Fwd: Evil Is Our Own Doing

[Guest guest]

Hare Krsna

 

 

In Gita, Lord Krishna tells Arjuna, to become merely an instrument. "Nimit maatram bhav savyasaachin. " (Gita 11:33) I may become merely an instrument, but performing this work properly, is beyond my power. O Lord ! You help me with your power, to do this properly. The Lord keeps the honor and promise of such a devotee. "Us sewak ki laaj, pratigyaa raakhe saayi." Whatever God does, he does good. Whatever happens through God is good and good only. Through Him there is protection, there is help and aid, there is gains, there is never any loss. "Bhoondi banai sou aapki" Evil is your very own doing. Man himself does evil. If he is not willing to do so, no one can force him. Man makes all kinds of excuses and nothing else - The law

did so and so, people did such and such, bad company was responsible for this, the environment and circumstances were such, it was our misfortune, we did not meet a proper spiritual guide etc. But all these are merely excuses and nothing else. No one in the least bit, can do anything to harm you, until you are prepared to harm yourself. If you have a firm determination and dependence on only God, no one can degrade you. If you call from within - Oh Lord, without your grace, I will be unable to do this. When there is faith in such grace, then your downfall will never be possible. By taking refuge at the Lotus feet of the Lord alone, Bhagwaan (God) says - "I shall liberate you from all sins, worry not.Sarva dharmanparityajya maamekum sharanam vrajAham tvaa sarva paapebhyo mokshayishyaami maasuchah." (Gita 18:66) "Mamekum sharanam vraj" the condition is that if you seek refuge in

wealth, in lies and falsehood, in fraud and in dishonesty, then brother, it is not in my hands. What does man do ? He takes the support of lies, dishonesty, falsehood, and fraud. When it is said, do not commit sins, the people say, "Maharaj ! in present times that will not be possible. Your advice is outdated and old fashioned. In present times, this will not do. If we do so, we shall die of starvation. Rather we cannot live. How can we live only by truthfulness? Almost 50% of our earnings go into some form of taxation. Nowadays man is not able to sustain by being honest and truthful. How can we earn our livelihood, with your advice?" My sincere response is - earn less and live within your income and means. With that, no one will be able to make you commit sins. Then people say they need money to marry their daughters and maintain a certain standard of living in society. To maintain a high

standard is called civilized in modern times. Therefore what is one to do? Kindly sever all connections with this sort of civilization and don't maintain it. Don't be afraid of being insulted or dishonored by doing just and righteous actions. If people criticize even after you follow the righteous path, then let them criticize.

Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.

GITA 18:66

 

The Lord has described various kinds of knowledge, processes of religion, knowledge of the Supreme Brahman, knowledge of the Supersoul, knowledge of the different types of orders and statuses of social life, knowledge of the renounced order of life, knowledge of nonattachment, sense and mind control, meditation, etc. He has described in so many ways different types of religion. Now, in summarizing Bhagavad-gita, the Lord says that Arjuna should give up all the processes that have been explained to him; he should simply surrender to Krsna. That surrender will save him from all kinds of sinful reactions, for the Lord personally promises to protect him. In the Eighth Chapter it was said that only one who has become free from all sinful reactions can take to the worship of Lord Krsna. Thus one

may think that unless he is free from all sinful reactions he cannot take to the surrendering process. To such doubts it is here said that even if one is not free from all sinful reactions, simply by the process of surrendering to Sri Krsna he is automatically freed. There is no need of strenuous effort to free oneself from sinful reactions. One should unhesitatingly accept Krsna as the supreme savior of all living entities. With faith and love, one should surrender unto Him. According to the devotional process, one should simply accept such religious principles that will lead ultimately to the devotional service of the Lord. One may perform a particular occupational duty according to his position in the social order, but if by executing his duty one does not come to the point of Krsna consciousness, all his activities are in vain. Anything that does not lead to the perfectional

stage of Krsna consciousness should be avoided. One should be confident that in all circumstances Krsna will protect him from all difficulties. There is no need of thinking how one should keep the body and soul together. Krsna will see to that. One should always think himself helpless and should consider Krsna the only basis for his progress in life. As soon as one seriously engages himself in devotional service to the Lord in full Krsna consciousness, at once he becomes freed from all contamination of material nature. There are different processes of religion and purificatory processes by cultivation of knowledge, meditation in the mystic yoga system, etc., but one who surrenders unto Krsna does not have to execute so many methods. That simple surrender unto Krsna will save him from unnecessarily wasting time. One can thus make all progress at once and be freed from all sinful reaction. One should be attracted by the beautiful vision of Krsna. His name is Krsna because He is all-attractive. One who becomes attracted by the beautiful, all-powerful, omnipotent vision of Krsna is fortunate. There are different kinds of transcendentalists--some of them are attached to the impersonal Brahman vision, some of them are attracted by the Supersoul feature, etc., but one who is attracted to the personal feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and, above all, one who is attracted by the Supreme Personality of Godhead as Krsna Himself, is the most perfect transcendentalist. In other words, devotional service to Krsna, in full consciousness, is the most confidential part of knowledge, and this is the essence of the whole Bhagavad-gita. Karma-yogis, empiric philosophers, mystics, and devotees are all called transcendentalists, but one who is a pure devotee is the best of all. The

particular words used here, ma sucah, "Don't fear, don't hesitate, don't worry," are very significant. One may be perplexed as to how one can give up all kinds of religious forms and simply surrender unto Krsna, but such worry is useless.