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A pure devotee does not...

Bhagavad-gita As It Is

BG Chapters 7 - 12

The practice of ṣaṭ-cakra-yoga, involving meditation on the six cakras, is suggested here. A pure devotee does not practice such yoga.
BG 8.10, Purport:

In this verse it is clearly stated that at the time of death the mind must be fixed in devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. For those practiced in yoga, it is recommended that they raise the life force between the eyebrows (to the ājñā-cakra). The practice of ṣaṭ-cakra-yoga, involving meditation on the six cakras, is suggested here. A pure devotee does not practice such yoga, but because he is always engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, at death he can remember the Supreme Personality of Godhead by His grace. This is explained in verse fourteen.

A pure devotee does not desire anything.
BG 8.14, Purport:

As indicated by the word ananya-cetāḥ, in pure bhakti-yoga the devotee desires nothing but Kṛṣṇa. A pure devotee does not desire promotion to heavenly planets, nor does he seek oneness with the brahmajyoti or salvation or liberation from material entanglement. A pure devotee does not desire anything. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta the pure devotee is called niṣkāma, which means he has no desire for self-interest. Perfect peace belongs to him alone, not to them who strive for personal gain.

The pure devotee does not have to worry about the material necessities of life.
BG 10.11, Purport:

The pure devotee does not have to worry about the material necessities of life; he need not be anxious, because when he removes the darkness from his heart, everything is provided automatically by the Supreme Lord, who is pleased by the loving devotional service of the devotee. This is the essence of the teachings of Bhagavad-gītā. By studying Bhagavad-gītā, one can become a soul completely surrendered to the Supreme Lord and engage himself in pure devotional service. As the Lord takes charge, one becomes completely free from all kinds of materialistic endeavors.

A pure devotee does not like to see Kṛṣṇa in any form except His form with two hands.
BG 11.8, Purport:

A pure devotee does not like to see Kṛṣṇa in any form except His form with two hands; a devotee must see His universal form by His grace, not with the mind but with spiritual eyes. To see the universal form of Kṛṣṇa, Arjuna is told not to change his mind but his vision. The universal form of Kṛṣṇa is not very important; that will be clear in subsequent verses. Yet because Arjuna wanted to see it, the Lord gives him the particular vision required to see that universal form.

The pure devotee does not even want salvation.
BG 11.55, Purport:

Of course anyone who is killed by Kṛṣṇa attains salvation immediately, but that is not the aim of the pure devotee. The pure devotee does not even want salvation. He does not want to be transferred even to the highest planet, Goloka Vṛndāvana. His only objective is to serve Kṛṣṇa wherever he may be.

The pure devotee does not endeavor for anything which is against the principles of devotional service.
BG 12.16, Purport:

The pure devotee does not endeavor for anything which is against the principles of devotional service. For example, constructing a big building requires great energy, and a devotee does not take to such business if it does not benefit him by advancing his devotional service. He may construct a temple for the Lord, and for that he may take all kinds of anxiety, but he does not construct a big house for his personal relations.

Srimad-Bhagavatam

SB Canto 1

Pure devotee does not render service unto the Lord for such exchange, and therefore the full mercy of the Lord is open for him.
SB 1.8.29, Purport:

Factually the pure devotees who are engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord are not a mercantile community. A mercantile house renders service to someone in exchange for values. The pure devotee does not render service unto the Lord for such exchange, and therefore the full mercy of the Lord is open for him.

A pure devotee of the Lord does not live on any planet of the material sky, nor does he feel any contact with material elements.
SB 1.13.55, Purport:

A pure devotee of the Lord does not live on any planet of the material sky, nor does he feel any contact with material elements. His so-called material body does not exist, being surcharged with the spiritual current of the Lord's identical interest, and thus he is permanently freed from all contaminations of the sum total of the mahat-tattva. He is always in the spiritual sky, which he attains by being transcendental to the sevenfold material covering by the effect of his devotional service. The conditioned souls are within the coverings, whereas the liberated soul is far beyond the cover.

The pure devotees of the Lord do not aspire after the happiness obtained in the heavenly kingdom.
SB 1.18.13, Purport:

When one becomes frustrated with all kinds of material advancement, one desires the opposite type of liberation, which is called apunar-bhava, or no rebirth. But the pure devotees of the Lord do not aspire after the happiness obtained in the heavenly kingdom, nor do they aspire after liberation from material bondage.

