Seeking the Formless through the manifest Form is the backbone of all 'devotional' pursuits of the Almighty. Salvation through unflinching devotional surrender is exemplified in the all time
cherishable Devotee-Deity relations of Meerabai-Sri krishna; Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu-Sri Krishna; Tyagaraja- Sri Rama; Annmacharya-Sri Venkateswara; Ramakrishna-Kalimata.
Annamacharya opines that salvation is made possible by pure devotion to the Almighty manifested in a Form. Much is heard about the incarnations; could anyone had the chance of glancing at least one incarnation? When realising the Formless Almighty Within is easier said than done, it is preferable to seek the Almighty in a Form. This is being conveyed by Annamacharya in his sankeertana, "Kaladi Yi Murti Valla Gati Gana Valenu"..................
'O My Men! We have to realise salvation through the apparent Form of the Almighty on earth. And liberation is nowhere else but here on this earth only. It is not something to be sought in the other Divya Lokas (divine planes) of the universe.
'Could we see the Almighty as the formless, attribute-less, spotless consciousness? Or, having only glimpses of imagination about the stories in epics regarding the incarnations of the Almighty, could we see the form of half lion and half human - the Narasimha? Having known that the Almighty is 'within' us, could we realise Him in our inner realm? Is it really possible to seek the Almighty in the higher Lokas (planes)? Are the above mentioned 'means to Salvation', as easy as that of serving the Almighty in Form right in front of us?
'The power of the Almighty in Form can be experienced even by the common man, but can we realise the enormous qualities, attributes of the Almighty? When we seek salvation by resorting to holy scriptures like Vedas, only doubts pile up but not realisation of divine knowledge. Can we comprehend the play of Illusion of the Almighty, by exhaustive reading of Vedas and other holy scriptures? Even after probing deeply, can we ever foresee our future rebirths?
'For the worldly pleasure-hunting human being is it possible to pay attention of his mind on the Almighty in Form? Unless panting for it, can one have his mind ever engaged in the Almighty? Can he understand the passage of Time which has history of Infinity? Can he have real peace of mind envisaged by the learned ones?'.......
Being fully aware of our true being - Suddha Chatanya Stithi, the state of Vibrant Energy, the Supreme Consciousness; we are here on this earth to fulfil the mission of our 'Name and Form' before salvation. Hence even the savants with realised souls about the Formless, continue the judicious combination of devotional surrender to the Almighty in Form which is rather easy to make other people to believe in the Almighty.
We have an interesting story about whether the Almighty is Form or Formless in Gospel of Ramakrishna. Doctor Mahendralal Sarkar attending on Ramakrishna Paramahansa asked once,"Is the Almighty Form or Formless?" Then Gurudev answered,"Hear this story! Once a sanyasin (ascetic) on his itinerary reached Lord Jagannatha temple and after entering into it got a doubt, 'whether the God was Form or Formless'. Then he was holding a Danda (stick) in his hand. To clarify his doubt, he lightly touched the statue of the Deity. Surprisingly it passed through the statue as if there was no statue at all there. He came to the conclusion that the God was Formless. To withdraw back towards him, he tried to pass the stick from the other side. To his bewilderment the stick was obstructed by the statue this time. Then the sanyasin realised that God has Form also. Thus he concluded that the Almighty was both Form and Formless".
Our happiness lies in cordially welcoming the entwined nature of the Almighty's Form and Formless attributes!
cherishable Devotee-Deity relations of Meerabai-Sri krishna; Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu-Sri Krishna; Tyagaraja- Sri Rama; Annmacharya-Sri Venkateswara; Ramakrishna-Kalimata.
Annamacharya opines that salvation is made possible by pure devotion to the Almighty manifested in a Form. Much is heard about the incarnations; could anyone had the chance of glancing at least one incarnation? When realising the Formless Almighty Within is easier said than done, it is preferable to seek the Almighty in a Form. This is being conveyed by Annamacharya in his sankeertana, "Kaladi Yi Murti Valla Gati Gana Valenu"..................
'O My Men! We have to realise salvation through the apparent Form of the Almighty on earth. And liberation is nowhere else but here on this earth only. It is not something to be sought in the other Divya Lokas (divine planes) of the universe.
'Could we see the Almighty as the formless, attribute-less, spotless consciousness? Or, having only glimpses of imagination about the stories in epics regarding the incarnations of the Almighty, could we see the form of half lion and half human - the Narasimha? Having known that the Almighty is 'within' us, could we realise Him in our inner realm? Is it really possible to seek the Almighty in the higher Lokas (planes)? Are the above mentioned 'means to Salvation', as easy as that of serving the Almighty in Form right in front of us?
'The power of the Almighty in Form can be experienced even by the common man, but can we realise the enormous qualities, attributes of the Almighty? When we seek salvation by resorting to holy scriptures like Vedas, only doubts pile up but not realisation of divine knowledge. Can we comprehend the play of Illusion of the Almighty, by exhaustive reading of Vedas and other holy scriptures? Even after probing deeply, can we ever foresee our future rebirths?
'For the worldly pleasure-hunting human being is it possible to pay attention of his mind on the Almighty in Form? Unless panting for it, can one have his mind ever engaged in the Almighty? Can he understand the passage of Time which has history of Infinity? Can he have real peace of mind envisaged by the learned ones?'.......
Being fully aware of our true being - Suddha Chatanya Stithi, the state of Vibrant Energy, the Supreme Consciousness; we are here on this earth to fulfil the mission of our 'Name and Form' before salvation. Hence even the savants with realised souls about the Formless, continue the judicious combination of devotional surrender to the Almighty in Form which is rather easy to make other people to believe in the Almighty.
We have an interesting story about whether the Almighty is Form or Formless in Gospel of Ramakrishna. Doctor Mahendralal Sarkar attending on Ramakrishna Paramahansa asked once,"Is the Almighty Form or Formless?" Then Gurudev answered,"Hear this story! Once a sanyasin (ascetic) on his itinerary reached Lord Jagannatha temple and after entering into it got a doubt, 'whether the God was Form or Formless'. Then he was holding a Danda (stick) in his hand. To clarify his doubt, he lightly touched the statue of the Deity. Surprisingly it passed through the statue as if there was no statue at all there. He came to the conclusion that the God was Formless. To withdraw back towards him, he tried to pass the stick from the other side. To his bewilderment the stick was obstructed by the statue this time. Then the sanyasin realised that God has Form also. Thus he concluded that the Almighty was both Form and Formless".
Our happiness lies in cordially welcoming the entwined nature of the Almighty's Form and Formless attributes!
Both Form and Formless!
Om Shanti!
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