Does vicarious atonement have a place in Vedanta?
A – Yes. In every religion there are examples of saints who suffered vicariously. I will give you an instance from the life of the Holy Mother, Sri Ramakrishna’s wife. Whenever she came to Calcutta, hundreds of people would line up at the Udbodhan Office, her residence, for the privilege of touching her feet. And she took upon herself the sins of those who prostrated before her. Afterwards her feet would burn, and she would have to bathe them in the cool water of the Ganges to get relief. One day a disciple said to her, “Mother, we give you pain when we touch your feet. We should not do it any more, nor should we allow others to touch your feet.” Holy Mother’s answer was wonderful. She said, “What is this? Did the Lord come only to eat rasagollas?” Her meaning was that Sri Ramakrishna was born for the purpose of taking the sins of mankind on himself, and her mission was to help him in his work. They were not born to eat rasagollas, a kind of sweetmeat; in other words, they were not bor
