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Fully surrendered (CC & Other Books)

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 2.117, Purport:

"A person who is expert in understanding the conclusion of the revealed scriptures and who fully surrenders to the cause of the Lord is actually able to deliver others from the clutches of material existence." Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, in his Upadeśāmṛta (3), advises that to make rapid advancement in the cult of devotional service one should be very active and should persevere in executing the duties specified in the revealed scriptures and confirmed by the spiritual master. Accepting the path of liberated souls and the association of pure devotees enriches such activities.

CC Adi 7.1, Purport:

One cannot be saved from all these miseries unless he takes shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is therefore the only shelter for all conditioned souls. An intelligent person, therefore, does not put his faith in any material possessions, but completely takes shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord. Such a person is called akiñcana, or one who does not possess anything in this material world. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is also known as Akiñcana-gocara, for He can be achieved by a person who does not put his faith in material possessions. Therefore, for the fully surrendered soul who has no material possessions on which to depend, Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the only shelter.

CC Adi 17.257, Purport:

The purport of this verse is that one who is unflinchingly devoted to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, and similarly devoted to the spiritual master, with no ulterior motive, becomes a master of all knowledge. In the heart of such a devotee, the real essence of the Vedic knowledge becomes manifested. This essence is nothing but surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead (vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ (BG 15.15)). Only unto one who fully surrenders to the spiritual master and the Supreme Lord does the essence of Vedic knowledge become manifested, not to anyone else. This same principle is emphasized by Śrī Prahlāda Mahārāja in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.5.24):

iti puṁsārpitā viṣṇau bhaktiś cen nava-lakṣaṇā
kriyate bhagavaty addhā tan manye ’dhītam uttamam

“A person who directly applies these nine principles (hearing, chanting, remembering, etc.) in the service of the Lord is to be understood as a greatly learned man who has assimilated the Vedic literatures very well, for the goal of studying the Vedic literature is to understand the supremacy of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 4.66, Translation:

After the last offering of tāmbūla and pan, bhoga-ārātrika was performed. Finally everyone offered various prayers and then obeisances, falling flat before the Deity in full surrender.

CC Madhya 8.66, Purport:

A living entity who wants to be completely pure must be above this material conception. The negation of material existence does not necessarily mean spiritual existence. After material existence is negated, spiritual existence—namely sac-cid-ānanda—still may not be manifested. Until one comes to the stage of actually understanding one's eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord, he cannot enter into spiritual life. Spiritual life means becoming detached from material life and engaging in the loving service of the Lord. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore asked Rāmānanda Rāya to explain something transcendental to devotional service mixed with speculative knowledge. A pure devotee is completely surrendered to the lotus feet of the Lord, and only by his love does he conquer Kṛṣṇa, who cannot be conquered by anyone. Kṛṣṇa always stands victorious over everything. No one can conquer Him. One can attain the stage of pure devotion simply by fully surrendering. This is next corroborated by Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.14.3), wherein Lord Brahmā, defeated by the potency of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, fully surrendered unto the Lord.

CC Madhya 8.68, Purport:

In his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura summarizes the conversation up to this point, where Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu says to Rāmānanda Rāya, eho haya, āge kaha āra: "This is the process accepted in devotional service, but there is something more than this. Therefore please explain what is beyond." Simply executing the duties of all varṇas and āśramas is not as good as offering all the results of one's activities to the Lord. When one gives up all fruitive activity and fully surrenders to the Lord, he attains sva-dharma-tyāga, wherein he abandons the social order and takes to the renounced order. That is certainly better. However, better than the renounced order is cultivation of knowledge mixed with devotional service. Yet all these activities are external to the activities of the spiritual world. There is no touch of pure devotional service in them. Pure devotional service cannot be attained by empiric philosophy, nor can perfection be attained simply by good association. Devotional service by self-realization is a different subject matter. It is untouched by fruitive activity, for one surrenders the results of activities to the Lord, abandons prescribed duties and accepts the renounced order of life. Such devotional service is situated on a higher platform than that of empiric philosophical speculation with a mixture of bhakti. This is verified by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī in his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.1.11):

CC Madhya 9.289, Purport:

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura remarks that up to the advent of His Holiness Śrīpāda Lakṣmīpati Tīrtha, it was the system in the disciplic succession of Madhvācārya to worship Lord Kṛṣṇa alone. After Śrīla Mādhavendra Purī, worship of both Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa was established. For this reason Śrī Mādhavendra Purī is accepted as the root of worship in ecstatic love. Unless one is connected to the disciplic succession of Mādhavendra Purī, there is no possibility of awakening the symptoms of ecstatic love. The word gosāñi is significant in this connection. The spiritual master who is fully surrendered unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead and has no business other than the Lord's service is called the best of the paramahaṁsas. A paramahaṁsa has no program for sense gratification; he is interested only in satisfying the senses of the Lord. One who has control of the senses in this way is called a gosāñi or a gosvāmī, master of the senses. The senses cannot be controlled unless one is engaged in the service of the Lord; therefore the bona fide spiritual master, who has full control over his senses, engages twenty-four hours a day in the Lord's service. He can therefore be addressed as gosāñi or gosvāmī. The title gosvāmī cannot be inherited but can be given only to a bona fide spiritual master.

CC Madhya 11.46, Purport:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission is thus described by Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura: patita-pāvana-hetu tava avatāra/ mo-sama patita prabhu nā pāibe āra. If Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu descended to reclaim sinners, then one who is the most sinful and lowborn is the first candidate for the Lord's consideration. Mahārāja Pratāparudra considered himself a most fallen soul because he had to deal with material things constantly and enjoy material profits. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's business was the deliverance of the most fallen. How, then, could He reject the King? The more fallen a person is, the more he has the right to be delivered by the Lord—provided, of course, he surrenders unto the Lord. Mahārāja Pratāparudra was a fully surrendered soul; therefore the Lord could not refuse him on the grounds that he was a worldly pounds-shillings man.

