The Endless Glory of Sree Ishwara

By H H Maa Purnananda

Sree Ishwara Darshan Temple here at SISS is a great reminder for us about the Divine qualities lived by Sree Guru Parampara. All the sacred Hymns chanted and sung at the Altar of Sree Ishwara describe various divine attributes of the Ultimate Divinity experienced and expressed spontaneously by Them. These sacred chants inspire us to cultivate divine qualities within and to stop entertaining the evil in us.

Our Scriptures, as also the given Mantra, say that Sree Ishwara or the Lord, dwells in or pervades, whole of the Creation or the Universe. When the whole Creation is pervaded by the Lord, then why do I not perceive Him at all, anywhere, within and around? Surely there is some kind of blockade somewhere due to which I am unable to see Him or experience Him! What can be the cause of this blockade? How to identify the cause and what are the ways to remove such a blockade? Until and unless I get answers for all these doubts, neither shall I have true devotion nor shall I be able to cultivate steady faith in the Lord that is necessary to cultivate the higher view expounded in our Scriptures.

For removal of the above-mentioned doubts, I will have to peep into the Scriptures. Even as I humbly study the Scriptures under the guidance of the Guru, if I fail in sincere practices and implementation of the learning, I shall not be able to comprehend the actual import of the concept of ‘Ishwara’. When the concept of ‘Ishwara’ remains incomprehensible to me, how would I ever cultivate steady faith and unswerving devotion towards Him? How shall I value the endless glory of the all-pervading Sree Ishwara?

Since Ishwara is all-pervading, so relying upon my faith in the sacred words of the Guru, can I try to see or perceive the world around me as His glory at least, if not Him? Even to do so, I will have to drop my likes and dislikes, attachments and aversions and all such pairs of opposites related to the world, that I have been imagining, imposing and experiencing throughout my life. To stop entertaining my thoughts related to the pairs of opposites, to stop reacting upon those and to ultimately grow out of such thoughts, I will surely have to change the very inherent tendencies of mine which are the cause of all evil.

When it comes to bringing change within, it seems to be a very difficult task. Mostly, I consider myself to be correct and I try to find faults externally. I even try to prove myself to be correct. Such conditioning stops me from analysing and assessing my own thoughts and my tendencies behind them correctly, leave aside rectifying them! Our Guru Parampara, having proper understanding of human psychology and of the tendencies that cause such deluded mindsets which are the outcome of egocentric individuality, have guided the humanity to follow and practice a certain way of life which has to be incorporated in daily routine as social norms, cultural activities and religious customs and traditions. For fulfilling this purpose, the endless glory of Sree Ishwara chanted and sung as Mantra, Sookta, Stotra and Bhajan are all great Sacred Heritage that has been compiled in the form of scriptures by compassionate generations of revered Seers and Saints. We are fortunate to be blessed by such a glorious Heritage and we all must try our utmost to inculcate and implement it with all humility and complete dedication.

When closely observed and diligently practiced under the guidance of the Guru, all such practices help in self-improvement to quite an extent, provided, I remain humble, agile and ever grateful to Sree Guru Parampara. Instead, if I thereafter develop pride of my understanding and improvement, I fall badly, because, ego is the very cause of delusion which in turn blocks my correct understanding and comprehension. This leads to the fact that even while learning from the scriptures, each one of us needs proper guidance from the Guru. Unless I drop the evil from within and enhance divinity within, in spite of reading the Scriptures, I would never be able to perceive the Universe as the endless glory of Sree Ishwara and very unfortunately, shall continue to suffer the miseries of my own deluded and desire-motivated life.