A pure devotee of the Lord does not commit any offense while chanting the holy name of the Lord.
SB 1.18.19, Purport:

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam asserts that one who chants the holy name of the Lord under the direction of a pure devotee can at once get free from the disadvantages due to a lower-caste birth. A pure devotee of the Lord does not commit any offense while chanting the holy name of the Lord. There are ten different offenses in the chanting of the holy name of the Lord. To chant the holy name under the direction of a pure devotee is offenseless chanting. Offenseless chanting of the holy name of the Lord is transcendental, and, therefore, such chanting can at once purify one from the effects of all kinds of previous sins. This offenseless chanting indicates that one has fully understood the transcendental nature of the holy name and has thus surrendered unto the Lord.

A pure devotee does not desire the company of a personality as great as Brahmā.
SB 1.19.16, Purport:

Mahārāja Parīkṣit was certainly going back to Godhead, but even if he were not to go back, he prayed for a pattern of life which is the most perfect way in the material world. A pure devotee does not desire the company of a personality as great as Brahmā, but he prefers the association of a petty living being, provided he is a devotee of the Lord.

SB Canto 2

A pure devotee does not want liberation so that he may be relieved from the miseries of life.
SB 2.3.10, Purport:

Thoughts of becoming one with the Lord, or being merged in the brahmajyoti, can also be exhibitions of kāma spirit if they are desires for one's own satisfaction to be free from the material miseries. A pure devotee does not want liberation so that he may be relieved from the miseries of life. Even without so-called liberation, a pure devotee is aspirant for the satisfaction of the Lord. Influenced by the kāma spirit, Arjuna declined to fight in the Kurukṣetra battlefield because he wanted to save his relatives for his own satisfaction. But being a pure devotee, he agreed to fight on the instruction of the Lord because he came to his senses and realized that satisfaction of the Lord at the cost of his own satisfaction was his prime duty. Thus he became akāma. That is the perfect stage of a perfect living being.

The devotees, however, are above the yogīs and the jñānīs because pure devotees do not deny the senses of the Lord.
SB 2.5.30, Purport:

On the contrary, they artificially try to stop the activities of the senses (yoga system), or they deny the transcendental senses of the Lord (jñāna system). The devotees, however, are above the yogīs and the jñānīs because pure devotees do not deny the senses of the Lord; they want to satisfy the senses of the Lord. Only because of the darkness of ignorance do the yogīs and jñānīs deny the senses of the Lord and thus artificially try to control the activities of the diseased senses. In the diseased condition of the senses there is too much engagement of the senses in increasing material needs.

SB Canto 3

In the Vaikuṇṭha planets everything is eternally peaceful, yet a pure devotee does not even aspire to be promoted there.
SB 3.25.37, Purport:

Actually, however, to one who engages in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, liberation is already guaranteed. Devotees enjoy all the benefits of the higher planets and the Vaikuṇṭha planets also. It is especially mentioned here, bhāgavatīṁ bhadrām. In the Vaikuṇṭha planets everything is eternally peaceful, yet a pure devotee does not even aspire to be promoted there. But still he gets that advantage; he enjoys all the facilities of the material and spiritual worlds, even during the present life-span.

A pure devotee does not pray to the Lord for liberation from this material bondage.
SB 3.25.39-40, Purport:

A pure devotee does not pray to the Lord for liberation from this material bondage. Actually, the pure devotee never thinks that he is fit for liberation. Considering his past life and his mischievous activities, he thinks that he is fit to be sent to the lowest region of hell. If in this life I am trying to become a devotee, this does not mean that in my many past lives I was one-hundred-percent pious. That is not possible. A devotee, therefore, is always conscious of his real position. Only by his full surrender to the Lord, by the Lord's grace, are his sufferings made shorter.

A pure devotee does not care for what is going to happen in the next life or in this life.
SB 3.25.39-40, Purport:

He is not neglectful—he is dutiful—but he does not spend too much time on the upliftment of temporary household or social life. He fully engages in the service of the Lord, and for other affairs he simply spares as much time as absolutely necessary (yathārham upayuñjataḥ). Such a pure devotee does not care for what is going to happen in the next life or in this life; he does not care even for family, children or society. He fully engages in the service of the Lord in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

A pure devotee does not render loving service to the Personality of Godhead for any cause or for any benefit, material or spiritual.
SB 3.29.11-12, Purport:

The word ahaitukī means "without reason." A pure devotee does not render loving service to the Personality of Godhead for any cause or for any benefit, material or spiritual. This is the first symptom of unalloyed devotion. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam: (CC Madhya 19.167) he has no desire to fulfill by rendering devotional service. Such devotional service is meant for the puruṣottama, the Supreme Personality, and not for anyone else.

