Is it true that a devotee goes to Krishna if dies before 12?
A mother (Name hidden) asked like this:
“Dear sir Hare Krishna.. Sir we stay in Bangalore. I’m a devotee of Krishna and husband is a great devotee of perumal (Lord). He daily recites Vishnu sahasranama. In last May, we last our elder son of 11 years old. He had bone tumour. We came to know this in Dec 2016 and he passed away in May 2018. We tried all medicines but nothing worked. Finally he left us. Y this happened sir. We can’t able to digest this. Till last I believed that Krishna will save him, but nothing happened. Please help us.
And more thing sir..We came to know that if one dies before 12years of age, they go directly to vaikunta. Is it true sir? And my son was also devotee of the Lord. He used to chant Hare Krishna regularly. Please clarify my questions. Living without him is very difficult sir. Please forgive me if I’m wrong.”
REPLY:
There is no guarantee for going back to Krishna just because a devotee dies before 12.
(How to Go Back to Godhead Krishna’s Kingdom Vaikunta / Goloka at the earliest? READ HERE!)
Such views are spread from some other similar views.
Let us see how.
See this actual statement:
“The activities done by a person till his age 12 will not be added in the karma account because he is an inexperienced child till that age to know what is right and what is wrong.”
Just because he dies before 12, Some wrong interpreters have thought that he would not have involved in any new karma till that age and hence he is pure from karma and hence he will straightaway go to Krishna after dying before 12.
(Why Krishna allows His devotees to suffer from Karma? READ HERE)
This is wrong interpretation. I always discourage such concepts that going back to Krishna is like going to Washington from Delhi.
HOW CAN KRISHNA ALLOW YOU INTO HIS KINGDOM IF YOU HAVE ATTACHMENTS? WON’T YOU VIOLATE AFTER GOING THERE?
Yes, a boy or girl who dies before 12 would not have done any new karma in this birth. True. No doubt in it.
But, He would have accumulated bundle of karma in his account through many births. All the actions of one birth can not be cleared by facing the reactions within a single birth. If I have done more and more serious sins and good deeds in this birth, just a ssingle birth may not be sufficient to face the reactions. I may need 3 more births to face the reactions of this single birth.
(READ ABOUT THREE TYPES OF ACTIONS HERE)
Now, just imagine, how many births that boy would have taken so far?
How much of karma would have been pending in his karma basket?
In his previous birth, he would have remained as the cause for the death of any boy of age of less than 12 years. He might have driven a car and hit a child.
So, the karma network has fixed his life time as less than 12 in this birth.
So, he has cleared the karma of having caused the death of a child in his previous birth.
Only that karma has been cleared now.
He would have done many other activities in his many previous births. So, he has to take one or a few births to clear them.
You may ask: He was a devotee. So, won’t Krishna take him back?
I have written hundred times in my posts. Let me assert again. Please take it as authoritative words of scriptures:
ONE CAN NOT GO BACK TO KRISHNA UNLESS HE DEVELOPS DETACHMENT TO MATERIALISTIC WAY OF LIFE AND ATTACHMENT (PREMA) TO KRISHNA!
(ALSO READ HERE ABOUT HOW TO GO BACK TO KRISHNA)
Unless he had developed detachments from this material affairs, he can nOt go back to Krishna in this birth. Though he had a desire of scoring the school first in his class six annual exams, it is an attachment. So, he has to take another birth to achieve that score of school first rank.
So, we can not exactly say that one would have gone to Krishna. Only if he had lived a life without attachments atleast at the time of death, it is possible.
In case your son had some attachments, he will take birth in a very rich or a Vaishnava family again and start following Krishna Consciousness from childhood itself. If he develops detachment from materials and attachments to Krishna, he will go back to Krishna from that birth.
So, stop thinking too much and leave the matter to Krishna’s Justice department of the Karma Network. Just chant for his well being. Everything will happen as per his karma.
Krishna never interferes in His justice department of karma network. See, you file a case on me in the court. I bribe the judge and get a favourable judgement. How will you feel? You will curse me for having bent the Justice department itself.
Krishna thinks the same way. His justice department is acting very perfectly without any bribes or frequent recommendations.
The standing instruction for the justice department to grant the suspension from all the past karma is that the person should have detached from material desires. So, his karma will be suspended and he will get mukthi. In case he had serious Prema on Krishna, he will be taken to Krishna’s kingdom.
This is the standard system of giving excuse to the offenders.
So, Krishna recommends for a devotee’s clearance of karma only if he had detached from material desires and attached with Krishna.
So, stop worrying and keep chanting. Krishna will do as He prefers. In the case of outstanding devotees, he will recommend for relaxations from karma rules. It is selective, causeless and genuine decision of Krishna.
(Read to know the daily schedule of a devotee HERE!)
Hope you are clear now.