Miscellaneous - Religion   

God's compassion

CHENNAI : The Vedas, which are the primary scriptural authority for Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism), are verily the Supreme Being in sound form. They are eternal and were revealed at the time of creation and the mantras were intuited by seers (Rishis). They are in the nature of commandments and hence known as Prabhu Samhita. The Puranas, on the other hand, are meant for all and their teachings based on the Vedas are easier to follow for the laity.

In his Harikatha, Kalyanapuram Sri R.Aravamudachariar said the Bhagavata Purana had highlighted the efficacy of chanting the Divine name for realising God right at the outset. The child-devotee Prahlada is an exemplar of this simple yet effective means to liberation. He did not perform penance, sacrifices or austerities but had unalloyed devotion to the Supreme Being and unflinching faith in His saving grace. He remained true to his belief despite harassment and threat to his life by his father that the Lord incarnated as Narasimha (man-lion form) to validate his conviction that He was omnipotent and omnipresent.

Nammazhwar states that instead of singing the praise of God like Prahlada did, Sisupala derided Him, and the wonder of wonders was that Lord Krishna condoned his lapses 100 times to keep His promise given to his mother and finally killed him by wielding His discus (Sudarsana chakra). Because he met his end at Krishna's hands Sisupala attained liberation. This happened during the Rajasuya sacrifice Yudhishthira performed when it was decided by the elders that Krishna should be honoured first to which Sisupala not only objected but also abused Him before the august assembly of kings.

It was then that Sage Narada explained to Yudhisthira the significance of this unfortunate incident during his sacrifice and also how any strong emotion, which enabled a person to think of God all the time, facilitated liberation: the Gopis through love, the sages through devotion, the Pandavas through friendship, Sisupala by hostility and Kamsa through fear. It is God's boundless compassion that makes Him condone human frailties.

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