Veda Dharma

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

"There is no place in the Universe that is as spiritual as the Hill of Venkatadri.
There is no God in the past and future who is as merciful as the Lord of Sri Venkateswara".

This is a saying from Sri Venkateswara Mahatmyam. It is indeed true that Sri Venkateswara is always gracious and ever ready to save His devotees from the calamities of the Samsara. Great philosophers say that Samsara is like a Sagara(An ocean). It is compared to an ocean because of the difficulties that a jeeva encounters when it is immersed in samsara. Both pleasures and sorrows cause pain in reality. If one is asked to choose between pleasures and sorrows , it is better to choose sorrows. Sorrows atleast help a human being to get Vairagya (spirit of renunciation). Most of us, out of our foolishness, seek pleasures like mindless animals. The happiness that is derived from pleasures is only momentary and every pleasure is inevitably followed by a sorrow. An attitude of viewing both pleasures and sorrows with equanimity is what is required of us to escape from the clutches of the devil "Samsara".
Sri Venkateswara is indeed the Supreme Brahman incarnated for devotees. It is a form, which is very auspicious and powerful both from the Agama perspective and Tantric perspective. The Lord in His standing posture signifies His attentiveness to save His devotees. The Chakra in His hand signifies the Sakti of the Lord that can destroy the internal enemies (Arishadvargas) of a sadhaka. The Sankha is a symbol of Jnana (knowledge) which can bestow the Supreme knowledge on a devotee. What is Supreme knowledge? The knowledge that is eternal and the knowledge that can cut the roots of the tree Samsara once for all is Supreme. The knowledge that Sri Venkateswara is the Karta(doer) and all the jiva's are mere instruments in His hands is Supreme. His hand in a Varada posture(turned towards the ground) teaches us that Saranagati (complete surrender) to the Lord is the only way to salvation. His hand in Kati posture(placed above his thighs) signifies that one who follows the path of Saranagati can cross the ocean of Samsara as if it is a lake waist deep.
The Goddess Sri(Lakshmi) on His heart signifies wealth(spiritual/material) that He bestows on His servants. To summarize, Sri Venkateswara is the Lord who helps Jeevas to cross the ocean of Samsara and finally realise their Oneness with the Supreme Brahman.

1 Comments:

  • At 5:28 AM , Blogger Lokesh said...

    I want to believe it is all Venkateswara... The whole world is his... Yet I do not want to believe it is all him... Why is that so? Is it the ego in your doings? I dunno... may be I am confused:)

     

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