Saintly devotees

Expressions researched:
"saintly devotee" |"saintly devotees"

Bhagavad-gita As It Is

BG Chapters 1 - 6

Arjuna, being a saintly devotee of the Lord, is always conscious of moral principles

BG 1.44, Purport: Driven by selfish motives, one may be inclined to such sinful acts as the killing of one's own brother, father or mother. There are many such instances in the history of the world. But Arjuna, being a saintly devotee of the Lord, is always conscious of moral principles and therefore takes care to avoid such activities.

Srimad-Bhagavatam

SB Canto 1

Saintly devotees like Śukadeva Gosvāmī generally do not approach worldly enjoyers, especially those in royal orders

SB 1.19.32, Purport: Saintly devotees like Śukadeva Gosvāmī generally do not approach worldly enjoyers, especially those in royal orders. Mahārāja Pratāparudra was a follower of Lord Caitanya, but when he wanted to see the Lord, the Lord refused to see him because he was a king. For a devotee who desires to go back to Godhead, two things are strictly prohibited: worldly enjoyers and women. Therefore, devotees of the standard of Śukadeva Gosvāmī are never interested in seeing kings.

One is recommended, therefore, to associate only with saintly devotees so that worldly demons and ghosts cannot exert their sinister influence

SB 1.19.34, Purport: The demons are always busy in trying to vanquish the Personality of Godhead, but factually as soon as the Personality of Godhead appears, by either His transcendental name, form, attributes, pastimes, paraphernalia or variegatedness, the demon is at once vanquished. It is said that a ghost cannot remain as soon as the holy name of the Lord is chanted. The great saints and devotees of the Lord are in the list of His paraphernalia, and thus as soon as a saintly devotee is present, the ghostly sins are at once vanquished. That is the verdict of all Vedic literatures. One is recommended, therefore, to associate only with saintly devotees so that worldly demons and ghosts cannot exert their sinister influence.

SB Canto 4

A sādhu, a saintly devotee, is not supposed to kill animals unnecessarily

SB 4.11.10, Purport: Therefore, why should a person who is already engaged in the service of the Lord engage himself in personal sense gratification? Dhruva Mahārāja is advised here by Lord Manu that he is a pure servitor of the Lord. Why should he unnecessarily engage, like the animals, in the bodily concept of life? An animal thinks that the body of another animal is his food; therefore, in the bodily concept of life, one animal attacks another. A human being, especially one who is a devotee of the Lord, should not act like this. A sādhu, a saintly devotee, is not supposed to kill animals unnecessarily.

Thus this life and the next are the same for a saintly devotee, for in both he serves the Lord

SB 4.27.12, Purport: A saintly person may either live or die, for during his life he is engaged in serving the Lord and after his death he also serves the Lord. Thus this life and the next are the same for a saintly devotee, for in both he serves the Lord. Since the hunter lives a very ghastly life due to killing animals, and since he will go to hell when he dies, he is advised to neither live nor die.

The saintly devotees are always free and liberated

SB 4.28.10, Purport: A Kṛṣṇa conscious person engages in the transcendental loving service of the Lord eternally; therefore as long as he lives within the body, he is happy to engage in the loving service of the Lord, and when he gives up the body, he is also permanently situated in the service of the Lord. The saintly devotees are always free and liberated, whereas the karmīs, who have no knowledge of spiritual life or the transcendental loving service of the Lord, are very much afraid of giving up the rotten material body.

SB Canto 5

A saintly devotee is certainly very tolerant

SB 5.13.24, Purport: In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.25.21), Kapiladeva describes the symptoms of great personalities: titikṣavaḥ kāruṇikāḥ suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām. A saintly devotee is certainly very tolerant. He is the friend of all living entities, and he does not create enemies within the world. A pure devotee has all the qualities of a sādhu. Jaḍa Bharata is an example of this.

SB Canto 6

In the dynasty of Diti appeared the great saintly devotee Prahlāda and also Bali, Prahlāda's grandson

SB 6.18 Summary: The demons born of Diti are also described in this chapter. In the dynasty of Diti appeared the great saintly devotee Prahlāda and also Bali, Prahlāda's grandson. Hiraṇyakaśipu and Hiraṇyākṣa were the first sons of Diti. Hiraṇyakaśipu and his wife, whose name was Kayādhu, had four sons-Saṁhlāda, Anuhlāda, Hlāda and Prahlāda. They also had one daughter, whose name was Siṁhikā. In association with the demon Vipracit, Siṁhikā bore a son named Rāhu, whose head was severed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

SB Canto 8

The only concern of such saintly devotees is to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead

SB 8.12.6, Purport: But those who are munayaḥ, saintly persons following in the footsteps of Nārada Muni, simply engage in the transcendental loving service of the Lord without any personal desire for sense gratification. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam [Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11]. Either in this life or in the next, the only concern of such saintly devotees is to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus they are also absolute because they have no other desires. Being freed from the dualities of material desire, they are called śreyas-kāmāḥ.

SB Canto 9

Saintly devotees always keep the Lord within the core of their hearts, they can perfectly cleanse the holy places of all sinful reactions

SB 9.9.6, Purport: Devotees and saintly persons advanced in the renounced order can deliver even the Ganges. Tīrthī-kurvanti tīrthāni svāntaḥ-sthena gadābhṛtā (SB 1.13.10). Because saintly devotees always keep the Lord within the core of their hearts, they can perfectly cleanse the holy places of all sinful reactions. Therefore, people in general must always respectfully honor saintly persons. It is ordered that as soon as one sees a Vaiṣṇava, or even a sannyāsī, one should immediately offer respects to such a holy man.