Let us take shelter of God, not of human beings
Lord Krishna has very emphatically instructed us to treat all souls equally. Aren’t we all part of God? (The Bhagavad Gita 15.7) Let us see what these instructions are. In the verse #5.7, Lord Krishna states, “A karma Yogi considers souls of other persons similar to his. “Wise persons have equal vision in those who are blessed with knowledge and humility, in a Brahmin and even in an outcast.” (5.18) “One who is equally disposed towards all beings attains the supreme devotion towards Me.” (18.54) The Lord teaches us that external differences like status, etc., are just temporary garments. True wisdom lies in seeing the divine equality — the same eternal essence within everyone, with no exceptions.
Why then we don’t have equal vision towards all souls? Why do we raise some of them to a higher level than us to the point of taking their shelter, which position is strictly reserved for God? Lord Krishna is very emphatic about taking His shelter, not of anyone else. (18.66) Yes, we can take guidance from a learned person (4.34), help from a highly placed person, etc., but to take shelter of another person is not at all wise.
Let us see what do we lose by taking shelter of anyone other than God. “Worshippers of gods go up to gods, that is they can obtain what gods can give. Worshippers of God go up to Him, that is they can get God’s mercy.” (9.25) In another verse, Lord Krishna states, “Those People, bereft of knowledge, caused by passionate desires, take shelter of other gods.” (7.20) Just imagine taking shelter of human beings, who are placed lower than gods. This cannot be classed anything like intelligence.
Before I take up benefits of remaining in shelter of God, we must understand more as to why God is so strict about us not taking shelter of another human being. Such a relationship is extremely limited; It can be temporary only. Another is helplessness of all souls without any exceptions, all being small, intrinsically. All depend on God for whatever they need.
Now I come to some benefits of staying in shelter of God. The first one has to be guidance, because direction is all-important, and God is Omniscient. He knows exactly what will suit an individual. And God is there to help where we fall short, which is often, due to us being small, helpless and ignorant too. God does not stop there, if we remain in His shelter, He provides what we need and protects what we have. (9.22) We all have many desires; God fulfils them, the ones according to dharma (highest principles). Once God is in the loop, success is assured in whatever we take up. Forget fears, depression, etc; peace will be ours.
In order to gain all these benefits, we must stop looking for shelter where it is not, neither in human beings nor in material objects like wealth, fame, etc. Just remain in shelter of God now and forever.
The writer is a spiritual teacher; Views presented are personal.