CC Madhya 11.51, Purport:

"Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, become My devotee, offer obeisances to Me and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me."

This process is very simple. One need only be firmly convinced by the spiritual master that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If one decides this, he can make further progress by thinking of Kṛṣṇa, chanting of Kṛṣṇa and glorifying Him. There is then no doubt that such a fully surrendered devotee will receive the blessings of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Śrīla Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya explains this further.

CC Madhya 15.169, Purport:

"Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear."

As soon as one fully surrenders to Kṛṣṇa, he becomes a Vaiṣṇava. In this verse from the Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṇa promises to relieve His devotee from all the reactions to sinful life. It is a fact that a fully surrendered Vaiṣṇava is completely out of the range of material infection. This is to say that he does not suffer the results of his previous pious or impious actions. Unless one is freed from sinful life, one cannot become a Vaiṣṇava. In other words, if one is a Vaiṣṇava, his sinful life is certainly ended. According to the Padma Purāṇa:

aprārabdha-phalaṁ pāpaṁ kūṭaṁ bījaṁ phalonmukham
krameṇaiva pralīyeta viṣṇu-bhakti-ratātmanām

"There are different stages of dormant reactions to sinful activities to be observed in a sinful life. Sinful reactions may be just waiting to take effect (phalonmukha), reactions may be still further dormant (kūṭa), or the reactions may be in a seedlike state (bīja). In any case, all types of sinful reactions are vanquished one after another if a person engages in the devotional service of Lord Viṣṇu."

CC Madhya 17.95, Purport:

"Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear."

Thus a fully surrendered, sincere devotee immediately receives relief from all kinds of sinful reactions. There are three stages of fructification for sinful activity. At one stage, one commits the sinful act, before that the seed of this act exists, and before that there is ignorance whereby one commits the sin. Suffering is involved in all three stages. However, Kṛṣṇa is merciful to His devotee, and consequently He immediately nullifies all three stages—the sin, the seed of sin and the ignorance that leads one to sin. The Padma Purāṇa confirms this:

aprārabdha-phalaṁ pāpaṁ kūṭaṁ bījaṁ phalonmukham
krameṇaiva pralīyeta viṣṇu-bhakti-ratātmanām

For a further explanation of this topic, The Nectar of Devotion should be consulted.

CC Madhya 22 Summary:

A pure devotee is the supreme transcendentalist, and one has to receive his mercy for one's dormant Kṛṣṇa consciousness to be awakened. One has to associate with pure devotees. If one has firm faith in the words of a great soul, pure devotional service will awaken.

In this chapter Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu differentiates between a pure devotee and others. He also describes the characteristics of a pure devotee. A devotee's most formidable enemy is association with women in an enjoying spirit. Association with nondevotees is also condemned because it is also a formidable enemy on the path of devotional service. One has to fully surrender unto the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa and give up attraction for women and nondevotees.

The six symptoms of fully surrendered souls are also described in this chapter. Devotional service has been divided into two categories-regulative devotional service and spontaneous love. There are sixty-four items listed in regulative devotional service, and out of these sixty-four the last five are considered very important. By practicing even one of the nine processes of devotional service, one can become successful. Speculative knowledge and mystic yoga can never help one in devotional service.

CC Madhya 22.16, Purport:

This verse is also quoted in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (3.2.25). When we chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra we are saying, "Hare! O energy of the Lord! O my Lord Kṛṣṇa!" In this way we are simply addressing the Lord and His spiritual potency, represented as Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, Sītā-Rāma or Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa. The devotee always prays to the Lord and His internal energy (consort) so that he may engage in Their transcendental loving service. When the conditioned soul attains his real spiritual energy and fully surrenders unto the Lord's lotus feet, he tries to engage in the Lord's service. This is the real constitutional position of the living entity.

CC Madhya 22.99, Translation:

“There are two kinds of devotees—those who are fully satiated and free from all material desires and those who are fully surrendered to the lotus feet of the Lord. Their qualities are one and the same, but those who are fully surrendered to Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet are qualified with another transcendental quality—ātma-samarpaṇa, full surrender without reservation.

CC Madhya 22.100, Translation and Purport:

“"The six divisions of surrender are the acceptance of those things favorable to devotional service, the rejection of unfavorable things, the conviction that Kṛṣṇa will give protection, the acceptance of the Lord as one"s guardian or master, full self-surrender, and humility.

One who is fully surrendered is qualified with the six following characteristics: (1) The devotee has to accept everything that is favorable for the rendering of transcendental loving service to the Lord. (2) He must reject everything unfavorable to the Lord's service. This is also called renunciation. (3) A devotee must be firmly convinced that Kṛṣṇa will give him protection. No one else can actually give one protection, and being firmly convinced of this is called faith. This kind of faith is different from the faith of an impersonalist who wants to merge into the Brahman effulgence in order to benefit by cessation of repeated birth and death. A devotee wants to remain always in the Lord's service.

CC Madhya 22.100, Purport:

“I am seated in everyone's heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas I am to be known. Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedānta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.” Situated in everyone's heart, Kṛṣṇa deals differently according to the living entity's position. The living entity's position is to be under the protection of the illusory energy or under Kṛṣṇa's personal protection. When a living entity is fully surrendered, he is under the direct protection of Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa gives him all intelligence by which he can advance in spiritual realization. The nondevotee, however, being under the protection of the illusory energy, increasingly forgets his relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Sometimes it is asked how Kṛṣṇa causes one to forget. Kṛṣṇa personally causes His devotee to forget material activities, and through the agency of māyā Kṛṣṇa causes the nondevotee to forget his devotional service to the Lord. This is called apohana.

