Post by Sumi on Jan 10, 2012 14:09:03 GMT 5.5
Courtesy: Shri Aravind SundaraRajan
Site: www.periva.org
The claim of Christianity is that God appeared on earth to wash off our
sins. It is sometimes argued that there is no corresponding conception in
Hinduism. This is not correct. In the Gita, Sri Krishna has given an
assurance that He will absolve from sin those who surrender themselves to
Him. The Lord says
Sarva dharmaan parityajya maamekam saranam vraja;
Aham tvaa sarvapaapebhyo mokshayishyaami maa suchah.
Sri Krishna asks Arjuna not to grieve telling him "I will free you from all
sins (Sarvapaapebhyo mokshayishyaami), if you give up all other Dharma
(Sarva Dharmaan parityajya), and surrender to Me absolutely (Maamekam
Saranam Vraja)". In this context, the import of the expression, Sarva
Dharman Parityajya has to be understood correctly. The emphasis of the Gita
is on each man performing his prescribed duties in a spirit of dedication.
Therefore, the call to " give up Dharma" cannot be a message of inaction.
Sri Krishna wants Arjuna, and through Arjuna all of us , to do the duties
pertaining to our station in life. But what He wants us to give up is the
notion that the performance of these duties will by itself lead us to the
cherished goal. Sri Krishna wants us to perform our Dharma, giving up the
notion that they are the be-all and end-all of life, and surrender
ourselves to Him without reservation.
In the verse previous to the one I have just quoted, Sri Krishna says :
Manmanaa Bhava Madbhakto
Mayaajee maam namaskuru;
Maamevaishyasi satyamte
partijaane priyosi me.
When Sri Krishna says to Arjuna, "You are dear to me(priyosi me) it means
that all of us are dear to Him. So, when he gives the assurance "satyam te
prattijanne", we can take it as an assurance given to all of us . The
assurance is that we will reach Him (Maamevaishyasi). For that purpose, we
have to fix our thoughts on Him(Manmanaa Bhava), become His
devotees(Madbhakto Bhava), worship Him (Madyaajee bhava) and fall at His
feet(maam namaskuru).
If we analyse one's affection towards one's son or wife, we will find that
it ultimately resolves itself into one's love for oneself. A man is fond of
his son only so long as that son fulfils what he expects of him. Supposing
that son gets married and neglects his father, the affection will turn into
enmity. It follows that the affection we entertain is with a purpose and
not selfless. But there is no purpose or object behind one's love for
oneself. When we come to realise that the "I" we love so much is "He", our
mind becomes saturated with Him. That is the significance of the
expression, "Manmanaa bhava". We think of Him not for securing any favours,
but because we cannot help thinking of Him, having realised that the soul
within us is none else than He. When this realisation takes deep root, the
mind enters the state of Avyaaja Bhakti.
We have examples of such selfless devotion to God in our Puranas. Akroora
and Vidura had such Avyaaja Bhakti, Dhruva and Prahlada are examples of
those who surrendered themselves to God even from their childhood. Sabari
and Kannappar are examples of persons regarded as unlettered common people,
on the bottom rungs of the social ladder, Who are animated by an
overwhelming devotion in which the consciousness of their individual entity
has been completely wiped out. Parikshit is an example of one, who, within
the last seven days of his life, experienced the bliss of devotion achieved
in a life-time. Khatvaanga is an example of a person who got purified by
concentrated devotion of three and three-fourths Naazhigas, or 90 minutes.
Site: www.periva.org
The claim of Christianity is that God appeared on earth to wash off our
sins. It is sometimes argued that there is no corresponding conception in
Hinduism. This is not correct. In the Gita, Sri Krishna has given an
assurance that He will absolve from sin those who surrender themselves to
Him. The Lord says
Sarva dharmaan parityajya maamekam saranam vraja;
Aham tvaa sarvapaapebhyo mokshayishyaami maa suchah.
Sri Krishna asks Arjuna not to grieve telling him "I will free you from all
sins (Sarvapaapebhyo mokshayishyaami), if you give up all other Dharma
(Sarva Dharmaan parityajya), and surrender to Me absolutely (Maamekam
Saranam Vraja)". In this context, the import of the expression, Sarva
Dharman Parityajya has to be understood correctly. The emphasis of the Gita
is on each man performing his prescribed duties in a spirit of dedication.
Therefore, the call to " give up Dharma" cannot be a message of inaction.
Sri Krishna wants Arjuna, and through Arjuna all of us , to do the duties
pertaining to our station in life. But what He wants us to give up is the
notion that the performance of these duties will by itself lead us to the
cherished goal. Sri Krishna wants us to perform our Dharma, giving up the
notion that they are the be-all and end-all of life, and surrender
ourselves to Him without reservation.
In the verse previous to the one I have just quoted, Sri Krishna says :
Manmanaa Bhava Madbhakto
Mayaajee maam namaskuru;
Maamevaishyasi satyamte
partijaane priyosi me.
When Sri Krishna says to Arjuna, "You are dear to me(priyosi me) it means
that all of us are dear to Him. So, when he gives the assurance "satyam te
prattijanne", we can take it as an assurance given to all of us . The
assurance is that we will reach Him (Maamevaishyasi). For that purpose, we
have to fix our thoughts on Him(Manmanaa Bhava), become His
devotees(Madbhakto Bhava), worship Him (Madyaajee bhava) and fall at His
feet(maam namaskuru).
If we analyse one's affection towards one's son or wife, we will find that
it ultimately resolves itself into one's love for oneself. A man is fond of
his son only so long as that son fulfils what he expects of him. Supposing
that son gets married and neglects his father, the affection will turn into
enmity. It follows that the affection we entertain is with a purpose and
not selfless. But there is no purpose or object behind one's love for
oneself. When we come to realise that the "I" we love so much is "He", our
mind becomes saturated with Him. That is the significance of the
expression, "Manmanaa bhava". We think of Him not for securing any favours,
but because we cannot help thinking of Him, having realised that the soul
within us is none else than He. When this realisation takes deep root, the
mind enters the state of Avyaaja Bhakti.
We have examples of such selfless devotion to God in our Puranas. Akroora
and Vidura had such Avyaaja Bhakti, Dhruva and Prahlada are examples of
those who surrendered themselves to God even from their childhood. Sabari
and Kannappar are examples of persons regarded as unlettered common people,
on the bottom rungs of the social ladder, Who are animated by an
overwhelming devotion in which the consciousness of their individual entity
has been completely wiped out. Parikshit is an example of one, who, within
the last seven days of his life, experienced the bliss of devotion achieved
in a life-time. Khatvaanga is an example of a person who got purified by
concentrated devotion of three and three-fourths Naazhigas, or 90 minutes.