Vaisnava devotees

Expressions researched:
"Vaisnava devotee" |"Vaisnava devotees"

Bhagavad-gita As It Is

BG Preface and Introduction

BG Introduction:

I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaiṣṇava devotees of the Lord

vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaś ca

kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca

patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo

vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ

I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaiṣṇava devotees of the Lord. They can fulfill the desires of everyone, just like desire trees, and they are full of compassion for the fallen souls.

BG Chapters 13 - 18

Therefore charity is recommended to be given at a place of pilgrimage and at lunar or solar eclipses or at the end of the month or to a qualified brāhmaṇa or a Vaiṣṇava (devotee)

BG 17.20, Purport: In the Vedic literature, charity given to a person engaged in spiritual activities is recommended. There is no recommendation for giving charity indiscriminately. Spiritual perfection is always a consideration. Therefore charity is recommended to be given at a place of pilgrimage and at lunar or solar eclipses or at the end of the month or to a qualified brāhmaṇa or a Vaiṣṇava (devotee) or in temples. Such charities should be given without any consideration of return.

Generally the Vaiṣṇava devotees worship the Supreme Lord with His internal energy

BG 18.46, Purport: And as stated in the Seventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā, the Supreme Lord, by His two energies, His external energy and internal energy, is all-pervading. Therefore one should worship the Supreme Lord with His energies. Generally the Vaiṣṇava devotees worship the Supreme Lord with His internal energy. His external energy is a perverted reflection of the internal energy. The external energy is a background, but the Supreme Lord by the expansion of His plenary portion as Paramātmā is situated everywhere.

Srimad-Bhagavatam

SB Preface and Introduction

Arjuna was also a Vaiṣṇava devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa

SB Introduction: This incident shows clearly that the Lord was not a so-called timid Vaiṣṇava. A Vaiṣṇava is a fearless devotee of the Lord, and for the right cause he can take any step suitable for the purpose. Arjuna was also a Vaiṣṇava devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and he fought valiantly for the satisfaction of the Lord. Similarly, Vajrāṅgajī, or Hanumān, was also a devotee of Lord Rāma, and he gave lessons to the nondevotee party of Rāvaṇa. The principles of Vaiṣṇavism are to satisfy the Lord by all means. A Vaiṣṇava is by nature a nonviolent, peaceful living being, and he has all the good qualities of God, but when the nondevotee blasphemes the Lord or His devotee, the Vaiṣṇava never tolerates such impudency.

SB Canto 4

I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaiṣṇava devotees of the Lord

SB 4.6.49, Purport: Those who have been condemned by māyā are rescued by the mercy of devotees.

vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaś ca

kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca

patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo

vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ

"I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaiṣṇava devotees of the Lord. They are just like desire trees who can fulfill the desires of everyone, and they are full of compassion for the fallen conditioned souls." Those who are under the influence of the illusory energy are attracted to fruitive activities, but a Vaiṣṇava preacher attracts their hearts to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

This mantra is chanted by Vaiṣṇava devotees, and it begins with praṇava, or oṁkāra

SB 4.8.54, Purport: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya is known as the dvādaśākṣara-mantra. This mantra is chanted by Vaiṣṇava devotees, and it begins with praṇava, or oṁkāra. There is an injunction that those who are not brāhmaṇas cannot pronounce the praṇava mantra. But Dhruva Mahārāja was born a kṣatriya. He at once admitted before Nārada Muni that as a kṣatriya he was unable to accept Nārada's instruction of renunciation and mental equilibrium, which are the concern of a brāhmaṇa. Still, although not a brāhmaṇa but a kṣatriya, Dhruva was allowed, on the authority of Nārada, to pronounce the praṇava oṁkāra.

A Vaiṣṇava devotee should always be anyābhilāṣitā-śūnya, free from all material aspirations for the results of fruitive activities or empiric philosophical speculation

SB 4.9.31, Purport: It is said that without the blessings of Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, no one can stop the continuous chain of birth and death within this material world. Therefore the Supreme Lord is also called bhava-cchit. The Vaiṣṇava philosophy in the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness prohibits the devotee from all kinds of material aspirations. A Vaiṣṇava devotee should always be anyābhilāṣitā-śūnya, free from all material aspirations for the results of fruitive activities or empiric philosophical speculation. Dhruva Mahārāja was actually initiated by Nārada Muni, the greatest Vaiṣṇava, in the chanting of oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. This mantra is a viṣṇu-mantra, for by practicing the chanting of this mantra one is elevated to the Viṣṇuloka. Dhruva Mahārāja regrets that although he was initiated in the viṣṇu-mantra by a Vaiṣṇava, he still aspired for material benefits. That was another cause for lamentation.

Pṛthu Mahārāja was an empowered incarnation of Lord Viṣṇu and was naturally a great Vaiṣṇava devotee of the Lord

SB 4.21.9, Purport: Because Pṛthu Mahārāja was an empowered incarnation of Lord Viṣṇu and was naturally a great Vaiṣṇava devotee of the Lord, all the demigods were pleased with him and presented different gifts to help him in exercising his royal power, and the great sages and saintly persons also joined in his coronation. Thus blessed by them, he ruled over the earth and exploited its resources for the greatest satisfaction of the people in general.

I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaiṣṇava devotees of the Lord

SB 4.21.47, Purport:Vaiṣṇavas are therefore offered the following prayer:

vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaś ca

kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca

patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo

vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ

[I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaiṣṇava devotees of the Lord. They can fulfill the desires of everyone, just like desire trees, and they are full of compassion for the fallen souls.] The chief concern of a Vaiṣṇava is to deliver the fallen souls.

I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaiṣṇava devotees of the Lord

SB 4.21.50, Purport:Therefore we offer our respects to a Vaiṣṇava leader as follows:

vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaś ca

kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca

patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo

vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ

[I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaiṣṇava devotees of the Lord. They can fulfill the desires of everyone, just like desire trees, and they are full of compassion for the fallen souls.]

Lord Śiva teaches us that our best course it to take shelter of Lord Viṣṇu and His Vaiṣṇava devotees

SB 4.24.58, Purport: Śrīla Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura has sung that the devotees of Lord Caitanya are so powerful that each one of them can deliver a universe. In other words, it is the business of devotees to preach the glories of the Lord and deliver all conditioned souls to the platform of śuddha-sattva, pure goodness. Here the word su-sattva means śuddha-sattva, the transcendental stage beyond material goodness. By his exemplary prayers, Lord Śiva teaches us that our best course it to take shelter of Lord Viṣṇu and His Vaiṣṇava devotees.

SB Canto 5

Vṛndāvana specifically is the most exalted and preferred holy place for Vaiṣṇava devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa who are aspiring to return back to Godhead

SB 5.8.31, Purport: Holy places like Vṛndāvana, Hardwar, Prayāga and Jagannātha Purī are especially meant for the execution of devotional service. Vṛndāvana specifically is the most exalted and preferred holy place for Vaiṣṇava devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa who are aspiring to return back to Godhead, the Vaikuṇṭha planets. There are many devotees in Vṛndāvana who regularly bathe in the Yamunā, and this cleanses all the contamination of the material world. By constantly chanting and hearing the holy names and pastimes of the Supreme Lord, one certainly becomes purified and becomes a fit candidate for liberation. However, if one purposefully falls victim to sense gratification, he has to be punished, at least for one lifetime, like Bharata Mahārāja.

A highly advanced Vaiṣṇava devotee is a friend to all living entities

SB 5.10.8, Purport: Being self-realized, Jaḍa Bharata, who was fully situated on the transcendental platform, did not at all become angry; instead, he smiled and began to deliver his teachings to King Rahūgaṇa. A highly advanced Vaiṣṇava devotee is a friend to all living entities, and consequently he is a friend to his enemies also. In fact, he does not consider anyone to be his enemy. Suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām [SB 3.25.21]. Sometimes a Vaiṣṇava becomes superficially angry at a nondevotee, but this is good for the nondevotee. We have several examples of this in Vedic literature.

SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13

The duty of a pure Vaiṣṇava devotee is to act for the welfare of others

SB 10.8.4, Purport: Similarly, Caitanya Mahāprabhu has advised this para-upakāra, and He has especially advised the inhabitants of India:

bhārata-bhūmite haila manuṣya-janma yāra

janma sārthaka kari' kara para-upakāra

"One who has taken his birth as a human being in the land of India [Bhārata-varṣa] should make his life successful and work for the benefit of all other people." (Cc. Ādi 9.41) On the whole, the duty of a pure Vaiṣṇava devotee is to act for the welfare of others.