On the sacred occasion of Onam celebrated by the people of Kerala, what is the lesson we must learn from the life of Emperor Bali? Bhagawan reiterates for us today.

Emperor  Bali welcomed Vamana with open arms and promised that he would offer whatever he desired. Bali's preceptor, Sukracharya was an all-knowing counsellor. Aware that Vamana was an incarnation of Vishnu, he advised Bali to go back on his offer to Vamana. But Bali's magnanimity and greatness may be seen in the fact that he refused to accept his preceptor's advice. Bali said, "When the Lord Himself has come to me with outstretched hands asking for a gift, what greater good fortune can I have than making the gift from my humble hands? I am prepared to give away everything regardless of what happens to me." The Vedas have declared that in observing Dharma and doing one's duty for the Divine, the opposing words of no one - father, mother, preceptor or anybody else should be heeded. Bharata, Prahlada, Meera and others are examples of those who went against the injunctions of mother, father, husband respectively in adhering to their devotion to the Lord. No one is entitled to be a barrier between the devotee and the Lord, whatever may be that person’s relationship with the devotee.