CC Madhya 22.101, Translation:

“‘One whose body is fully surrendered takes shelter at the holy place where Kṛṣṇa had His pastimes, and he prays to the Lord, "My Lord, I am Yours." Understanding this with his mind, he enjoys spiritual bliss.’

CC Madhya 22.102, Translation:

“When a devotee thus fully surrenders unto Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet, Kṛṣṇa accepts him as one of His confidential associates.

CC Madhya 23.114, Translation:

""Are there no torn clothes lying on the common road? Do the trees, which exist for maintaining others, no longer give alms in charity? Do the rivers, being dried up, no longer supply water to the thirsty? Are the caves of the mountains now closed, or, above all, does the unconquerable Supreme Personality of Godhead not protect the fully surrendered souls? Why then should learned persons like devotees go to flatter those who are intoxicated by hard-earned wealth?""

CC Madhya 24.254, Translation:

“The hunter continued, "My dear sir, please tell me how I can be relieved from the reactions of my sinful life. Now I fully surrender unto you and fall down at your lotus feet. Please deliver me from sinful reactions."

CC Madhya 24.258, Translation:

“Being thus assured by the great sage Nārada Muni, the hunter broke his bow, immediately fell down at the saint's lotus feet and fully surrendered. After this, Nārada Muni raised him with his hand and gave him instructions for spiritual advancement.

CC Antya-lila

CC Antya 2.86, Translation:

He sought the shelter of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's lotus feet with full surrender. Sometimes he would invite the Lord to dine at his home.

CC Antya 3.250, Purport:

"This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it." This was actually proved by the behavior of Haridāsa Ṭhākura. Māyā enchants the entire world. Indeed, people have forgotten the ultimate goal of life because of the dazzling attractions of the material world. But this dazzling attraction, especially the attractive beauty of a woman, is meant for persons who are not surrendered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord says, mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te: (BG 7.14) "One who is surrendered unto Me cannot be conquered by the illusory energy." The illusory energy personally came to test Haridāsa Ṭhākura, but herein she admits her defeat, for she was unable to captivate him. How is this possible? It was because Haridāsa Ṭhākura, fully surrendered to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, was always absorbed in thoughts of Kṛṣṇa by chanting the holy names of the Lord 300,000 times daily as a vow.

CC Antya 4.192, Translation:

“At the time of initiation, when a devotee fully surrenders unto the service of the Lord, Kṛṣṇa accepts him to be as good as Himself.

CC Antya 6.223, Purport:

A well-to-do householder Vaiṣṇava cannot live like a person in the renounced order who completely takes shelter of the holy name. Such a householder should chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa in the morning, at midday and in the evening. Then he will be able to cross beyond nescience. Pure devotees in the renounced order, however, who fully surrender to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, should chant the holy name of the Lord with great love and faith, always thinking of Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet. They should have no occupation other than chanting the holy name of the Lord. In the Bhakti-sandarbha (283), Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī says:

yady api śrī-bhāgavata-mate pañca-rātrādi-vad-arcana-mārgasyāvaśyakatvaṁ nāsti, tad vināpi śaraṇāpatty-ādīnām :ekatareṇāpi puruṣārtha-siddher abhihitatvāt.

“It is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam's opinion that the process of Deity worship is not actually necessary, just as the specific prescriptions of the Pañcarātra and other scriptures do not have to be followed. The Bhāgavatam enjoins that even without practicing Deity worship one can achieve the complete success of human life by any of the other devotional processes, such as simply offering oneself at the Lord's feet for His protection.”

CC Antya 6.275, Purport:

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura remarks that people who are under the bodily conception of life are called materialists. If we accept the offerings of such people, place them before the Lord and invite Vaiṣṇavas to partake of the prasādam, that attempt will gain us only a material reputation, not the actual benefit of service to a pure Vaiṣṇava. One should therefore try to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead by fully surrendering at His lotus feet. If one engages for the service of the Lord whatever money one has honestly earned, that is spiritual service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the spiritual master and the Vaiṣṇavas.

Other Books by Srila Prabhupada

Teachings of Lord Caitanya

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 12:

“How can one take shelter of anyone but Kṛṣṇa? Who else is so kind? Even though Bakāsura's sister Pūtanātried to kill Kṛṣṇa when He was an infant by applying poison to her breast and offering it to Him to suck, still that heinous woman received salvation and was elevated to the same platform as His own mother.” Kṛṣṇa accepted the poisonous breast of that demonic woman Pūtanā, and when He sucked the milk from her breast, He sucked out her life also. Nonetheless, Pūtanā was elevated to the same position as Kṛṣṇa's own mother.

There is no essential difference between a fully surrendered soul and a man in the renounced order of life. The only difference is that a fully surrendered soul is completely dependent upon Kṛṣṇa. There are six qualifications for surrender. The first is that one should accept everything favorable for the discharge of one's duties in devotional service, and one should be determined to accept the process. The second is that one should give up everything that is unfavorable for the discharge of devotional service, and one should be determined to give it all up. Thirdly, one should be convinced that only Kṛṣṇa can protect him and should have full faith that the Lord will give that protection.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 12:

"Whoever fully engages himself in the service of the Lord, O King, giving up all other duties, is no longer indebted to the demigods, the sages, other living entities, his relatives, the forefathers or any man." Every man, just after his birth, is at once indebted to all the abovementioned personalities, and one is expected to discharge many kinds of ritualistic functions because of this indebtedness. But a person who is fully surrendered unto Kṛṣṇa has no obligation. He becomes free from all debts.

