Miscellaneous - Religion   

Illumining experience

CHENNAI : Human beings are unable to perceive God and comprehend the extent of His glory because their perception and knowledge are circumscribed by the senses and the mind, which serve them well only as far as worldly matters are concerned. But, the scriptures also reiterate that man can experience God and that it is the human personality that is specially equipped for this. Man's capacity to use the subtler levels of his consciousness for gaining spiritual knowledge becomes dulled because of constant engagement with the material world.

In his discourse, Sri T.V.Venkataraman said the hymns of saints like Manikkavasagar were a standing testimony to the fact that God could be experienced. All spiritual practices are designed to make the mind introverted. The constant denigration of sensory attractions in the Tiruvasagam is but a reminder to spiritual seekers to be guarded so that they do not stray from the objective of realising God. Quite often saints metaphorically portray sensory attractions as a woman because it is the deluding power of Maya that is responsible for man succumbing to his sensory desires.

The Tiruvasagam of Manikkavasagar testifies that God is closest to man, but he is blind to this fact. As a spiritual aspirant progresses beyond the descriptions of the Almighty given in scriptural texts he begins to see Him as the light of knowledge illumining his consciousness.

How does one know whether one is in the presence of God? Love springs up in the heart and like the firefly, which is unfailingly attracted to the light and falls into it, the devotee also gets caught up in the tremendous expansion of his consciousness and melts in the ecstasy of the experience.

Manikkavasagar sings of this experience, "He is honey, milk, essence of sugarcane and light; He is the Lord-owner who melts the flesh of those who stand clarified by Him. Should I, the querulous one say: `I am Your servitor; You had enslaved me'? It is but fair that You should laugh at this in Your grace; such indeed is my nature."

The experience is so transforming and certain that there is no way one cannot but recognise it. Another constant refrain in the works of mystics is the expression of surprise that they had been singled out by God when they had not done anything to deserve His grace.

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