Miscellaneous - Religion   

Ocean of compassion

CHENNAI : The Lord's compassion continues to hold perennial interest and admiration and those who have experienced it continue to extol it in ecstatic terms. Though scriptures have shown the various paths to liberation, the Puranas and the Itihasas testify that the Lord incarnates time and again out of compassion to lead humanity to liberation. Yet another facet of His compassion is evident in the advent of saints, seers, Azhwars, Acharyas, etc, who, being privileged to directly experience His grace and compassion, have eloquently been able to transmit their unique experiences.

This compassion has been singled out as the most auspicious and attractive attribute of Lord Srinivasa in Vedanta Desika's hymn Daya Satakam, said Sri M. V. Anantapadmanabhachariar in a lecture. It is the most beneficial quality for the suffering humanity. In the effort of every Jivatma to reach God, it is necessary to be absolved of sins. Accepting the fact that every Jivatma's baggage of faults is only growing bigger, in all humility Vedanta Desika sees the Lord's infinite mercy as the only saving grace. This is because every personal effort to wash away the sins becomes complicated. Just as it is impossible to wait for the waves to subside so that one can take bath in the ocean, one would have to wait till eternity for all the accumulated sins to be absolved and then reach God.

The poet's imagination compares the endless flow of God's compassion to sugar cane juice that has solidified into the seven hills where He has chosen to reside as Lord Srinivasa and the poet offers his obeisance to the mountain that has become the embodiment of the Lord's compassion. That this Lord is suitable for worship and adoration is revealed in the hymns of Azhwars, where the desire to continue to live in this abode in some form or other (a stone, fish, tree etc.,) to enable them to be of service to the Lord and His devotees is predominant. The Jivatma who understands the subtle aspects of the Lord's compassion revealed in the sacred hymns soon realises that the temporary joys of this world are only a mirage and the way out of the woes of Samsara is to hold on to the Lord's feet.

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