His Presence Purifies

Reproducing from today The Hindu's religious column which talks wonderfully about Vaishnavite Acharyas and their total devotion to the Lord.

Lord Narayana's descent to this Earth as Krishna made this earth more effulgent than Vaikuntha, for His presence makes a place bright.

The Vaishnavite Acharya Koorathazhvar wished that he had been born in Gokul, for that was where Krishna had grown up. The cows that were in Gokul, in Koorathazhvar's time, would be descendants of the cows that existed in Krishna's time; as such they were lucky ones, weren't they? Their ancestors would have been cared for by Krishna. All great men know the value of being in a place graced by the Lord, M.V. Anantapadmanabhachariar said in a discourse.

Parasara Bhattar said he would be glad even if he were just a street dog in Srirangam. What is the use of being a dog in Srirangam, we might wonder. After all a dog is not going to be able to enter the temple for darshan of the Lord. But Parasara Bhattar reasoned out that when the processional deity of the Lord was taken out, if Bhattar happened to be a street dog there, he would be shooed off by temple officials. Hearing the commotion, the Lord would turn in the direction of the dog. Thus, the Lord's loving glance would fall on him (Parasara Bhattar). Wasn't that a blessing to aspire for?

Great men prefer living in places where the Lord has taken up residence. Once Peria Tirumalai Nambi, the uncle of Ramanujacharya, came down from Tirumala to welcome his nephew.

He had brought with him some rice to eat on his downward journey. When he opened the packet, he found ants in the rice. All he had to do was to remove the ants and then eat it. But Peria Tirumalai Nambi didn't want to set the ants on the ground, for they were from Tirumala. What if they happened to be some devotees of the Lord who had taken birth as ants to live in the divine presence? So, he took the ants all the way up the hill and left them on top of the hill.

Bees living in the hives on the wall of a Vishnu temple in Tamil Nadu are said to be the devotees of the Lord, who have taken birth as bees to worship the Lord here.