It should be carefully noted, however, that when a person gives up all other duties and simply takes to the transcendental service of Kṛṣṇa, he has no material desire and is not apt to perform sinful activities. If, however, he performs sinful activities (not willfully but by chance), Kṛṣṇa gives him all protection. It is not necessary for him to purify himself by any other method, and this is confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.42): "A devotee who is fully engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord is protected by the Supreme Person, but in case such a devotee unintentionally commits some sinful activity or is obliged to act sinfully under certain circumstances, God, situated within his heart, gives him all protection."

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 14:

In this regard, Śukadeva Gosvāmī advised that a devotee should never approach a materialistic person for any kind of help. As far as one's bodily necessities are concerned, one can pick up torn clothing from the street, take fruits offered by trees, drink water from flowing rivers, and live in a mountain cave constructed by nature herself. Even if one is unable to do all these things, he should nonetheless completely depend on the Supreme Lord, understanding that since the Lord provides everyone with food and shelter, He will never fail to care for His devotees who are fully surrendered unto Him. In any case, the devotee is always protected, and therefore he should not be at all anxious for his maintenance.

Nectar of Devotion

Nectar of Devotion 11:

Such a person is to be understood as having already achieved sārṣṭi (having equal opulences with the Supreme)." It is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā that as soon as a person surrenders unto the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa takes charge of him and gives him a guarantee of protection from all sinful reactions. He also instructs from within, so that the devotee may very quickly make advancement toward spiritual perfection.

This self-surrender is called ātma-nivedana. According to different authorities, self is differently defined. Self is sometimes considered to refer to the spirit self, or soul, and self is sometimes considered to refer to the mind or to the body. Full self-surrender, therefore, means not only surrendering one's self as spirit soul, but also surrendering one's mind and body to the service of the Lord. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung a nice song in this connection. While offering himself as a fully surrendered soul, he said, "My mind, my household affairs, my body, whatever is in my possession, my dear Lord, I offer to You for Your service. Now You can do with them as You like. You are the supreme possessor of everything, so if You like You can kill me, or if You like You can give me protection. All authority belongs to You. I have nothing to claim as my own."

Nectar of Instruction

Nectar of Instruction 5, Purport:

"At the time of initiation, when a devotee fully surrenders to the service of the Lord, Kṛṣṇa accepts him to be as good as He Himself."

Dīkṣā, or spiritual initiation, is explained in the Bhakti-sandarbha (868) by Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī:

divyaṁ jñānaṁ yato dadyāt
kuryāt pāpasya saṅkṣayam
tasmād dīkṣeti sā proktā
deśikais tattva-kovidaiḥ

"By dīkṣā one gradually becomes disinterested in material enjoyment and gradually becomes interested in spiritual life."

We have seen many practical examples of this, especially in Europe and America. Many students who come to us from rich and respectable families quickly lose all interest in material enjoyment and become very eager to enter into spiritual life. Although they come from very wealthy families, many of them accept living conditions that are not very comfortable.

Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

Krsna Book 29:

Although they were depressed by the words of Kṛṣṇa, they did not like to use harsh words against Him. Yet they wanted to rebuke Kṛṣṇa for His unkind words, and therefore they began to speak in faltering voices. They did not like to use harsh words against Kṛṣṇa because He was their dearmost, their heart and soul. The gopīs had only Kṛṣṇa within their hearts. They were completely surrendered and dedicated souls. Naturally, when they heard such unkind words, they tried to reply, but in the attempt torrents of tears fell from their eyes. Finally they managed to speak.

"Kṛṣṇa," they said, “You are very cruel! You should not talk like that. We are full-fledged surrendered souls. Please accept us, and don’t talk in that cruel way. Of course, You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead and can do whatever You like, but it is not worthy of Your position to treat us in such a cruel way. We have come to You, leaving everything behind, just to take shelter of Your lotus feet. We know that You are completely independent and can do whatever You like, but we request You, don’t reject us. We are Your devotees. You should accept us as Lord Nārāyaṇa accepts His devotees. There are many devotees of Lord Nārāyaṇa who worship Him for salvation, and He awards them salvation. Similarly, how can You reject us when we have no shelter other than Your lotus feet?

Krsna Book 29:

Since we have tasted this transcendental enjoyment, we are no longer interested in going to anyone but You for the satisfaction of our lust. Dear Kṛṣṇa, the lotus feet of the goddess of fortune are always worshiped by the demigods. Although she is always resting on Your chest in the Vaikuṇṭha planets, she underwent great austerity and penance to have some shelter at Your lotus feet, which are always covered by tulasī leaves. Your lotus feet are the proper shelter of Your servitors, and the goddess of fortune, instead of abiding on Your chest, comes down and worships Your lotus feet. We have now placed ourselves under the dust of Your feet. Please do not reject us, for we are fully surrendered souls.

“Dear Kṛṣṇa, You are known as Hari. You destroy all the miseries of all living entities, specifically of those who have left their homes and family attachment and have completely taken to You. We have left our homes with the hope that we shall completely devote and dedicate our lives to Your service. We are simply begging to be engaged as Your servants. We do not wish to ask You to accept us as Your wives. Simply accept us as Your maidservants. Since You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead and like to enjoy the parakīya-rasa and are famous as a transcendental woman hunter, we have come to satisfy Your transcendental desires.

Krsna Book 34:

Vidyādhara, awaiting Kṛṣṇa's permission to return to the heavenly planets, said, "Now, because I have been touched by Your lotus feet, I am relieved of all kinds of material pangs. You are the most powerful of all mystics. You are the original Supreme Personality of Godhead. You are the master of all devotees. You are the proprietor of all planetary systems, and therefore I am asking Your permission. You may accept me as fully surrendered unto You. I know very well that persons who are constantly engaged in chanting Your holy name attain release from all sinful reactions, and certainly persons who are fortunate enough to be personally touched by Your lotus feet are freed. Therefore I am sure that I am now relieved of the curse of the brāhmaṇa simply by seeing You and being touched by Your lotus feet."

