Attachment to devotees

Lord Narayana pays heed only to the good that is said about His devotees, for He knows they will not err. In the same way, His devotees too will not believe anything negative that is said about other devotees.

Kulasekhara Azhvar was the Chera king, and he welcomed devotees of the Lord and had special regard for them. There were many ministers in his court, who disliked the importance given to these Vaishnava devotees. Therefore, they decided to make the king mistrust them. So they stole a jewel and cast the blame on the Vaishnava devotees. But Kulasekhara Azhvar was confident that the Vaishnavas would not have stolen the jewel. So he asked for a pot with a poisonous snake in it to be brought to him. He said he would put his hand into the pot, and if indeed the Vaishnavas had stolen the jewel, the snake would bite him. He put his hand in the pot, but the snake did not bite him. The ministers then confessed to having stolen the jewel, with a view to getting rid of the Vaishnavas. Thus Kulasekhara’s faith in Lord Narayana’s devotees was vindicated.

The Lord, it is said, does not think ill of His devotees, even if the person complaining to Him is His consort! So staunch is His faith in them. He never turns away anyone who surrenders to Him, even if all around Him tell Him that the person surrendering is not worthy of His grace, M.V. Anantapadmanabhachariar said in a discourse. This is seen in the case of Vibhishana’s surrender. Though everyone around Him advises Rama to turn Vibhishana away, each citing a different reason, Rama says He will offer Vibhishana His protection, even if he has his faults. The very act of surrender is enough.

In Tirumala, there is an idol of Lord Rama in the sanctum sanctorum. He is seen with a tilted head, as if He were listening to something that is being said to Him. His head is tilted because He is paying heed to Vibhishana’s words of surrender.

Uttering the name of Rama gets rid of our sins. When we say ‘Ra,’ our sins make an exit; when we bring our lips together to say ‘Ma,’ the sins that have gone out are kept out forever. Such is the potency of the name Rama.