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God’s omnipresence religion

CHENNAI: The raison d’être of human birth is realisation of God which puts an end to transmigration. Accoring to Visishtadvaita the goal is not just cessation of bondage but performance of eternal service to the Supreme Being in His divine abode. It is the logical end to the means to liberation expounded in this school: Bhakti yoga (path of devotion) and Prapatti (surrender to the Lord). Adoption of Bhakti yoga or Prapatti rests on the dynamics of the eternal relationship between the Almighty and His devotees.

In his discourse, Uttamur Sri Rajagopalachariar said Periazhwar had celebrated the everlasting bond between God and His devotees highlighting Him as the ultimate refuge in his Tiruppallandu. There is a hint in the verse, “These are the hands that rained arrows and destroyed the ogres of Lanka after building a bridge across the ocean strait with a monkey army,” that Lord Rama performed this feat for His sake—to get Sita back just as the milk-ocean was churned in days of yore by Him with the help of the celestials and the demons to claim Lakshmi as His consort. On the other hand, every human action must be done to please God and not for self-gratification. This is one of the constituents of Prappati and a sacred vow taken while surrendering to God.

In the very next verse Periazhwar underscores that the Supreme Being is beholden to His devotees. Nammazhwar says that “his dear Krishna is everywhere” and the moment Prahlada replied with conviction that the Lord was omnipresent when His father Hiranyakasipu thundered where His Narayana was, the Almighty awaited with expectation to incarnate.

The Bhagavata Purana describes His awesome form in this manifestation which evoked terror in the hearts of all except His child-devotee Prahlada as “neither beast nor human” (Narasimha).

He assumed this strange form to fulfil the conditions of the boon Hiranyakasipu had obtained to make himself invincible. Vedanta Desika notes with wonder that Lord Narasimha is still immanent everywhere in the three worlds except the pillar Hiranyakasipu struck from which He emerged and saved the child.

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