When my daughter went to South Korea several years ago, on a student exchange program while studying at a local university, her roommate was a student from Germany. She visited us yesterday, arriving in Singapore and will be moving on to Thailand in the coming weeks. Bringing her to sample the local fayre, I told her how blessed we Malaysians were as we had a fusion of fruits, vegetables, and cooked food from the three main cultures Malay, Chinese, and Indian, and a dressing from other countries to complement the local dishes. We are spoilt for choice when it comes to food.
The spiritual path too is laced with the beautiful values from other religions adding flavor to the core religion provided we see them all as heading towards a common goal. As many stand rigid and firm to the scriptures there is no avenue to explore here. Tavayogi who told us that the ultimate was to know the soul and engage in it, said that the soul could never be caged. Generally, it is imprisoned the moment we are born into a certain faith and belief. When the ego steps in, the soul loses its freedom further. Veils upon veils are created, that hide the soul and send it further and further into oblivion. The guru has to come to make it known to us. Thereafter our efforts shall be toward seeking the grace of the divine. Only his grace can remove the veils that we had brought onto us.
Manikavasagar and Ramalinga Adigal sing of his grace in the Tiruvasagam and TiruArutpa respectively. These songs speak of the greatness of the divine and his grace.