[Advaita-l] mercy of lord

[Kaushik Chevendra]

Here is a small para from a discourse of shri abhinava tirtha swamin-

The Lord’s mercy extends to all. Did not Rāma tell Sugrīva when the latter
voiced concern about accepting Vibhīṣaṇa, “To anyone who seeks refuge in Me
but once, saying, ‘I am Yours’, I grant fearlessness”?21 A sincere devotee
has no cause for any worry, for he has surrendered his body and mind to God
and left everything in God’s hands. Overpowered by love for devotees who
have surrendered, Kṛṣṇa declared to Uddhava, “With a view to purifying
Myself by the dust of the feet of the sage who longs for nothing, bears
enmity to none and is same-sighted, I always follow him.”22 What a
remarkable proclamation by the perfect Lord of the cosmos!

While it is said that a true devotee is in God’s loving care, it would be wrong
to infer that a devotee ought not to have any hardship. The Lord is, after
all, not only most compassionate but also perfectly just. If a person had
committed major transgressions in earlier births, allowing him to go
scot-free, without any punishment in the form of suffering, would be a
travesty of justice. A judge who refuses to penalise murderers on the
ground of kindness would be doing a great disservice to society. He can, of
course, take mitigating circumstances and repentance into consideration to
reduce the punishment awarded to a person found guilty of a crime.
Likewise, God, being just, does award punishment even to devotees, but,
being kind, reduces the penalty to the extent possible. Just because a
mother scolds her child, does it mean that she does not dearly love her
offspring?

The Lord proclaims, “Fix your mind on Me. Be My devotee. Worship Me.
Prostrate before Me. (Conducting yourself in this fashion, offering all
ends, means and needs to Me), you shall come to Me alone. Truly do I
promise thus to you, for you are dear to Me.”25 Who indeed would not want
to surrender himself to God who is so very loving and loveable!