True bhakti
Tuesday 12 July 2011
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The slOka( declared in brahmAnda purAnam and varAha purAnam ) written in Telugu language that you see in the header of this page transliterated to English is:
which means...
"In this Universe there is no sacred place equivalent to Venkatadri(i.e.,There is no place in the whole Universe which is more auspicious than the hill Venkatachala). There is no God equivalent to Lord Venkateswara neither in the past nor in the future going to be(i.e.,There is no Archa murti (worshippable form) in all the three times (present,past and future) whose glories are comparable to the Lord of Venkatachala)"
The Tamil poet Kambar said of Rama, that those who saw His shoulders, continued to see only His shoulders.
Those who saw His feet saw nothing else. But this is not a matter of surprise, for who can see the Infinite One in His entirety?
Every aspect of Him is enough to hold our attention forever. So where is the question of our turning our attention from one aspect of the Supreme One to another aspect of His? Can He be comprehended so easily?
One would think that if a person could see nothing but His shoulders, there must be some defect in the person's vision. But Kambar describes those who saw Rama as having sharp vision.
The fault was not theirs. The reason for their focus lay in the greatness of Rama. What they saw was so great, that taking in everything was impossible.
When we say we have seen the sea, do we mean that we have seen the sea up to its other end? What we mean is that we have seen a portion of it. If that is the case with the ocean, what of the One who made the oceans? Can we expect to see all of Him?
But He can be reached through love, said Damodara Dikshitar.
All He expects is a simple offering of flowers. Or if even that is not possible, then just a sloka that we know should do. If even that is not possible, then just love towards Him will do. But when we worship God, we must not place before Him a list of our demands.
In other words, our bhakti must not be to get something in return. We must expect nothing in return.
The joy that devotion towards Him brings knows no bounds. Devotion towards the Lord with a view to attaining something can never qualify as true bhakti.
There have been devotees like Tukaram, who did not even seek moksha as a boon from God. God is the embodiment of love. His body is made of love.
He can be reached only through love. He can be likened to a mountain in His greatness. And yet this mountain can be held in the fist of love.
The Omnipotent One submits to His humble devotees, who seek nothing from Him, and whose bhakti is not with a view to getting some boon from Him.
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Those who saw His feet saw nothing else. But this is not a matter of surprise, for who can see the Infinite One in His entirety?
Every aspect of Him is enough to hold our attention forever. So where is the question of our turning our attention from one aspect of the Supreme One to another aspect of His? Can He be comprehended so easily?
One would think that if a person could see nothing but His shoulders, there must be some defect in the person's vision. But Kambar describes those who saw Rama as having sharp vision.
The fault was not theirs. The reason for their focus lay in the greatness of Rama. What they saw was so great, that taking in everything was impossible.
When we say we have seen the sea, do we mean that we have seen the sea up to its other end? What we mean is that we have seen a portion of it. If that is the case with the ocean, what of the One who made the oceans? Can we expect to see all of Him?
But He can be reached through love, said Damodara Dikshitar.
All He expects is a simple offering of flowers. Or if even that is not possible, then just a sloka that we know should do. If even that is not possible, then just love towards Him will do. But when we worship God, we must not place before Him a list of our demands.
In other words, our bhakti must not be to get something in return. We must expect nothing in return.
The joy that devotion towards Him brings knows no bounds. Devotion towards the Lord with a view to attaining something can never qualify as true bhakti.
There have been devotees like Tukaram, who did not even seek moksha as a boon from God. God is the embodiment of love. His body is made of love.
He can be reached only through love. He can be likened to a mountain in His greatness. And yet this mountain can be held in the fist of love.
The Omnipotent One submits to His humble devotees, who seek nothing from Him, and whose bhakti is not with a view to getting some boon from Him.
UTSAVA MURTHY OF LORD SRI MALAYAPPA(VENKATESWARA) WITH SRIDEVI AND BHUDEVI
(Click on the image to view full size)
(Click on the image to view full size)
"vEnkatAdri samam sthAnam brahmAndE nAsti kinchana,
vEnkatEsa samO dEvO na bhUtO na bhavishyati"
vEnkatEsa samO dEvO na bhUtO na bhavishyati"
which means...
"In this Universe there is no sacred place equivalent to Venkatadri(i.e.,There is no place in the whole Universe which is more auspicious than the hill Venkatachala). There is no God equivalent to Lord Venkateswara neither in the past nor in the future going to be(i.e.,There is no Archa murti (worshippable form) in all the three times (present,past and future) whose glories are comparable to the Lord of Venkatachala)"
2 comments:
Dear Bro,
Very true message you have outlined. Really, one who is bonded with the lord, would never want anything else apart from him.
Great article. Keep up the good work.
Best regards,
Santosh
Thank you Sir for your words of appreciation :)
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