Question
Hare Krishna Guru Maharaja. I have a doubt. The result of offenses in the Holy Dham, temple or within the altar is sent by the demigods or is Krishna himself sending the payment of karma to the person?
Answer
Dear Madhavendra Puri,
Please receive my blessings. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
The devotee is under the direct and personal protection of Krishna and His devotees. Nobody can do anything against the Vaisnava, nor correct him, nor punish him nor anything.
However, what does “devotee” or “Vaisnava” mean? Does this rule applies only to pure devotees, or what degree of purity one must have to be under the direct protection of the Lord? Is it enough to just be sincere, considering that arriving to purity is not an easy task? And if so, what does it mean to be sincere and how much one has to be so?
One he should not play on the fact that Krishna is merciful. As a matter of fact the Bhagavad-gita (12.16) says that to “be dear to Krishna”, one must be in a certain way.
anapeksah sucir daksa
udasino gata-vyathah
sarvarambha-parityagi
yo mad-bhaktah sa me priyah
“A devotee who is not dependent on the ordinary course of activities, who is pure, expert, without cares, free from all pains, and who does not strive for some result, is very dear to Me.”
Also in the Srimad-Bhagavatam (7.15.2, Purport) we find that Srila Prabhupada mentions a verse from the Hari-bhakti-vilasa (10.127), where it is said:
na me ‘bhaktas catur-vedi
mad-bhaktah sva-pacah priyah
tasmai deyam tato grahyaṁ
sa ca pujyo yatha hy aham
“He is also in devotional service, but he is also a person in a family of dog-eaters. If you are a devotee who has no motive to enjoy fruitive activity or mental speculation, in fact, all respect should be given to him, and whatever he offers should be accepted.”
So one to be dear to Krishna must have certain qualities.
But one might ask, if Krishna wants to give His mercy to someone, will he be prevented from doing so by the rules he Himself established? Has He made Himself dependant from His own rules?
Certainly not.
He is svarat, fully independent, He can do what He wants when He wants.
We find many cases of extreme causeless mercy in our literature, where would have been logic to expect that He wait to give so much mercy.
So if He wants He can take care of a devotee even if he is not a pure devotee but we can’t live our life expecting a causeless mercy.
We must strive to purify the heart and mind following the rules that Sastra and Acaryas give us. These efforts are proof of sincerity and will attract Krishna’s mercy.
Your well-wisher
Manonatha Dasa (ACBSP)
PS
THE NEW ARCHIVE: www.isvara.org
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