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The path of Bhakti is, undoubtedly, the easiest of all mãrgas to attain Bhagavãn; not only for this Yuga (Age) but also for all Yugãs.
Bhagavãn holds the hand of the bhakta and leads him, just as a mother holds the hand of her little child and helps in walking. Bhagavãn, Himself, assures the bhakta, “If you take a single step towards ME with ‘shraddha’ (faith) and bhakti, I will take ten steps towards you and lead you!” How then can one fear to walk on this path? We can, therefore, move fearlessly (‘nirbhayanãi’) on this path.
What happens if we miss a step and fall down?
HE who holds our hand will lift us up and help us walk on the path again!
Thondaradipodi Ãzhwãr (Vipra Nãrãyana) was a great devotee of the Lord. In his Pãsuram ‘Thirumãlai’ he repeatedly speaks of the glory of Nãma (the Name of the Lord). In this, he sings, “Kãvalil pulanai vaithu kalidanai kadakkap pãindu’. He had one-pointed devotion to Lord Ranganatha and his ‘Thirumãlai’ depicts the deep anguish of a bhakta. Once a ‘dãsi’ (dancing girl) wearing the garb of ‘Hari dãsi’ (servant of Lord Hari) enticed him into her net of desire. One who had known only the Lord was now at the home of a ‘dãsi’! All advices from his well-wishers fell on deaf ears. But what does the Lord do? HE works in the ‘buddhi’ of the bhakta and corrects him. Even if the bhakta falls in ‘dur sangha’ (bad company) due to fate, Bhagavãn does not forsake him but helps him out of it.
The ‘dãsi’ threw him out once she had sucked out all his wealth from him. What did Bhagavãn do on seeing his loving devotee cry at her doorstep? Calling himself the servant of Vipra Nãrãyana, the Lord went to the ‘dãsii’s’ home in the form a young boy and offered her a golden plate so that she would accept his devotee back!
On learning this, Thondaradipodi Ãzhwãr rushed to His beloved Bhagavãn and sang
“Bhãviyen unnai allãl! Pãviye! Pãviyene!” (never will I think of anyone else! a sinner that I am! a sinner that I am!)
and never again did he move away from Bhagavãn.
Show just a little devotion and Bhagavãn goes to any length to help you!”
-Sri Swamiji
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