God is never in favour of condemning anyone as we are His parts. We can be punished but never condemned, says AJIT KUMAR BISHNOI

We, human beings, are highly fallible. It is no wonder that Shankaracharya of all people wrote a very detailed prayer to lord Shiva in which he asked for forgiveness multiple times. Why do we make mistakes so easilyIJ This is not counting the ones we make intentionally. Because we are small; our knowledge is extremely limited. Still, we fool ourselves into thinking that we are intelligent. And some of these mistakes prove to be quite costly like these days people losing their lives taking selfies. But I am focusing on mistakes made by us, which are still with us, and which are due for punishment in future.

What can be done about themIJ Is there a way out in order to avoid punishmentIJ Before I try to answer this question, let us first understand the system under which the material nature works. We, souls, do karma (deeds) through our minds, words and the rest of our bodies. Souls have the free will to do so. One can desire whatever, think anything and generally decide what one chooses to do or doesn’t. Obviously, we alone must be responsible; we cannot blame anyone even though someone may have influenced our decision; the blame will squarely lie with us. Divine authorities oversee all this.

Now we come to the role of God in this. let us start with the dictionary meaning of the word ‘forgive’. It is to stop feeling angry with somebody who has done something to harm, annoy or upset you. In case of God, He is generally not in the picture; the divine authorities keep track of our misdemeanours. Only in exceptional cases, God incarnates to punish miscreants, like lord Rama did.

In case of God, seeking forgiveness is a very important tool available to us like praying for what we seek. However, it is not so common for God to forgive whoever comes to Him seeking forgiveness. We can get an idea of what will qualify us for His intervention because by forgiving, He is overruling the divine authorities. In five verses of the Gita, we get an indication of when God may turn benevolent. “I am similarly inclined towards all being. However, those who worship me with devotion become special. (9.29) “Take my shelter; I will release you from all sins.” (18.66) “Having my consciousness you will cross all impediments by my grace.” (18.58) “Even if a person of very bad conduct worships me, he should be considered pious only.” (9.30) “Doer of welfare act does not end up badly.” (6.40)

These are some of the conditions which will prompt God to intervene. God is never in favour of condemning anyone. After all, all of us are His parts only. We can be punished but never condemned. We are given chances to reform ourselves and if we do that, we can be even forgiven. Why should punishment be given to a reformed personIJ

Now I am ready to answer the question posed earlier. We can ask for forgiveness but whether we will be forgiven depends entirely on God, as only He knows the big picture. We can neither demand it as a right nor take it for granted. Still, ask for forgiveness in all sincerity and humility and hope for the best. This is the way. Presupposing forgiveness shatters faith if it does not come through. Just like praying, one can never be sure if the wish will be granted or not because God has to consider many factors. If we keep this attitude, our faith will never diminish because we will understand that we did not deserve, otherwise faith takes a hit. The good thing is that we can seek forgiveness again. There is no limit placed on us. So take advantage of this facility.

Bishnoi is a spiritual writer and can be reached at spiritual@ajitbishnoi.com