There are some devotees who do not feel satisfied even after they have prostrated many times before Bhagavan's idol. They keep doing Namaskarams, while others may feel, "Why do these people repeatedly prostrate before the idol?" Offering salutations too is a form of devotion.
There are some who find delight in always functioning as the servitors of the Lord. Such people would not be keen on performing any other activity. One example of this type of devotion is Sri Anjaneya. His only aim in life was to serve His master, Lord Ramachandra.
Some feel like associating with the Lord as a friend. Is this possible? Yes, it is possible. Arjuna had the opportunity to have Lord Krishna as his dear friend. After beholding the universal form of the Lord, Arjuna submitted to Him.
सखेति मत्वा प्रसभं यदुक्तं
हे कृष्ण हे यादव हे सखेति ।
"O, Lord, I dealt with You thinking of You as my friend. Please pardon me for that sin." Lord Krishna blessed Arjuna with Sreyas or higher good.
There are some devotees who wish to offer all their possessions, including themselves, to the Lord. One example of this is Emperor Bali. Lord Vishnu, incarnated as Vamana, requested Bali to give Him a piece of land covered by three steps. When Bali casually agreed, Lord Vamana covered the entire universe with His first step. The second step covered Akasa. Immediately, Emperor Bali bowed down his head to enable the Lord to place His third step on it. He thereby totally surrendered himself to the Lord. This is Atma Nivedana or self-surrender. If a person does not consider anything as his but considers even himself as belonging to the Lord, it is called Atma Nivedana.
Hearing about the Lord, singing His praise, contemplating Him, serving His lotus feet, worshipping Him, prostrating before Him, serving Him as His slave, moving with Him as His friend and surrendering oneself to Him are the nine forms of devotion spoken of in the Sastras. We shall attain Sreyas even if we practise any one of the above types of devotion. As we have already seen, the examples for the various types of devotion are found in Puranas such as Bhagavata. It is our immeasurable good fortune that has enabled us to come across these descriptions.
If we conduct ourselves without being devoted to Ishwara in any manner, our life will serve no purpose whatsoever. All of us know that human birth is very rare to attain. Hence it is but imperative that we resort to a means like devotion to achieve the purpose of human life. Sri Sankara said -
इत: कोन्वस्ति मूढात्मा यस्तु स्वार्थे प्रमाद्यति ।
दुर्लभं मानुषं देहं प्राप्य तत्रापि पौरुषम् ॥
All of us keep discussing various irrelevant issues. Have we ever thought what constitutes our goal? Have we ever planned as to how to achieve the purpose of our life? What efforts have we made to see that we are not reborn? Instead of contemplating about our salvation we take upon ourselves all the issues in the town and suffer. It is natural for everyone to care for one's own welfare before thinking about others. But in reality we do not seem to care about our own salvation and spend our time on mundane things. This is quite peculiar, indeed.
In this connection, I am reminded of one incident concerning My Parama Guru Sri Chandrasekhara Bharathi Mahaswamigal. He was a great Jivanmukta like Sri Sadasiva Brahmendra. He was always indrawn and engrossed in His own Self. Seldom did He come out for any external activity. The Math agent who was observing this spoke to the Guru at an opportune moment, "Now-a-days You never come out to see the devotees. The devotees come in thousands but return disappointed as they are not able to have Your Darshan. Hence in the interest of the Math, I request You to come out and ask the devotees about their welfare". To this, the Guru retorted, "Let Me first enquire as to who I am. Then I shall enquire about others". Such would be the reply of a person who is always established in Self-enquiry. It is needless to add here that we also must strive to uplift ourselves.
knr
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If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.
Happy moments, praise God.
Difficult moments, seek God.
Quiet moments, worship God.
Painful moments, trust God.
Every moment, thank God
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