SLOKA OF THE DAY:

Bhagavad Gita As It Is -
Chapter 9 Text 23
ye 'py anya-devata-bhakta
yajante sraddhayanvitah
te 'pi mam eva kaunteya
yajanty avidhi-purvakam

ye--those who; api--also; anya--of other; devata--gods; bhaktah--devotees; yajante--worship; sraddhaya anvitah--with faith; te--they; api--also; mam--Me; eva--only; kaunteya--O son of Kunti; yajanti--they worship; avidhi-purvakam--in a wrong way.

TRANSLATION

Those who are devotees of other gods and who worship them with faith actually worship only Me, O son of Kunti, but they do so in a wrong way.

JOURNAL:

In his purport Srila Prabhupada only speaks of worship of the demigods, not about worship of God outside of Hinduism. When I first read this sloka I was a young man and had just given up on Protestant forms of Christianity. Most of these churches just seemed to make up the rules as they went along, backing what they did with out-of-context verses from the bible. They didn't seem to care for "cultural context" either.

So I read this sloka and thought, "This is mercy! God accepts worship even if it is not done right." I could see God working in the lives of some of these people who attended these churches. I knew they carried with them a love that transcended the teachings of their churches. A thing can be wrong and still Krishna will work with it. How much more will He work with us even when we are wrong?

P.S. -I didn't make it out to the temple yesterday. How long until I see the devotees again Lord?