Ajamila’s Second Chance

Chapter 2

The Vishnudutas rebuked the Yamadutas for their misjudgment of the situation. Quite remarkable! They established that Ajamila’s inoffensive and desperate chanting was the most powerful atonement in the universe: “Simply by once chanting the holy name of Narayana, this brahmana has become free from the reactions of sinful life. Indeed, he has been freed not only from the sins of this life, but from the sins of many, many thousands of other lives.” Bhakti is so powerful that it not only destroys sinful reactions, but simultaneously uproots the desire for material enjoyment from within the heart.

Ajamila was miraculously released, the Vishnudutas disappeared, and the confused Yamadutas returned to their leader, Yamaraja. Ajamila lamented his wayward past and was astonished at his great fortune. He resolved to resume his spiritual life in all seriousness and thus journeyed to the holy city of Haridwar, ‘the gateway to God.’ There, he became spiritually absorbed, and at the time of death was taken to the spiritual world by the Vishnudutas. Sukadeva Goswami thus glorified the unimaginable potency of the holy name.