Misconception I: You Cannot Act for Mercy
Mercy is undeserved kindness. Therefore, some conclude that we cannot do anything to receive mercy, because the moment we act for it, it is no longer undeserved. We have done something to obtain it.
But is that conclusion correct?
If bhakti is the path of grace, and we can do nothing to attract mercy, then why practice Krishna consciousness at all?
A simple analogy helps resolve this apparent contradiction.
Imagine you are caught in a violent storm, and your life is in danger. You are in an isolated area and see a lone farmhouse. Desperate for shelter, you run to the door and knock. The owner opens the door and invites you inside.
Did your knocking negate the owner’s mercy?
Of course not.
It was never your house. You had no claim to enter. You were admitted solely because the owner chose to be merciful. Your knocking did not earn you shelter. It simply expressed your need and gave the owner the opportunity to extend his kindness.
Now take the analogy one step further.
Suppose the owner is initially suspicious. Seeing a stranger at his door, he fears you may be a thief and refuses to let you in. You continue pleading, and he hears the sincerity and desperation in your voice. Moved by your earnest appeal, the owner opens the door.
Did your pleading earn you the right to enter?
No.
You still had no claim upon the house. Your word did not create his kindness or force him to help you. But your sincere appeal attracted his mercy.
The same principle applies to bhakti.
By sincerely practicing devotional service, and especially by earnestly begging for the mercy of the holy name, we are not trying to earn our relationship with Krishna. Rather, we are acknowledging that we cannot attain Krishna by our own strength. We are admitting our dependence and appealing for the mercy that only He can give.
Therefore, it is a misconception to say that we cannot act for mercy. We can never earn Krishna’s mercy through our actions, but through our sincere efforts we can place ourselves in the position to receive and attract that mercy.
Misconception II: It Is Possible to Not Get God’s Mercy No Matter What We Do
If God were obligated to show us mercy because of something we did, it would no longer be mercy, but something deserved. It would then seem reasonable to conclude that it is possible never to receive God’s mercy, no matter what we do. But in coming to that conclusion, we overlook a very simple point.
If mercy is intrinsic to God’s nature, and God is infinite, then His mercy must also be infinite. If His mercy could ever be exhausted or withheld from even one soul, it would no longer be infinite.
In other words, mercy is not something external that God occasionally dispenses. It is an intrinsic aspect of His very nature. Since nothing exists outside of Him, there is no one beyond the reach of His mercy. His mercy is therefore unlimited, ever-present, and available to everyone — not because He is obligated by some external force, but because it is His very nature to be merciful.
It is therefore not possible for any soul to be bereft of God’s mercy.
One way to understand this is by considering the law of karma. Everyone is subject to karma, yet karma is ultimately meant to purify the soul and bring it back to God. Even the reactions to our actions are expressions of His mercy.
But God does even more. He repeatedly descends as avatāras, reveals scripture, sends His devotees, and manifests His holy name. It is therefore difficult to argue that any soul is ever without His mercy. The real issue is not whether mercy is available, but whether the soul recognizes it and accepts it.
Therefore, if we feel we are not receiving God’s mercy, the problem is not that mercy is absent. Rather, either out of ignorance or even humility, we are failing to recognize the mercy that is already present.
A famous poet sums it up nicely:
The quality of mercy is not strained;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath… It is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes. …
It is an attribute to God himself.
(Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, 4.1)