When Lord Narayana saved Bhooma Devi from the demon, She asked Him to grant those on Earth something that would be of benefit to them.
The Lord assured Her that those who worshipped Him would never be separated from Him. Bhooma Devi incarnated as Andal, and through Her Thiruppavai verses, She showed the world the importance of surrender (Saranagati), Akkarakkani Srinidhi said.
In one of Her verses, She talks about the simplicity of the Gopikas. They are incapable of resorting to any tough means to reach Him. But the Gopikas are fortunate, as all of us, who are ignorant of how to reach Him. But we need not worry about our inability to do penance or about our lack of gnana. The Lord is simple. He is reached through simple means, the act of surrender to Him being the simplest. It was to demonstrate His simplicity that He grew up tending cows. He is the end we must seek. But what is the means? He is both the end and the means. Andal shows us this through Her verses. To realise that He is our sole refuge, is the first step in the path of surrender.
An example would serve to illuminate this further. There was a rich man who announced that the next day being his birthday, he would distribute gold to those who came to his house. He asked all those who wanted his gifts to bring bags to take them home. The next day, a huge crowd turned up, and everyone brought many bags. But there was one man who wanted the gifts, but had not brought a bag. So the rich man asked him why he had not brought a bag. The man replied that if the rich man was capable of giving away so much gold, he would surely be capable of providing a bag to take the gold away in! Thus, it is with the Lord and moksha. He is capable of giving us moksha. Is He not capable of being the way too, to reach His feet?
There is no time specified to surrender. There is no particular place where alone one may surrender. We are not expected to be blemishless. One can belong to any strata of society. Nothing is a bar to surrendering at His feet. God is ready and happy to save everyone, provided we surrender at His feet.
The Lord assured Her that those who worshipped Him would never be separated from Him. Bhooma Devi incarnated as Andal, and through Her Thiruppavai verses, She showed the world the importance of surrender (Saranagati), Akkarakkani Srinidhi said.
In one of Her verses, She talks about the simplicity of the Gopikas. They are incapable of resorting to any tough means to reach Him. But the Gopikas are fortunate, as all of us, who are ignorant of how to reach Him. But we need not worry about our inability to do penance or about our lack of gnana. The Lord is simple. He is reached through simple means, the act of surrender to Him being the simplest. It was to demonstrate His simplicity that He grew up tending cows. He is the end we must seek. But what is the means? He is both the end and the means. Andal shows us this through Her verses. To realise that He is our sole refuge, is the first step in the path of surrender.
An example would serve to illuminate this further. There was a rich man who announced that the next day being his birthday, he would distribute gold to those who came to his house. He asked all those who wanted his gifts to bring bags to take them home. The next day, a huge crowd turned up, and everyone brought many bags. But there was one man who wanted the gifts, but had not brought a bag. So the rich man asked him why he had not brought a bag. The man replied that if the rich man was capable of giving away so much gold, he would surely be capable of providing a bag to take the gold away in! Thus, it is with the Lord and moksha. He is capable of giving us moksha. Is He not capable of being the way too, to reach His feet?
There is no time specified to surrender. There is no particular place where alone one may surrender. We are not expected to be blemishless. One can belong to any strata of society. Nothing is a bar to surrendering at His feet. God is ready and happy to save everyone, provided we surrender at His feet.
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