Why does God give more importance to following justice in worldly life (pravrutti) than developing devotion to Him (nivrutti)?

[This question was posed to Swami on the auspicious occasion of Guru Purnima.]

Swami replied: Nivṛtti means the personal liking of God towards a devotee, in which God even suffers for the sake of His devotee, transferring the fruit of the devotee’s sin onto Him. Certainly, nivṛtti has higher value than pravṛtti (Nivṛttistu mahāphalā). But God gives more importance to pravṛtti, which is following justice and rejecting injustice in worldly life, than nivṛtti, which is developing a personal bond of the climax of love with God.

A person produces children, which is his family. An industrialist establishes a factory in which several workers are employed. The father is very much worried about maintaining discipline in his family and the industrialist is similarly worried about maintaining a peaceful administration of the workers in his factory. Unless justice is followed and injustice is rejected by the children or the workers, progress and the smooth administration of the family or the factory is impossible. Hence, the father and the industrialist are very much concerned with maintaining discipline in the family and in the factory. If the children or the workers follow injustice, neglecting justice, indiscipline grows greatly in the family or in the factory bringing bad name to the father or the industrialist. Hence, if one wants to become the climax devotee of God, one should behave as per the wishes of God reject whatever is disliked by God. It means, one should always follow justice and reject injustice, so that discipline is maintained in the world. This is what brings good name to God or the father or the industrialist.

Hence, if we follow justice, rejecting injustice and propagate this concept to others in the world, God will like us very much, even if we are atheists! But we must remember one important point, which is that we should like justice, not because we have a personal liking for justice. We should like justice because it is liked by God. If necessary, we must even reject justice, if God wants us to do so! The ethical atheist will never reject justice, even if God wants him to do so. Even a fan of justice like Dharmarāja refused to tell a lie, even though God Kṛṣṇa desired so. Rejecting injustice for the sake of justice is rejecting duṣpravṛtti (injustice) for the sake of pravṛtti (justice). But, in nivṛtti, even justice is rejected for the sake of God unlike the ethical atheist and the fan of justice. Whatever may be the depth of one’s devotion in nivṛtti, if God’s likes become our dislikes and if God’s dislikes become our likes, His divine love for us crumbles down like the upper floors of a building, when its foundation cracks. This is the reason for God not protecting even the greatest devotee like Rāvaṇa.

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| Shri Datta Swami | Why does God give more importance to following justice in worldly life (pravrutti) than developing devotion to Him (nivrutti)? | Nivruttistu mahaaphalaa Nivrutti Pravrutti Dharmaraaja Dharmaraja Dushpravrutti