Miscellaneous - Religion   

Bound by love

Chennai: We go to God with our complaints, our requests, and promise to offer Him something, if He were to grant us a favour we seek. God needs nothing from us. After all He is the One who created the world, and is the fountainhead of all power. What do we, mere mortals have to offer Him? Moreover the whole idea of offering God something as a quid pro quo is wrong. God is not won over by bribes. Why do we worship only when we are in trouble or if we have something to ask of Him? What then is the purpose of worship, one may wonder. God is to be worshipped, not for material rewards or for any favours in this life. All we should ask of Lord Narayana is the privilege of enjoying His proximity in Vaikuntha. “Grant us a place in Paramapada,” should be our prayer, and none other than Lord Narayana can confer this blessing on us, said Raza Narayanan, in a lecture.

To whom does Lord Narayana grant a place in Paramapada? The beauty is that there is no special qualification in terms of birth, or status, or wealth, or education. All that is required is the undying belief in Lord Narayana.

A story from the Krishna avatara demonstrates how the Lord grants Vaikuntha Praapti, even to the humble. Krishna, as usual, steals butter, and an angry Yasoda chases Him, to punish Him. Krishna runs from his angry mother, and enters the house of a potter. Krishna hides in the biggest pot available. Just then a panting Yasoda turns up. The potter does not reveal Krishna’s hiding place to Yasoda, and she goes away. Knowing that the coast is clear, Krishna decides to come out of the clay pot, but the potter is seated on it, and refuses to budge, unless Krishna grants him a boon. The boon that he craves is a place in Paramapada. Krishna grants him the boon, but the potter is not satisfied. He wants the pot that gave Krishna shelter also to be given salvation, and Krishna promises this too! So not only did a humble potter get salvation, but even an inanimate object like a pot did too. Krishna could easily have broken the clay pot and come out, but He did not, because He wanted to show the world that He is bound by love.

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