Yogiswara Hari, son of Rishhabadeva, tells King Nimi about the sins that Bhagavatas will never commit, said P.T. Seshadri, in a discourse. They will not discriminate between Bhagavatas on any grounds, whatsoever. He who practises such discrimination will go to naraka, says Hari. They will not treat anyone as inferior, on the basis of the body that an atma inhabits. In other words, whether one is a man, or woman, or asura, or rakshasa, there will be no difference in the way a Bhagavata treats them. A devotee may be young or old. But a true Bhagavata does not mock any of them. A devotee may be in any of the four asramas — he may be a Brahmachari, a grihastha, a vanaprastha or a sanyasi. This is immaterial to the Bhagavata.
One example of a grihastha having total attachment to the Lord is Kooratazhvan. In fact, his wife and sons were equally devoted to the Lord. A devotee may have some physical infirmity. But a Bhagavata does not make fun of him for this reason. Looking down upon someone because of his physical appearance is a sin a Bhagavata will not commit. There was an Araiyar in Srirangam temple, whose eyesight was not good, because of his age. He used to keep a salagrama in a box along with betel leaves and areca nuts. Because he could not see well, he would often put the salagrama into his mouth, thinking it was an areca nut. Realising it was his Salagrama, he would then wash it and put it back in the box.
The priest of the temple said it was a sin to put the sacred Salagrama into his mouth. The Araiyar then gave the Salagrama to the priest. But that night, the Lord appeared in the priest’s dream, and said that though the priest looked after Him well, He preferred to be in the Araiyar’s betel box! So, the Lord showed to Him that bhakti alone matters.
ADVERTISEMENT