Yamaraj  Decree in terms of sins or pious activities

All Glories to HDG Srila Bhakti Promode Puri Goswami Maharaj

All Glories to HDG  Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Goswami Prabhupada

We know from our childhood that the by performing sinful activities, one has  to suffer in the hellish planets and that the messengers of Yama will forcefully take these sinful souls to the abode of hell where they will be exacted with the proper punishment according to their sinful activities. In contrast ,those who have performed pious activities in the same way will be sent to the heavenly planets where they will be rewarded as par their pious credit. However, these very people have to come back to the material world after their stock of pious activities is depleted to take birth in different wombs accordingly(by previous work) to again engage in works. The sense enjoyers are so intense in trying o enjoy that they become careless as not to properly follow the dictates of the revealed scriptures nor do they make any attempt to regulate their fluctuating mentality and usually act whimsically without any care for the consequences of their actions which are termed as sinful actions. In reverse, the pious individual is very careful in assessing the results of his actions and attempts to control  his turbulent mind in the face of all the lures of enjoyment with the guidance of the scriptural injunctions together impelled  with their innate fear of ending up in such  hellish destinations. Hence for the sake of  the happiness of the present and other worlds, they accept some voluntary austerity to engage resolutely in beneficial and pious activities. Still, both these types of individuals are simply interested in personal sense gratification with the former engaging in sinful activities while the latter  immersed in pious activities. Hence they are both bonded by  either pious or sinful activities which they perform. However, those who engage in devotional activities after taking the shelter of a spiritual master ,their endeavors are not in the same platform as those engaging in mediocre work for fruits. Outwardly, though appearing to be the same still the goal of  both these individuals are completely different. As an example ,a fruitive worker  cooks  for his sense enjoyment while the devotee cooks for the service of the Supreme Lord hence whilst cooking in this way  he is not responsible or affected by the many tiny living entities which are killed unknowingly in the process of cooking unlike the fruitive worker who has to atone by the process of the pancha sunya sacrifice. Even in the process of following the  pancha sunya  sacrifice, there is chance of going to hell because of such violence to living entities as the latent sinful seed is not completely eradicated by the process of atonement they have performed and hence that have a tendency to repeat that action. The point of  their  apparent worship of Hari in such procedures is simply to attain sense enjoyment and never for the pure service of the Lord so they are ultimately implicated in spite of their apparent adherence to scriptural rules. As in the performance of  the Aswamedha sacrifice there is killing of animals involved   for attainment of the heavenly planets but since they are all implicated in  trying to enjoy the fruits of the sacrifice, they must  certainly bear the consequences of all the activities performed. Thus we can see that any type of fruitive work  are all subject to punishment. Therefore we can see that in performance  of any  fruitive works in  spite of the worship of Lord Hari may bear painful results depending on the sins committed  while in pursuance of such works .What to speak! those  fruitive workers who worship the demigods, without  doubt will  be implicated and cast down to the lower regions. Thus we can understand that other than the unalloyed devotees  of the Lord or those who have taken shelter of a pure devotee and are  engaged in devotional service everyone else are all liable to be punished by the punishment of Yama. Yamaraj has given instruction to his messengers in the following way: tan anaya adhvam asato vimukha atmakunda padaravinda makararasadjhsram niskinchinair paramhamsa kulair sangair justad grhe niraya vartaman baddha trsnan meaning: O messengers ! bring all those non saintly people who are due for punishment with your hands. The meaning of non - saintly people  is those who are not engaged in devotional service to Lord Hari and never relishing the nectar of such divine service. Who relishes such nectar? The topmost devotees without any attachments and base desires are  only qualified to taste this nectar which is their sole monopoly. If the question is raised why  are the others are unable to relish this nectar ?The point is the others are simply interested in satisfying the senses in the form of material enjoyment as with the opposite sex and hence they become  completely entangled in the material paraphernalia of this world which poses as the doorway to hell.

jihba na vetti bhagavan guna namadheya chetas na smarati tacaranaravinda

kshnaya na nameti yacchira ekodapi tananaya addamasato akrta vishnukrtyan

If a person would at least once engage  in the remembering and and chanting the glories of the Lord ,he can be labelled as a saintly person. Other than these people, all the rest are not saintly and should be brought here to hell. Those people who in their whole life have not chanted once the holy name of Krishna or if not chanting at least who have not once remembered the lotus feet of the  Supreme Lord or even if their minds were restless have never paid obeisance to the form of the Supreme Lord and if for the service of the Supreme Lord these people have not done anything ,then such are all considered not saintly and useless and all these people are subject to be brought to the abode of Yama. In the commentary of Jiva Goswami states that - bring all such non devotees to the abode of Yama  and never  the devotees. Yama instructs his messengers :svapurusam abhi vikshaya   paasa hasta vadati yama kila karma mule-------

