Date: 16-10-1998 :: Pg: 24 :: Col: c
Cl: Religion
CHENNAI, Oct. 16.
Spiritual knowledge, gaining which a devotee can meditate upon the various aspects of the Divine (His forms, glorious traits, and His perpetual concern for the projection of the world), can be obtained only by the display of a person's devotional attitude and not as in the case of other branches of study. God should first extend His grace to such an aspiring person so that he can understand the mysteries of scriptural statements, particularly those hidden in the Vedic revelations. To show one's devotional disposition towards God, one should express one's unwavering love and be at His service (by doing worship and other exercises). Such a worship need not be extravagant or elaborate. God should be pleased with the sincerity behind such acts and the faith reposed in Him.
It is necessary to realise that the Divine incarnations were true and they were taken to protect the pious. But with the conclusion of such incarnations, it should not be presumed that God has forgotten mankind. An indication is available in His manifestation as ``Narasimha'' when the Puranas do not speak about God's ``disappearance'' at all. Though not visible, He is available to help His devotees to surmount their problems. His ``abode'' is our hearts, which serve as His ``cave''. Approached with humility, He will guide those who pray to Him. All the works of Sri Madhwacharya lead men on the path of devotion and his successors recited them with faith. (Some are in the form of hymns). The simple ``weapon'' with which the Lord tore Hiranyakasipu was His ``nail'' and the Acharya has extolled this aspect in a very brief poem known as ``Narasimha Naka Sthuthi''.
A successor-saint in Madhwa's tradition, Sri Purushothama Theertha (mid-15th century) entered a cave in a hillock near Abbur (Channapatna in Karnataka) never to return. The belief is that he is still worshipping Lord Narasimha within the cave, at the entrance of which an Anjaneya idol has been installed and is being worshipped. This saint's disciple, Sri Brahmanya Theertha gave monastic ``order'' to the illustrious Vyasaraja and also entered ``Brindavan'' here (at Abbur). A unique feature about it is the emergence of fresh ``Thulasi'' plant from the soil in it. That the torch lit by previous saints is being kept alive and tradition preserved can be seen from the number of such ``Brindavans'' of other disciples, in that place. Explaining the contribution made by saints like Brahmanya Theertha, Sri R. Srinivasa Rao said in a discourse that the Lord's chief aim is to fulfil the aspirations of His devotees, whose path is safe under His protective arms. Eradication of internal foes is a sine qua non to the act of devotion to the Lord.