SB 3.29.13, Translation:

A pure devotee does not accept any kind of liberation—sālokya, sārṣṭi, sāmīpya, sārūpya or ekatva—even though they are offered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

A pure devotee does not desire ekatva, oneness with the Supreme Lord, as desired by the impersonalists.
SB 3.29.13, Purport:

A pure devotee does not desire ekatva, oneness with the Supreme Lord, as desired by the impersonalists, the mental speculators and the meditators. To become one with the Supreme Lord is beyond the dream of a pure devotee. Sometimes he may accept promotion to the Vaikuṇṭha planets to serve the Lord there, but he will never accept merging into the Brahman effulgence, which he considers worse than hellish. Such ekatva, or merging into the effulgence of the Supreme Lord, is called kaivalya, but the happiness derived from kaivalya is considered by the pure devotee to be hellish. The devotee is so fond of rendering service to the Supreme Lord that the five kinds of liberation are not important to him. If one is engaged in pure transcendental loving service to the Lord, it is understood that he has already achieved the five kinds of liberation.

A pure devotee does not accept these five kinds of spiritual existence, even if they are offered.
SB 3.29.13, Purport:

A pure devotee does not accept these five kinds of spiritual existence, even if they are offered, and he certainly does not hanker after material benefits, which are all insignificant in comparison with spiritual benefits. When Prahlāda Mahārāja was offered some material benefit, he stated: "My Lord, I have seen that my father achieved all kinds of material benefits, and even the demigods were afraid of his opulence, but still, in a second, You have finished his life and all his material prosperity." For a devotee there is no question of desiring any material or spiritual prosperity. He simply aspires to serve the Lord. That is his highest happiness.

SB Canto 4

Pure devotees do not make any distinction between the Lord's anger and His blessings.
SB 4.6.46, Purport:

When the Supreme Personality of Godhead becomes angry or kills a demon, materially this may appear unfavorable, but spiritually it is a blissful blessing upon him. Therefore pure devotees do not make any distinction between the Lord's anger and His blessings. They see both with reference to the Lord's behavior with others and themselves. A devotee does not find fault with the behavior of the Lord in any circumstances.

Although a pure devotee does not seek benedictions from the Supreme Lord for material advancement, it is stated in Bhagavad-gītā that pious persons go to the Lord even for material benedictions.
SB 4.8.23, Purport:

Although a pure devotee does not seek benedictions from the Supreme Lord for material advancement, it is stated in Bhagavad-gītā that pious persons go to the Lord even for material benedictions. A person who goes to the Supreme Personality of Godhead for material gain is gradually purified in association with the Supreme Lord. Thus he becomes free from all material desires and is elevated to the platform of spiritual life. Unless one is raised to the spiritual platform, it is not possible for him to completely transcend all material contamination.

A pure devotee does not know anything beyond the Lord, so the Lord does not know anything beyond His pure devotee.
SB 4.11.12, Purport:

Dhruva Mahārāja was a pure devotee and was accustomed to always thinking of the Lord. Reciprocally, the Lord always thinks of those pure devotees who think of Him only, twenty-four hours a day. As a pure devotee does not know anything beyond the Lord, so the Lord does not know anything beyond His pure devotee.

Pure devotee does not like to hear from professional reciters because such glorification of the Lord is simply a vibration of material sound.
SB 4.20.24, Purport:

There are many professional reciters of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam who speak the narrations very ornamentally, but a pure devotee does not like to hear from them because such glorification of the Lord is simply a vibration of material sound. But when heard from the mouth of a pure devotee, glorification of the Lord is immediately effective.

A pure devotee does not ask anything from the Lord for material benefit.
SB 4.20.31, Purport:

It is the duty of the son to depend upon his father without asking anything from him. The good son has faith that the father knows best how to benefit him. Similarly, a pure devotee does not ask anything from the Lord for material benefit. Nor does he ask anything for spiritual benefit. The pure devotee is fully surrendered unto the lotus feet of the Lord, and the Lord takes charge of him, as stated in Bhagavad-gītā (18.66): ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi.

A pure devotee does not pray for liberation or for cessation of the cycle of birth and death because he does not consider that important.
SB 4.30.33, Purport:

One may be in one position or another according to destiny, but in any case one must continue to hear about the activities and pastimes of the Supreme Lord, regardless of circumstances. A pure devotee does not pray for liberation or for cessation of the cycle of birth and death because he does not consider that important. The most important thing for a devotee is getting a chance to hear about the pastimes and glories of the Lord. The devotees who engage in the service of the Lord in this world will have the same opportunity in the spiritual world also.