In this way, Vidyādhara got permission from Lord Kṛṣṇa to return to his home in the higher planetary system. After receiving this permission, he circumambulated the Lord and offered his respectful obeisances unto Him, and then he returned to his heavenly planet. Thus Nanda Mahārāja was relieved of the imminent danger of being devoured by the snake.

Krsna Book 49:

You are the supreme mystic, the Supersoul of the universe. You are the real well-wisher of the whole universe. My dear Govinda, at this time You are far away from me, yet I pray to surrender unto Your lotus feet. I am now grief-stricken with my five fatherless sons. I can fully understand that but for Your lotus feet there is no shelter or protection. Your lotus feet can deliver all aggrieved souls because You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One can be safe from the clutches of repeated birth and death by Your mercy only. My dear Kṛṣṇa, You are the supreme pure one, the Supersoul and the master of all yogīs. What can I say? I can simply offer my respectful obeisances unto You. Accept me as Your fully surrendered devotee.”

Although Kṛṣṇa was not present before her, Kuntī offered her prayers to Him as if she were in His presence face to face. This is possible for anyone following in the footsteps of Kuntī. Kṛṣṇa does not have to be physically present everywhere. He is actually present everywhere by spiritual potency, and one simply has to surrender unto Him sincerely.

Krsna Book 70:

“ "Dear Lord, You are the eternal form of transcendental bliss and knowledge. As such, You are beyond the reach of the mental speculation or vocal description of any materialistic man within this world. A slight portion of Your glories can be known by persons fully surrendered unto Your lotus feet, and, by Your grace only, such persons become freed from all material anxieties. Dear Lord, we are not among these surrendered souls; we are still within the duality and illusion of this material existence. We therefore take shelter of Your lotus feet, for we are afraid of the cycle of birth and death. Dear Lord, we think that there are many living entities like us who are eternally entangled in fruitive activities and their reactions. They are never inclined to follow Your instructions by performing devotional service, although it is pleasing to the heart and most auspicious for one"s existence. On the contrary, they are against the path of Kṛṣṇa conscious life, and they are wandering within the three worlds, impelled by the illusory energy of material existence.

Krsna Book 72:

“My dear Lord, those who are constantly in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and who think of Your lotus feet or Your shoes are certainly freed from all contamination of material life. Such persons, who engage in Your service in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness, who meditate upon You only and offer prayers unto You, are purified souls. Being constantly engaged in Kṛṣṇa conscious service, they are freed from the cycle of repeated birth and death. Or, even if they do not want to be freed from this material existence but desire to enjoy material opulences, their desires are also fulfilled by their Kṛṣṇa conscious activities. In fact, those who are pure devotees of Your lotus feet have no desire for material opulences. As far as we are concerned, we are fully surrendered unto Your lotus feet, and by Your grace we are so fortunate as to see You personally. Therefore, naturally we have no desire for material opulences. The verdict of the Vedic wisdom is that You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I want to establish this fact, and I also want to show the world the difference between accepting You as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and accepting You as an ordinary powerful historical person. I wish to show the world that one can attain the highest perfection of life simply by taking shelter at Your lotus feet, exactly as one can satisfy the branches, twigs, leaves and flowers of an entire tree simply by watering the root. If one takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, his life becomes fulfilled both materially and spiritually.

Krsna Book 73:

After so much distress, when the kings and princes saw Lord Kṛṣṇa, with His beautiful transcendental features, they looked upon Him to their hearts' content, as if drinking nectar through their eyes, licking His body with their tongues, smelling the aroma of His body with their noses and embracing Him with their arms. Just by dint of their being in front of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, all reactions to their sinful activities were washed away. Therefore, without reservation, they surrendered themselves at the lotus feet of the Lord. It is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā that unless one is freed from all sinful reactions, one cannot fully surrender unto the lotus feet of the Lord. All the princes who saw Lord Kṛṣṇa forgot all their past tribulations. With folded hands and with great devotion, they offered prayers to Lord Kṛṣṇa, as follows.

“Dear Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, master of all demigods, You can immediately remove all Your devotees' pangs because Your devotees are fully surrendered unto You.

Krsna Book 80:

“My dear lord, I know that Lord Kṛṣṇa, the husband of the goddess of fortune, is your personal friend. You are also a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and He is always ready to help His devotee. Even if you think that you are not rendering any devotional service to the Lord, still you are surrendered to Him, and the Lord is the protector of the surrendered soul. Moreover, I know that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the ideal personality of Vedic culture. He is always in favor of brahminical culture and is very kind to the qualified brāhmaṇas. You are the most fortunate person because you have as your friend the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Kṛṣṇa is the only shelter for personalities like you because you are fully surrendered unto Him. You are saintly, learned and fully in control of your senses. Under the circumstances, Lord Kṛṣṇa is your only shelter. Please, therefore, go to Him. I am sure that He will immediately understand your impoverished position. You are a householder; therefore without money you are in distress. But as soon as He understands your position, He will certainly give you sufficient riches so that you can live very comfortably. Lord Kṛṣṇa is now the King of the Bhoja, Vṛṣṇi and Andhaka dynasties, and I have heard that He never leaves His capital city, Dvārakā. He is living there without outside engagements.

Krsna Book 81:

Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Supersoul of all living entities, knows everyone's heart very well. He is especially inclined to the brāhmaṇa devotees. Lord Kṛṣṇa is also called brahmaṇya-deva, which means that He is worshiped by the brāhmaṇas. Therefore it is understood that a devotee who is fully surrendered unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead has already acquired the position of a brāhmaṇa. Without becoming a brāhmaṇa, one cannot approach the Supreme Brahman, Lord Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is especially concerned with vanquishing the distress of His devotees, and He is the only shelter of pure devotees.

