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God’s graciousness

CHENNAI: Loving devotion to God is an end in itself as a devotee who has reached such heights of devotion transcends all duality and exists only for His sake. That this is the same end attained by spiritual knowledge (Jnana) is the insight provided in the prelude to the Bhagavata Purana. According to spiritual tradition Bhakti, Jnana and Dharma rejoice in equal measure wherever this devotional classic is narrated. This is further strengthened by the fact that this Purana was related to King Pareekshit by a Jnani like Suka so that he could attain liberation within the seven days he had to live in the world.

The objective of this Purana was the description of the Lord’s manifestation as Krishna and His divine deeds, said Sri M.V. Ananthapadmanabhachariar in his discourse. The mystic Meerabai states in one of her songs that when Lord Krishna was born in this world, His divine abode (Vaikunta) lost its lustre while the Earth shone in splendour. Who was He? Was Krishna not the Supreme Being Himself come to this world in human form? This highlights His gracious nature (Sausilya) to make Himself accessible to His devotees. The cowherd community was the most blessed on this Earth for He chose to live in Gokul and stage all His Lila (divine deeds) there. His accessibility (Saulabhya) to His devotees was legion for the Azhwars have rightly expressed their wonder at His graciousness for allowing Himself to be bound by a rope by Yashoda (hence the name Damodara) when she struggled to tie Him to a mortar to punish Him for a prank.

Not only His mother but all the cowherd women (Gopis) doted on Him, and Krishna, in turn, pandered to all their biddings. Can the Lord express His Saulabhaya to His devotees in Vaikunta? Certainly not. There the eternal beings praise His glory and stand in attendance to serve Him. It was in Vraja on this Earth that He could give Himself totally to His devotees, which is best expressed by the Gopis in their song (Gopikagitam) during their sport. At the outset they declared, “Vraja shines all the more brightly by Your descent for Lakshmi constantly dwells here (as Sri being inseparable to Her Lord has come to dwell there).”

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