Krishna's Promises

As children of God, there are certain things we are entitled to. Things that no man, or even demigod, for that matter, can ever take away from us. As children and devotees of Krishna, He makes promises to us. He makes offers that we can't refuse. We are special to the Lord, and God lives in us, whether we are devotees or not. He is that inner voice, that inner guidance. That feeling of love we all have. The spirit. The soul. And because we are a part of Him, these are His gifts to us. We have separated ourselves from God. We have sinned against Him, forgotten Him, let go of Him, refused to let Him take the wheel... We just haven't let Him in. Yet He continues to shower His blessings and mercy on us. He is the only one who knows absolutely everything that we have done, yet still loves us unconditionally. He never says, "Do this for me and only then will I love you." He is above all of that. He loves us no matter what. He makes promises to show us this love. And He fulfills them to reciprocate our love.

What are those promises?

Protection

• "Anyone who prays unto Me and takes shelter from Me becomes My ward, and I protect him always from all sorts of calamities.” - Lord Narasimhadeva, Narasimha Purana


• “As the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it is My eternal principle that if any living being takes shelter of Me, even once, saying, ‘I am Yours,’ then I award that person freedom from all fear. Even if Ravana [who kidnapped Rama’s wife Sita] were to come here and surrender to Me, I would give him all protection.” - Lord Rama


• Queen Draupadi: Queen Draupadi was humiliated by the Kauravas. She was treated as an object in a gamble. They made her stand in the middle of the room, and held a corner of her sari, and began to pull on it, unwrapping her dress. She cried out for help but to no avail. She wailed and she tried to cover herself with her arms, fighting against the strong men's arms and their lustful eyes. Finally, she surrendered to Krishna. She raised her arms, leaving herself to Krishna. She stopped fighting. She stopped trying to cover herself with her arms. Her sari never ended. They kept pulling at it, and Krishna kept adding yards of cloth, protecting His dear devotee.


• Govardhan Hill: Remember this pastime? Krishna lifted the Govardhan Hill above all the inhabitants of Vrindavan and protected them from torrential rains for seven days. Do not think for even a second that Krishna will not hold a Govardhan Hill above your head to protect you from the downpour of miseries.


• Now imagine. The Lord is willing to even protect Ravana, a demon. Why doubt that He will not protect his devotees? Remember Prahlad Maharaj? One of the greatest devotees of all time. "Lord Nrishinga is even here and even there. Lord Nrishinga is everywhere. He is outside and within the heart. To that Nrishinga Deva I offer my respectful obeisances." Lord Nrishinga appeared out of a pillar to protect His devotee Prahlad. We are taught that the Lord doesn't appear to check the miscreants and ill-doers. He appears for the sake of His devotees who have called out to Him, knowing that He is their only source of protection.
  
  

Q. What is required to earn this promise of protection?

Complete surrender. Complete trust. Trust that Krishna will protect you. He is our only source of protection. We must seek His shelter. What is surrender? Radhanath Swami says that surrender is the positive gesture that says, "I'm Yours".



Acceptance

• If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it. - Bhagavad Gita, 9:26
  


• I regard as great even the smallest gift offered by My devotees in pure love, but even great offerings presented by nondevotees do not please Me. - Srimad Bhagavatam, 10.81.3

Q. How can we get Krishna to accept us and our offerings?

Add love to your offering! Our intention to offer to Him shows that we WANT to give Him something. Do it from your heart. My grandmother always says that God's not looking for gold or silver. He's not looking for riches or the biggest, best gifts. He just wants our love. Is that really so hard to give to the one person who deserves it the most? :) Make an extra effort to give Him the things He likes. That is what we would do to our friends and loved ones, right? Krishna is the Supreme Person. So behave with Him the way you would behave with your loved ones. Of course, since He is THE Ultimate Personality, this relationship is extra special, isn't it? So obviously, this relationship with Krishna is going to transcend beyond the relationships we have on the material plane.

Forgiveness, Mercy and Deliverance

• “Even if one commits the most abominable action, if he is engaged in devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated in his determination.”               – Bhagavad Gita, 9:30
  
  Note: I would like to add here that this quote does not encourage bad deeds. It emphasizes on the power of devotional service. It is an offense to knowingly commit a sin or perform wrong activities and claim that we will be forgiven because we are chanting, or Krishna will protect us. We cannot escape the reactions of such actions. This verse serves as motivation for those who stumble along the devotional path but are sincere. Srila Prabhupada’s purport of this verse can be found here http://www.asitis.com/9/30.html.
  