A pure devotee does not place much value in the destination of the karmīs or in the destination of the jñānīs.
SB 4.30.34, Purport:

For a pure devotee, kaivalya, merging into the existence of Brahman, the Brahman effulgence, is no better than living in hell. Similarly, he considers promotion to heavenly planets (tridaśa-pūr) just another kind of phantasmagoria. In other words, a pure devotee does not place much value in the destination of the karmīs (the heavenly planets) or in the destination of the jñānīs (merging into the Brahman effulgence). A pure devotee considers a moment's association with another pure devotee to be far superior to residing in a heavenly planet or merging in the Brahman effulgence. The topmost benediction for those who are living in this material world and are subjected to the repetition of birth and death (transmigration) is association with pure devotees.

SB Canto 5

He Lord is engaged in various activities, and the pure devotee does not want to see Him whimsically, for his own sense gratification.
SB 5.3.15, Purport:

The priests were certainly unhappy to have called the Supreme Lord from Vaikuṇṭha for such an insignificant reason. A pure devotee never wants to see the Lord unnecessarily. The Lord is engaged in various activities, and the pure devotee does not want to see Him whimsically, for his own sense gratification. The pure devotee simply depends on the Lord's mercy, and when the Lord is pleased, he can see Him face to face. The Lord is unseen even by demigods like Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva. By calling on the Supreme Lord, the priests of Nābhi Mahārāja proved themselves unintelligent; nonetheless, the Lord came out of His causeless mercy. All of them therefore wanted to be excused by the Lord.

A pure devotee of the Lord does not have to endeavor separately for mukti, because mukti is always ready to serve him.
SB 5.24.20, Purport:

One who becomes a devotee, free from material desires and motives, regards all opportunities, both material and spiritual, as benedictions from the Lord, and in this way his service to the Lord is never hampered. Bhukti, material enjoyment, and mukti, liberation, are only by-products of devotional service. A devotee need not work separately to attain mukti. Śrīla Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura said, muktiḥ svayaṁ mukulitāñjaliḥ sevate 'smān: a pure devotee of the Lord does not have to endeavor separately for mukti, because mukti is always ready to serve him.

SB Canto 8

A pure devotee does not aspire to go back to Godhead; he is simply satisfied with executing his service in this material world.
SB 8.3 Summary:

He is the ocean of transcendental qualities and can be understood only by liberated persons freed from the bodily concept of life. By His causeless mercy, the Lord can rescue the conditioned soul from the material clutches and enable him to return home, back to Godhead, to become His personal associate. Nonetheless, a pure devotee does not aspire to go back to Godhead; he is simply satisfied with executing his service in this material world. A pure devotee does not ask anything from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. His only prayer is to be freed from the material conception of life and to be engaged in the Lord's transcendental loving service.

SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13

A pure devotee does not desire anything for material enjoyment, whereas a mixed devotee becomes a devotee to become a first-class enjoyer of this material world.
SB 10.10.20-22, Purport:

The distinction between a pure devotee and a karma-miśra devotee is this: a pure devotee does not desire anything for material enjoyment, whereas a mixed devotee becomes a devotee to become a first-class enjoyer of this material world. One who is in direct touch with the Supreme Personality of Godhead in devotional service remains pure, uncontaminated by material desires (anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11)).

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta

CC Adi-lila

Pure devotees do not ask anything from the Lord for their personal benefit.
CC Adi 3.20, Purport:

When one associates with a pure devotee, he becomes so elevated that he does not aspire even for sārṣṭi, sārūpya, sāmīpya or sālokya, because he feels that such liberation is a kind of sense gratification. Pure devotees do not ask anything from the Lord for their personal benefit. Even if offered personal benefits, pure devotees do not accept them, because their only desire is to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead by transcendental loving service.

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 6.268, Translation:

"A pure devotee does not like even to hear about sāyujya-mukti, which inspires him with fear and hatred. Indeed, the pure devotee would rather go to hell than merge into the effulgence of the Lord."

CC Madhya 6.270, Translation:

Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya concluded, "Even though he is offered all kinds of liberation, the pure devotee does not accept them. He is fully satisfied engaging in the service of the Lord."

CC Madhya 9.268, Translation:

"Pure devotees always reject the five kinds of liberation, which include living in the spiritual Vaikuṇṭha planets, possessing the same opulences as those possessed by the Supreme Lord, having the same bodily features as the Lord's, associating with the Lord and merging into the body of the Lord. The pure devotees do not accept these benedictions without the service of the Lord."

Pure devotees of the Lord do not accept impure principles.
CC Madhya 10.114, Purport:

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura says that if something impedes the execution of devotional service, it should be understood to be impure. Pure devotees of the Lord do not accept impure principles. Impure devotees accept rasābhāsa, or overlapping, contradictory mellows, and other principles opposed to the bhakti path. The followers of such impure principles are never accepted as pure devotees.

