Category:Practicing Devotional Service to God
Subcategories
This category has the following 2 subcategories, out of 2 total.
Pages in category "Practicing Devotional Service to God"
The following 114 pages are in this category, out of 114 total.
A
- A person who takes birth in such a family (of learned and devoted brahmanas or a family of rich vaisyas) has a good chance to practice devotional service and improve his spiritual condition
- Although he (Dhruva Maharaja) got the result of the visnu-mantra by the causeless mercy of the Lord, he lamented how foolish he was to have strived for material benefits while practicing devotional service
- Although it is within the category of practice, this offering of loving service is spontaneous. So the practice of devotional service, sadhana-bhakti, can be divided into two parts - namely, regulative and spontaneous
- As far as Dhruva Maharaja was concerned, he saw the Supreme Lord personally after only six months of practice in devotional service. He expected, therefore, that as soon as he met the SL, the Lord would take him to His abode immediately, without waiting
- Attachment for the Supreme can be increased by practicing DS, inquiring about the SPG, applying bhakti-yoga in life, worshiping the Yogesvara, the SPG, and by hearing and chanting about the glories of the SPG. These actions are pious in themselves
B
- Become always attentive to all aspects of temple's activities, especially to the regulative spiritual life & preaching work. If this standard of devotional practices is maintained at the highest level, everything else will become automatically successful
- Bhakti is not achieved by studying. Bhakti stage is achieved by practice. That is the special significance of our institution, that we are engaging our men in practicing. Therefore they are getting knowledge - not by reading
- By practicing sadhana-bhakti one may gradually rise to the point of raga-bhakti, and by performing raga-bhakti in loving transcendental service one can even control the Supreme Powerful Lord
- By the practice of devotional service, beginning with hearing and chanting, the impure heart of a conditioned soul is purified, and thus he can understand his eternal relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- By the practice of nine elements of devotional service one is elevated to spiritual consciousness, Krsna consciousness. BG 1972 purports
C
- Caitanya Mahaprabhu said: "Do not mix freely with the residents of Mathura; show them respect from a distance. Because you (Jagadananda Pandita) are on a different platform of devotional service, you cannot adopt their behavior and practices"
- Caitanya quoted from the Lord's instructions to Uddhava in SB: My dear Uddhava, neither philosophical speculation, nor meditational yoga, nor penances can give Me such pleasure as devotional service practiced by the living entities - SB 11.14.20
D
- Devotional service can be practiced with one's senses under the direction of a bona fide spiritual master
- Devotional service cannot be practiced by a mental speculator. Devotional service is a special attainment which can be acquired only by a person who has surrendered unto a pure devotee
- Devotional service comprises nine prescribed practices - hearing, chanting, remembering, worshiping, serving, offering everything to the Deity, etc
- Devotional service executed under the guidance of the spiritual master and according to scriptural injunctions is called vaidhi-bhakti, a part of sadhana-bhakti, or devotional service in practice
- Dhruva Maharaja was determined to achieve the benediction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore Narada advised him to go back home for the time being, and in mature time he could try to practice devotional service
E
- Even in this material body, when he (the living entity) practices devotional service under the direction of the spiritual master, he comes to the position which is without change because that is his natural duty
- Everyone is attached to Krsna. That is Vrndavana. So not all of a sudden we can get that highest stage of life of Vrndavana attachment, but still, wherever we stay, if we practice this bhakti-yoga, as we are preaching... It is becoming successful
F
- For one who very seriously practices devotional service during his lifetime in order to understand the constitutional position of the SP of God, liberation from this material world is guaranteed, even if he has previously been addicted to sinful habits
