Just like Jayadevar Padmavathi, Srimathi and Ambarisha were doing seva for the Lord Sri Ranganathar and daily people flocked in thousands to see and were very happy. These royal couple performing seva to ranganathar were like the Lord and his consort Mahalakshmi themselves come down and performing pooja to themselves. Some would comment being a King himself, yet he is so humble! The king being humble was surprising as the king who engages in battle would have rajasam - wielding the sword, mounted on horse back and fighting. But such a king was performing pooja being soft and graceful. When praying to the bhagavan, he would sing with a melodious voice as that of a kokila. The bhagavan is happy when a devotee does tapas or prayers and it would be the natural behaviour for the devotee to ask for boons. Thinking so the bhagavan asks Ambarisha - "You are so full of shraddha, always thinking of me and apart from me you dont have any other thoughts, I am pleased with your offering and bhakthi so please ask for what you want?" "Na Yoga siddhim punar bhavan vaha!" - What will the mahans usually ask? If bhagavan approached us, we would ask for lahima, mahima or any astama siddhi, give me the speech siddhi - whatever I say should happen or give me heaven. But mahans wont ask anything. Why, they did not perform bhakthi just to ask, bhakthi itself is happiness for them. They did not expect any other use or fruit when performing their devotion to the lord, they did bhakthi for the sake of bhakthi. A boy watches cricket match for the whole of the night and doesnt sleep even though his father says that this is not good for his health. When asked in the morning, what did you get out of the whole of last night watching the cricket match, the biy will get angry. How can you ask like this? Do you know anything about the joy of cricket. The boy gets happiness just out of watching the cricket match.
Someone goes to a musical event paying 1000 Rs or 2000 Rs. You listened to this musical concert, will this give you health, get rich, get a job promotion or anything. When asked so, he will get angry, the musical performance was so great and what do you know about this, shame on you would be the answer. Why, listening itself is the fruit. Many thousands and lakhs of people sing and dance at a musical concert, why because that is giving happiness for them. The boy watching cricket match gets happiness from that. The person watching cinema gets happiness from it, a person reading a novel derives happiness out of it. Not seeing any other benefit, likewise the mahans perform bhakthi because they derive happiness out of it.
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