The Lord describes His infinite Self in many ways in the Bhagavad Gita. “I am the rites that the Vedas ordain and the rituals taught by the scriptures. I am the food that sustains and heals; the mantra, the ghee, the oblation and the flame into which it is offered. I am the father, mother, grandfather of the universe; I give the fruits of every action of every individual; I am the Being extolled in the Vedas and I am the one who purifies and sanctifies.”
Such being His transcending Supremacy, one tends to wonder how it is possible to approach Him to seek His grace.
The Lord dispels this fear of His inaccessibility which arises naturally in many of us when He spells out the simple ways in which we can reach Him, pointed out Swami Gautamananda in a lecture.
“I gladly accept whatever my devotee offers — be it a leaf, flower, fruit or a drop of water — with pure and sincere love.”
The Lord has proved this truth in the lives of many of His devotees. Rama accepted the best of fruits that Sabhari had personally checked by tasting before offering them to the Lord. Krishna expressed warm gratitude to Vidhura who offered Him simple porridge in his hut. The all-knowing Krishna took the broken rice flakes from Kuchela who was hesitant to give Him such a plain item. Siva graced the hunter Kannappan who brought ablutions for the Lord in his mouth and offered Him meat.
It is thus clear that the attitude behind each offering is the value that God looks for and not the worth of the offering as such. Ostentation in worship may feed the ego of the individual but does not bring him any closer to God.
Krishna insists that we should cultivate the habit of dedicating to Him whatever we do or eat as a worshipful offer. This is a valuable guideline for many of us who would like to serve Him personally but do not know how to go about it.
The worldly and spiritual streams that seem to run a parallel course merge when our daily acts become acts of worship. Even our evil tendencies begin to undergo a change and turn into good deeds and goodwill.