Or for those with spiritual knowledge who surrender exclusively to Lord Mukunda without being attracted to the maze of fruitive action ,please leave them alone for I have no jurisdiction over the Vaishnavas. Only bring  those people who are in the class of receiving the apt  punishment for their misdeeds. As it is quoted in scipture, time and  Yama are not able  to decree punishment  to  the Vaishnavas. The messengers of Yama inform that Yama is always repeatedly telling them never to approach those who are performing the worship of the Supreme Lord Vishnu as Vaishnavas cannot be punished by Him. Yama Raj had also instructed his messengers that a Vaishnava if perchance commits some prohibited actions or  if in the performance of his normal duties performs some sinful deeds still by his commitment to chanting and hearing of the name of God, he will be cleared of all such sins. Especially, those who are bereft of all material desires and engaged completely in the service of the Lord ,there will be no possibility of fall down for them. The devotees in their unalloyed  service to the Supreme Lord  have already performed all their other duties and for them there is no reason  for any lapse or impediment at all. In contrast, those who do not perform Hari bhajan in spite of performing all their duties but because of their desire for enjoyment and and the attempt to mitigate distress as acting the doer makes them culpable of being punished for their sins too. Brahma says, O Lord Hari !the non devotees in spite of performing religious duties accordingly are susceptible to sin and even whilst completing all types of religious duties may reside in hell but your devotee even if he is against Brahma himself  is always free from sin .As mentioned earlier the fruitive worker even if performing works according to the Vedas is susceptible to sin.as the Lord declares in Padma Purana :

mamnimittam krtam papamapi  dharmaya kalpate  

mam anadrtya dharmo api  papam syatmaprabhavatah 

The works which are executed for the service of the Lord if it goes against the injunctions of the revealed scriptures or Smrti still it is considered in the fold of religion and not sin. Further, all those duties done  which does not glorify the Lord or demeans Him in any way are the roots of sin. To illustrate  by an example, the main centre of the Sri Sampradaya is the renowned  huge Ranganath Temple .The fact is most of the bricks that were used to build the wall on the east side of the temple wall were all stolen. Still .even in this case there is no sinful activity  cast on the thief . As in the case of Sri Sanatan Goswami who in his eagerness to meet with the universal mentor, Sriman Mahaprabhu had to resort to  bribe the avaricious guard of his prison cell with gold coins in order to be free .Although such  actions are  never praised in society still because such an action was favourable to devotional service it can be considered as a limb of devotion and not sinful action. In this case there is need for great simplicity on the nature of the devotee for without that one can be led into sinful action because of not doing something favorable. In this case ,all our work will be reduced to fruitive action and not devotion.  To pretend to serve while hiding one's ulterior desire for sense gratification  in devotional service will mean that one is definitely not surrendered. For that reason, one will be liable to be punished by Yama for  resultant sinful activities performed. If simply for attaining some material wealth, one were to engage in worship of the deity , reading the scriptures  or giving the holy mantra to people then that person will be completely responsible for his actions. The reason is that he has not actually taken the shelter of devotion but in fact duplicitously performing binding works that are sinful. Such actions will be punished by Yama. In that case ,one had never been surrendered to the spiritual master  has  only taken the role of a rogue in disguise. One who is surrendered to guru and the Lord will be able to dissipate any type of sinful reactions. As Yamaraja informs in Nrshingha Purana ahamamaganaarchita dhrta  yama iti loka hita ahita niryuktah hariguruvimukhan prasamsi martyan hari gurucarana pranatan namaskaromi

 I discipline those those people who are adverse to Lord Hari ,guru and the pure devotees with my rod of punishment but to those devotees who are surrendered to the Lord ,I am not qualified to judge them and they are all worship able by me. In Skanda Purana, Brahma says that no demigods have the ability to discipline or control the pure Vaishnavas. By being surrendered to Lord Hari ,he has become as part of the paraphernalia of the Lord and therefore out of our jurisdiction being not the members of our kingdom. Even if it is found that the devotee's behavior and character has become abdominal, the devotee can never be destroyed as after some time when he gives up such behaviour, he will immediately attain absolute peace .Even if the service mood is annulled for some time, still there is no question of diminution. The seed of devotion can never be destroyed by sinful actions. Factually, the results of sinful actions will fructify in due course and these fruits may be borne on the devotee but Yamaraj has no cause to award the Vaishnava devotee the results of his pious and sinful activities as the devotee is above receiving such results. Apparently, he may be in the position of suffering and enjoying in the material world but all that is simply to invigorate hi devotional creeper and unlike the suffering and enjoying of the  mediocre fruitive workers. What is the nature of that material condition ?.Srila Chakrawarthi Thakur comments just as a expert physician treats a patient in giving him very sour medicines coated with sugar so that he will take his dose the Lord arranges the suffering and enjoying of the devotee so that his devotional mood increases. The devotee understands that all suffering and enjoyment in the world as the mercy of the Lord and in that mood of devotion he does not lose his composure in times of travail but the non devotee because of his aversion to the Lord is subject to the rod of punishment given by Yamaraj. Only the devotees are glorified by Yamaraj and none others. A devotee who has a simple mind and surrendered to the goddess of devotion even if he does some offence will not be subject to punishment because of his surrender .This is stated in the commentary of Chakrawarti pad even in spite of offences and sins ,at the end of his life he will not have to go to the hellish planets. In conclusion ,one who is always fixed in hearing the pastimes of the Lord in a surrendered mood then we can easily understand that he will never be punishable by Yamaraj unlike others.