Miscellaneous - Religion   

Easy to reach

Chennai: When a man’s status improves even slightly in life, he becomes arrogant, and keeps those who are lower in status at arm’s length. Arrogance and pride are characteristic of human beings. But who are human beings, but ones whose lives on this earth are bound to end? Of what use is their status? But God, who has no end, and whose powers are inestimable and beyond our imagination, does not keep people away, however poor or lacking in status they might be. It is this soulabhya — ease of access — that makes Him worthy of reverence, said Raza Narayanan in his lecture on Nammazhvar’s Thiruvaimozhi.

When one thinks of the people the Lord befriended, His soulabhya becomes evident. God gives Himself no airs, and He is as a slave to His devotees. Could He not have broken free of the ropes that Yasoda used to tie Him up to a grind stone? But He stayed tied. Such was His regard for Yasoda, who loved Him. Thinking of this incident, Nammazhvar is said to have fainted, and remained in that state for six months. In the Ramayana, Guha wonders how someone like Lord Rama could have been banished to the forest, and the thought makes Guha faint.

How important the quality of soulabhya is, can be seen from an example. Suppose a man wants to mount an elephant, but he has no hands. What will he hold to hoist himself up to the back of the elephant? But if the elephant comes down on its knees, then a person will be able to clamber on to the top of the elephant. Suppose the elephant not only bends down on its knees, but also lifts up the man with its trunk, then how easily is the man’s task accomplished, and with no effort on his part. All he needs to do is to believe that the elephant will not drop him, but will hoist him safely.

Similarly, if we have faith in God, then He will lift us out of the ocean of samsara. All we need is bhakthi. All that is required on our part is to trust and love Him, and He will do the rest. God is not distant from us, and if we realise this truth, salvation will be ours. He is ready to help us, if only there is bhakthi in our hearts.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Cartoonscape
The Hindu Crossword 9571
Solution to puzzle 9570
Easy to reach
dated June 29, 1959: Panchayat System
dated June 29, 1959: Draft code of efficiency
dated June 29, 1959: Aswan Dam
Weather

Copyright © 2009, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu