Gita and Non Violence 8 - Assurances

The great message of deliverance that Gita puts forward for the so called sinners is actually an eye opener to its universal kindness and sympathy for all –


Api chet suduracharo bhajate mam ananyabhak sadhureva sa mantavya samyag vyavasita he sa

Even if the greatest of sinners worship me devoutly, with steadfast and never ending devotion, that person will soon get rid of his sins and become as pure as any holy man or saint. Because My name dispels the impurities of mind. Therefore such a so called sinner will be treated equally as any saint. He will become a holy man and will attain eternal bliss.

This message of redemption for sinner turned devotees resonates throughout Gita. In the 4th Chapter we find – Api chedasi papebhyah sarvebhyah papakrittamah sarva gyanaplavenaiva brijinam santarisyasi

Even if you have committed great offence, you still have hope if you gain eternal knowledge and wisdom, which will act as a raft to take you across the turbulence of life.

Another great contribution of Gita is the assurance it is providing to all devotees who are sincere. No original sin, no eternal hell, no eternal damnation for anybody! Just an assurance that on becoming My devotee everything else will be forgiven. However one will have to become a sincere devotee, not a sham one. Even great sinners can turn to saints if they sincerely take refuge in God. God does not make any distinction between sinners and saints, if both are His devotees. Sri Krishna says to Arjuna -

“Kaunteya, you may declare that my devotee will never perish.”

This is illustrated in the life of Girish Chandra Ghosh, the famous playwright and father of modern theatre in India, who was also one of the foremost householder disciples of Sri Ramakrishna. Girish indulged in many sense pleasures in his earlier life, in moral terms which are sins. But later when he accepted Sri Ramakrishna as his Guru, he became such a fierce devotee that whenever he used to take a plunge in Ganga (which one normally does to purify oneself according to the age old custom), he used to say, “this I am doing not to purify myself as I have already become pure by the grace of one to whom I have taken refuge, this I am doing in order to purify Ganga herself”.

In the subsequent chapters the Lord also assures that His devotees, who constantly think of Him, will attain Him in the end. Gita makes it clear that God and devotees share a unique relationship. God favours his devotees above everything else. He comes down as an incarnation in order to protect His sincere devotees. This assurance is probably unique in any spiritual literature of the world.