Lord Kṛṣṇa engaged for a long time in talking with Sudāmā Vipra about their past association. Then, just to enjoy the company of an old friend, Lord Kṛṣṇa began to smile and asked, "My dear friend, what have you brought for Me? Has your wife given you some nice eatable for Me?" While addressing His friend, Lord Kṛṣṇa looked upon him and smiled with great love. He continued: "My dear friend, you must have brought some presentation for Me from your home."

Krsna Book 83:

This nectar coming from the mouth of a devotee is so powerful that if one is fortunate enough to have the opportunity to drink it, he is immediately freed from the continuous journey of birth and death. Our material existence is caused by our forgetfulness of Your personality, but fortunately the darkness of forgetfulness is immediately dissipated if one is privileged to hear about Your glories. Therefore, my dear Lord, where is the possibility of ill fortune for one who is constantly engaged in hearing Your glorious activities?

"Since we are fully surrendered unto You and have no other shelter than Your lotus feet, we are always confident of our good fortune. My dear Lord, You are the ocean of unlimited knowledge and transcendental bliss. The reactions of mental concoctions in the three phases of material life—wakefulness, sleep and deep sleep—cannot exist in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. All such reactions are invalidated by the practice of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. You are the ultimate destination of all liberated persons. Out of Your independent will only, You have descended to this earth by the use of Your own internal potency, yogamāyā, and to reestablish the Vedic principles of life You have appeared just like an ordinary human being. Since You are the Supreme Person, there cannot be any ill luck for one who has fully surrendered unto You."

Krsna Book 85:

“By Your causeless mercy only are we demons in direct contact with Your personality. This contact is not possible even for the great demigods. No one knows how You act through Your yogamāyā potency. Even demigods cannot calculate the expanse of the activities of Your internal potency, so how is it possible for us to know it? I therefore place my humble prayers before You: Please be kind to me, who am fully surrendered unto You, and favor me with Your causeless mercy so that I may simply remember Your lotus feet, birth after birth. My only ambition is that I may live alone just like the paramahaṁsas who travel alone here and there in great peace of mind, depending simply upon Your lotus feet. I also desire that if I have to associate with anyone, I may associate only with Your pure devotees and no one else, for Your pure devotees are always well-wishers of all living entities.

Krsna Book 87:

Similarly, a pious man who is simply eager to know the science of Kṛṣṇa also approaches the Supreme Lord. Out of these four classes of men, the last is praised by Kṛṣṇa Himself in the Bhagavad-gītā. A person who tries to understand Kṛṣṇa with full knowledge and devotion by following in the footsteps of previous ācāryas conversant with scientific knowledge of the Supreme Lord is praiseworthy. Such a devotee can understand that all conditions of life, favorable and unfavorable, are created by the supreme will of the Lord. And when he has fully surrendered unto the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, he does not care whether his condition of life is favorable or unfavorable. A devotee takes even an unfavorable condition to be the special favor of the Personality of Godhead. Actually, there are no unfavorable conditions for a devotee. Knowing that everything is coming by the will of the Lord, he sees every condition as favorable, and in any condition of life he is simply enthusiastic to discharge his devotional service. This devotional attitude is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā: a devotee is never distressed in reverse conditions of life, nor is he overjoyed in favorable conditions. In the higher stages of devotional service, a devotee is not even concerned with the list of do's and do not's. Such a position can be maintained only by following in the footsteps of the ācāryas. Because a pure devotee follows in the footsteps of the ācāryas, any action he performs to discharge devotional service should be understood to be on the transcendental platform. Lord Kṛṣṇa therefore instructs us that an ācārya is above criticism.

Krsna Book 88:

When a devotee is thus put into so-called miserable conditions and bereft of riches and family, he tries to revive his original position of material opulence. But although he tries again and again, Kṛṣṇa again and again takes away all his resources. Thus he finally becomes disappointed in material activities, and in that stage of frustration in all endeavors, he can fully surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such persons are advised by the Lord from within to associate with devotees. By associating with devotees they naturally become inclined to render service to the Personality of Godhead, and they immediately get all facilities from the Lord to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The nondevotees, however, are very careful about preserving their material condition of life. Generally, therefore, such nondevotees do not come to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but worship Lord Śiva or other demigods for immediate material profit. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, therefore, kāṅkṣantaḥ karmaṇāṁ siddhiṁ yajanta iha devatāḥ: "The karmīs, in order to achieve success within this material world, worship the various demigods." It is also stated by Lord Kṛṣṇa that those who worship the demigods are not mature in their intelligence. The devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, therefore, because of their strong attachment for Him, do not foolishly go to the demigods.

Renunciation Through Wisdom

Renunciation Through Wisdom 4.2:

During Lord Caitanya's tour of South India, when He entered the premises of the Śrī Raṅganātha temple, He came upon a simple brāhmaṇa engrossed in reading the Bhagavad-gītā. The Lord was overjoyed to see how attentively the brāhmaṇa was reading, and how tears were streaming down his cheeks. Other brāhmaṇas sitting nearby knew that he was illiterate, and so they wondered how he could possibly read the Gītā.

Lord Caitanya easily solved this problem. He said that even an uneducated person can understand transcendental words if he is a fully surrendered soul. But without that mood of surrender, Bhagavad-gītā remains incomprehensible.

When Lord Caitanya saw the brāhmaṇa in tears, He asked him what part of the Gītā moved him to cry. With proper Vaiṣṇava humility, the brāhmaṇa answered,

I am merely pretending to read the Gītā; in truth I am illiterate. But my guru instructed me to regularly read the entire Bhagavad-gītā, though I am unlettered. Not wanting to disobey my guru, I try to execute my duty, and so I make a show of reading the Gītā.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 5.1:

The six divisions of surrender are the acceptance of those things favorable to devotional service, the rejection of unfavorable things, the conviction that Kṛṣṇa will give protection, the acceptance of the Lord as one's guardian or master, full surrender, and humility.

