JOIN US“Though gifted with the faculty of speech and poesy, instead of using these to sing your praises and recollect your glorious po-wer, I have used them for pleasing unworthy men for the sake of earning my livelihood.
"Forgive me, Lord and bestow your grace upon me so that I may compose verses of praise about you,” says poet Lilasuka in his work Krishnakarnamruta, subtly driving home the message that men must direct their energies towards noble pursuits.
The young Lord Krishna is depicted as being adorned with sparkling jewels with a plume of peacock feather in his curly hair, while playing upon a flute from which divine and enchan-ting music emanates.
Lilasuka prays that at least, in some future birth, by virtue of the accumulated good deeds of previous births, he may be blessed to be born as the bamboo reed that comes into contact with the lips of the Lord.
This statement bears a striking similarity to the words of the saint Kulashekara Alwar, who in his magnificent work Mukundamala Stotra, prays that he may be born as the stone that adorns the threshold of the sanctum of Lord Venkat-eswara of Tirumala, in order that he may have a continuous vision of the Lord at all times.
In commemoration of this appeal, the threshold of the sanctum is called ‘Kulashekara Padi’ to this day. Poet Lilasuka says that the Lord is like the great root from which spring forth, like creepers, the various branches of knowledge contai-ned in the Vedas and prays for the vision of the supreme effulgence of the Lord at the time of departing from the earth.
This divinity is to be realised only by turning one’s attention inwards and embarking upon the quest of self- realisation, says Lilasuka. Mere words cannot help in this quest. Now co-mes a description of the famo-us Rasalila - the great sport of blissfulness, the underlying message being that of the eternal sport of the universal dance.
A huge array of couples are engaged in dancing to the music that flows from the person at the centre of the ring. This central person has no partner, as he is the pivotal, universal power, whereas all the individuals around represent the mortals who are ever in bondage with each other, a combination of spirit and matter.
Until these individuals realise that it is the central power that controls them, they keep going round and round in an endless cycle of births and deaths.
The moment they look within, see the Lord enshrined in their hearts and hearken to his music, this blind cyclical dance of theirs ends and they are able to extricate themselves from this bondage. The poet employs this beautiful allegory to drive home this profound philosophical message.
Just as the divine music emanating from the Lord’s flute sends men into raptures, those who achieve this realisation, that the Lord resides in their very beings, enjoy the bliss of inner peace.