  


• "Lord Krishna is steady, His senses are controlled, and He is forgiving, grave and calm. He is also equal to all. Moreover, He is magnanimous, religious, chivalrous and kind. He is always respectful to respectable people." - Chaitanya Caritamrita Madhya, 23:73


• "For one who worships Me, giving up all his activities unto Me and being devoted to Me without deviation, engaged in devotional service and always meditating upon Me, who has fixed his mind upon Me, O son of Prtha, for him I am the swift deliverer from the ocean of birth and death." - Bhagavad Gita, 12:6-7


• "Even if you are considered to be the most sinful of all sinners, when you are situated in the boat of transcendental knowledge, you will be able to cross over the ocean of miseries." - Bhagavad Gita, 4:37


• "The yogi whose mind is fixed on Me verily attains the highest happiness. By virtue of his identity with Brahman, he is liberated; his mind is peaceful, his passions are quieted, and he is freed from sin." - Bhagavad Gita, 6:27

Guidance

• “To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.” - Bhagavad Gita, 10:10

Knowledge

• "To show them special mercy, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of ignorance." - Bhagavad Gita, 10:11

Peace

• "He quickly becomes righteous and attains lasting peace. O son of Kunti, declare it boldly that My devotee never perishes." - Bhagavad Gita, 9:31


• "The sages, knowing Me as the ultimate purpose of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attain peace from the pangs of material miseries." - Bhagavad Gita, 5:29


• “A faithful man who is dedicated to transcendental knowledge and who subdues his senses is eligible to achieve such knowledge, and having achieved it he quickly attains the supreme spiritual peace.” - Bhagavad Gita, 4:39


• "One who is not in transcendental consciousness can have neither a controlled mind nor steady intelligence, without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness without peace?" - Bhagavad Gita, 2:66


• "A person who has given up all desires for sense gratification, who lives free from desires, who has given up all sense of proprietorship and is devoid of false ego--he alone can attain real peace." - Bhagavad Gita, 2:71


• "The steadily devoted soul attains unadulterated peace because he offers the result of all activities to Me; whereas a person who is not in union with the Divine, who is greedy for the fruits of his labor, becomes entangled." - Bhagavad Gita, 5:12


• "O scion of Bharata, surrender unto Him utterly. By His grace you will attain transcendental peace and the supreme and eternal abode." - Bhagavad Gita, 18:62

He never forgets His Devotees

• "Devotee generally remembers Krsna. But even if he cannot, Krsna will help him." - Srila Prabhupada, Morning Walk March 17, 1976, Mayapur


• "Prabhupada said, "Whatever service one does for Krishna, Krishna never forgets! Krishna will always remembers that service, however insignificant. Even if he comes to the temple and he turns one screw for Krishna, Krishna will never forget."" - Romapada Swami


• "If a devotee takes to Krsna Consciousness very seriously and sincerely but if he falls down due to some reason, Krishna never forgets that sincere service rendered. If we have pleased Him or His devotee, Krishna will never forget that and He will intervene and give us the chance again and again may be in this birth or some future birth. It depends on us whether we use our free will to surrender to the Lord or to surrender to our material desires. But once we establish the relationship, He will never let us go for long.There was once a devotee who left Krsna Consciousness and wanted to enjoy material life. He flew to another country and as soon as he came out of the airport, one devotee came and asked him to buy a book. He just ignored and thought to himself that why is Krishna doing this. When he entered His hotel room and switched on the television, on some news channel He saw devotees chanting the Lord’s blissful names. Whatever He did, wherever he went somehow Krsna kept reminding Him of the transcendental life he had given up for the poisonous nectar of this world.That’s when He understood that Krishna is so merciful and kind that He is never going to let me go irrespective of my foolishness and disobedience. At that same point, that devotee returned back to the temple and dedicated himself whole-heartedly in the service of the Lord.
  
  Hare Krishna." - HH Radhanath Swami
  
  

Love

• Krishna likes to serve His devotees: While we must always aspire to be of some service to Krishna, Krishna finds joy in rendering service to His devotees. Krishna is bound to us because we have uttered His Holy Name. He feels indebted to us because we have thought of Him and loved Him.


• Krishna loves those who love and serve His devotees: Think about it. If you have a child, and your child receives immense love and affection from someone else, would you not appreciate that person for loving your child? In the same way, when we love and serve Krishna's devotees, Krishna becomes pleased with us.


