Great Devotees of Lord Siva 13

[Guest guest]

pleasing him with sweet words, thanking the Lord for the opportunity, and

accompanying the guest for some distance while sending him away—these

constitute Maaheswara Puja. This is also included in Chariyai (one of the main

Saivite disciplines).’ Tirumantirum by Rishi Tirumular Verse 1857:

Devotees are Walking Temples The offering you giveTo the Lord in the temple

steepled highReaches not His

devotees,Who the walking temples noble are;When you offer thingsTo the walking

temples noble,That sure reaches the LordIn the temple steepled high.

Commentary: The offerings given to the Lord in the high-towered temple do not

reach His devotees. But the things offered to the devotees, who are the walking

temples, surely reach the Lord within the high-towered temple. Verse 1860:

Feeding the Tapasvin is superior to feeding Brahmins and Gods Though you a

thousand abodes to holy

Brahmins giveThough you a thousand temples for the gods build;None, none is of

merit compareTo a day's feed to a holy devotee given;This be of certain.

Commentary : Neither the building of a thousand free habitations for Brahmins,

nor feeding sumptuously a hundred, hundred thousand Brahmins, nor erecting a

thousand temples to the gods, none of these is of efficacy equal to a day’s

feeding of a holy devotee who wears the holy ashes. Verse 1865: Worship

without Love for Siva Jnanis Leads Nowhere

line-break"> With endearment none for holy onesWith pride brimming to fullThey

Pujas perform;Thus through ages and ages they tried and perished,Their faces

turned unto agitating churns hard,Their hearts with egoity extreme filled.

Commentary: They who perform pujas with brimming pride, with no endearment to

holy ones, with hearts filled in extreme egoity ; though such pujas are

performed by them for ages and ages – in the end they only perish. Verse

1867: Give to the Holy Ones and Reach the Golden Land Depressed are they

not;In holy Tapas they persevere still;To them giveYour Karmas away to

hasten;You shall that Golden Land reach,Where Karmas three, past, present and

future, exist none. Commentary: They who persevere in silent tapes are great.

He who gives them food chases away his karmas. He will then reach past, present

and future are forever blotted out. Offering food to the Lord’s devotees

had purified his heart and made him a fit receptacle for the grace of God.

Nayanar had been blessed with all the wealth of the world. But, he considered

that the wealth belonged to the Lord, to be utilised for the benefit of His

devotees. Lord Siva was highly pleased with the Nayanar’s devotion. He

wanted to show to the world that His devotee would be undaunted by the worst

calamity and would remain unshaken in his virtue. Nayanar’s wealth melted away.

His wealth had left him, but not his virtue. On the contrary, his devotion to

the Lord and His devotees grew more and more intense. Nayanar sold all his

property and had to sell even himself in order to be able to serve the devotees

of the Lord.

One day it was raining heavily. Nayanar and his wife were starving. No one

came forward to help them. Finally, he bolted the door and was about to fall

asleep. Just then he heard a knock at the door, and, on opening it, found a

Siva Bhakta standing in front of the house, drenched with rain. Nayanar at once

took the guest inside, dried his body and gave him fresh clothes to wear. ‘Rest

awhile, Swami, while we prepare some food for you to appease your hunger,’ said

Nayanar and told his wife of his predicament: there was nothing to offer the

devotee of the Lord. But, the devout wife suggested that Nayanar could go into

the backyard and collect the grain-seeds that they had just sown that very day.

Nayanar accepted the suggestion. On account of the heavy rain, the grains were

floating and it was easy to collect them in a basket. As soon as he brought the

grains, the wife

fried and crushed them, and with the help of some greens that grew in their own

backyard, cooked a nice dinner for the guest. Nayanar was supremely happy.

And, as he went to awaken the guest, he discovered that he had disappeared. At

the same time, Nayanar saw in sky, Lord Siva Who had come in the form of the

devotee and Mother Parvathy showering Their blessing on him and his wife. The

Lord said: ‘Oh noble souls, I am highly pleased with your devotion. You will

soon attain My Abode and live there for ever.’

FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"> Sivaya Namah

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