Miscellaneous - Religion   

Essence of worship

CHENNAI: The Bhagavad Gita contains the fundamental and perennial truths of the universe expounded by the Supreme Being Himself. Lord Krishna explains the various routes available to reach Him, while revealing the true nature about Him, the universe and the Jivatma, and the inbuilt relationship between all these.

When through divine grace Arjuna was able to behold the cosmic vision of the Lord, he perceived the inherent paradox — the Lord in His auspicious form and also the terrible one that revealed Him as the destroyer; a transcendental form that is the very cause of the universe, its sustenance and its dissolution; a form that is greater than the greatest and smaller than the smallest — leaving him overawed and speechless. This prompted him to ask the Lord about the relative merits of worship of the Absolute in both the impersonal and personal forms. Sri Goda Venkateswara Sastrigal pointed out that the Lord in His infinite mercy devised step-by-step methods of worship that spiritual aspirants of varying degrees of competence could adopt and slowly progress in their quest. In whatever form one chooses to worship the Lord, it is one's unflinching faith and sincerity that matter.

The essence of Bhakti yoga in all its intricate aspects, spanning the nature, method and goal of this yoga, is succinctly summed up in Lord Krishna's words. "He who does work for Me, he who looks upon Me as his goal, he who worships Me, free from attachment, he who is free from enmity to all creatures, he goes to Me."

The Lord accepts full responsibility when His devotees offer unconditional surrender at His feet. He alone is capable of leading the Jivatmas who are not aware of their true nature when caught in the web of countless births. He alone is also fully aware of the hurdles that the Jivatmas face. He advocates constant practice of meditation by which one directs one's thoughts towards him. If this practice is too difficult, the Lord suggests dedicating one's actions to Him and engaging in His service. This dispels ignorance . Even simple acts of worship such as listening to scriptures, singing His glory, meditating on His attributes, paying obeisance to Him andsurrendering oneself at His feet help the individual to slowly fix his mind on God.

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