The Hindu on January 12, 2011, in its religion column featured an article I wish to share. It talks about Lord Vishnu's boundless love for his devotees. Let me quote the article in full.
The Lord is bound by the love of His devotees. Just as an elephant is controlled by a mahout who uses a small stick to prod the animal, so does our bhakti enslave the Lord.
Our bhakti is akin to the mahout's instrument. An example of how He is tied up by our bhakti is seen in the Krishna avatara, in which Yasoda ties Him up to the pounding stone. But in reality, does she indeed tie Him up? Is it possible for us to tie up the Lord, without His willingness? In Yasoda's case, He was tied up because of her love for Him. Our love is the rope that binds Him. He allows Yasoda to tie Him up; He allows us to tie Him up with our love, said Kidambi Narayanan.
When Yasoda tries to tie Him up, she finds that the rope she has with her is always two feet short. Krishna therefore shrinks His body, so that she can tie Him up.
The Lord who measured the three worlds becomes smaller, because of Yasoda's love. Why is the rope short by two feet? Here, there is a philosophical meaning to be read into the episode. There are two things we need to approach the Lord. One is gnana and the other is anushtana, the observance of prescribed practices.
We all have pride. Unless we give up our pride, we cannot have gnana. If we realise that He is everything, He becomes a slave to us. In the Krishna avatara, He humbled Himself to become Arjuna's charioteer. He even bathed the horses! When His childhood friend Sudhama comes visiting, He seats His friend on a throne and asks His consort Rukmini to wash his feet. He remarks that the water, having touched Sudhama's feet, has become pure. He is happiest in the presence of His devotees. He says He gladly takes any name His devotees choose to give Him.
At the end of the Kurukshetra war, when Yudhistra approaches Him and asks Him what He has been doing, Krishna replies that He has been worshipping.
Surprised, Yudhistra asks Him who He has been worshipping, and Krishna replies that He has been worshipping the best of His bhaktas — Bhishma. Thus the Lord, the Supreme One, worships His devotees!
Showing posts with label Vaishnavism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vaishnavism. Show all posts
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Thursday, November 25, 2010
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.
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.
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