Only God Can Save Us

In ancient times in India, there lived a very famous Sculptor. He was very much proud of his achievements and was very ambitious to achieve more. Once an astrologer told him that he would die within few years.

He was very upset and wanted to outsmart God's decision to take away his life. So instead of spending the rest of his precious time in the service of God, he decided to make 10 statues of himself perfectly resembling him in every way, except that they did not have life. On the day he was destined to die, he stood among those statues like a statue. As the astrologer predicted, Yamarâja (Lord of death) came to take him and Yamarâja was very confused to see the eleven statues. He found it hard to differentiate the real sculptor from his perfect statues. Then Yamarâja meditated on Lord Vishnu and a bright idea came to his mind.

Yamarâja said loudly to himself: "One of these statues is defective. Not all of them are equally perfect & same."

The arrogant, real sculptor who was pretending to be a statue jumped out and shouted: "Who is a better sculptor than me to say that one of my statues is defective? All of them are perfect replicas of myself."

Yamarâja confusion was cleared instantly and he took the sculptor away against all his protest. He tried to resist, he cried, he tried to hang on to his beloved statues, but nothing helped him to stay back in the same body.

Yamarâja said: "Nobody can outsmart God. If only you had surrendered to God and spent your remaining life in the service of Him, then end of your life in this body would have been more peaceful and smooth and you would have been experiencing eternal bliss. Arrogance and selfishness destroys one. When I was confused, did you see what I did? I meditated on Lord Vishnu and He persuaded me to say that "one of the statues is defective". Now I have to take you. Please remember Lord in pain and pleasure alike. He is the only one who can change or not change things."

May Lord bless us with an attitude of total surrender!

Below are few verses of Bhagwat Gita which tells that Lord Krishna too loves His devotees & always fulfills their desires & always protect them:

"sannyasas tu maha-baho
duhkham aptum ayogatah
yoga-yukto munir brahma
na cirenadhigacchati" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Five verse 6)

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: Merely renouncing all activities yet not engaging in the devotional service of the Lord cannot make one happy. But a thoughtful human being engaged in devotional service can achieve the God without delay."

"tesam jnani nitya-yukta
eka-bhaktir visisyate
priyo hi jnanino ’tyartham
aham sa cha mama priyah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Seven verse 17)

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: Of these, the one who is in full knowledge and who is always engaged in pure devotional service is the best. For I am very dear to him, and he is dear to Me."

"purushah sa parah partha
bhaktya labhyas tv ananyaya
yasyantah-sthani bhutani
yena sarvam idam tatam" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eight verse 22)

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: The Lord / God, who is greater than all, is attainable by unalloyed devotion. Although He is present in His abode, He is all-pervading, and everything is situated within Him."

So let's have full devotion towards Lord Krishna. As per the "Bhagwat Puran":

"Once the mind of a person is full of surrender to the lotus feet of Lord Krishna & the mind is full of hankering after Lord's qualities, then that person shall never encounter Yamarâja (Lord of death) and his superintendents, or even in one's dreams meet his servants carrying the ropes to bind, because doing such Devotional service to Lord Krishna is the right atonement for all sins."

Jai Sri Krishna

Best Purifier of all Sins - Devotion to God

Sins are the bad karmas that we do which are forbidden by the religious scriptures. Otherwise, sins are in general bad actions that we should not do. But in our life, we knowingly or unknowingly, sometimes commit the sin. In scriptures there are many ways told such as penance, charity etc, through which atonement to such sins can be attained. But there is no way more swift, fast for atonement to sins than the Devotional service to God.

In this regard Bhagwat Puran & Bhagwat Gita, both explain about these assurances in detail that Devotion to God is the supreme purifier for all the sins that a person commits in life time. Below are few verses from Bhagwat Puran regarding this:

"In this world devotion & surrender to God is the path that is really appropriate & the one that is to be followed by the well-behaved, fearless and auspicious, saintly people."

 "Like all the rivers of the world cannot purify a liquor jar by washing it, similarly Most of the atonement well performed by a nondevotee will not purify. We need to be a devotee of God."