- For spiritual life, one must be elevated to the pure stage of love. That stage of love can be achieved by practice of devotional service, performed with the present senses. BG 1972 purports
G
- Generally it is understood that in the category of devotional service in practice there are two different qualities, devotional service in ecstasy has four qualities, and devotional service in pure love of Godhead has six qualities
- Go on with our devotional practices and preach this Krsna Consciousness very boldly and enthusiastically to whomever you meet
I
- I am asking them to become freed from all sorts of anxieties by practicing the transcendental sound vibration of Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare etc and I am asking them to join the ISKCON Inc
- I am thinking, "I am this body." I am thinking, "I am Indian," "I am American," "I am Russian," "I am Pakistani." These are upadhis. But if you practice devotional service, Krsna consciousness, then you become free from this contamination of designation
- I count you and your godbrothers among those few men who are treading seriously on the path back to Home, back to Godhead, and now we must maintain such exalted position and not fall back by neglecting our highest standards of devotional practices
- I shall accept the role of a devotee, and I shall teach devotional service by practicing it Myself
- If even a woman practices devotional service strictly, according to the rules and regulations, the statement by the Lord Himself that she can return to Godhead (te 'pi yanti param gatim) is not at all astonishing
- If one has fifty years of life ahead of him, he should engage that brief time in cultivating this practice of remembering the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This practice is the devotional process. BG 1972 Introduction
- If one is engaged in bhakti-yoga practice, devotional service, immediately the anarthas will be diminished
- If one practices devotional service from the beginning of his life, surely he will return home, back to Godhead, without a doubt - asamsaya
- If the mind is purified by practice of transcendental loving service to the Lord and is constantly engaged in the service of the lotus feet of the Lord, there is no more chance of the mind's producing another material body after death
- If we practice devotional service in this life, even for few days, still, it will be a permanent asset
- If you practice devotional service, then at the time of death there is great possibility of understanding or remembering Krsna
- If you want real satisfaction, as we have already described, that ahaituky apratihata yayatma suprasidati. If you want satisfaction of your self, then you must practice this devotional service
- In conclusion, unless one elevates himself to the transcendental platform by practicing bhakti-yoga, one cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His name, form, attributes or activities
- In that position of self-realization, by practice of knowledge and renunciation in devotional service, one sees everything in the right perspective; he becomes indifferent to material existence, and the material influence acts less powerfully upon him
- In the neophyte stage, sadhana-bhakti includes faith, association with devotees, and practicing devotional service. Thus one is freed from all unwanted things
- In this way, assuming the sentiment of a devotee, He preached devotional service while practicing it Himself
K
- Krsna cannot be captured even by great yogis traveling at the speed of the mind. He can be captured only by those who follow the path of devotional service, and Kalayavana was not practiced in devotional service
- Krsna will now (in BG 2.39) tell him (Arjuna) about the working process in buddhi-yoga, or karma-yoga, or in other words, the practice of devotional service only for the sense gratification of the Lord. BG 1972 purports
- Krsna, being his very loving friend, wanted to send him to Vrndavana just to study the highly elevated ecstatic devotional service practiced there
N
- No one can take to devotional service unless he has had some previous connection with it. For example, suppose in this life I practice devotional service to some extent
- Now Sri Rupa Gosvami proposes to describe devotional service in practice
- Now this sadhana-bhakti, or practice of devotional service, can also be divided into two parts
O
- On hearing this statement of the Lord, Devahuti inquired: What kind of devotional service is worth developing and practicing to help me easily and immediately attain the service of Your lotus feet?
