GOD AND HIS DEVOTEE

GOD AND HIS DEVOTEE

“ The relationship between a devotee and God is only Heart to Heart and Love to Love. True devotion lies in obeying  the Lord and spreading His message. There is none greater than a true devotee in this world.”  declares Bhagawan SrI Satya Sai Baba. It is total dedication and surrender to the Lord that impels God to be with the devotee.  A true devotee does everything as a service to God. He sees God in everything, in human beings, animals, nature and even inanimate objects! He recognizes the manifestation of the Divine in all creation. “ atmavat sarva bhutani.”He lives in God, eats with God and sleeps with God! There is nothing in this universe that is not suffused with the spirit of God for a true devotee. He sings the glory of Him always and quenches his thirst for God. The mystic that he is, the devotee sees God in the colour of the cloud, bird, flowing water, the grand and majestic mountain and various other things. The devotion of true devotee is such that  Lord Vishnu tells sage Narada that he does not reside in his abode Vakunta nor in the hearts of yogis but is firmly established in places where his true devotees sing his glory! Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that a true devotee is dearer to Him than anyone else! This is because of his detachment from all mundane things and attachment to the lotus feet of the Lord!  SrI Ramakrishna beautifully explains the difference between the Bhaktha and the jnanni  In the Muslim janana none is allowed without permission including the husband of the lady. But the child has access freely at any time. He can play according to his will without any inhibition. The bhaktha is like the child whereas the jnani is similar to the husband! There Is a taint of selfishness in the yogi while it is totally absent in the bhaktha.

It is because of these traits that the bhaktha is dearer to God. He cannot tolerate any harm or injustice to His devotee. He may even subject himself to any abuse or ill-treatment by the ignorant and atheists but under no circumstances will He allow his bhaktha to be troubled! Instances galore are present in our Puranas where Divine intervention has saved the devotee from the persecution and harassment of the ignorant! After a series of persecutions to his son Prahlada, Hiranyakasipu demanded him to show Vishnu, his inveterate enemy. Prahlada said that Lord Vishnu is omnipresent and is present even in the pillar in front of him.Honoring the the words of His true devotee, Vishnu was ready to manifest in every object to come out and kill the demon. When Hiranyakasipu smashed the pillar  the Lord emerged as Narasimha -- man-lion and tore him to pieces!The word of His true devotee is a law for the Lord! When the god of death Yama came to take the life of Markandeya, the staunch devotee of Lord Siva, he was severely punished and warned not to approach His devotees!

God obeys the orders of His true bhakthas who are his dearest possessions! Tirumazisai Azwar, one among the great Azwars, incurred the displeasure of the palaval king of Kanchipuram. He had refused to grant youthfulness to the king for which he was banished  from the region. The Azwar, in his true devotion, commanded the Lord, Yathotkari of the temple to leave the place and come with him! “kanikannan is going out of Kanchipuram. Oh! Manivanna! You don’t have to lie here any more since, as the fluent poet that I am also leaving with him, you also roll your serpent bed and follow me!” commanded the Azwars! Lord Vishnu is said to have rolled up his snake mattress and left with His true devotee!

God will never tolerate those who try to destroy or belittle his true bhaktha. He will compel them to beg pardon from the very  same devotee whom they want to trouble and disrespect! The story of king Ambarisha is an illustrious example. He belonged to the famous Ikshvaku clan and was the son of Nabhaga. He was righteous and ruled  the country wisely looking after the subjects as his own children. He performed a great yaga for the well being of people with great devotion and faith. Pleased with his bhakthi, Lord Vishnu  presented His  Sudersana Chakra and said that it would protect him always. Ambarisha was overjoyed at the benign grace of the Lord. He had started the ‘ dwadasi vrata’ according to which he had to fast on the ekadasi day and break the fast the following morning on the dwadasi. On that day,when the king had to break his fast, the renowned sage Durvasa came to visit Ambarisha.

The king received the sage with respect and thought that it was his fortune to get an atithi- unexpected guest like the sage.  Sage Durvasa wanted to refresh himself and went to the river near by. Meanwhile the time to break the fast arrived and the sage did not return. Ambarisha waited for long but in vain.He was In a dilemma whether to break the fast or not. On the advice of sage Vasishta, he drank water with Thulasi leaves and waited for sage Durvasa. Soon the sage came and knowing what had happened, became furious. He felt that he was humiliated and in his anger created a demon from his matted hair and sent it to destroy the king for his misdeed! The demon advanced forward menacingly towards King Ambarisha.

Meanwhile the Sudersana Chakra installed for the protection of the king plunged into action and In a moment killed the demon that was nearing the king. Not stopping at that, it went after sage Durvasa, who in utter horror started running! The Chakra chased him across the forests and mountains and in desperation he went to Satya Loka and requested Brahma to save him from the Chakra. But he threw up his hands and expressed his inability. Sage Durvasa reached Lord Shiva in Kailash and He too could not stop the Chakra! The Sage,now,approached Lord Vishnu,the owner of the Chakra to save him. but the Lord said it is Ambarisha alone who could control the Chakra and save the sage! Sage Durvasa ran to Ambarisha, begged pardon for his arrogance and requested him to withdraw the Chakra. Ambarisha prayed to the Lord and soon the Sudersana Chakra settled calmly in it place. Sage Durvasa was happy and felt sorry for his  illconceived action. He praised the king for his  extraordinary devotion to Lord Vishnu and blessed the king.This is how God teaches lesson to the haughty and proves that His devotees are greater than Him.This is one among the numberless incidents when God glorified His own true devotees!!