 "Once the mind is full of surrender to the two lotus feet of Lord Krishna & the mind hankers after His qualities only then that person shall never encounter Yamarâja (Death God) and his superintendents, or even in one's dreams meet his servants carrying the ropes to bind. Devotion to Lord Krishna is the right atonement."

 "Like the Sun does away with all the fog, similarly Devotion to God does away with all the sins. A man full of sin, is for certain not as much purified by penance as by the devotion to Lord Krishna."

In Bhagwat Gita also God himself is giving that assurance:

'Api chet su-duracharo
bhajate maam ananya-bhak
sadhurev sa mantavya
samyag vyvasito hi sah' (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter IX verse 30)

'Even if the vilest sinner worships Me with full devotion, he should be considered a noble soul or saint; as he has taken the right step by worshipping me.'

Through above verse, God is telling Arjuna that even if the most sinful of person worships Him with full devotion, then He considers him to be a saint only as he has rightly resolved in his life. So many times we too think that we have done many sins in our life & how God shall accept us, but here God makes it very clear that once a person becomes devoted to Him, He does not consider that person to be a sinner, rather God considers that person to be a Saint as he has taken the right decision in his life to become devoted to God. Let's all be devotees of God.

"sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
mokshayisyami ma suchah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 66)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall purify you from all the sins. Do not fear."

'man-mna bhav mad-bhakto
madhyaji maam namaskuru
maam-evaishyasi yuktvaivam
atmanam mat-parayanah' (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Nine verse 34)

'Fix your mind on Me, be devoted to me, worship Me & offer obeisance's to Me. In this way, linking to Me, you shall surely come to Me.'

Through above verse, God is asking Arjuna to fix his mind on God as after worshipping Him & paying obeisance's to God, he shall automatically come to Him. We should also follow the same path & let's become devoted to God by praying Him daily. God is very clear that once a person comes in God's refuge, then all his problems & sins are resolved & God becomes his/her protector in this life & life beyond.

So from the above said verses it is very clear that to get rid of all the sins is to take refuge in God through "Devotion". In Bhagwat Gita, God assures his disciple Arjuna in many ways & asks him to take refuge in Him & says that He shall emancipate him of the sin in all ways, shall rescue him in his life always. Many times we think that we have done many sins in life & how God shall accept us, but God makes it very clear in Bhagwat Gita that once a person become devoted to Him, He does not consider that person a sinner, rather God considers that person to be a Saint as he has taken the right decision in his life to become devoted to God.So let's all be devotees of God.

Jai Sri Krishna.

Emotions of a Devotee

It's good to have knowledge of God. It's good to have all the knowledge of Vedas, Puranas & all other religious texts but if there is no Devotion to God, then all this knowledge is of no use. Here below is a small story which shows that just having the knowledge of God is of little meaning, if one is not having Devotion to the God.

"Once upon a time there was a Devotee of Lord Krishna. That Devotee once came across a very Learned man who knew about all the knowledge of Vedas, Puranas & all other religious texts. That Devotee of Lord Krishna was holding a copy of the Bhagwat Gita in his hand, and his eyes were full of tears. The Learned man thought that the Devotee was weeping & having the tears in his eyes, as he is unable to understand some of the teachings of the Bhagwat Gita. He came to the Devotee and told him that he need not weep as now he has come to help him. Now if he likes he can narrate each shaloka of each chapter of Bhagwat Gita to him, if he finds it difficult to understand the Bhagwat Gita.

To this counsel of Learned man, the Devotee of Lord Krishna responded, “Sir, I am not crying because I cannot read & understand Bhagwat Gita but tears are coming into my eyes as I see the Lord Krishna right in front of me. I see Lord Krishna on every page of Bhagwat Gita. Every page I turn to, I see Arjuna’s chariot. I see Arjuna’s charioteer, Lord Krishna. These are my emotions towards Lord Krishna which are coming out as tears in my eyes. At hearing this, the Learned man came to understand that Devotion to God is superior to having just the knowledge of God."

