We often wonder what it would be like if we could see God. God did appear on this earth when He took avatars. But we need feel no regret that we were not born then and were therefore denied the chance of seeing Him in person. Acharyas are God's representatives, and seeing them is akin to seeing God, said Kidambi Narayanan in a discourse.
God saves our atma, but He does so through the good offices of Acharyas. So both the Lord and Acharyas shower their grace upon us. While we cannot see God who shows us infinite mercy, we do see Acharyas, who show us equal, if not more, mercy.
Many examples are given in religious literature to show the importance of Acharyas. Thirumangai Azhvar imagines himself to be a girl pining for her lover. He thinks of himself as the girl, and of the Lord as the one the girl is pining for.
The girl sends a message to her loved one through a bird. The girl warns the bird to be careful not to become a slave to the charms of her lover. But religious literature is not to be read superficially. The real significance of Thirumangai Azhvar's verse must be understood. The bird represents Acharyas. They are the ones who speak to the Lord on our behalf.
But what can we do for them in return? We must serve them selflessly. But here too, we must find out what kind of service they require. We must not thrust upon them any service that we think is useful, but which they may not really require.
Once a disciple wanted to serve his Acharya. This man was never able to get anywhere close to the Acharya, for he was always surrounded by his other disciples. One day, the Acharya was alone. The man had been waiting for such an opportunity. He picked up a fan and began to fan the Acharya vigorously.
The Acharya said he wished to rest, for he was unwell. He was running temperature and he was shivering because of the fever. The man's fanning had only served to push up his temperature. Thus, the man's fanning was a nuisance to the Acharya and not service. We have to find out what our Acharyas want us to do.