The relationship between the Supreme Lord and His surrendered devotee is very intimate. Everything about the devotee is known to the Lord. The devotee has no separate interest that would involve him in speculative knowledge, fruitive activities, sense pleasures, lamentation, meditation, and so on. He simply engages full-time in serving the Supreme Lord. His consciousness becomes purified of all contamination, and the fire of conditioned life is put out. Duality and illusion is eradicated from his heart, his devotion to Lord Kṛṣṇa becomes single-minded, and He throws himself at the Lord's lotus feet, feeling like a sold-out animal. At this stage the Supreme Lord Himself imparts all spiritual knowledge, or buddhi-yoga, to the devotee so that he can attain Him:

Renunciation Through Wisdom 5.1:

When the Supreme Lord has agreed to personally take responsibility for our protection, what is there to fear? When He who is omnipotent and the maintainer of the entire cosmic creation is willing to take charge of our life, then what objection can we have to surrendering to Him? If I am guaranteed the protection of the Supreme Personality, who creates, maintains, and destroys this limitless cosmic manifestation simply by His will, then what is left for me to desire? If we try in the proper way to realize the Supreme Lord's potencies, He will certainly reveal them to us as they are. How much can we accomplish with our puny physical and mental abilities? Real success in yoga comes only by fully surrendering to His lotus feet.

However, since it is not possible to attain such a mood of complete surrender in a moment, we should also not expect the Lord's mercy to manifest before us instantaneously. Although the Lord, and sometimes even His devotees, perform miracles, still we must not expect such extraordinary things to happen to us. Of course, it is certain that the degree of mercy the Lord bestows upon us is much greater than our degree of surrender to Him. Another danger is this: If we were to receive all His mercy at once, we would become corrupt and fallen, like many yogīs who attain mystic perfection. Better that we continue to perform our duties in a regulated way, with patience and enthusiasm; then undoubtedly we will receive the Lord's full mercy.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 5.1:

When this happens, people aspire for show-bottle religiosity, material gain, sense enjoyment, and impersonal liberation. On the other hand, sincere observance of the scriptural injunctions leads to all-round success in life.

It is not enough to take only the first steps toward liberation. We must strive to reach the final goal within this very life-time. To achieve this end, it is imperative that we approach a spiritual master well-versed in the Vedas and take instruction from him on how to follow the scriptural rules. These rules are meant for the conditioned souls, not the liberated souls who are fully surrendered to the Lord's lotus feet; they have transcended the rules and regulations of the scriptures and can be called paramahaṁsas—self-realized pure devotees.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 5.1:

The Lord is present in everyone's heart by His inconceivable spiritual potency. He also directs the movements of the jīvas by means of His material energy, consisting of the three modes of nature. After placing the jīvas in a material body, the Lord controls their wanderings. The intelligence of those jīvas who surrender to the Lord is fixed in devotional service, and so they are never again attracted to mundane activities. Transcending the three modes, they dispassionately observe all activities within the realm of the three modes.

In the early stages of devotional service one may be apprehensive because of reactions to sins and pious deeds. All this is due to previous habits. But if one fully surrenders to the Supreme Lord, the Lord Himself burns to ashes all reactions to pious and impious deeds. As stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.7.42):

yeṣāṁ sa eṣa bhagavān dayayed anantaḥ
sarvātmanāśrita-pado yadi nirvyalīkam
te dustarām atitaranti ca deva-māyāṁ
naiṣāṁ mamāham iti dhīḥ śva-śṛgāla-bhakṣye

But anyone who is specifically favored by the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, due to unalloyed surrender unto the service of the Lord, can overcome the insurmountable ocean of illusion and can understand the Lord. But those who are attached to this body, which is meant to be eaten at the end by dogs and jackals, cannot do so.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 5.1:

My Lord, if one is favored by even a slight trace of the mercy of Your lotus feet, he can understand the greatness of Your personality. But those who speculate to understand the Personality of Godhead are unable to know You, even though they continue to study the Vedas for many years.

For the fully surrendered pure devotee, not only is he himself transcendentally situated, but he sees this material nature as untainted by the three material modes. He then employs the material guṇas—the qualities of ignorance, passion, and goodness—in the Lord's service. For example, he uses his anger to chastise the enemies of the Lord's devotees.

Lord Kṛṣṇa makes the following statement in the Bhagavad-gītā (14.26):

māṁ ca yo 'vyabhicāreṇa
bhakti-yogena sevate
sa guṇān samatītyaitān
brahma-bhūyāya kalpate
(BG 14.26)

One who engages in full devotional service, unfailing in all circumstances, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 5.1:

To achieve such a state of surrender, one has to be free from selfish desires, unaffected by dualities, and devoid of all false prestige. Dualities are born of false ego, the worst enemy of surrender. One who transcends false ego, and with it the effects of duality, is very easily freed from material desires, and then he vanquishes hate, greed, anger, fear, and so on. In the stage of full surrender to the Lord, even negative qualities like mundane desire and envy, along with dualities like hunger and thirst, heat and cold, joy and sorrow, loss and gain, sin and piety, and honor and dishonor, are converted into spiritual energy by being brought into contact with the Supreme Lord. Saintly, blissful personalities who are devoid of undesirable characteristics like lust and envy are found especially in India. One can conquer duality, illusion, and so on only by spiritual elevation to the state of directly perceiving the Supreme Lord and seeing everything in relation to Him. The only method of achieving this state of consciousness is buddhi-yoga.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 5.1:

Bhakti-yoga can be divided into three stages: 1) to take the first step toward complete surrender by accepting things favorable to the execution of devotional service; 2) to serve the Supreme Lord after realizing one's true nature; 3) to become situated on the elevated stage, in which one sees the Supreme Lord in everything and everything in the Supreme Lord. In this way, initial faith increases and leads to full surrender to the Lord.

