Who can grant us moksha? Only the Supreme One can, and He has shown us in Rama and Krishna avatars that He does not turn away anyone who surrenders to Him.
The one who can grant something must have the power to do so, and the Lord, who showed us various paths to reach Him and emphasised the efficacy of surrender as the easiest path to reach Him, is the One who has the power to grant us anything, including moksha. He is Omnipotent.
It is not enough for a person to be powerful, if he has no desire to grant what is asked. The power to give may be there, but in the absence of willingness, of what use is the power? In the Lord’s case, He has not only the power to give moksha but also the willingness to grant it. In fact, He grants moksha gladly to the one who surrenders at His feet, Valayapet Ramachariar said in a discourse.
But we are at a distance from Him for various reasons, and the gap between God and human beings seems unbridgeable. But in reality, it is not so, for the Lord has given us acharyas, with whose help we can cross the samsaric ocean and reach Him. We may wonder how we, who are so insignificant and undeserving, can ever reach Him. We can, if we place our trust in our preceptors.
There are many insects on a lion’s body, and when the lion covers long distances, the insects on its body traverse those distances too, but not through their own efforts.
Likewise, our faults may be many, and we may therefore be distant from God. But once we seek and find a good preceptor, he will help us bridge the gap. Suppose there is a man who works as a cook in a palace. Many dishes are made for the royal household.
But how much can the royal family eat? What is left over is eaten by the cook’s children. These children do not belong to the royal family. But by virtue of their being the children of the cook, they get to eat what is made for the king.
In the same way, we may have neither jnana nor power, and yet by virtue of our association with a preceptor, we reach God.
