Miscellaneous - Religion   

Experience of God religion

CHENNAI: A latent doubt persists and pervades all discussions and debates over the existence of God and this is enough proof to show that God experience is a very personal and individualised one and does not fall under the purview of generalities. All religions and scriptures claim that God is realised experientially and through Jnana. Simply put, explaining this experience is analogous to describing the taste of sweetness. One can experience sweetness only by tasting it, and sweetness itself has many shades of taste, that is, jaggery’s sweetness is different from that of sugar. Likewise, it is not easy to see Him just as it is not possible to see the ghee in milk though we all know that ghee can be extracted from milk after a series of processes. A similar purposeful striving and determination is needed to know and experience God.

As if to bridge this gap and bring the Supreme Being closer to us, the childhood of Lord Krishna, replete with exciting exploits, endless mischief and enjoyable fun, provides an irresistible source of divine experience capable of igniting the spark of devotion, pointed out Sri M. A. Venkatakrishnan in a lecture. During this incarnation He subjected Himself to live among the simple folk and gave many people the opportunity to experience His greatness. The Bhagavata Purana helps to instil devotion to the Lord.

The hymns of the Azhwars reveal the extent to which they have lost themselves in the unfathomable depths of the Lord’s Soulabhya (accessibility) and easily inspire devotional experience. Commentators on the Divya Prabandham have further elaborated the Bhakti Bhava of the Azhwars and this has kept alive the tradition of devotion.

The Azhwars relived Yashodha’s experience as a mother to the Supreme Being. Her hesitation to give butter to the child fearing the effects on His health was due to her ignorance of His identity. Yashodha was blessed to see the entire cosmic vision inside His mouth and while on the point of recognising His Supreme Nature was brought back to the normal plane through His Maya. It was His divine will that allowed Yashodha to tie Him to the grinding stone when she found it difficult to control His pranks.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Cartoonscape
The Hindu Crossword 8999
Solution to Puzzle 8998
Experience of God religion
dated August 23, 1957: Protest to UN Council
dated August 23, 1957: Site for institute
dated August 23, 1957: Railway wagon explodes
Weather

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu