Miscellaneous - Religion   

Path of the devout

CHENNAI: The Vedas speak of the awe inspiring greatness of the Supreme Being who is the inner dwelling self in all created beings. He is pure consciousness and is the essence of happiness. But ignorance prevents the perception of this truth. Sri Mathivannan pointed out in a lecture that the sacred texts of Saiva Siddhanta, the twelve Tirumurais that speak of Siva’s glory, are revealed texts and contain the essence of the Vedic teachings making it easy for the common man to realise the ultimate goal. The esoteric nature of scriptural thought gets transformed into uncomplicated ideas in the simple Tamil of these texts. In them one finds not only the eternal values relevant for this world and hereafter but also the various methods and spiritual practices by which one can realise God.

The hymns of the saints Gnanasambandhar, Tirunavukkarasar (Appar), Sundaramurthy, Mankikkavasakar and others reveal the unique nature of Bhakti of each of them and their exemplary lives of devotion stand testimony to their direct perception of the eternal truth. It is clear that Siva chose them and revealed His entire mystery and truth and inspired them to sing about His glory. Saint Gnanasambandhar became enlightened when he was a child, and he went to many temples and sang hymns on the Lord residing in those temples. Saint Tirunavukkarasar was originally in the Jaina fold and was brought into the Saiva tradition through God’s grace. Saint Sundaramurthy’s God realisation came about when Siva appeared in the form of an old man and showed the evidence of his commitment to the Lord. To Saint Manikkavachakar, Siva revealed Himself and blessed him.

These realised souls have upheld the gospels of worship, service to God and service to devotees of God. Love of God brings with it compassion towards one and all. The spiritual seeker is initiated into this trend while he also becomes aware of the truth of the mysterious descent of God’s grace.

Simplicity and sincerity mark the quality of devotion. They know God to be their only relative. Their association with God is their only faith. Reciprocally, God also chooses to remain close to such realised devotees.

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