saguna/nirguna brahman

[Guest guest]

friends,

 

There are two aspects of god, one with form and the

other without form (sakara and nirakara). The formless

god is beyond the reach of the ignorant, those who

have not progressed sufficiently in spiritual

knowledge. It is to meet the needs of such people,

that Hinduism has in its pantheon thirty-three crores

of gods who are all with form. If, with implicit

faith, such people worship any of the aspects of god

with form,-believing them to be real, the god without

form who is immanent in the core of everyone’s being,

will awaken their higher conciousness(the sixth

sense),and he will be experienced as supreme

knowledge. There are attributes to describe god

without form. He is ever-existent, unchanging,

indestructible and devoid of special qualities. He is

supreme Brahman, who could be worshipped both as god

with form and without form. Idols of gods are

installed in Hindu temples so that the fickle mind can

fasten itself for support on the god seen as idol and

conceive of god in the particular form of the visible

idol. By constant meditation on the form of the idol,

the mind becomes steady. The Nama (name) of the

particular deity should be continiously recited in the

mind. If this discipline is persisted in, there will

come a time when god without form will get

transformed, and will be realized in the heart as the

supreme witness, god without form.

There is a legend associated with the Mahesvara idol

at Tirukkadayur, in Tnajore District of south India. A

Brahmin youth suddenly began shouting “Yama (the God

of death) is approaching” and caught firm hold of the

feet of the idol in the temple. He never for a moment

thought the idol to be of stone, nor did he entertain

any doubt about its ability to save him from that

situation. To him, the idol was the Lord Maheswara in

person, and he prayed fervently to be blessed with

deathless existence. Thereupon, the lord emerged from

the idol, as an embodiment of Supreme grace, and

chased away Yama. The youth prayed that he should be

freed from Yama’s visitation for all time to come.

Here arose a difficulty. For it was recorded in the

books of Chitra Gupta- the accountant of the Gods-

wherein the ordained span of every human life is

entered, that this particular youth could live up to

the age of sixteen. Being the ordinance of Brahma, it

could not be altered. The quick-witted Brahmin youth

replied ‘O Lord! Let the entry remain, but add an

amendment to it “FOREVER”. As a result, the youth

continues to live for ever, always remaining at

sixteen years of age. His name, Markandeya, is a

household word in India.

 

It can be affirmed with absolute certainty that though

the worship of the Brahman with form, one will be able

to obtain the perception of the formless Brahman in

one’s consciousness as Pure Awareness and infinite

Grace. If a human being meditates on the form of Sri

Rama, the ideal man, or recites Sri Rama’s name (or

any particular avatar of God) the form of the avatar

meditated upon will appear before the consciousness as

a pure radiance corresponding to that form. This will

strengthen the devotee’s faith in God.

Even in Bhagavad gita the lord says,

 

“The Viswaroopa, the all-pervading aspect of Mine is

indeed fearsome; the form of the cowherd (Krishna) may

be deemed by many to be unsuited for worship. If you

are inclined, you may adopt the four armed form for

the purpose of worship. All these three aspects are

endowed with my power and effulgence in the same way

and, therefore, the worship of any one of them will

lead to the same goal and your wishes will be

fulfilled. You can worship any aspect of Mine

according to your imagination.”

 

 

pranams

cdr bvn

 

 

 

______________________

Want to chat instantly with your online friends? Get the FREE

Messenger http://mail.messenger..co.uk