“Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely; though we are
imperfect, God loves us perfectly.” – Dieter Uchtdorf
Indira attempted to murder Krishna and the people he loved- including
His best friends, parents, and His dear most consort, Srimati
Radharani. When all of them were under the shelter of Govardhan Hill,
Indira hurled thunder and invoked the clouds of devastation, to kill
all residents of Vrindavan. But he couldn’t move even a blade of grass
on the govardhan hill; Krishna lifted the hill with his pinky finger
for seven days and nights and crushed the false pride of the king of
heavens.
Besides many lessons, one that struck me the most: after Krishna
humbled him, He also forgave Indira. In fact, Krishna asked to see
Indira in a secluded place so that Indra doesn’t feel ashamed in front
of others. Krishna was sensitive while facing a highly repentant
offender, Indira.
When someone offends us, do we have the same spirit of forgiveness?
Imagine if Krishna decided to respond to offenses the same way we do,
what would happen? Would any of us have hope of redemption? But
fortunately for us, God is not like the fallible mortals of this
world. His generosity is unparalleled; he loves us more than we desire
Him. He isn’t waiting to see what wrong move we make so that he could
dump us into a hell. He is simply waiting for that one right step that
we could take, so that He could embrace us.
Some years ago, Ms Pratibha Patil, the then President of India,
pardoned thirty hard core criminals who had been sentenced to death by
the Supreme Court of India. Each one of them had committed the most
heinous crimes; some had raped children, others had brutally killed
families and perpetuated gruesome crimes on innocent people. But the
Article 72 of Indian constitution gives the president absolute power
to grant pardon. Although the nation reacted with visceral revulsion
and many expressed shock, the president wasn’t challenged.
While the merits of the President’s decision is unclear, we could draw
hope that a similar arrangement exists for our inner world. Krishna-
or God- supreme justice – the force, or universe- whatever you call
this Reality, operates on sincere repentance and penance. All major
religions encourage practitioners to chant, pray and serve humbly in a
mood of contrition and desire to seek God’s love. And God is forgiving
and possesses supreme independence to help us in our inner, spiritual
journey.
While fanatics present God as a cruel dictator who’d throw infidels
into a burning hell, Vedic scriptures guarantee that God or Krishna
accompanies us always and everywhere. He is ever willing to direct His
lost children back to Him, if they wish so.
Although he doesn’t interfere in our independence, He eagerly awaits
for us to seek his loving embrace.
