Hindu Article-The Lord's accessibility

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The Lord's accessibility

 

 

CHENNAI, AUG.27 . Parallels can be drawn between the descents of the

Supreme Being in the world, as the main purpose of all of them was

restoration of Dharma. Among them the Rama and Krishna manifestations

are very important from the standpoint of mankind as He assumed the

human form in them and made Himself accessible. There is a popular

saying that one should emulate Rama's conduct and follow Krishna's

teachings. Rama was the embodiment of all the virtuous traits that a

human being can possibly possess and hence He remains the role model

for humanity.

 

In her discourse, Smt. Sudha Seshayyan said Lord Krishna was hailed

as the world teacher because His teachings in the Bhagavad Gita to

Arjuna were intended for the entire mankind. Krishna chose to grow up

amidst the cowherd community of Gokul tending to the cows as they did

and hence His name Gopala. Later, during the Mahabharata war He

became Arjuna's charioteer. Lord Siva similarly is known as Pasupati

because He tends the bonded souls and redeems them from bondage in

the manner of a cowherd who takes care of his flock. Why should the

Almighty take on such servile roles in His manifestations? They may

seem menial but they are necessary to accomplish the purpose of His

incarnations.

 

Just as cows are used as a metaphor for souls in the spiritual

tradition, horses are likened to the sensory organs. The Lord assumed

the charioteer's role (Parthasarathy) in the Mahabharata war and

taught the Gita in the battlefield to show the importance of keeping

the senses under control for evolving spiritually. But this role

pales into the background the moment Krishna's name is mentioned

because it is His childhood sports that continue to enthral the

mystics and the laity alike. Krishna's accessibility to the common

folks endeared Him so much to them that this inimitable trait has

become the leitmotif of the sacred literature that has grown over the

centuries right from the time of the Bhagavata Purana and the

Azhwars' hymns to the modern day poems of Bharatiar.

 

Periazhwar's partiality for Krishna can be seen from his hymn, the

Periazhwar Tirumozhi. It is recounted that when he visited

Tirukoshtiyur on the way to Srivilliputtur from where he hailed he

saw it as Krishna's birthplace Mathura and burst into song describing

its mansions and riches. Krishna thus defies reason and in the

devotional tradition He remains the enduring personification of

accessibility.

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