Bringing one’s palms together and doing an anjali to Lord Narayana is the easiest way to worship Him, said Akkarakkani Srinidhi in a discourse. This simple act is enough to please Him. Alavandar, in his Stotra Ratnam, says that whoever offers an anjali to the Lord, at whatever time of the day, and even if he were to do this only once, it is enough to wipe out all his sorrows, and to contribute to his welfare. Alavandar, addressing the Lord, says that an anjali offered to Him will never be in vain. As Alavandar points out, the beauty of anjali is that anyone can do it. There are no rules about when to do it. No special rituals are to be followed to do an anjali. And yet, there are those who do not even do this simple act. Nammazhvar says that it is their fate that keeps them from doing that which is good for them.
In the Yuddha Kanda of Valmiki Ramayana, Rama tells Sugreeva that should a man approach one with folded palms (anjali), then regardless of whether that man is an enemy, or a beggar, or one seeking refuge, he should not be killed. Anjali is saranagati (surrender) through the body. Valmiki’s use of the word ‘deena,’ indicates surrender through the manas, and the poet’s use of the word ‘yaacantam’ indicates surrender through one’s words.
Vedanta Desika, in his Anjali Vaibhavam, says that if the Lord were about to punish us for our sins, we must direct towards Him the weapon known as anjali! The Lord will melt with compassion and drop the idea of punishing us. Every act has a purpose, but once we achieve our target, we no longer continue the same task. But when you do anjali, you get moksha, and in Sri Vaikuntha, what does one do, but offer anjali to the Lord? So anjali is something that continues even after the goal (moksha) is attained.
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