Category:Devotional Service

2

• Bhakti or devotional service
• Creeper of devotional service
• If one is not particularly careful, even by watering the plant of devotional service, unnecessary weeds will grow and hamper progress
• Devotional service, bhakti, is not inactivity
• Plant of devotional service

A

• A Vaisnava is always firmly situated in transcendental bliss because of engagement in devotional service
• A devotee is callous to all subjects other than his engagement in devotional service. This mode of life is the highest perfectional stage
• A devotee is inspired by the Supersoul within the heart to advance in devotional service in a variety of ways. The devotee does not feel hackneyed or stereotyped, nor does he feel that he is in a stagnant position
• A devotee should see to the right discharge of devotional service under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master and should not stick only to the formalities
• A little devotional service rendered sincerely is a permanent asset
• A madhyama-adhikari is a sraddhavan, a staunchly faithful person, and he is actually a candidate for further advancement in devotional service
• A man in devotional service is automatically nonviolent. He is the best of gentlemen
• A person on the path of devotional service may inquire from his spiritual master all about the spiritual position of God and the living beings
• A person who accepts the path of devotional service is not bereft of the results derived from studying the Vedas, performing sacrifices, undergoing austerities, giving charity or pursuing philosophical and fruitive activities
• A person who is constantly engaged in reading literature enunciating the cultivation of Vaisnava devotional service is always glorious in human society, and certainly Lord Krsna becomes pleased with him
• A preacher-devotee is meant to show mercy to innocent persons, whom he can elevate to devotional service. Everyone, by constitutional position, is an eternal servant of God
• A pure devotee is not envious, hateful, or lazy in the discharge of devotional service. Confident of his advancement, he continually performs his prescribed devotional duties
• A pure devotee receives knowledge of the Divinity from the right source - the disciplic succession of realized souls who have followed strictly the disciplinary method of devotional service under the guidance of bona fide spiritual masters
• A small quantity of devotional service can save one from the most dangerous position
• A student of Krsna consciousness must receive Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's mercy; then his devotional service will quickly succeed
• Absorbed in devotional service
• According to Srila Rupa Gosvami, there are six impediments to the discharge of devotional service, and also six activities favorable to progress in devotional service. The first impediment is atyahara, overeating or accumulating more wealth than we need
• Actual devotional service continues even after liberation. When the devotee goes to the spiritual planet in the kingdom of God, he is also engaged there in serving the Supreme Lord. He does not try to become one with the Supreme Lord
• Adoption of devotional service for material gain is certainly an obstruction to the progressive path of renunciation
• Advaita Acarya saw the entire world to be engaged in activities of material piety and impiety, without a trace of devotional service, or Krsna consciousness, anywhere
• Advance in devotional service
• Advanced in devotional service
• Advancement in devotional service
• Advancement of devotional service means...
• After Brahman realization, when a liberated soul comes in contact with a pure devotee of Lord Krsna and submissively accepts the teachings of Lord Krsna without misinterpretation, he becomes situated in this neutral stage of devotional service
• After initiation, when one follows the regulative principles of devotional service, one becomes freed from all unwanted things. In this way one becomes firmly fixed and gradually develops a taste for devotional service
• After the elimination of all sins or obstacles on the path of devotional service, one can become attracted, one can have steadiness, one can have perfect taste, one can have transcendental emotions, and one can be situated in loving service of the Lord
• All confidential knowledge culminates in devotional service. Generally, people are not educated in this confidential knowledge; they are educated in external knowledge
• All our processes of seeing the Deity, taking caranamrta, playing instruments, taking prasadam all go to the credit of devotional service
• All the Gosvamis of Vrndavana were bona fide spiritual masters situated on the highest platform of devotional service, and for that reason they were called gosvamis
• All the scriptures recommend that it is by pleasing the spiritual master and serving him directly that one can attain the highest perfectional stage of devotional service
