In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna explains in detail the hallmark of a bhakta and of the exclusive relationship that exists between Him and His bhaktas. The Lord states that the bhakta, who is sincerely engaged in Bhakti yoga, remains always most dear to Him. “He who sees Me everywhere and sees all in Me; I am not lost to him nor is he lost to Me.”
In a discourse, Sri Muralidhara Swamigal pointed out that this kind of a bhakta is very rare to find since the Lord seldom grants Bhakti, while He is more liberal in granting jnana or yoga to jivatmas. This is because, when He grants Bhakti, He foregoes His Supremacy, ‘Swatantriyatva,’ for the sake of His devotees. His whole being reaches out to the devotee who is steeped only in Him and for His sake alone.
The Bhagavata Purana says that God, pleased with Ambarisha’s unswerving devotion, wished to grace him in a special manner and offered him His own Sudarshana chakra. This is hailed as the Lord’s exclusive weapon that gives protection to devotees from hostile forces. Once, sage Durvasa becomes the target of attack of the Sudarshana chakra when he gives vent to his anger and curses Ambarisha. Unable to bear the heat and chase, the sage seeks help from all quarters, including Brahma and Siva. The fact is that no one has any power to intervene in this case, since the Lord’s chakra is beyond their limits of authority. In fact, the Lord also repeats the same reason when beseeched by Durvasa, who now accepts that he had wronged Ambarisha, a staunch devotee. It is then the Lord states that He is not free as many think since He is always subservient to His devotees. His heart is under their sway. He is so fond of His devotee who stands a cut above His own Self and even Goddess Sri.