A pure devotee does not engage himself in such pseudo devotional service.
CC Madhya 19.167, Purport:

For a devotee, there cannot be worship of others or demigod worship. A pure devotee does not engage himself in such pseudo devotional service. He is interested only in satisfying Kṛṣṇa. If one lives only for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa, it does not matter whether he belongs to this order of life or that order of life.

CC Madhya 22.142, Translation:

"Although the pure devotee does not follow all the regulative principles of varṇāśrama, he worships the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore he naturally has no tendency to commit sin."

CC Antya-lila

Instead of praising the prākṛta-sahajiyās for their symptoms of transcendental ecstasy, pure devotees do not like to associate with them.
CC Antya 20.28, Purport:

A class of so-called devotees known as prākṛta-sahajiyās sometimes display devotional symptoms to exhibit their good fortune. They are pretending, however, because these devotional features are only external. The prākṛta-sahajiyās exhibit these symptoms to advertise their so-called advancement in love of Kṛṣṇa, but instead of praising the prākṛta-sahajiyās for their symptoms of transcendental ecstasy, pure devotees do not like to associate with them. It is not advisable to equate the prākṛta-sahajiyās with pure devotees.

Other Books by Srila Prabhupada

Teachings of Lord Caitanya

The pure devotee does not desire to live on the same planet with the Supreme Lord.
Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 1:

Devotional service is pure when one engages in the service of the Supreme Lord without any motive and without being hampered with material impediments. The pure devotee does not desire to live on the same planet with the Supreme Lord, nor does he desire the same opulence as the Lord, nor does he desire to have the same form as the Lord, nor to live with Him side by side, nor to merge into His existence, etc

Nectar of Devotion

A pure devotee does not aspire after any of these perfections, because the happiness derived from devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is so transcendental.
Nectar of Devotion 1:

In the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya it is stated that Prahlāda Mahārāja, a great devotee of the Lord, prayed to Nṛsiṁhadeva (the half-lion, half-man incarnation) as follows: "My dear Lord, I repeatedly pray unto Your lotus feet that I may simply be stronger in devotional service. I simply pray that my Kṛṣṇa consciousness may be more strong and steady, because happiness derived out of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and devotional service is so powerful that with it one can have all the other perfections of religiousness, economic development, sense gratification and even the attainment of liberation from material existence." Actually, a pure devotee does not aspire after any of these perfections, because the happiness derived from devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is so transcendental and so unlimited that no other happiness can compare to it.

A pure devotee does not lack any kind of happiness derived from any source.
Nectar of Devotion 1:

It is stated that as the personal attendants and maidservants of a queen follow the queen with all respect and obeisances, similarly the joys of religiousness, economic development, sense gratification and liberation follow the devotional service of the Lord. In other words, a pure devotee does not lack any kind of happiness derived from any source. He does not want anything but service to Kṛṣṇa, but even if he should have another desire, the Lord fulfills this without the devotee's asking.

Nectar of Instruction

Nectar of Instruction 6, Translation:

Being situated in his original Kṛṣṇa conscious position, a pure devotee does not identify with the body. Such a devotee should not be seen from a materialistic point of view. Indeed, one should overlook a devotee's having a body born in a low family, a body with a bad complexion, a deformed body, or a diseased or infirm body. According to ordinary vision, such imperfections may seem prominent in the body of a pure devotee, but despite such seeming defects, the body of a pure devotee cannot be polluted. It is exactly like the waters of the Ganges, which sometimes during the rainy season are full of bubbles, foam and mud. The Ganges waters do not become polluted. Those who are advanced in spiritual understanding will bathe in the Ganges without considering the condition of the water.

Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

The pure devotee does not ask anything from the Lord for his personal benefit.
Krsna Book 39:

Akrūra was warmly received by Lord Kṛṣṇa and Nanda Mahārāja and offered a resting place for the night. In the meantime, the two brothers Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa went to take Their supper. Akrūra sat on his bed and began to reflect that all the desires he had contemplated while coming from Mathurā to Vṛndāvana had been fulfilled. Lord Kṛṣṇa is the husband of the goddess of fortune; being pleased with His pure devotee, He can offer whatever the devotee desires. But the pure devotee does not ask anything from the Lord for his personal benefit.

The pure devotee does not make the distinction that some activities of the Lord should be heard and others avoided.
Krsna Book 52:

Devotees of Kṛṣṇa are always eager to hear about the transcendental activities of the Lord. His activities of fighting, kidnapping and running away from the battlefield are all transcendental, being on the absolute platform, and devotees take a transcendental interest in hearing of them. The pure devotee does not make the distinction that some activities of the Lord should be heard and others avoided. There is, however, a class of so-called devotees known as prākṛta-sahajiyās who are very much interested in hearing about Kṛṣṇa's rāsa-līlā with the gopīs but not about His fighting with His enemies.

