Slokam 3

Brahma tells the Devas that only Lord Vishnu,  who is the Lord of Lakshmi,  himself is the only one that can resolve the issues raised by Mother Earth.

He suggests that all of them should go the ocean of milk under the leadership of Siva and worship Vishnu in salutation. 

The ocean of milk is often referred to in the scriptures.  The ocean of milk when churned by the devas and asuras creates the amrutham which is immortality. 

The Ocean of Milk is clearly our universal consciousness.  The churning of the consciousness produces the poison first,  which Shiva Perumal takes it upon himself, so that it does not damage the universe.   Then come the herbs, spices,  elephant, horses,  and  all the essentials for life on earth.  Finally amrutham or eternity is produced.

Clearly, Brahma is referring to invocation of Lord Vishnu through the tapas. The reference to the ocean of milk clearly indicates that tapas is from consciousness.  Not from the mind.  So, the slokam is unequivocal,  that Shiva Perumal should be invoked,  to enable us to arise from our residence in the mind to reach the ocean of milk (consciousness).  Once in the consciousness,  we should reach out to Lord Vishnu,  through unmitigated tapas that is not tainted by mental pressures such everyday fears and insecurities.

Shiva Perumal is the enabler of our elevation  from the mind to the residence in the state of universal consciousness. 

Many of our rituals begin with the invoking of Shiva Perumal with the performance of SandhyaVandanam, prior to our pooja.  A direct appeal to the Paramathma can be made only after the case receives the blessings of Shiva Perumal and Brahma.

The Paramathma has repeatedly stated in the Bhagavath Gita and Bhagavathm, that He alone manifests as different gods and deities  that serve the different needs of the people that pray to them .

We are all in different states of evolution.  We all have different needs.  Not all of us seek moksham.  We have worldly needs that are the domain of the Paramathma.  Material worldly requirements such as wealth,  health,  marriage, children etc are delegated to thedomainof the deities.  The Paramathma clearly says that He Himself assumes the form of the deities and grants the needs of the devotees with the primary aim of making their faith unshakeable.

So there is no contradiction in the Paramathma’s various manifestation including that of Shiva Perumal and Brahma.  He has basically segregated and distributed  his worldly presence into the various forms so that devotees can make specific requests to suit their needs.

In this instance,  the devas and mother earth (referring the people on earth),  approach,  Shiva and Brahma,  because they are the deities for worldly issues and quick results are known to be obtained.

Shiva Perumal and Brahma have already established permanent “connections” with the Paramathma because of their tapas.  We the common people cannot possibly attain that level of tapas (except in the case of outstanding maharishis and sages),  that is required to establish a communication channel with the supreme.

We must firmly recognize that tapas is the mode of appeal and communication to reach out to the Paramathma and to all His different manifestations, to resolve all conflicts within us.