From the Hindu

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Sri:

 

Dear Bhaktas,

 

Adiyen found the following article from the Hindu (Feb 7,2000). Since

this may

be of interest to others in this forum, Adiyen is posting it here.

 

Namo Narayana,

 

SriMuralidhara Dasan

 

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CHENNAI, FEB.7. God-realised saints who have described the glory of the

Supreme Being

from their personal experience have expressed that

they are never satiated doing so as His

infinite nature presents before them new perspectives

every time. Even the Vedas which are

the ultimate authority on the Almighty and are eternal

in nature, ratify that it is impossible to

exhaust His excellences or know His splendour.

 

Such being the Lord's infinite nature, human beings

can only know and experience Him with the

help of scriptural texts like the Puranas which relate

His deeds during His manifestations and

the spiritual experiences of sages. Listening to their

exposition affords greater insight and

appreciation as devotion is enhanced in this process.

The practice of expounding the scriptural

texts and listening to them (Sravana) has a hoary

tradition and the spiritual benefit of this

exercise is immense.

 

Can there be anything greater and more beneficial than

the method of Sravana? According to

the scriptures the Divine names are more gratifying to

humanity than even God and His

auspicious qualities, as it is possible for all to

chant His names.

 

Their efficacy can be understood from the fact that

they are prescribed as the panacea for all

human transgressions. Further chanting the Divine name

is the means recommended for

realising God in this Kali yuga as the majority of

people cannot practise the other methods

prescribed in the scriptures.

 

In his discourse Mukkur Sri Lakshminarasimhachariar

said, it was not just human shortcomings

that made it difficult to adopt other methods like

meditation and performance of sacrifices in this

age, but the nature of the Kali yuga itself which

prevented man from performing spiritual

practices. In the other ages nature itself was

conducive and aided man in his pursuit of noble

undertakings. It is with this fact in mind that the

scriptures have emphasised the importance of

chanting the Divine name and hymns in praise of God as

the most appropriate means for

liberation in this age.

 

In the Bhagavad Gita Lord Krishna has in the

concluding chapter recommended that one could

resort to Him as the means for realising Him after

giving up all other duties. In another context

in the same text the Lord has emphasised that one

should never forsake one's scriptural duties.

So how does one resolve this apparent contradiction?

Alavandar in his commentary on the Gita

says that one should not forsake one's obligatory

duties. By surrendering to God and accepting

Him as the means the onus of the soul's redemption

shifts to the Lord.