God is the embodiment of kindness and love. Lord Narayana resides in Sri Vaikuntha, a place of resplendent beauty. There, He is seated in a beautifully decorated mantapa. He is there with Goddess Mahalakshmi, and is surrounded by sages, the serpent Adi Sesha, and all the faithful who have no thoughts except those of the Lord, M.V. Anantapadmanabhachariar said in a discourse.
He resides in such a wonderful world, in the midst of those who think of Him and nothing else, yet He chooses to come and reside in our hearts.
And what are our hearts like? They are full of jealousy, envy, vanity, greed, anger, lust and pride. If, in spite of this He chooses to come into our hearts, we can imagine the extent of His kindness.
We are small-minded. Self dominates our lives. We seek riches, fame and material prosperity. But we hardly have time to think of God. Our spare time, too, is spent on worthless pursuits.
Those in Sri Vaikuntha celebrate the Lord and serve the Lord and the Goddess, yet He comes to our hearts which are full of negative thoughts, and He comes willingly.
We, who run after powerful people, but fail to seek God, are sought after by Him. We want the attention of the rich. We crave favours from those in power. If even a nod of recognition were to come our way from the powerful, we are elated. But what can they grant us? They can only grant us favours, which are not going to last. No one but the Lord can grant us moksha. And yet it is these fleeting favours that are valued by us. While we are so uncaring about seeking the Lord, He cares for us.
We may ignore the path we must take. But He does not ignore us. That is why He chooses to be in our hearts. But if He is in our hearts, why is it that we do not realise this? That is because He does not reveal Himself to all. He reveals Himself only to the ardent seeker. But those who seek Him are few. It is only those who seek Him, who find Him, and such seekers of the Lord are great bhaktas. It is only those with bhakti who will be able to realise God.
