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The different states of the Lord:

The Lord is omni present. Yet His states can be widely classified into five types.

1.Paratvam:
The Lord's divine abode is called Paramapadam , Sri: vaikuntam or Thiruna:du. This is the place of no return. Nithya:s and Muktha:s reside in this place and perform Kainkaryam at all times to the Lord. The Lord is called Parava:sude:van or Paramapadana:than. This state of the Lord is beyond human perception. Its next to impossible to see this world with our bodies. Its the place of salvation.

2.Vyu:ham:
This is the second state of the Lord. The residence is called Ksheerabdhi or Thiruppa:rkadal. The Lord in meditative relaxation lies on His serpent couch a:disesha on the milk ocean. The holy residents of Swe:thadwi:pa sing in praise of this Padmana:bhan. This form of the Lord is also beyond human reach. This state is mainly intended for the sake of the demigods like Brahma , Shiva ,Indra and other celestials.

3.Antarya:mi:
The all pervader ! This state of the Lord is an illustration for the all pervading nature of the Lord. The Lord pervades each and every soul. Great renunciants and 'yogi:s' try to realize this Lord through systems like 'ashta:nga yo:ga'.

4.Vibhavam:
This is the most popular state of the Lord. The Lord's forms as Narasimha , Vara:ha , Ra:ma or KrishNa (famiarly known as avatha:ra) are subject to this nomenclature. The Lord out of mercy towards the souls comes down to this world to save us directly. This action is called avatha:ra or descent of state. The Lord descends from His greater states and mingles free with all of us in a bid to save us.

5. Archa:vatha:ram:
The strikingly wonderful state of the Lord. The Lord takes the form of images as in temples,etc; for the sake of worship of the souls . This is the most effective means of realization of the Lord in this age. The holy scriptures such Ve:da:s , Ithiha:sa:s , pura:Na:s and smrithi:s have talked about several such shrines. Importantly the divine saints called Azhva:rs have sanctified 108 such places, 106 of which exist in this world we see. These places are popularly known as the Divyade:Sams. Sri:rangam, Thirumala, Badrina:th, Ayo:dhya , Mathura, Ka:nchi , Tho:tha:dri , SaLagramam are some of these Divyade:sams. There are also places sanctified by the Great Preceptors called Acha:rya:s. These are called Abhima:na sthalams and include Thiruna:ra:yaNapuram, Manna:rgudi , Ve:da sre:ni and some other shrines.