• Almost everything going on in this world as religion is devoid of any idea of devotional service and is therefore condemned by the verdict of Srimad-Bhagavatam
• Along with the reading of Vedic literature (svadhyaya), one must engage in devotional worship of the Deity (arcana-vidhi). Together these will enhance the devotee's transcendental understanding of devotional service
• Although Deity worship is not essential, the material conditioning of most candidates for devotional service requires that they engage in this activity
• Although an enemy of a devotee may be very strong, he is compared to an angry serpent before the fire of devotional service
• Although many types of philosophers and transcendentalists believe that one who lacks knowledge cannot be liberated from material entanglement, there is no possibility that knowledge without devotional service can award liberation
• Although the mind may be engrossed in fruitive activities and influenced by ignorance, one must develop a love for devotional service to Vasudeva. Only then can one have the opportunity to get out of the bondage of material existence
• Although the rituals of religion are confidential, meditation and cultivation of knowledge are still more confidential. And surrender unto Krsna in devotional service in full Krsna consciousness is the most confidential instruction
• Among many thousands of men, one may endeavor for perfection, and even among the siddhas, those who have already become perfect, only one who adopts the process of bhakti, devotional service, can understand Krsna
• An apparently pitiable condition in devotional service may appear distressing to the inexperienced student, but the feelings of the devotee in this pitiable condition are considered to be ecstatic by expert devotees
• An example of the neophyte class is Maharaja Dhruva. He was in need of his father's kingdom and therefore engaged himself in devotional service to the Lord
• An extreme longing for Lord Krsna is the only means for attaining Him. Thus intense, unflinching devotional service is another symptom of a mahatma
• And one should also not be very enthusiastic about constructing new temples, nor should one be enthusiastic about reading various types of books, save and except the ones which lead to the advancement of devotional service
• Any process of self-realization or God realization other than bhakti-yoga, or devotional service, is extremely difficult
• Any process you accept, rejecting devotional service, the result will be that there is no profit. You simply labor for nothing, as much as to beat the husk, you'll never get the rice, you will simply be tiresome, that's all
• Any system which leads one to the devotional service of the Lord, and nothing else, is actually religion or philosophy
• Anyone can become successful in devotional service provided he displays no duplicity
• Anyone who has any desire or aspiration for satisfying his senses by becoming more and more important, either in the material sense or in the spiritual sense, cannot actually relish the really sweet taste of devotional service
• Anyone who practices yoga and comes to the point of devotional service can attain the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His transcendental abode
• As a creeper takes shelter of another, stronger tree, similarly the creeper of devotional service, nourished by the devotee, takes shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord and thus becomes fixed
• As far as the development of faith is concerned, one who is well versed in the literatures of devotional service and has attained the stage of firm faith is called a first-class person in Krsna consciousness
• As for atonement, if one has caught even a slight glimpse of devotional service, all needs to undergo prayascitta, atonement, are superseded
• As long as one is not compassionate to people in general in his devotional service to the Lord, he is a third-class devotee
• As stated in Bhagavad-gita, only by devotional service can one understand the transcendental nature of the Supreme Lord and, after understanding Him perfectly in His transcendental position, enter into the kingdom of God
• As the Supreme Father, the Lord, however, does not supply to a pure devotee what is considered to be a barrier to the discharge of devotional service
• As the senses are progressively purified by bona fide devotional service, the Lord reveals His identity according to the spiritual advancement of the devotee
• As we sincerely try to improve our chanting for the pleasure of Krishna, Krishna reciprocates and we feel our greatest pleasure which is devotional service to the Lord. So, you may continue with this method, it is very nice and approved by me
• As will be explained in this book by the greatest authority, Srila Sukadeva Gosvami, there is no religion save and except the devotional service of the Lord, though this may be presented in different forms
• Aspiring by oneself alone to achieve devotional service is also not very hopeful, because Krsna does not agree to award devotional service to merely anyone

