Re: God's Grace
From the Bhakti List Archives
• June 19, 2001
In my opinion regarding the significance of avatars... I have a few points. a) first of all the Chaarvaakas and the atheists would have a free hand in going around propagating that there is no supernatural force in the world at all. At a time when science is so advanced and can explain the cause and effect of so many things they would say that law has taken its own course and that there was no SuperNatural hand or anything in this at all. It is the preachings of some saints and Gurus that natural disasters are a good learning point and eye opener for humanity. They go to prove how insignificant human life is and how whatever life we lead is only what is allowed by the supernatural forces and not everything is under our control. So my first point is that God might have liked to establish the point that there is a force beyond human cognition and he would like to prove it from time to time to put down Adharma and humble Asuras who think they are everything. b) Say some big CEO/President/Boss wants to make an important announcement ...they prefer to make a public appearance and give a speech while at other times the entire organisation functions without seeing the CEO or President etc. They could very well send an email or circulate a memo but they prefer making a public appearance. When Clinton made an appearance on National t.v. to make a statement on a mere scandal, to clarify things, why not God make a Avataram to clarify to people that he is the only one in the whole world that is sustaining everyone, everything and to uphold Dharma and Vedas and protect the Sadhus ? c) Thirdly, the Avataras or Leelas should not be considered as confined to the avataras as Rama or Krishna. Each and every Saint, Bhakta, Jnaani's life has a purpose and it is a avatara of the Lord and no one else. This is clear from the lives of great saints like Chaitanya, Ramanuja, Sankara who's works are not possible by merely ordinary people. It is the Lord himself who comes down to earth in simple forms and does all these great things. It is mentioned in the Bhagavatam also that in KaliYuga, there will be a great number of saints in the Dakshina Bharata near Tamaraparani river (...no partiality meant here) to carry forward the message of Bhagavatha Dharma and to establish Bhakti in the hearts of people. By merely recounting the lives of these saints, it is said that it fosters Bhakti in our minds. There is a very nice stanza from a song of a great Jnaani of our recent times... "Bhakthi illai endru thallal aagumo Nin Arul Indri Bhakthi Edhu Ayya ? Jnanadevar Jnaaneshwarar Varisaiyil Naan illai Avargal Vaibhavathai Smarikkum Jnaanam Undu Adhu Dhaane Un Arulai Petru tharum Endra Nambikkaiyum enakku undu ... Vittalaa Nee Ennai Kai Vidal Aagumo ? " It says...please dont reject me because I dont have enough Bhakthi...for without your grace where is Bhakti possible ? I am not of the order of the great saints like Jnaaneshwar or NaamaDeva...but I have the sense to appreciate and recount the lives of them (Smaranai) I have heard that this fosters Bhakthi and begets your grace...so please Vittala ... how can you desert me ? So may be one of the reasons is to foster bhakthi, and the lives of the saints itself is an example for people. d) Finally ...take the incident of the Vaikuntha's Dwaarapaalakas getting cursed to be born as Asuras in 3 births (Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakasipu, Ravana and Kumbakarana, and again in Krishna avatara). I have heard in one of Sri Krishna Premi's discourses that the Lord told them not to be afraid and that he wanted to do Avataras and do Leelais and he was getting bored and hence this incident of the curse was also pre-determined by him. Please take this in a lighter-sense as God does not wish anyone to get separated from him. But he is a "Leela-Rasikan" and likes doing so many "Adhbuta-Leelais" and dumbfound people. Even in the case of thse Asuras they were in constant thought of the lord though in hatred and fear and finally attained to his lotus-feet and died at his own hands. This has also been referred to as "Dwesha-Bhakthi" So God would come from time to time in various forms to prove to people and Asuras everyone that everthing and everyone in all the worlds is sustained by Him alone and he alone is all pervading and all powerful...and there's no better way to prove this than to make a presence and do a Avatar/Leelai. Imagine...how difficult it would be for us to do Bhakthi to Lord in a Nirguna way and how easy it is to recollect Krishna's leelas which fosters Bhakthi in our minds. These are some of my views why God might have decided to come down from time to time ...more suggestions/thoughts/feedback are welcome and would make interesting reading. -- Pradeep -------------------------------------------------------------- - SrImate rAmAnujAya namaH - To Post a message, send it to: bhakti-list@yahoogroups.com Archives: http://ramanuja.org/sv/bhakti/archives/ Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
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