The term “blessing” denotes a profound sense of joy and contentment that arises from experiencing God’s benevolence. It refers to the act of encountering the divine kindness, mercy, and goodness that enriches one’s life. For believers, blessings are an essential part of their spiritual journey, providing motivation to delve deeper into the mysteries of their faith and uncover the hidden treasures that lie within. Blessings possess the ability to empower devotees, enabling them to accomplish seemingly insurmountable feats and dedicate their lives in service to God. They are also regarded as a means of feeling the presence of the divine in one’s life. According to tradition, God is always willing to bless us, but we must be ready to receive it. Thus, blessings may not come at the precise moment we desire them, but only when we have become deserving of them through our devotion and good deeds. The article explores the indicators of being bestowed with God’s favor, along with guidance on how to attract blessings from the divine.
#1 Those who surrender to God are blessed by Him
Srimad Bhagavatam tells the story of Lord Vamana Deva, the dwarf incarnation of Lord Vishnu who appeared in His blissful spiritual form, with four hands and requested three steps of land in charity from Bali Maharaja, the king of demons. Despite being warned by his spiritual master that Lord Vamana was actually Lord Vishnu, Bali Maharaja refused to retract his promise and instead expressed his readiness to face any consequences. Lord Vamana then grew in size and occupied the entire universe with His first two steps and placed His third step on Bali Maharaja’s head, pushing him to the netherworld. Lord Vamana deva thus established the supremacy of the Supreme Lord Vishnu over everything in the universe. Having taken away all the land from Bali Maharaja by begging, Lord Vamana deva returned them to Indra, the king of the heavens.
After Bali Maharaja gave everything he owned to Lord Vamana, the Supreme Lord explained that material wealth can be a barrier to one’s spiritual journey. Lord Vamana then praised Bali’s tolerance and rewarded him with the planet of Sutala, personally protected by the Lord and free from material miseries. Bali would reside there peacefully and become cleansed of his materialistic ideas and anxieties. Eventually, Bali Maharaja would attain the position of the king of heaven during the rule of Manu known as Savarni. Bali Maharaja realized that the highest treasure in life is unalloyed devotion to the Lord’s lotus feet, and he entered Sutala with his associates, receiving blessings of Lord Vamana.
#2 Blessings of God are far more valuable than the greatest material wealth
The story of Dhruva Maharaja is an inspiring tale from the ancient scripture of Srimad Bhagavatam. Dhruva was the son of Suniti, one of the two queens of King Uttanapada. However, he was not as dear to the King as his stepbrother Uttama, who was favored by the other queen Suruchi. When Dhruva wanted to climb onto his father’s lap, he was rebuked by Suruchi, who taunted him for not being qualified to sit on the throne or even his father’s lap. She suggested that he perform severe austerities to please the Supreme Lord Narayana and be born from her womb in his next life.
Dhruva was deeply hurt and ran to his mother, who consoled him and advised him to meditate on the Supreme Lord Narayana. Suniti cited examples of his great-grandfather Brahma and his grandfather Svayambhuva Manu, who attained their goals through meditation and devotion. She emphasized that only the Supreme Lord could alleviate Dhruva’s distress and urged him to begin meditating and worshiping without delay.
Despite his young age, Dhruva was determined to pursue a more exalted position and left home to seek refuge with the Supreme Lord. On his journey, he met Narada Muni, who tried to discourage him, but Dhruva remained resolute. Narada then instructed him to bathe three times daily in the Yamuna and meditate upon the form of the Supreme Lord while controlling his breath. He also advised Dhruva to construct a deity of the Lord and gave him the twelve-syllable mantra ‘Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya’ to worship Hari. Furthermore, Narada instructed Dhruva to meditate upon the transcendental activities of the Lord in His different incarnations.
Dhruva followed Narada’s instructions with great sincerity and observed severe austerity for months, surviving on fruits, leaves, dry grass, and water at extended intervals. By the fifth month, his meditation was so intense that it worried the demigods, who sought Lord Narayana’s intervention. The Lord then appeared before Dhruva in person, who was overwhelmed with ecstasy and wanted to offer prayers, but was inexperienced. The Lord blessed Dhruva to glorify Him and offer prayers to Him to his heart’s content.
Knowing the purpose of Dhruva Maharaja’s austerities, the Supreme Lord blessed him and granted him lordship over the glowing planet of Polestar, which would remain even after the universe’s dissolution. This planet had never been ruled before and was surrounded by other planets. Dhruva would rule over it for 36,000 years, and at the end of his life, he would remember Lord Narayana and return to the spiritual world beyond the material realm. The Lord also predicted that Dhruva’s father would eventually hand over his kingdom’s rule to him, while his brother Uttama would die while hunting, and his stepmother Suruchi would be killed by a forest fire while searching for her son.