Lord Krishna is also the Lord of Love. He is love infinite. If you shall love Him, then He too shall shower His unconditional love upon you. "Gopis of Vrindavan" fell in deep love with Lord Krishna. Though Lord Krishna is almighty, all powerful God & everyone prays to Him but "Gopis of Vrindavan", including "Radha Rani" fell in deep Love with Lord Krishna & in their case there was a burning desire in their mind to meet Him. In their case too tears of emotions used to come in their eyes due to their Love for Lord Krishna.

So let's also love Lord Krishna like the above mentioned Devotee & like the "Gopis of Vrindavan". If you shall love God a little bit then He shall love you ten folds, as God is hungry of love & devotion only.

Below are few verses of Bhagwat Gita which tells that Lord Krishna too loves His devotees & always fulfills their desires & always protect them:

"ananya-cetah satatam
yo mam smarati nityasah
tasyaham sulabhah partha
nitya-yuktasya yoginah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eight verse 14)

"Lord Sri Krishna says: Whosoever, always & constantly remembers Me with undivided mind; by that person, I am easy to obtain, O Arjuna, because of his constant engagement in the devotional service to Me."

"samo ’ham sarva-bhutesu
na me dvesyo ’sti na priyah
ye bhajanti tu mam bhaktya
mayi te tesu chapy aham" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Nine verse 29)

"Sri Krishna said: I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all beings. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is very dear to Me, and I am also very dear to him."

"ananyas cintayanto mam
ye janah paryupasate
tesham nityabhiyuktanam
yoga-ksemam vahamy aham" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Nine verse 22)

"Sri Krishna said: But those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form—to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have."

So let's have full devotion towards Lord Krishna. As per the "Bhagwat Puran":

"Once the mind of a person is full of surrender to the lotus feet of Lord Krishna & the mind is full of hankering after Lord's qualities, then that person shall never encounter Yamarâja (Lord of death) and his superintendents, or even in one's dreams meet his servants carrying the ropes to bind, because doing such Devotional service to Lord Krishna is the right atonement for all sins."

Jai Sri Krishna

Devotion to Lord Krishna removes all Sins

In our life, we knowingly or unknowingly, sometimes commit the sin. In scriptures there are many ways such as penance, charity etc. are told, through which atonement to such sins can be attained. But there is no way more swift, fast for atonement to sins than Devotional service to Lord Krishna. In this regard Bhagwat Puran & Bhagwat Gita, both explain about this assurance in detail that Devotion to Lord Krishna is the supreme purifier for all the sins that a person commits in life time. Below are few verses from Bhagwat Puran regarding this:

"Some manage, in relying on nothing but an unalloyed devotion towards Lord Krishna, to destroy all their badness beyond revival, like the sun does with fog."

"A man full of sin, o King is for certain not as much purified by penance, as the devotee who has surrendered his life to Lord Krishna in dedicated service unto the original person of God."

"In this world there is this path that is really appropriate & the one that is followed by the well-behaved, fearless and auspicious, saintly people; that is in surrendering oneself to Lord Krishna.

"Most of the atonement, well performed by a nondevotee will not purify, o King, like all the rivers can't purify a liquor jar with their regular washing of it."

"Once the mind is of full of surrender to the two lotus feet of Lord Krishna & the mind is full of hankering after Lord's qualities, then that person shall never encounter Yamarâja (Lord of death) and his superintendents, or even in one's dreams meet his servants carrying the ropes to bind, because doing such devotional service to Lord Krishna is the right atonement for all sins."

In Bhagwat Gita also God himself is giving that assurance:

"sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
mokshayisyami ma suchah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 66)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear."

So let's always pray to Lord Krishna & let's always engage our mind in devotional service of Him. Let's read religious texts, scriptures & literature regarding the Lord Krishna. Let's always sing His glories so that He can always be merciful on us. If we shall do such devotional service to God then we shall get special mercy of Lord Krishna & we shall be purified of all the sins in our life.

Jai Sri Krishna.