The Hindu : Miscellaneous / Religion : God's grace enhances divinity

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Dec 16, 2004

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous - Religion

God's grace enhances divinity

CHENNAI, DEC. 16. The Supreme Being is the protector extraordinaire of all creatures. He has shown mankind the way of righteousness through Vedas and sastras. Such recommendations are eternal since dharma is for all times. These guidelines remind a person of all that one has to observe for a virtuous living which will put him on a firm footing towards progress. They also point to activities which contravene the covenants of a principled life.

As a seeker one may find, in his quest to overcome hurdles, scriptures somewhat abstruse. Conceding that the scope of the holy texts call for an evolved mind of stellar wisdom, Sri. P.M. Vijayaraghava Sastri, in his discourse, said that it is for the express purpose of simplifying high philosophy into a readily comprehensible medium puranas and epics command a pride of place. Just as it is a joy to swallow a grape without struggling to savour its luscious taste, so too are scriptural injunctions easily understood by even the uninitiated with the epics and Puranas, encapsulating as they do the essence of dharma. Bhagavatham wields a unique position as a guiding force, highlighting at every turn how the Supreme, manifesting as Lord Krishna upheld virtue and offered His unstinting protection to those who embraced high principles despite severe challenges. Sudhama's history is a perfect example of a man who, by his very nature, proved that he possessed all that is desirable in a friend of none other than the God Himself. Sudhama's conduct towards Lord Krishna is a classic example of how one should treat an exalted personage who is a close companion. A prime devotee even when suffering from abject poverty he exhibited none of the attachments for worldly goods, but visited his rich friend as per his wife's wish. It was Krishna the all-knowing one who blessed him with wealth on his departure.

Our prayers will fetch what we want since like a child making demands on its mother successfully with tears, God too will extend His kindness. Often people set store by riches, on occasions adopting all and any means to accumulate the same. However, wealth when accrued through wrongful means will only enrich that person's tally of sinful deeds and hinder his spiritual progress. Such delusion that earthly riches count for something will impact on an aspirant's devotional quest. On the other hand, when God showers His grace the result would be of enhancing one's latent divinity.

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