One day, a poet wanted to offer a gift to God. He wanted to give something that God does not have. He thought for a while, and has come up with the following verse (that includes the idea for the gift).
రత్నాకరో నిజగృహం, గృహిణీచ లక్ష్మీ:
కిందేయమస్తి భవతే జగదీశ్వరాయ
రాధా గృహీత మనసస్తునతే మనోద్య,
దత్తం మయామమ మన: కృపయా గృహాణ
Here, the poet says…
I want to give you some precious stones like diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, rubies etc. But God, the birth place of all these precious stones is your own abode (the ocean). [God is the source and cause of all that shines]
I want to give you some wealth that I acquired over the past few years, but the source of all wealth is your loving wife (Lakshmi Devi). [Wherever one finds riches, good skills or anything that makes us rightly able – that is an indication of Lakshmi Devi’s grace]
I want to give you some land I own, but you measured the entire world with just one foot (during Vamana avatar as Trivikrama). [The entire existence is under God’s control]
Okay, I got it now. I know what I can offer you that you don’t have. I will give you my heart, because your heart is stolen by Radha! I know this because you are not responding to me no matter how much I have been wanting you around. Please accept my heart as a gift and begin using it, my dear!
The intensity of poet’s pain was so deep that he ended up ‘criticising’ God for not having a heart. However, the depiction sweetly refers Radha who stole his heart because he could not ‘hurt’ God by referring to Him as ‘heart-less’.
Our purvacharya, Yamunacharya goes a step further and says…
Mama na:tha! Yadasti yo:smyaham
Sakalam taddhi tavaiva Madhava!
Niyatasvamiti prabuddhadhe:hi
Athavaa kimnu samarpayami te:
You are the owner of all the riches. You own me. You own everything that you gave me, including manas (heart). How, then is it possible for me to offer anything to you!?
Our alwar, Nammalwar goes another step further and says…
Oh, dear crane (the bird whom the alwar sees as he was walking by a mangrove forest on a shore), I believe your heart is also stolen like that of mine by Sriyahpati (Lakshmi Devi’s proud-partner and dear husband, Srimannarayana). That is why, you are shouting loud because you no longer have your heart to pass signals to your mouth (to keep the volume of your voice at desired level).
Notice that the alwar does not even think that it is natural for the bird (crane) to give loud and rattling calls. He thinks of every object and every being around him to be in the same state as he is, i.e: missing intimate and constant association with God. To be able to connect everything, everyone and every situation with God is a great virtue that only Nammalwar possessed! There was nothing that he thought of or nothing he did that bonded him to the nature or other beings. Wherever he went, or whomever he came across – he only conversed with them by bonding them to him through God!
Observe the different states of devotion here: the poet, the acharya, and the alwar! Are we close to any of them in the way they conducted themselves!!? Most likely not, but we can at least bow down our heads and understand what they are trying to say – the bear truths such as: Neither ourselves nor the things we think we own belong to us. We are all loving belongings of God and are all related to each other through a common bond – God, We are all one beautiful big family!
From the teachings of Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji
Bhagavad Vishayam, 23rd July 2019
