The Hindu : Miscellaneous / Religion : God's grace liberates man

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Friday, Apr 30, 2004

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous - Religion

God's grace liberates man

CHENNAI, APRIL 30. Many are the man-made changes in the physical world, which has seen humanity cross even astral frontiers. However, the personal life of human beings continues to be a challenge, with the unchanging nature of getting drawn towards all that is impermanent in this world. Despite that, petty rivalries, motive-ridden actions, and greed for worldly riches are the focal point of today's life. In order to give life its full worth, one should turn to God, the only source of lasting happiness.

Sri T.S. Raghavendran in a lecture said that religion is like the waves of the ocean — it is perennial and unceasing. Great preceptors have appeared from time to time, acting as charioteers of spiritual seekers. Sri Madhwacharya who lived in the 13th century was one such. He advocated a nine-principled approach, which are evocative of what the Lord ordained in the Bhagavad Gita. Often, men wonder about the presence of God. He is Omnipresent. He is not obvious to all. The Lord Himself states in the Gita, ``Arjuna, I know all beings, past as well as present, even those that are yet to come; but none (devoid of faith and reverence) knows Me.''

Echoing the essence of the scriptures, Madhwacharya's philosophy of pluralistic theism clearly sets out that Hari is the Supreme Being, and the individual souls are separate entities owing allegiance to Him. No single individual in this world can claim, that things are progressing as per his plans — Man is but a servant of the Lord. The world as created by Him is real. The soul in bondage finds liberation through the grace of God, virtuous conduct and true devotion One may wonder if God gets involved at a macro level, but there is enough evidence in the holy texts. Bhima was a true personification of devotion. The episode of Draupadi's humiliation is often a much debated point among scholars and students. Bhima's prowess was such that he could have ended the traumatic scene at the very beginning. However, there was a larger purpose at play. Just as how a common pick-pocket is not awarded capital punishment, so too the Kauravas, lacking in all the core values, could not be eliminated at that stage, since their sins had to mature and reach the saturation point. On the other hand, Bhima who witnessed his son's Gadothgaja fall, supplicated to Krishna, wondering if he had upheld the Lord's wishes. Finally, a spontaneous overflow of knowledge by reading of scriptures and reasoning thereof is the basis of true wisdom, and all the texts only sing the praise of Hari.

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