Miscellaneous - Religion   

Conquest of evil

CHENNAI: The Supreme Brahman, though without attributes (Nirguna Brahman) reveals His many auspicious attributes (Saguna Brahman) to enable the Jivatmas to relate to His divine nature so that there is a chance for them to meditate on His greatness. Sacred texts such as the Lalita Sahasranama, the Soundaryalahari or the Devi Mahatmya repeatedly extol the auspicious attributes of the Divine Mother who is the embodiment of Sakti to show how it is possible to attain the Supreme Truth through practice of Bhakti Yoga, pointed out Dr. Sudha Seshaiyan in a lecture.

In the Devi Mahatmya (a part of the Markandeya Purana), the Goddess is described as Mahamaya (Great illusion) who is eternal yet incarnates in manifold ways. She is also the Yoganidra of Vishnu and is the cause of His mystic slumber at the end of the Kalpa. During such a slumber, two demons Madhu and Kaitabha came out of the Lord’s ears and sought to slay Brahma who was seated in the lotus sprung from the Lord’s navel. Brahma prayed to Yoganidra to awaken the Lord so that the demons could be vanquished. The Lord’s victory over the demons establishes the truth that righteousness triumphs with divine grace.

This episode is related by a sage to a king who is a victim of the deceit of his kinsmen. He had lost his kingdom and is unable to come to terms with this calamity. The king’s state of mind represents that of an average individual who confronts disappointments and sorrows in life and the sage’s advice highlights the power of delusion that can unsettle one to the extent of losing track of the purpose of life.

Evil and good are co existent and in fact, the celestials and the demons are symbolic of the co presence of good and evil in human nature and their constant tussle represents the struggle that is enacted within each human being. It is one’s state of mind that makes one a celestial or a demon.

As long as human beings are in the grip of the material world, it is not possible to overcome the evil. Anger, desire and lust are the root cause of evil and these lie in material pursuits. Every effort to conquer this can happen only with divine grace.

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