====================
स्फुरदिन्दीवरलोचनाभिरामाम् ।
अरविन्दसमानसुन्दरस्या-
मरविन्दासनसुन्दरीमुपासे ॥
The best means to earn the grace of Ishwara is devotion. No other qualification is needed if one is devoted. That is why Sri Sankara said:
भक्ति: किं न करोत्यहो वनचरो भक्तावतंसायते ॥
Even a hunter in the forest will rise to the level of being respected by all. How? By his devotion. All of us have heard of Kannappa Nayanar. Was he educated or was he orthodox? Was he affluent? No. He had no such qualifications. But his devotion towards the Lord had no parallel.मार्गवर्तितपादुका पशुपतेरङ्गस्य कूर्चायते
गण्डूषाम्बुनिषेचनं पुररिपोर्दिव्याभिषेकायते ।
किञ्चिद्भक्षितमांसशेषकबलं नव्योपहारायते …
Kannappa Nayanar once beheld a Sivalinga in the forest. He could see that the Sivalinga had not been worshipped for long by anyone. He decided to do the worship himself. But he did not have any materials for worship. Seeing that the Sivalinga was fully covered by dust, Kannappa wanted to clean it. Lacking anything else to wipe it, he used his sandals for removing the dust from the Linga. There was a river which flowed nearby. Kannappa had no vessel to fetch water from the river for the sacred ablution. His mouth became the vessel to carry the water. He spat the water on the Linga and the Abhishekam was over. He thought for a moment as to what he should offer to the Lord as Naivedya. He decided to offer the meat of the animal which he had hunted just a little earlier. Ishwara happily accepted all these acts of His sincere devotee. Why? Because, Kannappa was extremely devoted. Though the story is not over, at this juncture, I wish to warn some people who might think that they can also do Puja in an unorthodox way as did Kannappa. They may also do so, provided they are capable of performing the most astonishing act that Kannappa subsequently indulged in. In that case, Ishwara may accept the worship of such people notwithstanding their heterodoxy.
After the worship was over, Kannappa noticed that tears of blood were flowing copiously from one eye of the Lord's image. Kannappa was shocked. Thinking that there was something wrong with one of His eyes, Kannappa forcefully plucked his own eye and fixed it on the defective eye of the Lord. Then he noticed that Bhagavan's other eye started bleeding. Kannappa immediately cut out his second eye and placed it on the second defective eye of Ishwara. Ishwara became immensely pleased with His devotee and appeared before him. Kannappa was instantaneously blessed with Moksha. This was the result of Kannappa's sincere devotion.
Devotion is something which is vital for everyone. The Sastras describe various types of devotion. Some find pleasure in listening to discourses relating to Bhagavan. Such people can be found wherever any religious discourse is conducted. This is one type of devotion. Some others desire to continuously chant the holy names of Bhagavan. Such persons do not care about their other activities. We learn from the Bhagavata Purana that the Gopika ladies were extremely devoted to Lord Krishna. A great poet described this in one of his verses.
विक्रेतुकामा किल गोपबाला
मुरारिपादार्पितचित्तवृत्ति: ।
दध्यादिकं मोहवशादवोचद्
गोविन्द दामोदर माधवेति ॥
The Gopikas eked out their living by selling dairy products. They used to house the vessels containing milk and curd in baskets and carry the baskets on their heads. They then entered street after street shouting, "Milk, curds,…", to attract the attention of their customers. One day, a Gopika set out to sell the products. Her mind was so engrossed in chanting the divine names of Lord Krishna that she was heard shouting, "Govinda, Damodara, Madhava…..", instead of "Milk, curds,….". The observers of this scene were surprised and thought that the girl had taken leave of her senses. However, the mind of that girl was thoroughly engrossed in the thought of her Lord. Indeed, if we happen to witness the behaviour of great Jnanis and great devotees, we too may get the feeling that they are insane. I am now reminded of an incident pertaining to the great soul Sri Sadasiva Brahmendra.
Sri Sadasiva Brahmendra was an exalted Jivanmukta. People around him who watched his behaviour thought that he was insane. They proceeded to his Guru and reported, "Your disciple has gone mad". To this, the Guru replied with grief,
उन्मत्तवत् सञ्चरतीह शिष्य-
स्तवेति लोकस्य वचांसि शृण्वन् ।
खिद्यन्नुवाचास्य गुरु: पुराहो
उन्मत्तता मे न हि तादृशीति ॥
"I am only wondering when I can also attain that state. Even though I call myself his Guru, I am yet to attain that state. He is a great soul." So exalted was the state of Sri Sadasiva Brahmendra in which he was absorbed. Likewise, the Gopika girl was totally engrossed in her mental chanting. Reciting the divine names is a form of devotion.
Sage Suka expounded the Bhagavata to King Parikshit. Suka's words never deviated from the main topic, viz., divine play of the Lord. There are some who always remember Ishwara even when they are involved in activities like talking, eating, writing and walking. Contemplation on Ishwara is also a form of devotion. Another form of devotion is serving the lotus feet of Lord. There are many devotees who are ever intent on serving Bhagavan.
knr
--
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
No comments:
Post a Comment