Category:The Nectar of Devotion Chapter 11 - Aspects of Transcendental Service
Pages in category "The Nectar of Devotion Chapter 11 - Aspects of Transcendental Service"
The following 58 pages are in this category, out of 58 total.
A
- Although, according to regulative principles, no one can lie down in the temple of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, this spontaneous love of Godhead can be grouped under devotional service in friendship
- Anyone who is preaching the confidential message of the Gita to the people in general is so dear to Krsna that no one can be equal with him in human society
F
- For example, a devotee who has a great establishment, or factory, may offer the fruits of such a material possession for the service of the Lord
- 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. Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur has sung a nice song in this connection
H
- Hari-bhakti-vilasa said, "My dear Lord, a person who has surrendered himself unto You, and who is in firm conviction that he is Yours, and actually acts in that way by his body, mind and words, can actually relish transcendental bliss"
- He (Bhismadeva) was always surprised that, although the Pandavas were so righteous and Draupadi practically the goddess of fortune, and although Krsna was their friend, still they had to undergo such severe tribulations
- He (Krsna) also instructs from within, so that the devotee may very quickly make advancement towards spiritual perfection
- He (Rupa Gosvami) says that persons who are neophytes and who have developed a little love of Godhead are not interested in the activities of sense gratification, in proportion to their devotion
I
- If someone sows a tulasi tree somewhere, certainly he becomes devoted to Lord Krsna. And when the tulasi leaves are offered in devotion at the lotus feet of Krsna, there is the full development of love of Godhead
- If there is still some attraction for sense gratifying activities, then the result of such activities should be offered to Krsna. This is also called engagement in the service of the Lord, with the Lord as the master and the worker as the servant
- In India every Hindu, even those not belonging to the Vaisnava group, take special care of the tulasi tree. Even in great cities where it is very difficult to keep a tulasi tree, people are to be found very carefully keeping this plant
- In other words, a devotee should engage himself not only in the prescribed duties of devotional service which are mentioned in the revealed scriptures, but he should also perform the duties of his practical life in Krsna consciousness
- In other words, one should not bother about his personal or family maintenance or sustenance. If one is actually surrendered in body and soul, he should always remember that his only concern is to be engaged in the service of the Lord
- In the Hari-bhakti-viveka, there is a statement regarding how one can offer his body in self-surrender
- In the Mahabharata, Draupadi says, "My dear Govinda, Your promise is that Your devotee can never be vanquished. I believe in that statement, and therefore in all kinds of tribulations I simply remember Your promise, and thus I live"
- In the Narada-pancaratra there is a statement of how one can act in all spheres of life for the satisfaction of the Lord
- In the Naradiya Purana there is a statement of how this servitorship is transcendental
- In the Nrsimha Purana, Lord Nrsimhadeva says, "Anyone who prays unto Me and takes shelter from Me becomes My ward, and I protect him always from all sorts of calamities"
- In the opinion of the karmis (fruitive workers), offering the results of karma is called servitorship. But according to Vaisnava acaryas like Rupa Gosvami, servitorship means to be constantly engaged in some kind of service to the Lord
- In the Skanda Purana it is said that those who are attached to ritualistic activities, the four orders of social life and the four orders of spiritual life, are considered devotees
- It is also confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita that as soon as a person surrenders unto the lotus feet of Krsna, Krsna takes charge of him and gives him a guarantee of protection from all sinful reactions
- It is said there that a person who is constantly engaged in devotional service by his body, mind and words, or even a person who is not practically engaged but is simply desiring to be so, is considered to be liberated
- It is stated there that a person who is actually in devotional service must be engaged in all kinds of activities, those prescribed in the revealed scriptures and also those which are accepted for livelihood
S
- Skanda Purana said, "Anyone who comes in touch with the tulasi tree in the above-mentioned ways lives eternally in the Vaikuntha world"
- Skanda Purana said, "Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto the tulasi tree, which can immediately vanquish volumes of sinful activities. Simply by seeing or touching this tree one can become relieved from all distresses and diseases"
- Skanda Purana said, "Simply by offering obeisances to and pouring water on the tulasi tree, one can become freed from the fear of being sent to the court of Yamaraj"
- Skanda Purana said, "Tulasi is auspicious in all respects. Simply by seeing, simply by touching, simply by remembering, simply by praying to, simply by bowing before, simply by hearing about or simply by sowing this tree, there is always auspiciousness"
- Sometimes it is found that a pure devotee lies down in the temple of the Lord in order to serve Him as a confidential friend. Such friendly behavior of a devotee may be accepted as raganuga, or spontaneous
- Sri Rupa Gosvami says that a neophyte devotee who has simply developed a slight love of Godhead is certainly a prospective candidate for devotional service
- Sri Yamunacarya, in his prayers to the Lord, has expressed a similar idea in the following words, "My dear Lord, I may be living within some body as a human being or as a demigod, but whatever mode of life, I do not mind"
- Srila Rupa Gosvami describes one who is fit for becoming engaged in devotional service
- Srila Rupa Gosvami says that devotional service in friendship and devotional service in self-surrender are two difficult processes. Therefore such relationships with the Lord can very rarely be seen
T
- The conditioned souls who have come into contact with the material world are all more or less desirous of lording it over material nature
- The devotee who has confidence in devotional service to the Lord systematically follows the rules and regulations, with the faith that he will achieve the platform of transcendental life
- The Lord says, "A person who has completely surrendered unto Me and has completely given up all other activities is protected by Me personally, both in this life and in the next"
- The Lord says, "In other words, I wish to help him become more and more advanced in spiritual life. Such a person is to be understood as having already achieved sarsti"
- The purport is that Draupadi and her five husbands, the Pandavas, were put into severe tribulations by their cousin-brother, Duryodhana, as well as by others
- The second type of devotional friendship is to become a well-wisher of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the Bhagavad-gita it is said that the Lord accepts a preacher as the most dear servant
- The surrendered soul said, "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"
- The system of varnasrama & its prescribed duties are so designed that the conditioned soul may enjoy in the material world according to his desire for sense gratification & at the same time gradually become elevated to spiritual understanding
- The tribulations were so severe that even Bhismadeva, who was both a lifelong brahmacari and a great warrior, would sometimes shed tears thinking of them
- There the devotee says, "My dear Lord, as a sold-out animal has no need to think about his maintenance and sustenance, so, because I have given up my body and soul unto You, I am no longer concerned with my maintenance and sustenance"
- They (even those who are not Vaisnavas) water it and offer obeisances to it, because worship of the tulasi tree is very important in devotional service
- This self-surrender is called atma-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
- Those devotees who are householders accept Vedic ritualistic performances as well as the prescribed duties of devotional service, because both are meant for satisfying Krsna
- Those who are engaged in fruitive activities, or prescribed duties according to the four orders of social and spiritual life, are not actually pure devotees
- Though their tribulations were not ordinary, still Draupadi was not discouraged. She knew that because Krsna was their friend, ultimately they would be saved
W
- When devotees are actually engaged in offering service to the Lord directly, these must be bhagavatas, or pure devotees
- When he (a neophyte devotee) becomes firmly fixed in such devotional service, that assured status becomes a confidential part of his devotional service
- When householder devotees perform some Vedic ritualistic duties, they do so to satisfy Krsna. As we have previously discussed, any activity aiming at satisfying the Supreme Personality of Godhead is considered devotional service
- 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"