Re: When God helped you - Share your experiences if any.
Dear friends,
I wanted to share my 2 cents on this debate - whether one can ask for forgiveness from the lord or one has to face consequences of his actions by himself. Surely, being brave to face consequences of one's misdeeds is commendable. But there is one caveat with this approach. We are all a mixture of Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas gunas. Our misdeeds are either due to rajas or tamas. It is said Rajas and Tamas are hard to conquer by oneself and one needs the helping hand of god to get rid of their influence, which is the reason why anyone needs to practice bhakti yoga, jnana yoga, etc. Therefore one who does not ask for lord's forgiveness is supposedly taking a vow to go on their own, and this does not necessarily translate into a solid means for curing their rajas and tamas - surely, one would face karmic reactions, like Renuka ji said, even falling into the hell for instance, which may ultimately rid one's rajas and tamas, but why all this suffering? Instead the wise will surrender unto the lord, ask for his mercy and carry-on the god-given good life in service of the Lord and service of humanity. The atma that belongs to each of us isn't necessarily ours, it belongs to the mighty paramatma, therefore subjecting it to undue suffering is a sin, which will be evaluated much as causing suffering to others. This is why, 'Atma hatya' or suicide is wrong and bad.
Imagine how painful a broken family is to the little children, a parent deceased with Cancer to the child and other kith and kin, and other tragedies in life? They not only cause harm to us, they also interact with other's karmas and their well-being in a negative way. A prudent and wise man therefore will not resort to causing suffering to his atma, but to nourish it with bhagavath bhakti and asking for his forgiveness.
I would like to end the note by citing the example given by the great Adi Shankara in his Lakshmi Narasimha Karavalamba Stotram:
Samsara koopam adhi ghora Magadha moolam,
Samprapya dukha satha sarpa samakulasya,
Dheenasya Deva krupana padamagadasya,
Lakshmi Nrsimha Mama Dehi Karavalambam. 4
Oh Great God Lakshmi Nrsimha,
I have reached the very dangerous and deep,
Bottom of the well of day to day life,
And also being troubled by hundreds,
Of miseries which are like serpents,
And am really miserable and have,
Reached the state of wretchedness and so,
Please give me the protection of your hands.
Samsara Sagara vishala karala kala,
Nakra graham grasana nigraha vigrahasya,
Vyagrasya raga rasanormini peedithasya,
Lakshmi Nrsimha Mama Dehi Karavalambam. 5
Oh Great God Lakshmi Nrsimha,
I have reached this wide unfathomable ocean of day to day life,
And I have been caught by black deadly,
Crocodiles called time which are killing me
And I am also afflicted by waves of passion,
And attachments to pleasures like taste and so,
Please give me the protection of your hands.
Samasra Vrukshamagha bheeja manantha karma,
Sakha satham karana pathramananga pushpam,
Aroohasya dukha phalitham pathatho dayalo,
Lakshmi Nrsimha Mama Dehi Karavalambam. 6
Oh Great God Lakshmi Nrsimha,
I have climbed the tree of worldly life,
Which grew from the seed of great sin,
Which has hundreds of branches of past karmas,
Which has leaves which are parts of my body,
Which has flowers which are the result of Venus,
And which has fruits called sorrow,
But I am falling down from it fast and so,
Please give me the protection of your hands.
Thanks and regards.
jai hanuman gyan gun sagar jai kapis tihu lok ujagar
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