Bountiful grace of the Almighty

CHENNAI, AUG. 11. Devotion can be enhanced by different means according to the capacity of the person to practice it. Scriptures describe these methods and among them listening to the glory of God, especially His deeds during His incarnations, chanting His names and singing hymns in His praise, and remembering Him while engaged in day-to-day activities are considered most practical to adopt and also most favoured by the Lord Himself. The Almighty's manifestation in human form, as Krishna, provides insight into the dynamics of God-devotee relationship which is dealt with in detail in the Bhagavata Purana.

The singular status of this Purana is due to the thread of devotion that runs through the episodes related in it and thus it is not just a narrative of the advents of the Supreme Being like the other Puranas and it reaches its zenith in the 10th canto which describes Lord Krishna's incarnation and His divine deeds. Many were favoured with His grace during His childhood in Gokul. Every sacred place has a special significance associated with it and devotees who undertake pilgrimages make specific offerings. According to the spiritual lore the earth at Gokul was considered very holy by saints and devotees, said Sri K.Srikanta Sarma in his discourse.

To appreciate this one has to understand the glory of those who were recipients of His grace - the simple cowherd community of Gokul and His foster-parents, especially Yashoda. They were great devotees of the Lord, realised souls, who had accompanied the Lord during His advent and it was to heighten the love and devotion which bound them to Him that they were singled out for enjoying the divine deeds of His childhood. When Uddhava witnessed for himself their overwhelming devotion to the Lord he prayed spontaneously, ``Let me be any one of the shrubs, creepers or herbs in Brindavana, catching the dust of the feet of these blessed Gopis who trod the path of devotion leading to Sri Krishna - the path which is still to be strenuously sought for even by the Upanishads...''

It was the dust of the feet of these cowherd women that such a great devotee like Uddhava wanted to partake. It was to proclaim His love for His devotees that the Almighty chose this sanctified place on the Earth to perform His deeds. The special grace showered on Yashoda by revealing to her the infinitude of His cosmic form when she chastised Him for eating mud when His friends complained to her is an instance oft-quoted in the spiritual tradition to highlight His quality of easy accessibility to His devotees.

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