Bhakthi rathnakara- Ocean of devotion-Meera-1.5.Bhakthi unimpeded

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From the time Meera started to go to the temple again, the gathering of the sadhus continued to be as before and the words `meeraprabhu giridhari' echoed al over the country as her fame spread far and wide. She lived in Krishna, breathed Krishna and ate and drunk the nectar of Krishnabhakthi.

 

The mental attitude of Meera surrounded by the worldly females of the harem of Rana was similar to that of Seetha in ashokavana surrounded with rakshasis, though she never thought of Rana as Ravana but perhaps like Vibheeshana as he was her only solace. Her devotion to Krishna was nothing short of that which Seetha felt for Rama as Krishna alone was her husband since her marriage to Rana had not registered in her mind at all. The world around did not matter to her and she lived in a world of her own. It was no surprise that the others around her failed to understand. As Krishna Himself said in the Gita, `yaaniSaa sarvabhoothaanaam thasyaam jaagarthi samyamee; yasyaam jaagarthi bhoothaani saa niSaa paSyatho muneH.' The saintly souls live in the world of their own and what seems to be as real as the day for them appears to be dark like the night for the worldly people and vice versa.

Though the world appreciates virtues like truthfulness, sacrifice or the attitudes like detachment and devotion, it is only up to a certain level. But the devotee who enjoys the communion with the Lord always, cannot restrain himself, nor could his adoration be watered down to suit the taste of the world. So he is looked upon by the world as being mad or a dullard. Jadabharatha and Rshabhadeva were the examples of this.

Abhirami Bhattar was seeing the vision of Goddess Abhirami in his mind's eye and when the king who came there asked him what was the thithi that day (it was silly question though to ask a devotee who was in trance enjoying the divine manifestation, anyway,) Bhattar replied that it was poornima when actually it was amavasya. The king asked sarcastically whether the moon will come that night he impatiently replied, being irritated at the disturbance of his divine experience, "yes it will come , go away." The king got angry and ordered to mount him on a platform with fire underneath. The Devi in order to make the words of Her devotee true, took off her earring and threw it on the sky and it appeared shining bright like a moon. This proves that the words of a devotee will never be false. Lord Narasimha appeared from a pillar to prove the words of His devotee Prahlada.

Even though Meera was aware that the svadharma of a wife is to please and serve her husband and her in laws, she could not bring herself to do it because first, she never considered anyone except her Giridhari as her husband and secondly, her svadharma changed from the moment she gave her heart to Him. It is saadharana dharma that one has to follow the svadharma ordained by their situation in the world, as a mother, as a wife, as a disciple, as a son etc.but the visesha dharma is that which supersedes the saadhaarana dharma, and according to it anyone and anything that comes between oneself and the Lord should be given up. This is the svadharma of an ardent devotee. Vibheeshana , Prahlada and Ramanuja are the illustrations for this visesha dharma taking precedence over saadharanadharma. Vibheeshana left everything including his own family to resort to the feet of Rama. Prahlada refused to obey his father and Ramanuja left his wife who was proving a hurdle to his path of devotion. It was this intense devotion that gave the courage to Meera to pursue her path in spite of opposition even from Rana himself later.