Children love playing, teens love music, adults enjoy sharing fun times with loved ones. There are other activities that people are fond of. But, at what point in life does one fall in love with the Lord?
When you are equipped with the right knowledge about Lord [His whereabouts, His qualities, His form, His name(s)] from an acharya, you will fall in love with Him out of gratitude. Otherwise, life becomes a ride that you are on without knowing it’s true destiny.
What constitutes such right knowledge?
Sri Ramanujacharya walked through the hardship of understanding the essence of Vedic wisdom embedded in sastras, the scriptures. He understood what people are missing, clarity in knowledge about Lord, and His existence. He then shared it through a darsan, school of Vedanta named Visishta Advaitham. Few key characteristics are…
✳ All beings have a common support system governed by God, Lord Srimannarayana.
✳ All are equals in the eyes of Lord and eligible for the state of bliss.
✳ Worship God with all His divine attributes (saguna – one who is compassionate, all-pervasive, invincible, flawless knowledge, etc. nirguna – one who does not have any flaws such as being ignorant, immature, mean, etc)
✳ Initiate into the path of right wisdom by seeking pancha samskara, a set of five principles to guide you through life, from an acharya.
✳ All beings are given a body and a family based on their own past karma. Everything that exists, (you and nature) are real; and you are solely responsible for all your deeds (karma).
✳ Follow the norms of your family, caste, creed, gender, etc. [by doing so, you are doing yourself a favor of reducing loads of karma acquired in the past. Failing to do so results in acquiring more karma and causing pain to yourself and the existence]
✳ Love one another, including all the species of existence, and lend a hand in support to all those in need.
✳ Leave the result of your actions and the aftermath of life in the Lord’s hands. Enjoy the freedom of being under the guidance and supervision of the compassionate Lord.
✳ Mandir/Temple should always be the guiding centers of society. It is only then that all beings will abide by the rules laid by the supreme power who is accessible through the Deity form, and not any other intermediary bosses.
But, not everyone believes all the above. How can we attain universal brotherhood with people of varied beliefs?
ya:m ima:m pushpitha:m va:cham
pravadanthya vipaschithaha |
ve:dava:daratha:h pa:rttha !
na:nyad asthi:thi va:dinaha ||
– Sloka 42, Chapter 2,
Sa:nkhya yo:gaha, Bhagavad Githa
True! As Krishna said above, “Not everyone has a complete understanding of Vedic wisdom. Most people will go after deeds that result in temporary benefits. They will choose any path or any power (other than Me) to achieve such benefits. Those benefits are represented by beautiful flowers which do not yield the actual fruit, the eternal joy. Let them do their karma and reap the benefits they chose.”
Ramanujacharya based his study and practice on such wonderful statements from the Lord. So, he knew that society is filled with people with varied tastes and beliefs. That is why he accepted it. He outlined a great way to stay together for everyone even though each one is differently-abled and differently-aimed.
Imagine that there are several colored beads. If they are made to hold on to a common string, then the necklace remains intact. We need not make all the beads look alike. Beads glorify each other while not losing their own glow, shape, color, texture, etc.
We are all like beads, different from each other who believe in different ways of worship, different forms of worship, have different goals etc. But, if we must coexist peacefully – we must follow the norms of society when conducting with each other in public AND we must be allowed to follow our own practises within the boundary of a home or a temple. This is possible only when we are all linked to the highest and the most divine common bond, God. Unity must be achieved through this wisdom. It cannot be achieved just by having lunch with people of different beliefs or marriages between families of different beliefs.
Today, the world is at a standstill because of the ignorance of such right wisdom. The practices the rushis have taught us include physical, mental, intellectual, and such spiritual cleansing. Let us seek special blessings from Lord through prayer so we can stay firm on the knowledge to keep us healthy, united, and cleanse us from wrong-doings in the past. Because, Lord is a tathva of higher plane than us and is the only savior from ignorance. Let us together Love Lord with gratitude for always being accessible with prayer and make this Life worthwhile!
Prayer for Wellbeing
– From the discourse of Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji
– 28 th April 2020, 1004 th Birth Anniversary of Ramanujacharya
– Divya Saketham, Sri Ram Nagar
