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God’s mysterious ways

CHENNAI: In the spiritual quest of each individual, the relationship between God and His devotees remains unique. It is only when one learns to renounce worldly attachments and strives to remain focussed on God that He also makes His presence clear to such people.

Desires are inherent in human beings and God chooses to grant the sincere wishes of individuals, be it materialistic or spiritual. When people long for worldly matters and pray to God with this intention, such wishes are also granted. But human birth gives an opportunity for the Jivatma to aim for higher and everlasting bliss by letting go the lesser joys of the world that are after all temporary and evanescent. Devotion and worship to the Supreme Being alone can rid the Jivatma of baser desires and help to get elevated in the spiritual plane. God’s grace flows in response to true devotion and the time and manner of the revelation are chosen by God, depending on each individual’s strength of devotion and this is well illustrated in the life of Saint Manikkavasakar, said Sri K. Sivakumar in a lecture.

Since this saint was constantly engaged in inner (yoga) worship of the Lord Siva while also engaged in the service of the Pandya king, he was overwhelmed to see the same Lord when He appeared before him in Tiruperunthurai. Lord Siva chose to reveal His identity to him at a time when he was on a mission to buy exclusive horses for the king.

In the hymn that recaptures the overwhelming impact of the Lord’s revelation when he was blessed to receive the Lord’s feet on his head, it is clear that the saint had risen over worldly concerns and gone into a transcendental plane for some time. When he came back to normality he realised that the money entrusted with him for the purchase of horses was missing and he was unable to account for the loss. Legend has it that Siva converted the jackals in the forest to horses to save the saint’s integrity. But it also turned out that the horses became jackals again, leaving the tally incorrect. The implication of the Lord’s deliberate drama not merely establishes God’s mysterious ways to bring out the truth, but also an indication to the king to further investigate the loss of money.

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