The power of nature, an Act of God

[Guest guest]

Namaste Sri Pieter:

 

First good to know that you and your family are safe and sound.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on witnessing the power of nature,

an act of God. In Bhavavad Gita, Lord Krishna reminds Arjun that he

is not the doer and leave all his worries to the Lord by surrending

his ego to Him. In Chapter 11 of Gita, Lord projects His Divine Form

(Visvarupam) and Arjun like all of those who witnesses the Tsunami

got frightened and ask for forgiveness. The messages in Gita is quite

subtle and following verses provide the profound voice of the Lord:

 

Chapter 4: Verses 7 and 8

 

Yadaa yadaa hi dharmasya glaanir bhavati bhaarata;

Abhyutthaanam adharmasya tadaatmaanam srijaamyaham.

 

7. Whenever there is a decline of righteousness, O Arjuna, and rise

of unrighteousness, then I manifest Myself!

 

Paritraanaaya saadhoonaam vinaashaaya cha dushkritaam;

Dharma samsthaapanaarthaaya sambhavaami yuge yuge.

 

8. For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked,

and for the establishment of righteousness, I am born in every age.

 

chapter 11 verses: 19 -25

 

Anaadimadhyaantamanantaveeryam

Anantabaahum shashisooryanetram;

Pashyaami twaam deeptahutaashavaktram

Swatejasaa vishwamidam tapantam.

 

19. I see Thee without beginning, middle or end, infinite in power,

of endless arms, the sun and the moon being Thy eyes, the burning

fire Thy mouth, heating the entire universe with Thy radiance.

 

Dyaavaaprithivyoridamantaram hi

Vyaaptam twayaikena dishashcha sarvaah;

Drishtwaa'dbhutam roopamugram tavedam

Lokatrayam pravyathitam mahaatman.

 

20. The space between the earth and the heaven and all the quarters

are filled by Thee alone; having seen this, Thy wonderful and

terrible form, the three worlds are trembling with fear, O great-

souled Being!

 

Amee hi twaam surasanghaah vishanti

Kechid bheetaah praanjalayo grinanti;

Swasteetyuktwaa maharshisiddhasanghaah

Stuvanti twaam stutibhih pushkalaabhih.

 

21. Verily, into Thee enter these hosts of gods; some extol Thee in

fear with joined palms: "May it be well." Saying thus, bands of great

sages and perfected ones praise Thee with complete hymns.

 

Rudraadityaa vasavo ye cha saadhyaa

Vishwe'shvinau marutashchoshmapaashcha;

Gandharvayakshaasurasiddhasanghaa

Veekshante twaam vismitaashchaiva sarve.

 

22. The Rudras, Adityas, Vasus, Sadhyas, Visvedevas, the two Asvins,

Maruts, the manes and hosts of celestial singers, Yakshas, demons and

the perfected ones, are all looking at Thee in great astonishment.

 

Roopam mahat te bahuvaktranetram

Mahaabaaho bahubaahoorupaadam;

Bahoodaram bahudamshtraakaraalam

Drishtwaa lokaah pravyathitaastathaa'ham.

 

23. Having beheld Thy immeasurable form with many mouths and eyes, O

mighty-armed, with many arms, thighs and feet, with many stomachs,

and fearful with many teeth, the worlds are terrified and so am I!

 

Nabhahsprisham deeptamanekavarnam

Vyaattaananam deeptavishaalanetram;

Drishtwaa hi twaam pravyathitaantaraatmaa

Dhritim na vindaami shamam cha vishno.

 

24. On seeing Thee (the Cosmic Form) touching the sky, shining in

many colours, with mouths wide open, with large, fiery eyes, I am

terrified at heart and find neither courage nor peace, O Vishnu!

 

Damshtraakaraalaani cha te mukhaani

Drishtwaiva kaalaanalasannibhaani;

Disho na jaane na labhe cha sharma

Praseeda devesha jagannivaasa.

 

25. Having seen Thy mouths, fearful with teeth, blazing like the

fires of cosmic dissolution, I know not the four quarters, nor do I

find peace. Have mercy, O Lord of the gods! O abode of the universe!

 

Arjun the great warrior with strong will power couldn't cope up with

with sight of the Divine Form. Whether we have witnessed the Tsunami

directly or through the television media, we are all frightened by

the act of God and seem to wonder why God Acts this way? Nature has

its own way of solving problems of imbalances - for an intellectual

eye, nature's solution will likely appear cruel. But we the

intellectuals know so little about the ultimate intentions of Nature

and consequently we do not want to accept nature's solution to our

problems. In the short-run we will likely feel miserable but in the

long-run, we will likely be able to recognize and appreciate the

reasonings behind the acts of God.

 

Warmest regards,

 

Ram Chandran

 

advaitin, "Pieter" <pietersa@l...> wrote:

>

> that the real message is that we really have witnessed an "Act of

God" and that act seems to be speaking to the world in a "Biblical"

way. This way has always been a quite simple message, which is that,

while throughout life we focus on one melodrama or another, or on

something we fear, such as terrorism, religious zealotry, and how

that will be harm civilization, or on environmental problems or

political problems, or we get caught up in our pursuits, goals and

dreams, and in that process of loosing ourselves in our passions for

these images, we forget the One that has brought the universe into

existence, who sustains it for a time and dissolves it, while

providing us with the sense of being and identity in the form of our

sense of "I" and the light of awareness, which are really and always

the emanation of the God, Being and Consciousness. So, maybe, as we

have not been able to hear the inner voice, we have the voice of God

speaking through the power of nature with such a force greater than

the calamities we perpetuate on ourselves and each other that we

might remember really Who the Author of the Creation is, reflect

inward, and remember the source of the "I" and "Light" through which

we build our identities.