Mantra Eighteen 97
devotee the Lord directs him in such a way that he never acts
wrongly. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam it is said that the Lord is so
kind upon His devotee that even though he sometimes falls into
the entanglement of vikarma—acts against the directions of the
Vedas—the Lord at once rectifies the mistakes of the devotee
from within his heart, because such devotees are very dear to
the Lord.

Here in this mantra the devotee prays to the Lord to rectify
him from within his heart. To err is human: A conditioned soul
is very often apt to commit mistakes, and the only remedial
measure for such unknown sins is to give oneself up to the Lotus
Feet of the Lord, so that He may guide the devotee. The Lord
takes this charge for the fully surrendered souls, and thus all
problems are solved simply by surrendering oneself unto the Lord
and acting in terms of the Lord’s directions. Such directions are
given to the sincere devotee in two ways. One is by means of the
saints, scriptures, and spiritual master; and the other is by the
Lord Himself, residing within the heart of everyone. Thus the
devotee is protected in all respects.

The Vedic knowledge is transcendental and it cannot be
understood simply by mundane educational procedures. One
can understand the Vedic mantras only by the grace of the Lord
and the spiritual master. If one takes shelter of a bona fide
spiritual master, it is to be understood that he has obtained the
grace of the Lord. The Lord appears as the spiritual master for
the devotee. And so the spiritual master, the Vedic injunctions,
and the Lord Himself from within all guide the devotee in full
strength, and there is no chance of such a devotee falling again
into the mire of material illusion. The devotee, thus protected all
around, is sure to reach the ultimate destination of perfection.
The whole process is hinted at in this mantra of Sri Isopanisad,
and the Srimad-Bhagavatam still further explains this.

Hearing and chanting of the glories of the Lord are themselves
acts of piety. The Lord wants everyone to do this, because He is
the Well-wisher of all living entities. And by practicing this
