Accepted For Our Devotion

With a palmful of nature, I reflected on the aphorism “It’s not the gift, but the thought that counts.” The Cambridge Dictionary explains the meaning of this phrase: kind intentions are the important thing, even if the gift is imperfect. Never has this saying been more accurate than in our offerings to the Supreme Person who already has everything. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says: “If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it.” (BG 9.26) Confirmation: It’s our affection that counts!

Recently I heard a wonderful explanation of this verse by Hridayananda das Goswami: “The Sanskrit word prayatātmanaḥ literally means one who has offered their own soul. Krishna is saying that when you offer something with devotion, what that means is that you are really offering yourself. There is no fruit shortage in the spiritual world. They don’t have a hydrology issue; they don’t need the water. So the real point is that the fruit, leaf, water and flower are ways for a devotee to offer their own soul. And when Krishna says ‘I accept it,’ He is actually accepting you, He is accepting your soul. Because if you think of it, if Krishna accepted the leaf and left you behind, that wouldn’t help would it?”