Religion has a place too!
Thursday, 8 April 2010
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The slOka( declared in brahmAnda purAnam and varAha purAnam ) written in Telugu language that you see in the header of this page transliterated to English is:
which means...
"In this Universe there is no sacred place equivalent to Venkatadri(i.e.,There is no place in the whole Universe which is more auspicious than the hill Venkatachala). There is no God equivalent to Lord Venkateswara neither in the past nor in the future going to be(i.e.,There is no Archa murti (worshippable form) in all the three times (present,past and future) whose glories are comparable to the Lord of Venkatachala)"
In a Tamil work of literature, a story is told of how a discussion was once organised, in which many scholars participated. One of them was a devotee of Lord Siva, and He described Siva's qualities to the assembled gathering. He said that Siva was seen in eight things- the Sun, Moon, the five elements- namely earth, space, water, air and fire, and also in all atmas. He has no death. He has no birth. He lasts always and always has the same qualities.
Devotees sing of Him. But He is beyond our reach and beyond description. True devotees of the Lord do not even seek moksha. All they want is to worship Him in temples. It is said, for example, that the Linga in the Madurai Meenakshi temple in Tamil Nadu, is older than even the Himalayas. When compared with other mountains in this world, the Himalayas are younger. The Himalayas are a recent formation due to tectonic activity,. So Madurai, the Lord's abode is even older than Mount Kailas. No wonder then that the Lord's devotees want to worship Him there, and even prefer places like Madurai and Chidambaram, famous for Lord Nataraja, the Cosmic Dancer, to moksha.
True devotees are so immersed in thoughts of Him, that to them all else in this world is unimportant, said K.Sambandan. If, while walking on the road, we were to see anything that glistens, our first reaction would be to think that it is perhaps a gold ornament that someone has lost. We may even try to take possession of it, if here is no one to claim it. But to one who has bhakti, a gold bar and a cake of mud have the same value. If such a one were to pass by a gold ornament, he would not even notice that it glistens. He will be indifferent to it.
And yet we cannot understand the Lord. That is because we try to analyse Him through our intellect. He can be known only through devotion, not through the intellect. Even scientists have professed their belief in God. Albert Einstein said, "Science without religion is blind." So while we must have regard for science, we must also realise that there are some things that even science cannot explain. So religion has a place too in life.
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Devotees sing of Him. But He is beyond our reach and beyond description. True devotees of the Lord do not even seek moksha. All they want is to worship Him in temples. It is said, for example, that the Linga in the Madurai Meenakshi temple in Tamil Nadu, is older than even the Himalayas. When compared with other mountains in this world, the Himalayas are younger. The Himalayas are a recent formation due to tectonic activity,. So Madurai, the Lord's abode is even older than Mount Kailas. No wonder then that the Lord's devotees want to worship Him there, and even prefer places like Madurai and Chidambaram, famous for Lord Nataraja, the Cosmic Dancer, to moksha.
True devotees are so immersed in thoughts of Him, that to them all else in this world is unimportant, said K.Sambandan. If, while walking on the road, we were to see anything that glistens, our first reaction would be to think that it is perhaps a gold ornament that someone has lost. We may even try to take possession of it, if here is no one to claim it. But to one who has bhakti, a gold bar and a cake of mud have the same value. If such a one were to pass by a gold ornament, he would not even notice that it glistens. He will be indifferent to it.
And yet we cannot understand the Lord. That is because we try to analyse Him through our intellect. He can be known only through devotion, not through the intellect. Even scientists have professed their belief in God. Albert Einstein said, "Science without religion is blind." So while we must have regard for science, we must also realise that there are some things that even science cannot explain. So religion has a place too in life.
UTSAVA MURTHY OF LORD SRI MALAYAPPA(VENKATESWARA) WITH SRIDEVI AND BHUDEVI
(Click on the image to view full size)
(Click on the image to view full size)
"vEnkatAdri samam sthAnam brahmAndE nAsti kinchana,
vEnkatEsa samO dEvO na bhUtO na bhavishyati"
vEnkatEsa samO dEvO na bhUtO na bhavishyati"
which means...
"In this Universe there is no sacred place equivalent to Venkatadri(i.e.,There is no place in the whole Universe which is more auspicious than the hill Venkatachala). There is no God equivalent to Lord Venkateswara neither in the past nor in the future going to be(i.e.,There is no Archa murti (worshippable form) in all the three times (present,past and future) whose glories are comparable to the Lord of Venkatachala)"
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