Miscellaneous - Religion   

Efficacy of surrender

CEHNNAI: In the path to salvation, devotion plays an important and effective role in creating a unique bond between the Lord and his devotees. The Lord’s concern for true devotion is revealed in the many extraordinary ways He has chosen to grace His devotees. Velukudi Sri Krishnan pointed out in a discourse that the highlight of the Ramayana is the Lord’s message to humanity about His absolute vow to protect those who seek His feet with unconditional faith. This promise, reinforcing the principle of surrender that is central to the Vaishnava tradition, occurs in the context of the events leading to the war with Ravana.

In a strange twist of events, Vibhishana, his younger brother, found himself at the camp of Lord Rama, the sworn enemy of his brother. Vibhishana, who was endowed with a righteous bent of mind, had tried in vain to warn Ravana of the consequences of retaining Sita and advised him to send her back to Lord Rama and save himself, Lanka and the whole race. This sound advice only brought a banishment sentence from Ravana. But knowing Lord Rama as none else than the Almighty, Vibhishana thought it to be a valuable chance to surrender at His feet, notwithstanding the delicate timing and situation arising from his antecedents. When Lord Rama accepts his surrender against strong protests from Lakshmana, Sugriva and others, He reiterates His vow of protecting all if only they seek His help. This readiness to melt when faced with those with folded palms is also seen in the case of the ocean king whose delayed response to His petition to give way for the monkeys to cross the ocean had provoked Him. But the arrow meant for the ocean was redirected to the island Drumatulya.

The same concern is manifest when He broke His vow of not taking up arms during the Kurukshetra war to oblige the devout Bhishma. When the Narayana Astra was aimed at Arjuna, the Lord asked him to get down from the chariot and just bow down in obeisance to it.

The Lord has devised the rules and regulations for those caught in the game of Samsara, and those who understand this and play the game in proper fashion stand to win the cup of salvation.

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