A cont.

• Association with nondevotees is condemned because it is a formidable enemy on the path of devotional service
• Authority in devotional service
• Authorized codes for transcendental devotional service

B

• Bali Maharaja has become the most famous among the demons and nonbelievers, for in spite of being bereft of all material opulences, he is fixed in his devotional service
• Because of devotional service
• Because of his (the devotee's) intense devotional service, his ignorance, material consciousness and all kinds of material desires are completely burnt to ashes
• Because of his regular discharge of devotional service, a devotee attains the transcendental stage of life
• Because of the devotional service of these two persons (Advaita Acarya and Haridasa Thakura), Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu descended as an incarnation. Thus He preached the holy name of the Lord and ecstatic love of Krsna to deliver the entire world
• Because of the force of materialistic life, to maintain self-control is extremely difficult unless one is specifically under the protection of the Supreme Personality of Godhead through devotional service
• Because the root of sinful desire is not destroyed in the heart of a person who is cultivating knowledge but who has no taste for devotional service, there is a possibility that his sinful desires will reappear
• Beginning of devotional service
• Being engaged in Krsna consciousness, one can immediately understand one's spiritual identity, and then one can understand the Supreme Lord by means of devotional service
• 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
• Bhagavatam is to be understood by devotional service, and not by academic commentaries
• Bhakti, devotional service, dissolves the subtle body of the living entity without separate effort, just as fire in the stomach digests all that we eat
• Bhakti-marga, devotional service means purifying the senses
• Bhaktivinode Thakura sung, praying to the Lord, that he would prefer to take His birth as an ant in the house of a devotee than to take birth as powerful as Brahma without any devotional service
• Both the father and the mother of Gopala Bhatta Gosvami were extremely fortunate, for they dedicated their entire lives to the service of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu
• By advancement in the association of the devotee one is placed in devotional service, and this service dispels all one's misgivings about Krsna, or God, and Krsna's activities, form, pastimes, name and other features
• By attaining the highest platform of devotional service, as I have explained, one can overcome the influence of the three modes of material nature and be situated in the transcendental stage, as is the Lord
• By chanting without offenses, the devotee cries to Radharani and Krsna to please lift him out of the material energy and put him into the spiritual energy, which is devotional service
• By culturing devotional service, the devotee gradually comes to understand his actual relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This understanding of one's pure spiritual position is called svarupopalabdhi
• By devotional service only does one's heart become completely purified from all material coverings like karma, jnana and yoga
• By dint of devotional service
• By executing regulative devotional service, one becomes an associate of Narayana and attains the Vaikunthalokas, the spiritual planets in the spiritual sky
• By following these six principles, one is sure to achieve the desired result of devotional service
• By mixing with undesirable persons, or jana-sanga, one becomes tainted with lust and greed and falls down from the path of devotional service
• By performance of Vedic rituals, discussion of the Vedic philosophy and worship of the Lord in devotional service, He is attained
• By performing sacrifices and pious activities one can achieve sense gratification in a higher planetary system, but the devotional service of the Lord is so rare that even by executing hundreds and thousands of such sacrifices one cannot obtain it
• By studying Vedanta-sutra, by becoming a very great scholar, to achieve transcendental position of devotional service is very, very difficult

C

• Called devotional service
• Causeless devotional service
• Complete confidence in the path of devotional service will enable one to attain his desired goal, but attempting to follow other paths will only succeed in making one restless
• Considering the position of devotional service and the sankirtana movement, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu deemed the system of varnasrama-dharma to be material, although it aims at elevation to the spiritual platform
• Control the mind and train oneself to be situated in faithful devotional service
• Cult of devotional service
• Cultivation of spirituality does not mean sitting down idly for meditation, as some pseudo-yogis teach. Such idle meditation may be good for those who have no information of devotional service
• Culture of devotional service

D

• Development of devotional service
• Devoid of devotional service
• Devotee should externally execute his routine devotional service in a regular way but should always inwardly think of the particular mellow in which he is attracted to the service of the Lord
• Devotees are not interested in speculative knowledge. Therefore, the Sankhya enunciated by Kapila Muni is meant to establish one firmly in devotional service
• Devotees of Krsna can be classified into two groups: those who are cultivating devotional service in order to enter into the transcendental kingdom and those who are already in the perfectional stage of devotional service
• Devotees should preach the gospel of devotional service and thus engage people in practical service to the Deity
• Devotees who awaken their transcendental nature in the presence of the Lord and who follow the rules and regulations of devotional service can understand Lord Krsna, Lord Ramacandra and other incarnations
• Devotional service and ordinary work, they look almost equal
• Devotional service and religious principles
• Devotional service and the guidance of a pure devotee are so strong that there is no discrimination between the lower and higher classes of men; anyone can take to it
• Devotional service automatically reveals actual knowledge of our material existence
• Devotional service entails being initiated by a bona fide spiritual master and following his instruction in regard to hearing about the Lord. Such a bona fide spiritual master is accepted by regularly hearing from him about the Lord
• Devotional service in Krsna consciousness
• Devotional service in Krsna consciousness cannot be performed blindly due to material emotion or mental concoction. It is specifically mentioned here that one has to perform devotional service in full knowledge by visualizing the Absolute Truth
• Devotional service in friendship can be divided into two categories: the first is to act as the confidential servant of the Lord, and the other is to act as the well-wisher of the Lord
• Devotional service in the association of devotees is the cause of the development of further devotional service
• Devotional service is dynamic activity, and the expert devotees can find out competent means to inject it into the dull brains of the materialistic population
• Devotional service is not
• Devotional service is not a matter of sentimental speculation or imaginative ecstasy. Its substance is practical activity
• Devotional service is not sentiment
• Devotional service is so important that even a little attempt can raise one to the highest perfectional platform
• Devotional service is so powerful that it cannot be stopped in any circumstance. There are histories of many great devotees, like Prahlada Maharaja
• Devotional service is the path of vairagya-vidya
• Devotional service itself is so powerful that by one's service attitude, everything is revealed
• Devotional service means engaging the spiritual body and spiritual senses in the service of the Lord. When we are engaged in such activities, the actions and reactions of the gross and subtle bodies cease
• Devotional service means mukti, freedom from material entanglement, but pious and impious activities result in entanglement within this material world
• Devotional service means to apply one's energy in the service of Krishna. That is the instruction of the Bhagavad-gita. You know that all our girl disciples are applying their energy in the service of Krishna

