Ways to reach God

Srimad Bhagavatam contains about 18,000 verses, and Dwadasa Akshara Mantra (12-lettered) is one of them. Sage Narada blessed the young child Dhruva with this most potent mantra, advising him to chant it to realise God. Sengalipuram Sri Damodara Dikshitar said in a discourse that our physical body, made up of the five elements of nature, is unrefined, and we can only, with the help of gurus, find the ways and means of realising God as the Acharyas have the power to transform even the benumbed, dull-witted and apathetic personalities.

How can we bring God into our constantly vacillating minds and fix Him in them? It is said that a person achieves this through constant devotion and repeated thinking of God, His deeds, and qualities. Devotion is not a sentimental drivel. It is an absolute commitment to God. It implies a total knowledge of God’s majesty, compassion, and easy accessibility to those approaching Him.

With steadfast devotion, the child Dhruva started to realise the Supreme Being during the third month of his penance. God appeared before him in the fifth month as envisaged in his mind. Dhruva did not ask for anything except an uninterrupted devotion towards the Lord.

Sage Narada says in the Bhakti Sutra that devotion should develop more and more in a person. Saint Karaikkal Ammaiyar says that she needed undying devotion (Iravada Anbu Vendum). Sant Thukaram says he did not aspire for wealth or even moksha but unfailing devotion. This is possible only with the help of Satsang.

God will extend His blessings to those who show no enmity and treat all as friends, who do not find fault with others, who are content and complacent, and who show mercy and compassion towards those in distress. God tests us to see whether we are melting towards the distressed.

Published - November 16, 2024 05:07 am IST