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Significance of actions religion

CHENNAI: Vedic tenets prescribe the dos and don’ts that should govern an individual’s code of conduct and the Puranas and the Itihasas dramatise the effects of both conforming to and disobeying the code through their narratives. It is made clear that it is impossible to overcome the consequences of one’s karma. In a lecture on the Narayaneeyam, Sri B. Kesava Dikshitar drew attention to the parallel situations of King Parikshit and the elephant king, who were not aware of the far reaching results of their specific actions that were performed in an unthinking state. Both were forced to undergo a curse that ultimately led them to salvation. Parikshit was cursed to die within seven days after he had unwittingly hurled a snake skin on a sage in meditation. But he turned this into an advantage when he spent these seven days listening to Sage Sukha’s rendering of the Bhagavata Purana and attained salvation.

Similarly the elephant king was actually Indradyumna, a great Vishnu devotee, in his previous birth, who, when engaged in worship did not honour Sage Agastya suitably when the sage visited him. Realised souls visit to grace devotees and though it appeared the sage had cursed Indradyumna to become an elephant in his next birth, this curse ultimately hastened his efforts to attain salvation. Destiny led the elephant to a lake where another celestial Hu Hu, cursed to turn into a crocodile, was also waiting for redemption. This depended on his holding on to the elephant’s foot. The elephant initially struggled to save itself from the crocodile’s hold with the help of family and friends. When all efforts failed, it ultimately realised that only the Almighty could give relief from this plight.

This is symbolic of the Jivatma’s efforts to reach God. It can become successful only when one realises the emptiness of one’s sense of I and Mine and surrenders oneself unconditionally to His protection. Human beings are subjected to the powerful agents of ignorance and pride whose force easily masks the truth from perception. Jnana confers the knowledge that this world is not the permanent place of dwelling for anyone, while ignorance instils the opposite viewpoint.

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