Sterling devotion to God -hindu article

[Guest guest]

Sterling devotion to God

 

 

CHENNAI, NOV.2 . The glory of the Supreme Being is boundless and even

the Vedas have failed to exhaust it. The eternal beings are

privileged to serve Him in His transcendental abode but the Lord

seeks the company of His devotees. The birth of mystics in the world

is a testimony to this paradox and is a pointer to why the Almighty

assumes different forms for the sake of His devotees. The Azhwars,

who were mystic saints, are called as Divyasuris because they

envisioned the Lord in their hearts. Like the lotus which turns

towards the Sun always or the rivers which seek the sea unfailingly,

the mind of a mystic dwells on God.

 

In his discourse, Sri M.V.Ananta Padmanabhachariar said a true

devotee or a mystic found fulfilment only in communion with the

Almighty. Their nature can be compared to that of a creeper. Even

though it runs along the ground it seeks a tree or pole for support

and thrives when it finds one to cling to. But when it does not find

one it does not survive for long. So also, a devotee seeks God with

all his being and finds meaning in life only in expressing his

devotion to Him. The case of Akrura immediately comes to mind. A

great devotee, he was overjoyed when Kamsa instructed him to bring

Krishna and Balarama to Mathura. He was happy to be given a chance to

behold the Lord that he blessed all the demons who were earlier sent

by the tyrant to kill Krishna. He reasoned that he was fortunate to

be chosen for this mission only because they had been killed.

 

Akrura set out with great expectation in his heart thinking, " What

noble act has been performed (nay), what supreme austerity has been

gone through or what gift has been bestowed on a worthy recipient by

me, by virtue of which, I am going to behold Sri Krishna? If there

comes about today a meeting with Lord Vishnu, the home of loveliness,

who has of His own free will assumed human semblance for relieving

the burden of the Earth, there is no denying the fact that my eyes

will have easily attained the fruit of their existence. "

 

Many such examples of sterling devotion to God can be seen in the

scriptural texts. Vibhishana, though he was Ravana's brother parted

ways with him and surrendered to Rama. Bharata spurned the kingdom

and went to the forest to persuade Rama to return. Kuchela agreed to

visit Krishna after his wife repeatedly beseeched him not for

alleviating his penury but because it afforded an opportunity to

behold Him.

 

copy right: the hindu-daily