A pure devotee does not care whether he is put into heaven or hell; he is satisfied anywhere, provided he can constantly remember the lotus feet of the Lord.
Krsna Book 69:

By asking this benediction from the Lord, the sage Nārada showed the ideal prayer of all pure devotees. A pure devotee never asks for any kind of material or spiritual benediction from the Lord; his only prayer is that he may not forget the lotus feet of the Lord in any condition of life. A pure devotee does not care whether he is put into heaven or hell; he is satisfied anywhere, provided he can constantly remember the lotus feet of the Lord. Lord Caitanya taught this same process of prayer in His Śikṣāṣṭaka, in which He clearly stated that all He wanted was devotional service, birth after birth. A pure devotee does not even want to stop the repetition of birth and death. To a pure devotee, it does not matter whether he has to take birth again in the various species of life.

Light of the Bhagavata

The pure devotees do not wish any return from the Lord in exchange for their service.
Light of the Bhagavata 43, Purport:

Devotional service to the Lord never goes in vain. Just at the right moment, the result of one's particular devotional service will come, even if one has no desire for it. The pure devotees do not wish any return from the Lord in exchange for their service; they do not make business exchanges with the Lord. But the Lord, out of His own accord, fulfills all the desires of the devotees.

Mukunda-mala-stotra (mantras 1 to 6 only)

A pure devotee does not wish to possess material wealth.
Mukunda-mala-stotra mantra 1, Purport:

As soon as a person agrees to surrender unto the Lord, the Lord takes complete charge of him. Satisfied with the activities of such a devotee, He gives him instruction from within, and thus the devotee becomes pure and advances on the path back to Godhead. The Lord is expert at guiding such a pure devotee, who is not at all anxious for material superiority. A pure devotee does not wish to possess material wealth, nor does he want to have a great following, nor does he desire a beautiful wife, for by the mercy of the Lord he knows the insignificance of material happiness. What he very sincerely desires at heart is to continue in the loving service of the Lord, even at the risk of taking birth again.

A pure devotee does not belong to either of these two bewildered classes.
Mukunda-mala-stotra mantra 3, Purport:

Those who are after the imitation peacock are the fruitive workers, and those who simply condemn the imitation peacock but are ignorant of the real peacock are the empiric philosophers. Disgusted with the mirage of happiness in the material desert, they seek to merge into voidness.

But a pure devotee does not belong to either of these two bewildered classes. Neither aspiring to enjoy the imitation peacock nor condemning it out of disgust, he seeks the real peacock.

A pure devotee does not bother himself about what is going to happen next in his material situation.
Mukunda-mala-stotra mantra 3, Purport:

Although a pure devotee does not bother himself about what is going to happen next in his material situation, he is always alert not to forget his ultimate aim. King Kulaśekhara therefore prays that he may not forget the lotus feet of the Lord at any time.

A pure devotee does not think in terms of his personal gain or loss because he is fully surrendered to the Lord.
Mukunda-mala-stotra mantra 4, Purport:

King Kulaśekhara is a pure devotee, and as such he is not eager to improve himself by the standards of the empiric philosophers, distressed men, or fruitive workers of this world. Pious acts may lead a mundane creature toward the path of spiritual realization, but practical activity in the domain of devotional service to the Lord need not wait for the reactions of pious acts. A pure devotee does not think in terms of his personal gain or loss because he is fully surrendered to the Lord.

A pure devotee does not pray in this way. A pure devotee of Nārāyaṇa looks equally upon the happiness enjoyed in heaven, the transcendental bliss of becoming one with the Lord, and the tribulations experienced in the Kumbhīpāka hell.
Mukunda-mala-stotra mantra 4, Purport:

Modern industrial factories fully equipped with up-to-date machines are so many Kumbhīpāka hells, and the organizers of these enterprises regard them as indispensable for the advancement of economic welfare. The mass of laborers exploited by the organizers directly experience the "welfare" conditions in these factories, but what the organizers do not know is that by the law of karma they will in due time become laborers in similar Kumbhīpāka hells.

Intelligent persons certainly want to be saved from such Kumbhīpāka hells, and they pray to God for this benediction. But a pure devotee does not pray in this way. A pure devotee of Nārāyaṇa looks equally upon the happiness enjoyed in heaven, the transcendental bliss of becoming one with the Lord, and the tribulations experienced in the Kumbhīpāka hell. He is not concerned with any of them because he is always engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. By the grace of the Lord, even in the Kumbhīpāka hell a pure devotee can adjust the situation and turn it into Vaikuṇṭha.