• "Bhakti-yoga means that the Lord is there, the devotee is there and the activity of exchange of love between the Lord and the devotee is there." - Bhagavad Gita, 14:26, Srila Prabhupada's Purport


• Vasudeva Dutta: Vasudeva Dutta was Lord Chaitanya's disciple. On one occasion, when given the opportunity to ask for something, he asked that the sinful reactions of everyone in the universe be transferred to him and for everyone else to be forgiven and liberated. Lord Chaitanya began to cry. Lord Chaitanya then spoke using the analogy of a kettle filled with mustard seeds to the brim. Each mustard seed represented a universe in this cosmic manifestation. With tears in his eyes, he then asked everyone, "Do you think Lord Krishna will miss one tiny seed out of this kettle? Will He mind if I pluck out one seed, and save and liberate all the rest? This is not done. Would that be alright? I didn't think so.  Then so be it." Here Lord Chaitanya demonstrates how much Krishna cares about us. How much he loves us. He loves us so much that he will not risk a single soul's liberation.

Sustenance

• "But those who worship Me with devotion, meditating on My transcendental form--to them I carry what they lack and preserve what they have." - Bhagavad Gita, 9:22

Fulfillment of Desires

• "Everything that can be achieved by fruitive activities, penance, knowledge, detachment, mystic yoga, charity, religious duties, and all other means of perfecting life is easily achieved by My devotee through loving service unto Me. If somehow or other My devotee desires promotion to heaven, liberation, or residence in My abode, he easily achieves such benedictions." - Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 11, Chapter 20, Verse 32-33

Krishna's Eternal Association, Friendship and Liberation (Everlasting life)

• “Therefore, Arjuna, you should always think of Me in the form of Krishna and at the same time carry out your prescribed duty of fighting. With your activities dedicated to Me and your mind and intelligence fixed on Me, you will attain Me without doubt.” - Bhagavad Gita, 8:7

• “Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, become My devotee, offer obeisances to Me, and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me.” - Bhagavad Gita, 9:34

• “My dear Arjuna, he who engages in My pure devotional service, free from the contaminations of fruitive activities and mental speculation, he who works for Me, who makes Me the supreme goal of his life, and who is friendly to every living being—he certainly comes to Me.” - Bhagavad Gita, 11:55


• “Just fix your mind on Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and engage all your intelligence in Me. Thus you will live in Me always, without a doubt.” - Bhagavad Gita, 12:8


• “Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me, and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend.” - Bhagavad Gita, 18:65


• "The pure devotee is always within the core of my heart, and I am always in the heart of the pure devotee. My devotees do not know anything else but me, and I do not know anyone else but them."                            Srimad Bhagavatam, 9.4.68

• "My dear sons, you should not envy any living entity — be he moving or nonmoving. Knowing that I am situated in them, you should offer respect to all of them at every moment. In this way, you offer respect to Me." - Srimad Bhagavatam 5.5.26


• “And of all yogis, the one with great faith who always abides in Me, thinks of Me within himself, and renders transcendental loving service to Me - he is the most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all. That is My opinion." - Bhagavad Gita, 6.47

And of course, who can forget His Divine Promise:

yada yada hi dharmasya
glanir bhavati bharata
abhyutthanam adharmasya
tadatmanam srjamy aham

"Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion--at that time I descend Myself." - Bhagavad Gita, 4:7

Each promise only magnifies the extent of Krishna's love for His devotees. Remember the story of Ajamila? The exalted saint who was taken over by material desire? He still attained Krishna's eternal association. He named his son Narayana and called out to him at the time of his death. The messengers of the god of death Yama could not take him, simply because he had uttered the Holy Name of Krishna. Krishna's name is so powerful that it can deliver sinners. How much more will the Holy Name do for devotees? It will invoke loving feelings towards God, cleanse us inside out, bring us closer to God, drive away our sins and absolve all our past mistakes. Even King Kansa attained liberation. He was thinking of Krishna, plotting how to kill Him 24/7. He was killed by Krishna Himself. Krishna bestows mercy even on those who are envious of Him and against Him. How much more will He do for those who yearn for Him? This universe rests in Krishna. At the end of time, Krishna will take this universe into Himself, until it's time for a new cycle of life. So I believe that ultimately we will all go back to Krishna, sooner or later. He will wait until we do. He doesn't give up on us. I believe that souls who have not yet attained Krishna at the end of time will rest in Krishna until the cycle of creation starts again. Then they get another chance to make their way to Krishna. We are part and parcel of the Supreme Soul, so there is no real separation. We will never be separate from Krishna. God is so merciful that He continues to watch over each and every soul, devotee or not. Hell is not a permanent place. Heaven isn't either. The only permanent dwelling place is Vaikuntha, or Krishna's abode. Other than that, we have no where else to go.

And frankly, there should be no other place we would want to go.

I thought of writing a blog entry about this topic today while I was chanting. If this entry has reached and helped even one person, it would be fantastic. Please feel free to share your thoughts!