The Azhvars came to earth to show us God. It might be asked if that task had not been taken care of earlier by others. After all, the Vedas, Itihasas and Puranas show us who the Supreme One is. But the problem is that we do not even understand ourselves. How then can we hope to understand what the scriptures say?
There are five important things we need to know if we are to advance towards moksha, said Akkarakkani Srinidhi in a discourse.
First of all, we must know ourselves. The next step is to know who the Supreme One is. The third step is to understand which path leads to Him.
The fourth is to take cognisance of the impediments to our progress towards Him. The fifth is to know what it is that we will enjoy, if we successfully get rid of these hurdles and reach Him.
The first step itself can be difficult. And since it is difficult, we give up and do not get to the next step. We worry about our cumulative sins. We wonder if we will get His mercy. But if we want to reach Him, we must believe we will get His mercy.
If you prepare hard for an examination, but lack the confidence that you will do well in the exam, then your preparations will be of no use. Similarly, you must believe you will be saved by Him if you put your trust in Him. And this is what the Azhvars showed us.
The Vedas only speak about things in an indirect manner. Even Vyasa, in his Brahma Sutra, does not spell out things in a direct manner and so it is not easy for us to understand his words.
And that is why the Azhvars came to the earth to explain to us the nature of Supreme One and the way to reach Him.
