Question: Does Sri Krishna forgive anybody who seeks His refuge even after sinning? Are there sins that Krishna cannot tolerate and does not accept?
Answer by Romapada Swami: Krishna promises to forgive and deliver all sinful reactions of those who surrender to Him exclusively. (Bhagavad Gita 18.66) This applies to even the most sinful persons, the only qualification being that they sincerely regret and rectify their misdeeds and never go back to their sinful ways again by being situated in devotional service to Krishna. The most outstanding example of this is Lord Caitanya’s deliverance of the two notorious sinners Jagai and Madhai, infamous for having committed sins of every description, who were by His mercy transformed into flawless pure devotees. On the contrary, continuing to sin on the strength of doing devotional activities and thinking this will counteract the sins is most heinous. Sometimes people make a habit of confessing their sins or atoning for them (prayascitta) with no intention of giving up sinning; this is an offense and simply makes it much harder to earn the Lord’s forgiveness and reinstate oneself.
Although Krishna can forgive all types of sins, there is something worse than sinning, which the Lord does not forgive, and that is Vaishnava aparadha, or offending the devotees of the Lord. This offense is compared to a wild elephant that simply destroys, and this is also illustrated in the pastime of the deliverance of Jagai and Madhai. Although both Jagai and Madhai were equal partners in committing all conceivable sinful activities, while Madhai assaulted Nityananda Prabhu, Jagai prevented further assaults. For this one reason, Lord Caitanya delivered Jagai but refused to accept Madhai’s pleas for an apology. Only when Madhai fell at the feet of Nityananda Prabhu and begged forgiveness from Nitai, was then that he was accepted and forgiven by Lord Caitanya.