D cont.

• Devotional service means...
• Devotional service mixed with knowledge
• Devotional service must be without any material ambition and there is no material impediment which can check advancement in devotional service
• Devotional service must be without ulterior motives; then material conditions cannot check it
• Devotional service not only puts an end to all nonsensical mundane activities, but also engages one in meaningful devotional activities
• Devotional service on this highest, most excellent platform of lover and beloved, which had never been given by any previous incarnation or acarya, was given by Caitanya Mahaprabhu
• Devotional service to the Lord and the Lord Himself are one and the same because they are spiritual; devotional service takes place within the internal energy of the Supreme Lord
• Devotional service to the Lord entails service to the Supersoul. One process is to find the root of the tree, and the other is to water the root. The real student of Sankhya philosophy finds the root of the material world, Visnu
• Devotional service to the Lord is not an activity of this material world; it is part of the spiritual world, where eternity, bliss and knowledge predominate
• Devotional service to the Lord is rendered by all limbs or parts of the body. It is the transcendental dynamic force of the spirit soul; therefore a devotee is engaged one hundred percent in the service of the Lord
• Devotional service to the Lord is so powerful that it can cleanse the hearts of the people in general by the devotional service of the pure, empowered devotee
• Devotional service to the Lord is the only method of cleansing the heart for good
• Devotional service to the Lord is the ultimate issue, and therefore those who are directly engaged in the devotional service of the Lord not only acquire the necessary knowledge in spiritual science, but also attain detachment from material connection
• Devotional service to the Lord never goes in vain
• Devotional service to the Supreme Lord means...
• Devotional service unto the Lord is the highest attainment for anyone desiring liberation from the tribulations of material existence
• Devotional service which is based on the foreground of full knowledge combined with detachment from material association, and which is fixed by dint of the aural reception of the Vedanta-sruti, is the only perfect method
• Devotional service which is rendered by the devotee in this lifetime can never be destroyed by time. Such spiritual assets remain unchanged, being beyond the influence of time
• Devotional service, or sense activity for the satisfaction of the Lord, is called abhidheya because it can develop one's original love of Godhead, which is the goal of life
• Devotional service, therefore, is the culmination of the culture of all knowledge
• Devotional service, which begins with chanting of the holy name of the Lord, is so powerful that even if one falls down from the exalted position of a brahmana through sexual indulgence, he can be saved from all calamities if he somehow or other chants
• Devotional service, which leads to the association of the Supreme Lord, is actual immortality
• Direct devotional service is divided into five transcendental humors or flavors, and indirect devotional service is divided into seven transcendental humors
• Domain of devotional service
• Dry renunciation is forbidden by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and we have also learned this from our spiritual master. The essence of devotional service must be taken into consideration, and not the outward paraphernalia
• Due to his stringent execution of devotional service, Maharaja Bharata could remember the activities of his past life and how he was raised to the spiritual platform