- One can certainly reach there (God's abode) after leaving this present body, and one must prepare himself to go back to Godhead by practicing devotional service. That guarantees a passport for going back to Godhead, and Kunti adopted it
- One can overcome all misconceptions and entanglement in the material world by practicing bhakti-yoga, & therefore Vyasadeva, acting on the instruction of Sri Narada, has very kindly introduced SB to relieve the conditioned souls from the clutches of maya
- One may remain perpetually illiterate, but if one practices the devotional service activities, he will become a devotee
- One should be engaged in the Lord's devotional service to achieve the aim of life, called prayojana. The practice of devotional service to attain that goal of life is called abhidheya
- One should practice a little austerity and not spend money on anything other than the regulative life of devotional service
- One simply has to practice the easy process of Krsna consciousness and fully engage himself in devotional service. Any intelligent man should always prefer the process of devotional service to all other paths. BG 1972 purports
- One who is sufficiently intelligent should use the human form of body from the very beginning of life - in other words, from the tender age of childhood - to practice the activities of devotional service, giving up all other engagements
- Out of all the nine different methods, the first one, namely hearing, is the most important function in the process of bhakti-yoga. Without hearing sufficiently and properly, no one can make any progress by any of the methods of practice
P
- Please see that you all stick to the regulative lines of our devotional practices and keep up the standard of purity as it has thus far been established in our progressive functions in Krsna Consciousness
- Practice of devotional service in the material field is of eighty-one different qualities, and above such activities is the transcendental practice of devotional service, which is one and is called sadhana-bhakti
- Previously, it has been stated that devotional service can be divided into three categories - namely, devotional service in practice, devotional service in ecstasy, and devotional service in pure love of God
R
- Radha-kunda is very rarely attained, even by great personalities fully engaged in devotional service, not to speak of ordinary devotees who are only engaged in the practice of vaidhi bhakti
- Renunciation means detachment of material affection, and devotional service is the revival by practice of the original position of the living being
- Rupa Gosvami defines the first part of devotional practice, or vaidhi-bhakti
S
- Sadhana-Bhakti means, to offer obeisances to the spiritual master and to follow many other rules and regulations which will be discussed here one after another. These practices will help one to become cured of madness
- Severe austerities in the practice of devotional service are of many varieties. For example, in worshiping the Deity in the temple there are certainly laborious activities
- She (Devahuti) remained at home and began to practice bhakti-yoga as it was instructed by her great son, Kapila Muni, and because of her practice of bhakti-yoga, the entire home became just like a flower crown on the River Sarasvati
- So-called devotional practices that have no reference to the rules and regulations set down in such books of Vedic literature as the sruti, the smrti, the Puranas, and the Pancaratras are not bona fide
- Some of the senses are meant for acquiring knowledge, and some are meant for executing the conclusions of our thinking, feeling and willing. So practice means employing both the mind and the senses in practical devotional service
- Some scholars argue that simply by following the principles of varna and asrama one can gradually rise up to the perfections reached by practicing devotional service, but this argument is not accepted by the great authorities
- Srila Madhva Muni remarks in this connection that by practicing bhakti-yoga one can become free from all sinful reactions. Even a brahma-sapa, or curse by a brahmana, which cannot be overcome by any other means, can be overcome by bhakti-yoga
- Strict practice of regulative devotional service is called vaidhi-bhakti. The prime principle of vaidhi-bhakti is stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam SB 2.1.5: tasmad bharata sarvatma bhagavan isvaro harih, srotavyah kirtitavyas ca smartavyas cecchatabhayam
- Such devotion eternally exists within the heart of every living entity. The awakening of this eternal devotion is the potentiality of devotional service in practice
T
- The conclusion is that the regular practice of bhakti-yoga will lead the devotee to the plane of intense love for God, & that is the single qualification by which the conditioned soul is allowed to reenter the eternal life of bliss in the kingdom of God
- The devotees, however, develop a sense of love for Godhead by practicing devotional service to the Lord
- The first stage of devotional service is technically called sadhana-bhakti, or devotional service in practice. The result of sadhana-bhakti must be ecstatic love, attachment for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, which is also called prema-bhakti
- The living entity is seeking happiness life after life, but he can make a solution to all his problems simply by practicing bhakti-yoga. Then he immediately becomes eligible to return home, back to Godhead
- The paramahamsa stage of life can be attained only by those who are fixed in the practice of bhakti-yoga
- The process of devotional service beginning with hearing, chanting, remembering - the prescribed nine methods for realizing devotional service-should be practiced in the association of devotees. BG 1972 purports
- The pure devotees of the Lord undergo a practice of that devotional service to the Lord during the manifestation of the creation and take full advantage of the manifestation by qualifying themselves to enter into the kingdom of God
