Miscellaneous - Religion   

Paths to realisation

CHENNAI : The objective of a scriptural text is reiterated in the beginning, middle and the end of the work. Seen from this perspective, the Ramayana has surrender to God (Saranagati, Prapatti) as its raison d'être. Besides, Saranagati is reinforced in all the seven cantos of the epic. Hence commentators eulogise it as the scriptural authority on Saranagati.

In his discourse, Sri A. V. Rangachariar said that after creating this universe the Supreme Being had to then sustain it for the sake of the welfare of all beings. Among them human beings are considered the highest in order because man excels others in knowledge with which he is able to lead a qualitatively better life. Human beings can enjoy the bliss of communion with God which other creatures are incapable of.

The worldly joys that man enjoys are considered lesser than the bliss of spiritual experience because sensory joys are for self-edification while spiritual ecstasy is direct communion with the Almighty. The Anandavalli section of the Taittiriya Upanishad lists a gradation of the joys that one can experience and describes the bliss of Brahman (Absolute) as the summit of infinite bliss.

The Supreme Being first revealed the Vedas to humanity for their welfare. Veda Vyasa who codified the Vedas, which are infinite, into four, was a manifestation of the Lord. In the Bhagavad Gita also Lord Krishna has cited three reasons — for the protection of virtuous people, punishing the offenders and re-establishing Dharma — for His incarnations from time to time. Even after His advents humanity did not reform fully and so the Lord also appears as the Guru (preceptor) to teach the spiritual truth in person. Its significance can be seen from the fact that the Guru is not only an adept in spiritual knowledge but also one who personifies this wisdom in practice.

The scriptures offer different paths to a spiritual aspirant like Karma, Jnana and Bhakti. Karma yoga involves discharging the duties laid down in the scriptures faithfully and in course of time this weakens the ego and the feeling of mine eventually resulting in knowledge (Jnana). As these are also difficult for the majority, devotion and surrender to God were offered as alternative paths.

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