Deivathin Kural Series - 106

Om Namah Sivaya.
Deivathin Kural # 106 of 25 of Nov 2006.
(KTSV says:- There has been some errors in numbering the serial. I may or may not correct them. But I can assure you, that the material has been continuous. See the page numbering referred.)
1. To-day's topic is titled, 'Moorthy Vazhipadum Murtriya Gnanamum', that is, 'Idol Worship and Matured Wisdom', that is occuring in pages 486 to 489, in the first Volume of Deivathin Kural, Tamil edition, published by Vanady Padippagam, T.Nagar, Chennai, accessible in Web Site, 'www.kamakoti.org'.
2. If I point out to You all, that there are plantain fruits in front of me, and that they are yellow in colour, You will see it and accept my statement on face value, without any reaction. Instead, if I show the same fruits and tell You that they are red in colour, there will be objections arising in your mind. Once again, without pointing out its colour, if I ask you to imagine them to be red, there will be an agreeable response in your minds. With concentration, you may be able to visualise a red fruit there.
3. 'Upasana', is like that. 'Upasana' or worship is a method of imagining and visualising God, though the very idea of God is not within our comprehension. 'Think of God to be like this and this, with so and so qualities, as in this form,' is the Upasana Path. The Plantain has a certain shape and colour. Like that, what are the characteristics of God? He is beyond all imaginable characteristics. Right at the beginning, if I say that, 'He is beyond all imagination', you will stop thinking of the unthinkable, unimaginable, unknowable and so not-to-be-bothered-with. Similar to your mind objecting to my, showing a yellow banana and saying that it is red; if I show you a statue and say that it is 'God', you cannot agree either. You are likely to say that, 'after all this is only a statue made of stone and so, cannot be accepted as God'. But if I point out a statue and say, 'assume this to be God, just as a supposition', you may temporarily agree. The problem is with the mind and not with You or Me. This mind can only catch on to something already known. We do not know what is 'Paramatma'. So even in the case of that temporary assumption of a statue as God, deep concentration may not be possible. But now, if I make a statue of a female form, of exceptional grace and compassion, and ask you to imagine God as a Mother; nay, God as Your Mother, in that statue; now you may be able to meditate more successfully.
4. From the formless, attributeless, colourless Brhmam only, all the endless, salubrious qualities have emerged; all the colours have evolved; all the forms have sprung. For each charecteristic form, there are the corresponding, shape, size, symbol, weapon, stamp or Mudra; enabling us to meditate on the otherwise ununderstandable idea of God.
5. God who is every thing, blesses us through that form, in which we approach Him. Raises our minds successively, to a stage beyond mind. In the mindless state, we can partake of the formless, as it is. In the early stages, if we think of a formless God, we are not able to grasp. If we initially pray to God, with form and qualities, as our devotion matures, we will be able to enjoy His company the way He is. Initially you have to involve the mind. Through the mind, the mind has to be won over. When you call the yellow banana, yellow; mind has no job there. It will immediately start its vascillations. At the end again when you know God, the way He is; again there is no job for the mind. But at that stage the mind is no more!
6. During the Upasana, if you think of God in a particular form, for that, there are specific Mantras, specific procedures, with certain restrictions in behaviour and diet. When you mature in the process, procedures and restrictions drop off. Upasana is for the body and mind. Your this Self being the same as that Self, Upasana ends in the Experience of God.
7. We should not assume that we come to that maturity ever. Upasana is the facility for obtaining Gnana Anubhava. Rama and Krishna, Devi and Kali, Ganesha and Kartikeya, are not only imagined forms, but God's gift to Humanity. Their form, Mantras, Upasana Rules; are all revelations to great saints of yore. God Himself is the path, procedure and destination. So trust in Upasana will lead to Gnana.
8 Whether we attain to Gnana or not, let us do the devotionary acts with love. This love, this bakthi, will give us great satisfaction. We can enjoy the limitless grace of God through our devotion. That itself is great bliss. We need not worry about the end result. Let Him give us Gnana or not. We need not bother about it now. It is enough to enjoy the very process of approaching God. ( KTSV says:- This is equally applicable in the worldly affairs too. Cycling expedition is more enjoyable than the certificate at the end. Doing the research work for a Doctorate, is more fun than the appellation. Sugar candy is sweeter than talking about it! )
9. So let us pray to God to give us unshakeable belief and make us Love to Love Him.
Sambhomahadeva.