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Pinnacle of devotion

CHENNAI: : The scriptural texts offer various definitions of devotion to God and these are helpful to a devotee to understand its dynamics. The pinnacle of devotion is that which becomes an end in itself and thus does not ask anything from the Lord but Him and service to Him. This is supreme love of God for His own sake best illustrated in the annals of devotional literature by the (cowherd maidens) Gopis of Brindavan. They were simpletons who had no pretence to scholarship or austerities done with the intention of realising God. For them Krishna was their very life and the sweet notes of His flute beckoned them instantly to His presence abandoning hearth and home. But wasn't that dereliction of duty? Certainly it would have been if they were like other worldly people to whom scriptural guidelines had to be followed. In the case of the Gopis, they had transcended all worldly norms because of their unalloyed devotion to the Lord and hence they followed their hearts' dictates. This is the kind of devotion that the scriptures eulogise as the end in itself.

In his discourse, Sri P.R.Vaidyanatha Sastrigal said the Vishnu Purana described the archetypal devotion of the Gopis through the incident of Balarama's visit to Gokul at the instance of Krishna after He established Dwaraka to protect His kinsmen. There was all-round rejoicing and everyone surrounded him enquiring about Krishna. The Gopis could not help probing him about His welfare but at the same time were jealous of those who lived in His company. Hence their enquiries were laced with sarcasm to hide their disappointment that the Lord seemed to prefer the company of the townsfolk. They alleged that He had even forgotten them.

One maiden made bold to remark that Krishna was ungrateful because He had abandoned them all and going about His life happily while they suffered pangs of separation from Him. They could afford to take such liberties with the Lord because of their overwhelming love and devotion to Him. Unable to contain their feelings they addressed Balarama as Govinda and Damodara. Balarama thus witnessed their devotion at firsthand and touched by their entreaties he consoled them that the Lord had not forgotten them and had sent him with His message to them.

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