Despite receiving the Lord’s blessings, Dhruva was not content. He realized that he had undergone such severe austerities and worshiped the Supreme Lord with the sole intention of acquiring material wealth. He became angry at himself for approaching the Lord for something so trivial and fleeting when the Lord has the power to release one from the cycle of birth and death. Dhruva regretted his mistake, feeling like he had foolishly settled for broken shards of glass while ignoring the precious diamonds right in front of him. Therefore, even though Dhruva was blessed with material wealth, he remained steadfast in his devotion to the Lord and continued to meditate upon Him for the rest of his life.
#3 The blessed devotee gives up everything for the sake of God
Bilvamangala Thakura, a wealthy south Indian Brahmin from a cultured family, became attached to a prostitute named Cintamani, losing his intelligence and dignity. He was so consumed by lust that he ran from his father’s funeral to see her, jumping into a deadly river to get to her house. Blinded by desire, he grabbed a snake, mistaking it for a rope, and entered her house uninvited, only to be rebuked and humiliated. Despite Bilvamangala Thakura’s hopes that she would be happy to see him, the lady was actually disgusted by the sight of him, a stinking and lustful man who had come to meet her on the same day his father had died. Rebuking him she said, ‘It’s a pity that you’re so drawn to my physical body, which is comprised of unpleasant substances like flesh, bones, blood, mucus, and stool, and which decays daily, ultimately feeding the worms. Being attached to this fleeting body won’t benefit you in any way. Instead, if you cultivate attachment to The Supreme Lord, your life will be successful. This attachment will free you from all the sufferings of material existence and enable you to enter the Lord’s eternal abode, where you’ll experience everlasting happiness’.
After being humiliated and kicked out of Cintamani’s home, Bilvamangala Thakura renounced his attachment to flesh and decided to devote his life to the Supreme Lord. However, he was tempted by a beautiful woman on his way to Vrindavan and took advantage of a kind man’s hospitality to be alone with her. But instead of succumbing to lust, he gouged out his own eyes with her hairpin to avoid any further temptation. Bilvamangala Thakura realized that lust is insatiable and becomes stronger when indulged in. He then continued his journey to Vrindavan, where he devoted himself completely to the worship of the Supreme Lord. The strength to renounce everything and attain the Lord was bestowed upon him by the blessings of the Lord.
Krishna, the Supreme Lord in his form as a cowherd boy, would visit Bilvamangala Thakura regularly with a glass of milk in hand. Unaware of the Lord’s identity, they would spend hours conversing with one another. One day, when Krishna played his flute, Bilvamangala Thakura was enchanted and desired to embrace him. But Krishna playfully evaded his grasp. Undeterred, the devotee declared that Krishna may escape his hold but not his heart. Despite his previous struggles with lust, Bilvamangala Thakura had now purified his heart and installed Krishna as its supreme occupant.
Krishna, being magnanimous and forgiving, is not concerned with our past transgressions. He readily accepts anyone who genuinely desires to purify themselves and develop a loving relationship with him. In contrast, the pursuit of lust leads to bondage in this material world and eventually, hellish existence. Therefore, to attain the love of Krishna, it is crucial to guard ourselves against the temptation of lust and strive towards a pure and devotional life. Bilvamangala Thakura’s success in attaining Krishna was a result of his relentless devotion and the blessings of the Lord, who came to see him in person.
#4 The Blessed One Develops Fearlessness
Hiranyakashipu, the brother of Hiranyaksha, was a demon fueled by revenge who wanted to become the Lord of the entire creation by killing Hari, the Supreme Lord who had slain his brother. Lord Brahma granted him the boons that he would not be killed in either the day or night, in either land, air or water, by any man or beast, by any weapon, either inside or outside his residence, thus making him almost immortal. Hiranyakashipu wreaked havoc by conquering all three worlds in this material universe. However, Prahlada, his son, a great devotee of the Supreme Lord, became his enemy by remaining fixed in his determination to serve Lord Hari. Prahlada enunciated the nine processes of devotional service: hearing the Lord’s glories, chanting His holy name, remembering the Lord, serving His lotus feet, offering the Lord respectful worship with sixteen types of paraphernalia, offering Him prayers, becoming His servant, becoming His friend, surrendering unto Him. Hiranyakashipu ordered his servants to kill Prahlada, but no matter how laboriously they tried, they could not kill him. When none of his attempts to kill Prahlada worked, Hiranyakashipu grew very alarmed and enquired as to where Prahlada had received his superhuman powers. Prahlada gently replied that he had received his strength from the same place that his father had received his – from Sri Hari. On hearing his reply, Hiranyakashipu became more enraged and asked Prahlada where his God was. Prahlada answered that God was everywhere. In a fit of rage, the demon then started pointing to different things in the palace and asked his son whether God existed in them. Finally, pointing to a pillar nearby, he asked whether his ‘so-called’ God was present in it. When Prahlada responded in the affirmative, Hiranyakashipu took up his sword and smashed the pillar, as if in an attempt to kill the Supreme Lord. As soon as Hiranyakashipu smashed the pillar, Lord Narasimhadeva appeared from within. The wonderful fearsome form of the Lord, half-lion, half-man, killed Hiranyakashipu during twilight by placing the demon on his lap and uprooting his heart with his divine fingernails. Thus Lord Narasimha killed Hiranyakashipu without dishonoring any of the boons that Brahma had granted the demon.
