𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐀𝐐𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐀𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐤𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐍𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐉𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐝𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐮 𝐒𝐫𝐢 𝐒𝐫𝐢 𝐀𝐛𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐯𝐚 𝐕𝐢𝐝𝐲𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐣𝐢

𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐀𝐐𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐀𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐤𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐍𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐉𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐝𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐮 𝐒𝐫𝐢 𝐒𝐫𝐢 𝐀𝐛𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐯𝐚 𝐕𝐢𝐝𝐲𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐣𝐢: Bhagawan's mercy extends to all. Did not Räma tell Sugrīva when the latter voiced concern about accepting Vibhīşaņa,

सकृदेव प्रपन्नाय तवास्मीति च याचते।

अभयं सर्वभूतेभ्यो ददाम्येतद्व्रतं मम॥

To anyone who seeks refuge in Me but once, saying, 'I am Yours', I grant fearlessness.

A sincere devotee has no cause for worry, for he has surrendered his body and mind to God and left everything in God’s hands. While it is said that a true devotee is in God's loving care, it would be wrong to infer that a devotee ought not to have any hardship. The Lord is, after all, not only most compassionate but also perfectly just. If a person had committed major transgressions in earlier births, allowing him to go scot-free, without any punishment in the form of suffering, would be a travesty of justice. A judge who refuses to penalise murderers on the grounds of kindness would be doing a great disservice to society. He can, of course, take mitigating circumstances and repentance into consideration to reduce the punishment awarded to a person found guilty of a crime. Likewise, God, being just, does award punishment even to devotees, but, being kind, reduces the penalty to the extent possible. Just because a mother scolds her child, does it mean that she does not dearly love her offspring?

God is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent and an ocean of mercy. Hence, there is just nothing that the devotee has to make known to God which is not already known to Him. Further, if the devotee says, "I want this; I want that," how can he be said to have full faith in the gracious dispensation of the Divine One? This apart, even when faith is inadequate, it would be appropriate to avoid praying for anything. It goes without saying that the will of God is infallible. It is also well known that people feel happy when they obtain what they desire and unhappy when they do not. So he who attunes his will to that of God can never have any reason for dissatisfaction. How can suffering make a devotee grieve and lament if he cultivates the attitude that the pain too is in his best interests as it has been ordained by his dear God? At any rate, grief and lamentation do not reduce suffering; they only make it worse.

The path of devotion is special in that one begins to experience peace and joy even prior to one's having made much headway. Further, sharpness of the intellect, scholarliness, prowess, age, physique, social status, occupation, wealth, etc., are not of consequence. God, being most loveable, there is no reason why anyone cannot cultivate devotion. By associating with and thinking in positive terms about a person, another develops a liking for him. Likewise, devotion to God can be developed by repeatedly thinking of God and His glories. From The Book Sorrows to Bliss published by Centre for Brahmavidya, Chennai

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