The whole world is pervaded by Goddess Shakti, lovingly called Ambal by Her devotees, said M.A. Manickavelu in a discourse. Those who do not realise Her all-pervasiveness have impure thoughts, and end up in hell. Abirami Bhattar, in his Abirami Andadi, says that he keeps away from such people. Bhattar says if one has Her blessings, then one can understand the Vedas, and will ultimately realise the Supreme Truth. But understanding the Vedas requires meditation and focused thinking of Ambal. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa used to narrate a story to illustrate the need for delving deeply into philosophy.
There was a man who used to go to the forest to cut wood. One day he heard a voice asking him to go deeper into the forest. When he did, he found copper, which he was able to sell. The next day the voice asked him to go even further and this time he found silver. The third day, he was asked to go into the heart of the forest, where he found gold. Had he not gone deep into the forest, he would not have found gold. Likewise, sacred texts must not be studied superficially, but deeply. We must try to get to the core of the texts and understand the inner meaning of the works. And for such study, of course, we need Her grace. Only with God’s grace can we understand God.
Siva Puranam says that one worships at His feet because of His mercy. We all know that there are many philosophical texts to read. Merely knowing of their existence is not going to help us. One may know the entire time-table of trains in a region by heart. But if we do not buy tickets to travel to a destination, can we get there, simply because we know the time of departure and arrival of trains? In the same way, we must resolve to read sacred works and study them diligently.
