

with the Vedas. The most important teachings highlighted in the epics

are: it is man's ego, which leads to downfall and that Dharma

protects the person who upholds it.

 

Further, Valmiki's life is a pointer to the transformation that can

happen in the life of any spiritual aspirant. No one is eternally

doomed and thus there is the hope of turning over a new leaf from

moral decrepitude to the highest level of God-realisation. "Valmiki"

meaning one, who emerged from an anthill, was a hunter before he

became a sage by chanting the name "Rama". His spiritual stature was

such that he was chosen to write the Ramayana by Sage Narada. He had

the blessing of the Goddess of speech as the curse he uttered

spontaneously emanated in verse form and the creator, Brahma, blessed

him that the work he composed would be revered as long as this Earth

existed. Another greatness of this epic is due to the reason that it

was recited before Rama Himself by Lava and Kusa to whom it was

directly taught by Valmiki.

 

© Copyright 2000 - 2002 The Hindu