WITH DIVINE MERCY

 

Arjuna & Krishna

(Geetha Upadhesam)

There are phrases we hear often and pass by without stopping, “with God’s mercy” being one of them. I had done so myself, until a quiet moment of reading changed its weight for me. In a passing comment by someone who had attended a discourse on the Bhagavad Geetha, I encountered the words, “…. unless one is fortunate to receive the mercy of Krishna….”. The line lingered, as some words do, asking to be held a little longer. It stirred a feeling that something subtle in the Geetha had escaped my notice. What follows is born of that pause, not certainty, but a wish to listen more closely, and to understand what ‘mercy’ might mean when spoken of in the language of the divine.   

Within spiritual discourse it is commonly stated that one can cross the ocean of material existence only by the mercy of Krishna or His devotee. While such language has devotional and relational significance, a critical reading of the Bhagavad Geetha itself reveals that the idea of “mercy” as an emotional or selective intervention of the Supreme is philosophically unnecessary and potentially misleading. Bhagavan Krishna is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient, and therefore does not operate through fluctuating emotions such as favouritism or pity. Rather, He functions through immutable laws governing consciousness, action, knowledge, and causality. Spiritual advancement, accordingly, is not dependent on an external bestowal of grace but on an individual’s disciplined alignment with these eternal principles.

This is precisely the method Krishna employs in instructing Arjuna. He does not console Arjuna emotionally or promise deliverance through favour, instead, He reorients Arjuna through clarity, responsibility, and detachment. Bhagavad Geetha 2.47 establishes this foundation unequivocally, one has the right to perform prescribed duty but no claim over the fruits of action. This instruction removes entitlement and expectation from spiritual life. If liberation were contingent upon mercy, one would remain psychologically attached to outcomes, even spiritual ones. Krishna instead demands action free from hope, fear, or emotional bargaining. This discipline is further defined in 2.48, where equanimity in success and failure is identified as yoga itself. Yoga, therefore, is not emotional devotion or passive reliance on divine intervention, but the stabilization of consciousness amidst dualities.

Krishna reinforces this principle in 3.19 by stating that one attains the Supreme by working without attachment to results. The verse leaves no room for selective grace whereby attainment follows naturally from correct action performed with the proper inner disposition. Liberation is thus not granted as a favour but realized as a consequence of alignment with truth. This framework makes clear that the Supreme does not interfere with the lawfulness of existence, but He reveals it.

The role of the spiritual master must be understood in the same light. Bhagavad Geetha 4.34 instructs the seeker to approach a realized teacher with humility, inquiry, and service, because such a person has seen the truth and can impart knowledge. The guru does not bestow liberation through mercy but transmits correct understanding. Knowledge is communicable but realization is personal. The necessity of the spiritual master lies not in divine favouritism but in epistemic precision. Just as ignorance in any discipline is removed by proper instruction, ignorance of the self is removed by those who know reality as it is.

Bondage itself is not moral or emotional in nature but mechanical, arising from false identification with the body and mind through ahankara across innumerable births. Conditioning persists due to ignorance, not because of divine neglect. Ignorance cannot be dissolved by grace alone, but it must be undone by knowledge. This is why Krishna declares in Bhagavad Geetha 7.2 that once this knowledge is realized, nothing further remains to be known. Knowledge is final, complete, and liberating. If mercy were the determining factor, such emphasis on knowledge would be redundant.

What is traditionally referred to as “mercy” is better understood as alignment with dharma, the eternal order governing existence. When action is performed without attachment, with equanimity, and guided by right understanding, liberation follows inevitably. There is no need for emotional appeal or expectation of intervention. The Geetha presents a rigorous spiritual science, not a theology of reward. Krishna does not save Arjuna instead He educates him. Arjuna is transformed not by grace but by insight and disciplined action.

Thus, the Bhagavad Geetha consistently teaches that freedom arises through inward mastery, sustained inquiry, and unwavering discipline. Grace, if the term is to be retained at all, is not something to be awaited or granted selectively, it is already embedded in the very structure of reality. The task of the seeker is not to seek mercy, but to become fit to recognize and live in accordance with truth as it eternally is.

AUM TAT SAT

Cheers.

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