E

• Endowed with right vision and strengthened by devotional service and a pessimistic attitude towards material identity, one should relegate his body to this illusory world through his reason
• Engagement in Krsna consciousness and application of devotional service unto Krsna make it possible to advance in knowledge and detachment, as well as in self-realization
• Eternal sensory activities are called devotional service, whereas temporary sensory activities are called sense gratification
• Even if a devotee of the Lord has not yet reached the perfectional stage of love of Godhead, his devotional service is considered immortal
• Even if one completes only a minute percentage of devotional service and then falls down from his immature position, he is better than a person who fully engages in the fruitive activities of this material world
• Even such exalted persons as Lord Brahma, who are fully conversant with the Vedic literature, are sometimes bewildered in following the principles of devotional service
• Even the animals may be included in devotional service to the Lord, and the best example is set by Sri Vajrangaji, or Hanuman, the great devotee of Lord Sri Rama
• Even the papa-yonayayah, if he takes to devotional service, he also goes back to Home, Back-to-Godhead. This conception of caste on the basis of birthright has killed the Vedic culture
• Even though one is very much advanced in devotional service, if he commits offenses at the feet of a Vaisnava, his advancement is all spoiled
• Every human being should beget nice children in the womb of his wife, as a sacrifice for the purpose of worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead in devotional service
• Every intelligent man should purify his consciousness and rid himself of the above-mentioned six hindrances to devotional service by taking wholehearted shelter of this Krsna consciousness movement
• Everyone is trying to become happy himself. Just... Bhakti-marga, or the path of devotional service, is just the opposite, to see how much Krsna is prita-mana, satisfied
• Execution of devotional service is independent, completely. It has nothing to do with material condition
• Expert devotees can find out competent means to inject devotional service into the dull brains of the materialistic population
• Expert devotional service is performed without hypocrisy
• Expert in devotional service

F

• First-class devotional service
• Flow of devotional service
• Foolish people think that devotional service is flattering the Lord to get special mercy. Factually the pure devotees who are engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord are not a mercantile community
• For every individual living entity the process of Krsna consciousness, which entails full engagement in devotional service, is the best way. If one wants to ignore this devotional service, there is the danger of turning to atheism
• For the beginners in devotional service to the Lord, temple worship is essential
• For the neophytes the routine of devotional service may be very painful, but at least they have the hope that they will ultimately be able to avoid all kinds of distresses and achieve the highest perfectional stage of happiness
• For the word sadhana-bhakti there is only one meaning, the execution of devotional service according to regulative principles
• From the instructions of Lord Caitanya to Sanatana Gosvami we can understand the science of God as it relates to God's transcendental form, His opulences, and His devotional service
• From the very beginning, a boy must be trained to perform devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead
• Fruit of devotional service
• Full devotional service

G

• Generally the great acaryas who preach devotional service all over the world belong to the category of sakhyam atma-nivedanam. A neophyte devotee cannot actually become a preacher
• Guru-krsna-prasade: by the mercy of the spiritual master and Krsna, one attains the path of salvation, devotional service

H

• He (Hamsavatara) also explained unto you (Narada), lucidly, the full science of devotional service, which is especially understandable by persons who are souls surrendered unto Lord Vasudeva, the Personality of Godhead
• He (Maharaja Ambarisa) engaged all his senses in devotional service, in various engagements related to the Lord. This is the way to increase attachment for the Lord and be completely free from all material desires
• He (the serious practitioner of devotional service) does not deride another's mode of religion or worship, nor does he deride the Personality of Godhead or His devotees
• He who faithfully hears about the dealings between Lord Krsna and the gopis in the rasa dance and he who describes these activities attain to the perfectional stage of devotional service and simultaneously lose material, lusty desires
• Higher devotional service means...
• Hrd-rogam kamam, this is a heart disease, to be lusty. But if anyone hears about the pastimes of Krsna and the gopis, through right source, then this hrd-rogam, this lusty desire in the heart, is suppressed and he will develop devotional service

I

• I (Pracinabarhi) now can understand the distinction between devotional service, knowledge and renunciation. I had some doubts about them, but you (Narada) have now very kindly dissipated all these doubts
• I am very glad you decided to marry and I quite approve of it. My married couple disciples are doing very nice service to Krishna Consciousness in Hawaii, Japan, London, Los Angeles, Boston, New York, etc

A

• [+] Activities in Devotional Service (34)

B

• [+] Bhajana-kriya (3)

B cont.

• [+] Bhakti (125)
• [+] Bhakti-yoga (115)

D

• [+] Devotional Service to Krsna (66)

E

• [+] Engaged in Devotional Service (117)
• [+] Executing Devotional Service (32)

H

• [+] Holy Names of God (168)