- The real service, or service in svarupa, is present in the transcendental world, in association with the Lord. The very same service in transcendental love can be practiced in devotion here
- The sanatana-dharma means this bhakti-yoga. Because we have forgotten. Everyone is trying to become God. Now practice here how to become a servant of God
- The self-realized souls advise us to reject such pseudodevotional practices, which simply create a disturbance on the path of spiritual realization
- The so-called path of bhakti practiced by unauthorized persons without knowledge of bhakti may be easy, but when it is practiced factually according to the rules and regulations, the speculative scholars and philosophers fall away from the path
- The third stage is to practice the prescribed rules and regulations of devotional service. This will dissipate all sorts of misgivings and remove all personal deficiencies that hamper progress in devotional service
- The three categories of devotional service which Srila Rupa Gosvami describes in Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu are listed as devotional service in practice, devotional service in ecstasy and devotional service in pure love of Godhead
- The two stages of executing devotional service are, 1) first, the stage of practicing devotional service with our present senses under the regulations of the recognized scriptures
- Then come the secondary ten regulative principles, and added to these are forty-four other activities. So altogether there are sixty-four items for discharging the regulative practice of devotional service
- There are hundreds of thousands of temples in India for the worship of Krsna, and devotional service is practiced there. When such practice is made, one has to offer obeisances to Krsna. BG 1972 purports
- There are many devotees who are engaged in the propagation of Krsna consciousness, and they require help. So, even if one cannot directly practice the regulated principles of bhakti-yoga, he can try to help such work. BG 1972 purports
- Therefore persons whose minds are fixed on the Lord engage in the intensive practice of devotional service. That is the only means for attainment of the final perfection of life
- These (nine processes of devotional service) are all easy to practice and should be joyfully performed
- This (concentrating upon Krsna without deviation) is the highest stage of perfection, and it is possible for everyone to attain this stage by practice of devotional service
- This is the only yoga system, bhakti-yoga system, that one can practice for quick result and self-realization and liberation even in this life. He hasn't got to wait for another life. It is so nice, Krsna consciousness
- This method is applicable both in the stage of sadhana (spiritual practices executed while in the stage of bondage) and in the stage of sadhya (God realization), when one is a siddha-purusa, or a spiritually perfect soul
- This particular attachment is invoked by practice of regulative devotional service to the Lord, and thus the devotee becomes attached to the eternal form of the Lord, exactly like one who is already eternally attached
- This practice (regulative principles of vaidhi-bhakti) can help the neophyte devotee to rise to the stage of raga-bhakti, in which the Lord responds from within as the caitya-guru, or the spiritual master as Superconsciousness
- This process by which the Supreme Personality of Godhead is understood is known as abhidheya, practice of devotional service within conditional life
- Those who are practicing devotional service are either mature or immature. Therefore the sadhakas are of two types
- Those who have taken to the most sublime bhakti-yoga system, this practice of devotional service in transcendental love of Krsna, can testify to how they are nicely enjoying its happy and easy execution
- Those who have taken to this most sublime bhakti-yoga system, who practice devotional service in transcendental love of Krsna, can testify to its happy and easy execution
U
- Unless one practices devotional service himself, he cannot teach it to others. This conclusion is indeed confirmed throughout the Gita and Bhagavatam
- Unless one practices devotional service to the Lord, he cannot know Krsna as He is (tattvatah), even though one is a great scholar or philosopher. BG 1972 purports
W
- We practice Bhakti-yoga strictly and since Bhakti includes all other results obtained from practicing other yogas as it is declared in the Bhagavad-gita to be the culmination of all yogas it becomes unnecessary for us to apply any other techniques
- When one is so liberated, he can really understand the transcendental features of the form of the Lord. Siva advises everyone to practice bhagavad-bhakti-yoga. By doing so one can become really liberated and enjoy spiritual bliss
- When one practices devotional service, it should be understood that he is returning to his original and normal liberated position
- When the qualifying factor is taken away, the whole appears to be one. In other words, when one comes to the paramahamsa or perfectional stage of life by practicing bhakti-yoga, he sees only Krsna everywhere. For him there is no other objective
- When we wish to develop our innate capacity for devotional service, there are certain processes which, by our accepting and executing them, will cause that dormant capacity to be invoked. Such practice is called sadhana-bhakti
- Without following the above-mentioned ten principles, one cannot properly elevate himself to the platform of sadhana-bhakti, or devotional service in practice
Y
- Yanti mad-yajino 'pi mam: if one practices devotional service to the Lord, he goes back home, back to Godhead
- You have become my disciple so I must request you to chant 16 rounds and follow the regulative practices of devotional service, and you may know it for sure that very quickly you will achieve the supreme perfectional stage of your life