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Sterling devotee

CHENNAI : It is ego that separates man from God and all spiritual practices are ultimately intended to remove it. As the human personality is made up of the three qualities Sattva, Rajas and Tamas the dominance of the latter two becomes detrimental to spiritual growth. Learning, lineage, power and pelf boost the ego and a spiritual seeker must be vigilant always by not allowing his worldly achievements to scuttle his spiritual progress. That even those who had attained eternal status in the divine abode can err was proven in the case of Lord Vishnu's gatekeepers Jaya and Vijaya.

Once they prevented the sons of Brahma, the sages Sanandana and his brothers, from entering the Lord's abode (Vaikuntha) without realising their spiritual stature. Incensed by their temerity the sages cursed them to be born in the world in the lineage of demons saying that they did not deserve to dwell at the feet of the Lord. Later the effect of the curse was lessened to three births and the Lord promised to redeem them during His descents. They were born as Hiranyakasipu and Hiranyaksha, Ravana and Kumbakarna (during Rama incarnation), and as Sisupala and Dantavakra (during His descent as Krishna). Hiranyaksha hid Mother Earth under the ocean and the Almighty assumed the form of a boar and killed the demon to rescue the Earth. Hiranyakasipu developed hatred towards the Lord for he held Him responsible for his brother's death. In order to avenge it he performed intense penance and obtained a boon from the creator Brahma to make himself invincible. Little did he realise that no one can outwit the Supreme Being.

In his Harikatha, Kalyanapuram Sri R. Aravamudachariar said it was to one who despised God that the sterling devotee Prahlada was born. Divine will is indeed inscrutable. Much as the tyrant tried to banish even the mention of the Divine name in his kingdom and indoctrinated the preceptors to proclaim his supremacy, Prahlada blossomed into a devotee on his own even as a child. To the horror of his teachers he started expounding the glory of God, and his exceptional devotion made the Lord incarnate as Narasimha.

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