The pure devotee of the Lord does not live anywhere in this material world, although He appears to live among mundane creatures.
Mukunda-mala-stotra mantra 4, Purport:

The pure devotee of the Lord does not live anywhere in this material world, although He appears to live among mundane creatures. Actually, the devotee lives in Vaikuṇṭha. In this way the Supreme Lord bestows upon His pure devotee the inconceivable power that allows him to stay aloof from all mundane circumstances and reside eternally in the spiritual world.

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Pure devotee does not mean one has to become immediately cent percent pure.
Lecture on BG 2.1-10 and Talk -- Los Angeles, November 25, 1968:

Because we are trying to raise ourself from the conditional life. But if we strictly follow the pure devotee, then we are also pure devotee. So far we do, that is pure. So pure devotee does not mean one has to become immediately cent percent pure. But if he sticks to the principle that "We'll follow a pure devotee," then his actions are... He is as good as a pure devotee. It is not I am explaining in my own way. It is the explanation of Bhāgavata. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ (CC Madhya 17.186). We have to follow the footprints of pure devotees.

The pure devotee does not demand anything.
Lecture on BG 7.16 -- Bombay, April 7, 1971:

Sarva-kāma, those who are ārtas, always in distressed condition, or mokṣa-kāma... Mokṣa-kāma means those who are desiring after liberation. They are also demanding something. Those who are mokṣa-kāmī, they are also demanding something. The siddhi-kāmīs, they are also demanding something. But the pure devotee does not demand anything.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

A pure devotee does not accept even all these liberations.
Lecture on SB 1.2.6 -- London, August 27, 1971:

But a pure devotee does not accept even all these liberations. They don't ask for liberation. Pure devotee is satisfied only with the service of the Lord. That is pure devotion. Because there is no desire. That is explained here. Ahaituky apratihatā. "Oh, I am engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness because after death I shall go back to home, back to Godhead." Of course, that's a fact. But a pure devotee even does not desire that. He says, "Wherever Kṛṣṇa will keep me, I shall remain there. It doesn't matter whether heaven or hell. I don't care for it."

A pure devotee does not desire for heaven or hell.
Lecture on SB 1.2.6 -- London, August 27, 1971:

For heaven or hell, it doesn't matter. That is pure devotion. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Brs. 1.1.11), without any desire. That is also desire, that "I am going back to home, back to Godhead." But that desire is very highly qualified desire. But a pure devotee does not desire even that. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (CC Madhya 19.167). They do not desire.

A pure devotee does not want anything. Therefore it is called ahaitukī.
Lecture on SB 1.2.6 -- London, August 27, 1971:

Jñānīs, they want to merge. Karmīs, they want to be elevated to the heavenly planet. Yogis, they want mystic power. They want something. A pure devotee does not want anything. Therefore it is called ahaitukī. Hetu means cause. "I am serving God for this cause: I'll go back to home back to Godhead." That is also cause. Ahaitukī. No cause. "Kṛṣṇa is my lovable Deity. I must serve." That is pure devotion.

A pure devotee does not belong to any group, and he wants to become the lowest servant.
Lecture on SB 1.3.18 -- Los Angeles, September 23, 1972:

"I am the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant—one hundred times down the servant." Of who? "The maintainer of the gopīs, Kṛṣṇa." A pure devotee does not belong to any group, and he wants to become the lowest servant, not the first-grade servant. That is pure devotion.

A pure devotee does not aspire for mukti.
Lecture on SB 2.1.1 -- Vrndavana, March 16, 1974:

So bhakti is above mukti. Therefore a pure devotee does not aspire for mukti. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ kavitāṁ vā jagadīśa kāmaye (Cc. Antya 20.29, Śikṣāṣṭaka 4). Na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ kavitāṁ vā jagadīśa kāmaye, mama janmani janmani. He says, janmani janmani. Janmani, when He says janmani, it is not mukti. Because mukti means you stop your material transmigration from one body to another. That is mukti. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu: mama janmani janmani. A devotee doesn't require mukti. Janmani janmani tvayi bhaktiḥ. If you are situated in the devotional service of the Lord, then you are already mukta.

A pure devotee does not try to become a Brahmā also, what to speak of other demigods, because anyone within this material world, he has got some material desire.
Lecture on SB 6.2.11 -- Allahabad, January 16, 1971:

The demigods are not pure devotees. They are devotees. Just like Brahmā is the best of the demigods but he has a material desire that "I shall be the controller of the universe." Therefore he is not a pure devotee. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has said, kīṭa janma hau, jathā tuā dāsa, bahir-mukha brahma-janme, nāhi mora āśa. Is not that? So a pure devotee does not try to become a Brahmā also, what to speak of other demigods, because anyone within this material world, he has got some material desire, anyone. Therefore he is not liberated. He is conditioned. Only the pure devotee who is trying to satisfy Kṛṣṇa by all his activities, he is liberated.