Once a person resolves to accept only those things conducive to devotional service, the Lord's internal potency helps him reach goal. Our sole duty is to constantly remember the Lord and pray for His sanction in everything. The instructions we receive from a spiritual master firmly situated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness help us properly engage in the devotional processes of hearing, chanting, and constant remembrance of the Lord. If we are inspired by our remembrance of the Lord and by His will, then we will never be misdirected. We will not be intimidated by the horrible hallucinations of this illusory material energy. By following the spiritual master's orders with single-minded determination, we will remain undeterred in executing the Lord's service and will make quick progress.

Message of Godhead

Message of Godhead 2:

Such foolish mundaners actually envy Śrī Kṛṣṇa and deride Him as one who is like other mundaners. The truth about Śrī Kṛṣṇa does not easily enter into the perverted brain of such mundaners infected with the empiric approach to philosophy. But a devoted person faithfully understands just what is actually stated in the pages of Bhagavad-gītā and does not resort to imagination, or the empiric philosophical approach, generally called "spiritual interpretation." Only such a devoted person can accept the logic of fully surrendering unto Kṛṣṇa and can thus adopt the process of karma-yoga to escape the dangerous bondage of work.

There is nothing in the codes of Śrī Kṛṣṇa to stipulate that these devoted persons will make their appearance within the boundaries of a particular caste, creed, color, or country. These devoted persons can and do appear everywhere, without any restriction of caste, creed, color, or country. So everyone, whatever and whoever he may be, is eligible to be a devotee of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. To confirm this fact, in Bhagavad-gītā the Personality of Godhead says the following words: "O son of Pṛthā, even those who are faithless and are of lower birth—including fallen women or professional prostitutes, ignorant manual laborers, and the merchant class—all shall attain perfection and reach the Kingdom of God, if they actually take shelter of the devotional service of the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa."

Sri Isopanisad

Sri Isopanisad 13, Purport:

At the present moment there are many interpreters and translators of this sublime dialogue who care nothing for Lord Kṛṣṇa or Arjuna. Such interpreters explain the verses of the Bhagavad-gītā in their own way and postulate all sorts of rubbish in the name of the Gītā. Such interpreters believe neither in Śrī Kṛṣṇa nor in His eternal abode. How, then, can they explain the Bhagavad-gītā?

Kṛṣṇa clearly says that only those who have lost their sense worship the demigods for paltry rewards (Bg. 7.20, 23). Ultimately He advises that one give up all other ways and modes of worship and fully surrender unto Him alone (BG 18.66). Only those who are cleansed of all sinful reactions can have such unflinching faith in the Supreme Lord. Others will continue hovering on the material platform with their paltry ways of worship and thus will be misled from the real path under the false impression that all paths lead to the same goal.

Sri Isopanisad 18, Purport:

"The Lord is so kind to the devotee who is fully surrendered to His lotus feet that even though the devotee sometimes falls into the entanglement of vikarma-acts against the Vedic directions—the Lord at once rectifies such mistakes from within his heart. This is because the devotees are very dear to the Lord."

In this mantra of Śrī Īśopaniṣad, the devotee prays to the Lord to rectify him from within his heart. To err is human. A conditioned soul is very often apt to commit mistakes, and the only remedial measure to take against such unintentional sins is to give oneself up to the lotus feet of the Lord so that He may guide one to avoid such pitfalls. The Lord takes charge of fully surrendered souls; thus all problems are solved simply by surrendering oneself unto the Lord and acting in terms of His directions. Such directions are given to the sincere devotee in two ways: one is by way of the saints, scriptures and spiritual master, and the other is by way of the Lord Himself, who resides within the heart of everyone. Thus the devotee, fully enlightened with Vedic knowledge, is protected in all respects.

Mukunda-mala-stotra (mantras 1 to 6 only)

Mukunda-mala-stotra mantra 4, Purport:

King Kulaśekhara is a pure devotee, and as such he is not eager to improve himself by the standards of the empiric philosophers, distressed men, or fruitive workers of this world. Pious acts may lead a mundane creature toward the path of spiritual realization, but practical activity in the domain of devotional service to the Lord need not wait for the reactions of pious acts. A pure devotee does not think in terms of his personal gain or loss because he is fully surrendered to the Lord. He is concerned only with the service of the Lord and always engages in that service, and for this reason his heart is the Lord's home. The Lord being absolute, there is no difference between Him and His service. A pure devotee's heart is always filled with ideas about executing the Lord's service, which is bestowed upon the pure devotee through the transparent medium of the spiritual master.

Narada-bhakti-sutra (sutras 1 to 8 only)

Narada Bhakti Sutra 2, Purport:

The first requirement is that one should have sufficient faith that the only process for attaining love of Godhead is bhakti, devotional service to the Lord. Throughout the Bhagavad-gītā Lord Kṛṣṇa teaches that one should give up all other processes of self-realization and fully surrender unto Him. That is faith. One who has full faith in Kṛṣṇa (śraddhā) and surrenders unto Him is eligible for being raised to the level of prema, which Lord Caitanya taught as the highest perfectional stage of human life.

Some persons are addicted to materially motivated religion, while others are addicted to economic development, sense gratification, or the idea of salvation from material existence. But prema, love of God, is above all these. This highest stage of love is above mundane religiosity, above economic development, above sense gratification, and above even liberation, or salvation. Thus love of God begins with the firm faith that one who engages in full devotional service has attained perfection in all these processes.

Page Title:Fully surrendered (CC & Other Books)
Compiler:Mayapur, RupaManjari
Created:06 of Oct, 2011
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=0, CC=26, OB=31, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:57