When one’s heart is full of bhakti, there is no room for impure thoughts in one’s mind. And a person with bhakti will not respect people simply because they are wealthy or powerful. To him, riches and pelf do not matter. But he will always have regard for those who are devoted to God, said R. Narayanan in a discourse.
Appar says that even if a person is as wealthy as Kubera, the God of wealth, he will be indifferent to him if he is not a devotee of Lord Siva. But if a man is a devotee of Lord Siva, then Appar will worship him even if he is without riches. So here Appar is saying that even a devotee of Lord Siva is worthy of being worshipped, and this reverence should be shown to him even if his body is in a state of decay, and even if he does not have a high status in life. Love for God thus translates into love for His devotees too.
The Lord Himself prefers the heart of a true devotee to the most opulent temple. Poosalar Nayanar, devotee of Lord Siva, lived in Thiruninravur, in Tamil Nadu. He wanted to build a temple for the Lord. But he did not have the money for such a huge expense. Undeterred, Poosalar Nayanar built a temple for the Lord in his heart, visualising every aspect of the structure. At the same time, the Pallava king was building a temple for Siva in Kanchi. When the king wanted to fix a date for consecration of the temple, the Lord told him that he was going for the consecration of Poosalar Nayanar’s temple, and would be unable to come on the day decided upon by the king. The Lord asked the king to find an alternative date for the consecration of the temple built by him. Thus, the Lord preferred to reside in the imaginary structure erected by His devotee in his heart than in the magnificent temple built for Him by a king.
