RESIGNATION AND FAITH

                                                               

“  Ananyas chintayanto mam ye janah parupasathe

Thesham  nithyabhi  yuktanam yogakshemam vahamyaham”

These are the words of the Lord who assures that he will take over the burden and responsibility of anyone one who worships and meditates on HIM sincerely! Resignation and faith are the two rare virtues that many people do not possess! Even in our daily life these qualities are essential for happiness and contentment. The bedrock of family life is FAITH. The husband should have faith in his wife and the wife in her spouse. Children should have faith in their parents and likewise parents should maintain faith in their children. If doubt or suspicion arises in every action of the individual, life becomes a hell. Faith or belief in a person becomes the cardinal point in one’s existence. What is applicable in our daily life   regarding faith is also applicable to spiritual field. Man should have faith in God who is our creator. Just as children have faith in their parents, all human beings should cultivate faith in God. If there is true faith in God, Man can achieve anything he wants. The stories of the child Dhruva and Prahlada indicate to us how god answers his faithful devotees with more than what they want!

         Resignation is another rare quality that most of us do not possess. Resgnation to the will of God is the most essential  tenet  for peaceful existence! Throw all your burden and responsibility on the providence with faith and sincerity. Then he takes over all your work and duty. The lives of Azwars and Nayanmars, the illustrious devotees of the Lord, demonstrate, in full, the incredible and amazing manner in which the Almighty came to their rescue and shouldered their burden in the work a day world! There should be no iota of ego, doubt and personal pride but total surrender and faith.

         The following story from Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa illustrates the extraordinary faith and resignation of a pious weaver whom all in the village loved and trusted. In selling his cloths he would say, “By the will of Rama the cloth costs one rupee. By the will of Rama the profit is two annas. By the will of Rama the price of cloth as it stands is one rupee and six annas.”He was a true devotee and meditated usually  on God after supper! One night when he sat alone in the courtyard, robbers came and dragged him away as they wanted a porter. They broke into a house and heaped some stolen material on his head. Seeing the watchman the robbers fled and the poor weaver was caught red handed and brought to the magistrate the next morning. The villagers who came to see him told the court that the weaver was incapable of stealing. The magistrate asked the weaver to describe what had happened.

         The weaver recounted the sequence of what had happened. He said, “ By the will of Rama I was meditating upon God and repeating his holy name. By the will of Rama a band of robbers passed that way. By the will of Rama they dragged me away with them. By the will of Rama they broke into the house. By the will of Rama they piled a load on my head. By the will of Rama I was caught. By the will of Rama I was kept in the prison and this morning I am brought before your honor!” Impressed with the faith and resignation of the weaver, to the will of Rama, the magistrate declared him innocent and spiritually oriented. He ordered the release of the weaver! Coming out of the court, the weaver saw his village friends and said, “ By the will of Rama  I have been released!”

Prahlada strongly believed in the omnipresence of God Narayana.  Questioned and threatened by his own father Hiranyakasipu , the inveterate enemy of Narayana, he insisted that the Lord manifests in  every object in the universe. Lord Vishnu, to establish the truth of the words of his true bhaktha, had manifested in every object! The moment Hiranyakasipu demolished the pillar,the Lord came out in the form of man-lion, Lord Narasimha and tore him to pieces! The faith and devotion and resignation of a true devotee impels  the Lord to come out of his abode and demonstrate the truth of his devotee’s words! The story of Gajendra who surrendered to the Lord after a very long personal fight with the crocodile is another classical example of total surrender to God! God did not present himself so long as Gajendra believed in his strength to fight the crocodile! The moment, Gajendra threw up his hands and prayed, resigning to HIS WILL  lord Vishnu came running from Vaikunta, leaving goddess Lakshmi and his vahana Garuda  and all his followers as well as the chakra and the conch! That is the power of total surrender or resignation!