God The Almighty
Divine Life
Society Publication: Invoking Succor
from God the Almighty by Swami Krishnananda
Spoken on August 18,1985
The soul’s anguish for God
will be the answer to the question as to what we are to expect in our spiritual
adventure. There is the well-known path of krama-mukti, the
gradual progressive salvation described in detail in the Upanishads. But there
is also what is called sadyo-mukti. This
is the action of God at once. He has no protocol, and there is no action
through the proper channel. He breaks through all this intricate winding
processes and grasps the spirit of the devotee with His own hands. Stories like
the incident of Gajendra’s moksha are illustrations on this point. Why should
Narayana himself come? Has he not got anybody else? He could have sent some
assistant, some Garuda, to go and help this poor elephant. He has got so many,
but he ran himself.
It appears Akbar was told this
story by Birbal, that Narayana ran, unaware of anything else. “What kind of God
you have got? Foolish God,” said Akbar. “Why should he run for a little thing?
He is almighty; he has got such strength. He could have told some of his
attendants to go and help, and they are equally capable. It was not such a
serious matter.”
“Well, I will answer this
question.” Birbal took time to answer the question how this is possible.
It appears that Birbal was the
caretaker of the very, very beloved child, the son of Akbar. He was always
taking care of him, taking him for a walk, and so on. One day Birbal asked a
sculptor to prepare a beautiful image identical in features with this boy, and
he placed this image on the edge of a deep well and left it there. Akbar knew
very well that the boy was always under the protection of Birbal and was caring
for him. One day, Birbal took Akbar for a walk near this well when it was dusk
and things could not be seen properly. “Oh, my boy is here near the well,”
Akbar said. “How is he near the well?”
“It’s all right, it’s all
right,” Birbal said.
Birbal had already arranged
with someone that at the time when Akbar was to be there, this image was to be
pushed into the well, and it was pushed. Birbal said, “O God, the child is in
the well!” Akbar ran immediately. “Wait, wait, wait, wait!” Birbal said, “Wait
here. You have got so many attendants. Send your attendants.”
“Oh, don’t talk, foolish
idiot! My child is in the water. I will go and take him myself.”
“Your Highness, your child is
safe. Don’t be afraid. Here is the child,” he said. “It is only an image, but I
have answered your question.”
Narayana is not an idiotic
god. The love of God for the soul that seeks Him is not explicable by human
language, and it is not to be interpreted even by a scripture. The Srimad
Bhagavata tells us that scriptures, the Vedas themselves are incapable of
putting into form and shape the might and majesty and glory of the internal
relation that God maintains with His devotee: aham
bhakta paradhinaha, says Narayana (S.B. 9.4.36). This is a statement
which God can make and man cannot understand: I am dependent on my devotee. Why
should He be dependent on the bhakta? This is
capable of being understood as a metaphorical statement of the perpetual care
that God takes of the soul that is in union with Him.
Excerpts from:
God The Almighty – Invoking Succor
from God the Almighty by Swami KrishnanandaArchives - Blog
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