He welcomes us

No matter what our background, no matter what our flaws,

the Lord accepts us and grants us moksha if we resort to

complete surrender at His feet, said Akkarakkani Srinidhi in

a discourse.


Vibhishana is held out as a classic example of the

simplicity and power of surrender. Vibhishana had tried his

best to persuade Ravana to return Sita to Rama and save

himself from the wrath of Rama. But this only earned for him the abuses of Ravana. Vibhishana, realising that Ravana was determined to oppose Lord Rama, decided to leave his

brother and go over to Rama, seeking refuge at His feet.

Vibhishana, accompanied by four demons, arrived at Rama’s

camp. But Vibhishana also had with him his mace.

Why was the mace with him? When Vibhishana left Lanka,

he wanted to bring all the citizens of Lanka with him so that they could all be saved. But none was willing to accompany him except the four who were with him. He also asked the mace if it wanted to come with him. Naturally, the mace, being inanimate, could offer no reply to his question. Taking its silence as indicating its willingness to come with him, Vibhishana brought the mace with him when he came to Rama’s camp!


Vibhishana, in the true spirit of one who surrenders, first

mentioned his biggest disqualification. He introduced

himself as the brother of Ravana. The monkeys in Rama’s

camp were alarmed by his presence and strongly suggested

to Rama that he should be turned away. Hanuman said he

could be trusted. But Rama’s words brought out the

significance of Saranagati. The Lord said that He did not care about the flaws of someone who surrendered to Him. Even had Ravana surrendered, He would have accepted him.


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