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Unflinching faith

CHENNAI : Bhakti is an experience that is deeply felt within one's inner self. It can transport one to a higher level of consciousness when one is able to commune with the divine. The Supreme Being is ever alert to the sincerity of devotion and is ready to come to the devotee's assistance. It is this interactive relationship between the divine and the devout that has nurtured the Bhakti tradition. The lives of devotees — saints, Azhwars and Nayanamars — illustrate the efficacy of the path of Bhakti, as it transcends all other routes and easily leads the confused soul towards the quest for the divine.

Legend has it that the sacred Tamil hymn Abirami Anthathi was a spontaneous composition of Abirami Bhattar, when his devotion to Goddess Abirami was put to test. This great devotee, known to be always engrossed in Manasika Puja (worship of the Goddess within his self) that made him impervious to the world around him, had once claimed Amavasya (new moon day) as Pournami (full moon day). The Goddess had caused a full moon to appear on the sky, to save Her devotee from punishment, thus inspiring him to sing Her praises. The beautiful expression of fervent devotion where the highest philosophical truths of the scriptures are made easily accessible to all is a standing testimony to divine inspiration, said Sri Sukhi Sivam in a lecture.

The very first stanza of this hymn epitomises the Supreme Being's role as the Divine Mother who creates, preserves and dissolves. The unique relationship between the Jivatma and the Paramatma is a strong and never ending binding as that between a mother and child, since the entire creation owes its existence to the primordial cause of creation and sustenance. She is the cause of charm and grace in the constant process of creation where the Beginning and the End get merged in a cyclic course of action. It is Her boundless compassion that stands as an unfailing support for all beings at all times.

Great effort is needed to comprehend the divine as God cannot be seen as a tangible object or person but can only be fully experienced and realised in one's consciousness. One beholds the manifestation of the divine as the visible tree where the seed is unseen. God is an experience that comes from unflinching faith.

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