Devotion to God - Essay Example

Devotion to God Devotion to God Devotion to God refers to the allegiance, or loyalty and commitment that people give to God. Theworld has many religions, which have their own ways of devotion to God. These differences are based on the fact that religions have various beliefs and doctrines that guide them through the worship, praise and trust in the God they recognize. God manifest in different ways. Some religions of the world have are monotheistic while other religions are polytheistic. In the polytheistic religions, devotion to the gods may differ in some ways depending on the manifestation of the various gods. Devotion to a monotheistic, transcendent God such as in Christianity and Islam are almost same, but might differ depending on the nature of with the title of devotion or worship is concerned. It does not mean that the general devotion varies, it only implies that expressing devotion to God has different ways depending on a number of factors. The devotion expressed in this paper depicts a saint song by Ravi Das. It portrays the saintly teachings that originate from the Bhakti movement. The saint song originates from a North Indian Guru, Ravidas, who was a bhakti movement Guru from Ramanandi Sampradaya. He was a direct disciple of Ramananda. The Guru was active in the 15 the century CE. The saint song was performed in occasions when people need answers and solutions from the lord. The people believe that they can barely achieve anything without seeking the presence of the lord. The devotion seeks the presence or the manifestation of the lord in order to take control of the situations that man cannot control. The Bhakti movement follows in the utmost power of Hinduism God. The song is about the lord of wealth, who is called Kuber. In the fifth line of the first stanza, Ravi Das quotes that, ‘Oh lord of wealth, what should I say about this delusion?’. The author of the song came from the lower caste of the traditional Hindu society. He was a shoemaker and the teachings of Bhakta, which he advocated was really embraced by the people from this caste. The adults, who understood about wealth and who could ask for more understanding about the world and wealth are the age bracket the song targeted. The song targeted the low-caste social setting where Ravi Das belonged according to Brahmic teachings. The movement of Bhakta solely pursued the interests of the people of this caliber. The devotion in the song recognizes Gods power over men. It praises the God and speaks of his power. The song depicts that the God is not egocentric and with his presence, there is no ego in men. It admits that there is only one God, who is obtained by the grace of the guru. In the song, the Guru quotes, ‘what we deem a thing to be, in reality it is not like that’ (Fisher & Bailey 2012, p.81). This quote expresses that the God is ‘all-knowing’. He is omniscient and that men can think what they may and perceive things the way the can, but God has the only power that can perceive things correctly. Humans are prone to errors but God cannot make a mistake and his perception is always real. Ravi Das quotes that, ‘the lord is nearer to us than our hands and feet’ (Fisher & Bailey 2012, p.81). This confirms that the God he implies is omnipresent and his presence and manifestation is always with men whenever they are. He uses praise and submissiveness to show his devotion to God. He says the one Lord has assumed many forms but enjoys within all hearts. This figurative expression and style devotes to the Lord that he is omnipotent and omnipresent that he can assume be anything and still experience the hearts of every man. The relationship between the devotee and the God in the context of the saint song is close. He had even quoted that the presence of the lord was in a close proximity to a man than hands and feet. The devotee, Ravi Das is less resourceful as his caste class demands and being in the position to interact with the ‘Lord of wealth’ insinuates the close and non-discriminative relationship he had with the Lord. The God, however, does not reward the devotee. He is defined by then caste system, which is engraved in both the traditional Hindu culture and religion. Therefore, the devotee finds peace in his devotion. In other words, his devotion is the reward he attains from the worship. The qualities the God manifest include being omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent. He is the Lord of wealth and monitors over men with close proximity. There are the same qualities that the devotee praises in the saint song. No element of judgment and salvation is expressed in the song and, therefore, it would not be appropriate to speak of liberation. The religious outlook in the text has similarities as well as differences when compared to the outlook of my religion. I am a Sunni Muslim. The song talks of one omnipotent, omniscient and omnipotent God, which are the key characteristic of the God worshiped in Sunni Islam. The God worshiped in Sunni Muslim is of a divine yet human nature, but not form. These qualities are reflected in the text of the saint song. The Lord is addressed as a king, then same way the Sunni God is praised. Of the many aspects that are portrayed in the saint song that I find so close to the quality of a Sunni Muslim God is that he is depicted as one God. In the beginning if the song, the author says, ‘There is but one God’ (Fisher & Bailey 2012, p.81). This quote is very important in most of the Abrahamic religions. It is the key characteristics of all monotheistic religions. Hinduism is somewhat a monotheistic religion as well. Even though it may depict many gods, goddesses and spirits who execute specified roles, it is vivid that the religion has one utmost and ultimate God that combines all other gods into one most powerful divine deity. Bibliography Fisher, M. P., & Bailey, L. W. (2012). An anthology of living religions. Upper Saddle River, N.J., Pearson.   Read More