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Supremacy of the Lord

CHENNAI: The Supreme Brahman is ever present in the universe both as its physical manifestation and as its very support and life. Though it is believed that this universe is the Lord’s play (Leela), spiritual reflection confirms the fact that there is a purpose in this Leela. It is to redeem the Jivatmas from the darkness of ignorance and sorrow that He has created the universe and is the buttress of it at all times and this truth is amply illustrated in the lives of the saints and the devout, pointed out Sri T. V. Venkataraman in a lecture. The Periyapuranam highlights the many subtle ways in which the Lord intervenes in their lives and thereby provides tangible proof of the Lord’s omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotence that is described in theoretical terms in the scriptures.

The Saivaite saints played an important role is establishing the supremacy of Saivism when it was threatened by Jainism. Once, when under the influence of Jain monks and their philosophy, the Pandya king Nedumaran began to neglect the practice of Saivism, his wife Mangayarkarasi and his minister Kulacchirai Nayanar, both staunch Siva devotees, sought Saint Gnanasambandar’s help. To establish the glory of Saivism, Saint Gnanasambandhar took out a palm leaf that held his hymn praising the Lord who is the God of fire, and put it on fire. The fire could not char such a hymn and the Jains had to accept defeat.

In another incident, this saint wrote another hymn expressing the essence of the Supreme Knowledge which was tested against the flowing Vaigai. He celebrated the glory of the devout, the celestials and the beings of the world who take part in the worship of the Lord as ordained in the scriptures. He entreated people not to get swayed by illusions and false arguments.

Though the Supreme Truth is not to be attained through human mind and intellect, it can be caught through the experience of devotion and faith. The grace of the Lord removes the ignorance and it is association with the devout that can lead to spiritual progress.

Thus the Pandya king was initiated into the Saivaite fold through the grace of Saint Gnanasambandhar.

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