Great Devotees of Lord Siva 19

April 30, 2006

Om Namah Sivaya

Murkha Nayanar

This saint from his childhood had the firm faith on the Supreme Lord and limitless love for His devotees. The love eventually manifested as service. He had the principle of having his food only after giving feast to the devotees of the Lord. His courteous service with wholehearted love brought a lot of devotees to his house. He continued to offer flawless service to them and spent his entire wealth in that. He was not left with a piece of property. For him the property achieved its goal, serving the servants of Lord Siva. But he was very much worried about the lack of resources for the continuation of his holy job of serving the devotees. He could not find any other alternative to earn in his town.

So, he resorted to a strange way. He used to gamble and use the money for feeding Siva Bhaktas. He went away from his village in search of gamblers! He would not spare anybody: if someone refused to gamble with him, he would resort to violence! (So the name Murkha Nayanar which means wicked Nayanar!) But, he would never utilise the money for his own expenses. It was all for His Bhaktas. So, the Lord, the Indweller, showered His blessings on him.

This is an extraordinary illustration of the nature of supreme devotion or Para Bhakti. It is its own law. The devotee knows nothing but God and is actually oblivious of the world and its manners. He lives in God, for God and he is of God. At such a stage, God Himself takes charge of him! The completeness of the surrender is severely tested before this.

It is the extreme difficulty of this path that made Sage Narada exclaim that even a saint should not violate the canons of morality. Hence, so long as you are aware of your own individuality, stick to the code of right conduct: do not foolishly imitate the sages who dwell in a plane of consciousness, to which you are a complete stranger.

Sivaya Namah

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