The Hindu : Miscellaneous / Religion : A leader among devotees

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Saturday, Mar 19, 2005

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous - Religion

A leader among devotees

CHENNAI, MARCH 19. As victims of circumstances people are forced to undertake certain tasks, which go against the norms of virtue. Rare indeed is it to come across a person capable of withstanding such a severe test, since all of us are governed by the necessities of eking out a livelihood. How is a man expected to both perform his duty as well as uphold virtuous conduct? Any task performed with an ulterior motive could only boomerang on the ill-willed and not on the executor.

In their discourse, Smt. Perundevi Seshadri and Sri Damal Ramakrishnan said Kamsa's nefarious intent of enticing Lord Krishna as if there were to be a `yagna' in order to kill Him caused untold anguish to Akrura who was given the thankless commission. However, the messenger did his job in the full knowledge that Krishna was invincible. It was a certainty that Kamsa would meet his end rather than the other way round. Such faith results in the correct frame of mind required for communion with God.

Throughout his journey to Brindavan, Akrura was filled with the presence of the Lord, dwelling on His lilas verily like Andal in the Thiruppavai. Can anything match the impish lilas of Krishna when He held out His palms replete with the Sri Chakra and the Conch to a fruit seller, thereby endowing her with untold blessings? The awareness that he was to enter the hallowed ground of Krishna's residence transported the devout courier, for, like Vedantha Desikan celebrated (in Daya Satakam), devotees hold His abode dearer than even Him; it lends to better appreciation of His presence. In `Narayaneeyam' Bhattadri marvels at this inner awareness of the Lord's presence in Akrura who could `see' the lotus feet of the Lord on the ground. Very rarely are people imbued with such vision. In the Ramayana when Bharata sank into melancholic despair over Rama's sojourn in the forest, his mood improved when Guha pointed to the spot where Rama sat, what He ate, what bed Rama slept on and where He walked. Akrura, likewise, carried the presence of the Lord in him, which is why scholars hail him as the leader among devotees. Wherever he turned he saw His image as it were, like sentinels on either side of the road. Scholars point out that in the thrall of pure devotion, Akrura jumped off the chariot and prostrated in sheer bliss on the road, thereby pioneering the act of circumambulation that devotees offer to the Lord to this day in temples, out of spontaneous love.

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