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The Lord’s incarnations

CHENNAI: Scriptures state that it is difficult to aim for salvation when caught in the cycle of Samsara as it is not easy to realise the ephemeral nature of human life. It is only through spiritual insight that one can learn to transcend worldly attractions. Sacred texts such as the Bhagavata Purana that are replete with episodes and narratives highlighting the glories of the Lord’s incarnations, serve to instil devotion. Devotion is a unique bond between the Jivatma and the Supreme Being and this is the spring board from which one can expect to attain salvation. For devotion to take root, one needs to be fully aware of the infinite greatness of the Lord, and to enable this, He makes Himself accessible to His devotees during these incarnations.

In a lecture, Dr. Sudha Seshaiyan drew attention to the spontaneous attraction that saints, seers, sages and common people felt towards the Lord during Krishna Avatar when He was born among the common folk and led the simple life of a cowherd in Nandagopa’s household. The hymns of Azhwars and Andal communicate rich experiences of the Lord to augment one’s awareness of Him, allowing one to relish and savour this divine experience known as devotion. Andal envied the conch for its close association with the Lord. She imagined herself as a Gopi in Ayarpadi and sang the Tiruppavai hymns that celebrate the custom of taking up the "Pavai Nombu" in the month of Marghazhi. Andal makes it clear that the relationship between the Lord and the Jivatma is permanent and one has to seek His feet to get liberated from the cycle of birth. The Lord is ever eager to grant the wishes of His devotees and a wise devotee like Andal or the Gopis sought Him instead of other wishes that might be only ephemeral. The unique privilege of Yasodha’s motherhood joys with child Krishna becomes the subject of Periazhwar’s hymns to inspire devotion.

One aspect of devotion is to have steady, uninterrupted longing for the Lord. The Gopis exemplified this in clear terms in their exceptional yearning for the Lord. They were so filled with thoughts of Lord Krishna that they attained the highest goal purely through this passionate love for Him.

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