(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 30 June 2013, Vrindavan, India, Srimad Bhagavatam 6.16.34)
Ultimately, the mercy of Mahaprabhu is what we are hoping for but only after we have given our everything – NOT BEFORE and NOT while lying on our back saying, “Oh, I really hope for the mercy of Mahaprabhu.” Not like that but instead, after we have given our everything and we have reached our limits by trying hard and when we reached our limit, that is when we start praying! When we have tried everything to conquer the unconquerable Krsna then miracles can happen by mercy.
1 Comment
Hare Krishna,
I have 2 problems with this statement.
1. Doesn’t this go against what Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita (4.11)? “…as they surrender on to me, I reward them accordingly”. There is no mistake or ambiguity here. The wording does not say “upon complete surrender, I reward them”. So, I am puzzled as to where does this ‘complete surrender’ concept originate from? It does not seem to be consistent with Krishna’s spoken word.
2. In considering how Mahaprabhu awards mercy, consider the lila of curing Vasudeva’s leprosy [cc Madhya Lila, chapter 7, 113 -152]. Vasudeva was already beyond the bodily concept of life – to the point where he was picking up worms that had fallen off him and placing them back on his wounds. For such an advanced spiritual person, curing their physical ailment appears as an irrelevant act of mercy, as it was not something they were particularly bothered by. It does not make sense that Mahaprabhu would reciprocate his mercy when someone reaches a point of advancement and surrender where they do not actually *need* that mercy to be directed on thing that are ‘mundane’ to them.
Could you help clarify these points please?
Hare Krishna