It may seem like Lord Narasimhadeva’s only purpose in appearing was to kill the demon Hiranyakashipu, but according to Vyasadeva’s Narasimha pranama bhajana, this was not the case. The Supreme Lord had actually manifested Himself to bestow His association, affection, and joy upon Prahlada Maharaj, His beloved devotee. The killing of the demon was just a secondary task. All devotees of the Supreme Lord are also protected by Lord Narasimhadeva, and it is through His blessings that they are empowered to fearlessly confront evil.
#5 One who is blessed can safeguard others from grave danger
In the Chakshusha Manvantara, Matsya Avatar appeared to King Satyavrata, a great devotee, to bestow his favor. While performing his daily rituals by offering water on the bank of river Kritamala, a small fish appeared in King Satyavrata’s palms. Not knowing that the fish was the Supreme Lord, the king decided to protect it. The fish kept growing, and the king had to keep transferring it to larger water reservoirs until it revealed its true identity to the king. Matsya Avatar then disclosed that there would be heavy rains for seven consecutive days following which the three worlds would be completely inundated in water. The Lord instructed King Satyavrata to collect all the various types of herbs, seeds, animals, etc, and load them onto a large boat that would appear before him, and the King should tie the boat to His horns with Vasuki, the great serpent. Lord Matsya shall then guide the vessel within the water of inundation until Brahma wakes up once again, and the water subsides.
As foretold by the Lord, gigantic clouds streaming incessant rains swelled up the ocean more and more, and the ocean gradually began flooding the land. King Satyavrata saw a boat approaching him, and he collected all the different kinds of herbs, seeds, animals and boarded the boat along with the saintly brahmanas. The King anchored the boat to the fish’s horn with serpent Vasuki, who acted as a rope. The King then glorified the Lord and offered prayers unto Him. Being satisfied with the King’s prayers, the Supreme Lord enlightened the King with divine knowledge. King Satyavrata was able to safeguard the diverse forms of life from the deluge and avert their extinction, all thanks to the blessings of Matsya Avatar. He successfully navigated the vessel within the water of inundation until Brahma woke up once again, and the water subsided. This act of protection of different species of life by the king was not only a reflection of his compassion, but also a testament to the transformative power of divine blessings.
Ways to attain the blessings of God
The Supreme Lord is completely independent, and therefore, there is no specific formula that we can follow to obtain His blessings. The Lord’s mercy is causeless and cannot be obtained by force or manipulation. However, being the compassionate and loving Father, the Lord considers all of us as His own parts and parcels, and our innate connection with Him is through love. Therefore, it is imperative that we revive the dormant love for the Lord that exists in our hearts. Even if we take a small step towards the Lord, He reciprocates by taking a thousand steps towards us.
One who sincerely seeks to revive their loving relationship with the Lord and engages in His devotional service puts themselves in a favorable position to receive His blessings and causeless mercy. Although there is no fixed way to attain the Lord’s blessings, one’s devotion and love towards Him are the key factors in pleasing Him. The Lord is ever ready to bestow His blessings upon us, and it is our devotion and sincerity that enable us to receive them.
According to the scriptures, there exist nine ways to engage in loving devotional service of the Lord. These include hearing about Him, chanting His holy name, remembering Him, serving the Lord’s lotus feet, deity-worship, praying to Him, executing His orders, serving as a friend, and complete surrender. Among these, the ancient Vedic texts have proclaimed that chanting the holy Name of the Supreme Lord is the most effective way to cultivate spiritual realization and devotion in this present age (Harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam kalau nasthyeva nasthyeva nasthyeva gathir anyatha – Brhan Naradiya Purana). There is nothing else as powerful.
Love for the Supreme Lord is not something that can be attained artificially from an external source. Rather, it exists eternally within the hearts of all living entities. When the heart is purified through regular hearing and chanting of the holy names and glories of the Supreme Lord, this eternal love awakens and reveals itself once more (nitya-siddha Krishna-prema ‘sadhya’ kabhu naya, sravanadi suddha chitte karaye udaya- Chaitanya Charitamrta).
Loving the Lord with all our heart invokes the blessings of our all-merciful father. It is a sincere and determined effort towards reviving our relationship with Him that puts us in a favorable position to receive His causeless mercy and blessings. As we engage in the various processes of devotional service, our love for the Lord deepens, and we experience a sense of fulfillment and inner peace that is unparalleled.