View source for Devotional service not only puts an end to all nonsensical mundane activities, but also engages one in meaningful devotional activities

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[[Category:Devotional Service to God Puts an End to All Nonsensical Mundane Activities]]
[[Category:Devotional Service to God Engages One in Meaningful Devotional Activities]]
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[[Category:Nonsense Actions]]
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[[Category:Meaningful]]
[[Category:Devotional Activities]]
[[Category:The Nectar of Instruction - Text 03]]
[[Category:The Nectar of Instruction Texts 01 to 11]]
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<div id="Other_Books_by_Srila_Prabhupada" class="section" sec_index="3" parent="compilation" text="Other Books by Srila Prabhupada"><h2>Other Books by Srila Prabhupada</h2>
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<div id="Nectar_of_Instruction" class="sub_section" sec_index="2" parent="Other_Books_by_Srila_Prabhupada" text="Nectar of Instruction"><h3>Nectar of Instruction</h3>
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<div id="NOI3_0" class="quote" parent="Nectar_of_Instruction" book="OB" index="4" link="NOI 3" link_text="Nectar of Instruction 3">
<div class="heading">Bhakti is a sort of cultivation. As soon as we say "cultivation," we must refer to activity. Cultivation of spirituality does not mean sitting down idly for meditation, as some pseudo-yogīs teach. Such idle meditation may be good for those who have no information of devotional service, and for this reason it is sometimes recommended as a way to check distracting materialistic activities. Meditation means stopping all nonsensical activities, at least for the time being. Devotional service, however, not only puts an end to all nonsensical mundane activities, but also engages one in meaningful devotional activities.
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<span class="link">[[Vanisource:NOI 3|Nectar of Instruction 3, Translation and Purport]]: </span><div style="display: inline;" class="trans text"><p style="display: inline;">There are six principles favorable to the execution of pure devotional service: (1) being enthusiastic, (2) endeavoring with confidence, (3) being patient, (4) acting according to regulative principles [such as śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇam [SB 7.5.23]—hearing, chanting and remembering Kṛṣṇa], (5) abandoning the association of nondevotees, and (6) following in the footsteps of the previous ācāryas. These six principles undoubtedly assure the complete success of pure devotional service.</p>
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<div class="purport text"><p>Devotional service is not a matter of sentimental speculation or imaginative ecstasy. Its substance is practical activity. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, in his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.1.11), has defined devotional service as follows:</p>
:anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ
:jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam
:ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-
:śīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā
:([[Vanisource:CC Madhya 19.167|CC Madhya 19.167]])
<p>"Uttamā bhakti, or unalloyed devotion unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, involves the rendering of devotional service in a way that is favorable to the Lord. This devotional service should be free from any extraneous motive and devoid of fruitive karma, impersonal jñāna and all other selfish desires."</p>
<p>Bhakti is a sort of cultivation. As soon as we say "cultivation," we must refer to activity. Cultivation of spirituality does not mean sitting down idly for meditation, as some pseudo-yogīs teach. Such idle meditation may be good for those who have no information of devotional service, and for this reason it is sometimes recommended as a way to check distracting materialistic activities. Meditation means stopping all nonsensical activities, at least for the time being. Devotional service, however, not only puts an end to all nonsensical mundane activities, but also engages one in meaningful devotional activities. Śrī Prahlāda Mahārāja recommends:</p>
:śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ
:smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam
:arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ
:sakhyam ātma-nivedanam
:([[Vanisource:SB 7.5.23-24|SB 7.5.23]])
<p>The nine processes of devotional service are as follows:</p>
:1. hearing the name and glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
:2. chanting His glories
:3. remembering the Lord
:4. serving the Lord's feet
:5. worshiping the Deity
:6. offering obeisances unto the Lord
:7. acting as the Lord's servant
:8. making friends with the Lord
:9. surrendering oneself fully to the Lord
<p>Śravaṇam, or hearing, is the first step in acquiring transcendental knowledge. One should not give aural reception to unauthorized persons, but should approach the proper person, as recommended in Bhagavad-gītā (4.34):</p>
:tad viddhi praṇipātena
:paripraśnena sevayā
:upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ
:jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ
<p>"Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth."</p>
<p>It is further recommended in the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad, tad-vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet: (MU 1.2.12) "To understand that transcendental science, one must approach a bona fide spiritual master." Thus this method of submissively receiving transcendental confidential knowledge is not merely based on mental speculation. In this regard, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu told Rūpa Gosvāmī:</p>
:brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva
:guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja
<p>"In the course of traversing the universal creation of Brahmā, some fortunate soul may receive the seed of bhakti-latā, the creeper of devotional service. This is all by the grace of guru and Kṛṣṇa."  ([[Vanisource:CC Madhya 19.151|CC Madhya 19.151]]) The material world is a place of confinement for the living entities who are by nature ānandamaya, pleasure-seeking. They actually want to be free from the confinement of this world of conditional happiness, but not knowing the process of liberation, they are bound to transmigrate from one species of life to another and from one planet to another. In this way the living entities are wandering throughout the material universe. When by good fortune one comes in contact with a pure devotee and hears from him patiently, one begins to follow the path of devotional service. Such an opportunity is offered to a person who is sincere. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness is giving such a chance to humanity at large. If by fortune one takes advantage of this opportunity to engage in devotional service, the path of liberation immediately opens.</p>
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