Life
of plants revolves around worship of light. They awaken with the aspiration to
experience the descending rays of the morning sun. White Jasmine – mallige, for
its quality of purity, the five petals of Champaka for the five noble qualities:
Sincerity, Faith, Aspiration, Devotion and Surrender. Contemporary research has established that
the presence of flowers elevate human minds and uplift the human spirit.
When
Lord Krishna came to Mathura to vanquish Kamsa, he saw a poor florist carrying garlands
for the King. Krishna asked him for one.
The startled florist gladly gave a beautiful garland saying “How blessed am I
to see your divine form which is elusive even to sages and great men. What more
grace do I need”?
Centuries
later, this story left a deep impression on the mind of Vishnu Chitta, father
of Sri Andal. He realised that preparing and offering flower garlands to the Lord
daily was indeed a noble service in the path of bhakti and mukti. He bought a
small piece of land, converted it into a garden with a variety of flowers and
tulsi. His daughter she too developed a love for flower garlands.
Said
to be an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi, Sri Andal occupies a unique place in
the pantheon of 12 Alwars, the outstanding poet-mystics of Southern India. Images
from our Divya satsang at Sri Andal Jayanthi- August 2015.
To have a larger view of the image please click on the image.
To have a larger view of the image please click on the image.
