Path to devotion

To be born into royalty, rule as a sovereign with all its attendant pressures, distractions and onerous responsibilities, yet cultivate a philosophical and spiritual outlook is no mean achievement. Yet, this is exactly what Maharaja Swati Tirunal of the Travancore royal lineage did. In an all too brief life span of thirty-two years, his attainments in music, poetry, spiritual learning, public administration and many other fields are remarkable for their erudition and intensity of involvement. The titular deity of the Travancore royal family is Lord Padmanabhaswamy of the famed eponymous temple in Thiruvananthapuram.

Having submitted their entire kingdom at the feet of the Lord as servants of Padmanabha (Padmanabha Dasas), successive generations of the royal family have upheld the supremacy of the Lord in all their affairs. Swati Tirunal, apart from being a versatile musician with more than four hundred compositions to his credit, was also a gifted poet who has written many works on Lord Padmanabhaswamy, on mythological themes, on philosophical subjects, on temple worship traditions, etc.

The Bhaktimanjari is one of the well-known poetic compositions of Swati Tirunal. In a thousand-odd verses of exquisite lyrical beauty, the poet expounds on Bhakti or devotion as the sole and supreme means to spiritual growth and fulfillment. Purity of heart and steadfastness in faith are the prerequisites to spiritual emancipation, says the author.

But even this approach is not without its hurdles, for, “the man who utters your divine names is seen as a useless prattler by the foolish men of the world, while the one who is silently engrossed in meditation of your feet and wondrous exploits is called stupid, O Lord! The men of this world cannot understand the mind of the true devotee. They are like those, who, suffering from some ailment have lost their sense of taste and impute bitterness to even the sweetest of things,” laments Swati Tirunal.

Touching upon the importance of having good company, the author asks of Lord Padmanabha for the company of the Lord’s devotees, because they are the noble souls who will show the way to the Lord by chanting the divine names and instilling firmness of faith, which is the sure way to remove all suffering.

Swati Tirunal now makes a noteworthy observation, that though he may lack in other qualities that may qualify him for the Lord’s grace, there is surely one good quality in him, that of firm faith in the power of the Lord to dispel his ignorance and grant him the power to do meritorious deeds. This one positive quality is enough, asserts the author, to wipe out all other demerits and make him deserving of the Lord’s grace. Herein lies an important message to all men that simple, unflinching faith is far superior to all other means of worship. “At every step, we commit a thousand sins. Ignore our faults, grace us with your blessings and redeem us,” prays Swati Tirunal in his Bhaktimanjari.