Nectar of Devotion Lectures

People are generally after four principles of happiness: being religious, being economically developed, being very good candidate for satisfying senses, and when one is frustrated to derive any happiness from these three principles, he wants liberation.
The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, November 10, 1972:

Pradyumna: "Actually, a pure devotee does not aspire after any of these perfections because the happiness derived from devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is so transcendental and so unlimited that no other happiness can be compared with it."

Prabhupāda: People are generally after four principles of happiness: being religious, being economically developed, being very good candidate for satisfying senses, and when one is frustrated to derive any happiness from these three principles, he wants liberation, nirbheda-brahmānu-sandhana. That is also not actual happiness

A devotee is simply engaged to serve the Lord as He desires, just like Arjuna did. Other things follow.
The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, November 10, 1972:

Pradyumna reading purport: "A pure devotee does not lack any kind of happiness derived from any source. He does not want anything but service to Kṛṣṇa, but even if he should have another desire, the Lord fulfills this without the devotee's asking."

Prabhupāda: Yes. Generally, a devotee is anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam (Brs. 1.1.11). He's simply engaged to serve the Lord as He desires, just like Arjuna did. Other things follow. Just like a child who takes shelter of the father without any demand, the father sees to his necessities of life. Yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham (BG 9.22).

A pure devotee does not want any of such liberations.
The Nectar of Devotion -- Calcutta, January 31, 1973:

There are five kinds of liberation: sāyujya, sārūpya, sālokya, sāmīpya. But a pure devotee does not want any of such liberations. Dhiyamānāṁ na ghṛnanti (?). Even liberation is offered. Kṛṣṇa offers liberation very easily.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures

This is the sample of pure devotee. A pure devotee does not want even liberation.
Lecture on CC Madhya-lila 20.137-146 -- Bombay, February 24, 1971:

He does not want even liberation, because when there is liberation, there is no question of janmani janmani. So He says, mama janmani janmani īśvare bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi. So this is the sample of pure devotee. A pure devotee does not want even liberation.

Conversations and Morning Walks

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Pure devotee does not aspire anything, simply to be engaged in loving service of the Lord, wherever it may be.
Morning Walk -- April 8, 1975, Mayapur:

Jayapatāka: So then we should desire not to go back to Vaikuṇṭha but to go back to..., to be situated in our pure service to Kṛṣṇa.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Pure devotee does not aspire anything, simply to be engaged in loving service of the Lord, wherever it may be. It doesn't matter.

Correspondence

1968 Correspondence

Pure devotees do not even want to go to Krishna's abode.
Letter to Devananda -- Los Angeles 23 November, 1968:

And you always remember to abide by the laws of Krishna as described by His bona fide Representative, and the passage of going back to Godhead is assured. This is Krishna's Mercy. But pure devotees do not even want to go to Krishna's abode. Simply our prayer should be, My dear Krishna, please remind me to always chant Your Holy Name, please do not put me into forgetfulness. You are sitting within me as Supersoul, so you can put me into forgetfulness or into remembering You. So please do not put me into forgetfulness. Please always remind me to chant, even You send me into the hell, it doesn't matter, just so long as I can always chant Hare Krishna.

1969 Correspondence

Hose who are pure devotees do not aspire for any concession, and out of spontaneous love try to engage themselves in devotional service.
Letter to Jayapataka -- Los Angeles 30 January, 1969:

Sometimes a store gives special concession to attract new customers. But for those who are already customers there is no need of a special sale. They will purchase at any cost if they know the import and value of the goods. Similarly, those who are pure devotees do not aspire for any concession, and out of spontaneous love try to engage themselves in devotional service 24 hours each day, 365 days every year, without any stoppage.

Pure devotees do not desire to enter into any one of the higher planetary systems of this universe.
Letter to Vrndavanesvari -- Allston, Mass 26 April, 1969:

So when a living entity is eligible and fully prepared to enter into the Spiritual Sky, he merges his different bodily elements which are called earth, fire, water, air, and ether. In those covering layers these bodily elements return, and the living entity goes back to the Spiritual Sky. Pure devotees do not desire to enter into any one of the higher planetary systems of this universe.

Page Title:A pure devotee does not...
Compiler:Syamananda, Visnu Murti, ChandrasekharaAcarya, Alakananda
Created:1 of jan, 2008
Totals by Section:BG=6, SB=25, CC=8, OB=14, Lec=12, Con=1, Let=3
No. of Quotes:69