Category:The Nectar of Devotion Chapter 16 - Varieties of Love for Krsna
Pages in category "The Nectar of Devotion Chapter 16 - Varieties of Love for Krsna"
The following 63 pages are in this category, out of 63 total.
A
- A devotee who is actually advanced in Krsna consciousness, who is constantly engaged in devotional service, should not manifest himself even though he has attained perfection
- A woman may develop an attitude for becoming a friend of Krsna, and, similarly, a man may develop the feature of becoming a gopi in Vrndavana
- According to the regulative principles, there are nine departmental activities, as described above, and one should specifically engage himself in the type of devotional service for which he has a natural aptitude
- Activities in devotional service under regulative principles must be followed even by the pure devotee
- After this spontaneous attraction becomes highly developed, the devotee is placed in either of the above-mentioned categories
D
- Development of conjugal love can be possible only with those who are already engaged in following the regulative principles of devotional service, specifically in the worship of Radha and Krsna in the temple
- Development of conjugal love for Krsna is not manifested in women only. The material body has nothing to do with spiritual loving affairs
- Devotees gradually develop a spontaneous love for the Deity, and by hearing of the Lord's exchange of loving affairs with the gopis, they gradually become attracted to these pastimes
- Devotees who are attracted to Krsna as parents or as friends should follow in the footsteps of Nanda Maharaj or Subala, respectively
- Devotional service following in the footsteps of the gopis of Vrndavana or the queens at Dvaraka is called devotional service in conjugal love
F
- Factually, no one can become the father or mother of Krsna; but a devotee's possession of such transcendental feelings is called love of Krsna in parental relationship
- For example, one person may have a particular interest in hearing, another may have a particular interest in chanting, and another may have a particular interest in serving in the temple
I
- If it is not possible, however, to be physically present at Vrndavana, one can meditate anywhere upon living in that situation
- In both of these categories one has to follow the particular gopi who is engaged in such service in Goloka Vrndavana
- In days gone by there were many sages in Dandakaranya. Dandakaranya is the name of the forest where Lord Ramacandra lived after being banished by His father for fourteen years
- In following the regulative principles of devotional service, there is a stage called anartha-nivrtti, which means the disappearance of all material contamination
- In the attitude of the denizens of Vrndavana, such as Nanda Maharaj and Mother Yasoda, is to be found the ideal transcendental concept of becoming the father and mother of Krsna, the original Personality of Godhead
- In the beginning, everyone should strictly follow the regulative principles of devotional service, according to the injunctions of the scriptures and the spiritual master
- In the Skanda Purana there is a story of an old man residing in Hastinapur, capital of the kingdom of the Pandus, who desired Krsna as his beloved son
- In the stage of devotional service where regulative principles are followed, there is no necessity of discussing this love, for it must develop of itself at a more advanced stage
- In this connection, we should be careful about the so-called siddha-pranai. The siddha-pranai process is followed by a class of men who are not very authorized and who have manufactured their own way of devotional service
- In this way everyone should act according to his particular taste
- It has been seen that a so-called devotee proclaims himself a follower of Nanda, Yasoda or the gopis, while at the same time his abominable attraction for mundane sex life is visible
- It is clear that the sages of Dandakaranya desired conjugal love in the manner of the gopis, although they were well aware of the Supreme Lord as both Krsna and Lord Ramacandra
L
- Later on these sages appeared in Goloka Vrndavana when Krsna advented Himself there, and they were born as gopis or girl friends of Krsna. In this way they attained the perfection of spiritual life
- Lord Ramacandra remained silent, and His silence shows that He accepted the prayers of the sages (they desired conjugal love in the manner of the gopis). Thus they were blessed by Lord Ramacandra to have association with Lord Krsna in their future lives
O
- One method is that one may try to become the father of the Lord directly, and the other is that one may follow Nanda Maharaja and cherish the ideal of being Krsna's father
- Only after the stage of liberation from material contamination can one actually aspire to follow in the footsteps of the devotees in Vrndavana
S
- Sometimes it is found that someone is imitating such devotional love, but factually he is not freed from anarthas, or unwanted habits
- Spontaneous love of Krsna as exhibited by the Vrsnis and the denizens of Vrndavana is eternally existing in them
- Sri Rupa Gosvami says that learned acaryas recommended that we follow the regulative principles even after the development of spontaneous love for Krsna
- Such a manifestation of divine love is mere imitation and has no value. When one is actually spontaneously attracted to the loving principles of the gopis, there will be found no trace of any mundane contamination in his character
- Such development of sentiment nourishes devotional service to the highest standard. Thus it is called the path of nourishment, or pusti-marga
T
- The attempt to directly become the father of Krsna is not recommended. Such a development can become polluted with Mayavada (impersonal) philosophy
- The idea is that he (a devotee who is actually advanced in Krsna consciousness) should always continue to act as a neophyte devotee as long as his material body is there
- The Mayavada philosophical way of thinking is offensive, and no offender can enter into the kingdom of God to associate with Krsna
- The Mayavadis, or monists, think that they themselves are Krsna, and if one thinks that he himself has become Nanda Maharaja, then his parental love will become contaminated with the Mayavada philosophy
- The perfection of their (the sages) human form of life was thus achieved by their generating a transcendental sentiment to share conjugal love with Lord Krsna
- The purport is that, if it is possible, one should go and physically be present at Brajabhumi, Vrndavana, and be engaged always in the service of the Lord, following the devotees in Brajadhama, the spiritual realm of Braja
- The so-called siddha-pranai process is followed by the prakrta sahajiya, a pseudo-sect of so-called Vaisnavas. In the opinion of Rupa Gosvami, such activities are simply disturbances to the standard way of devotional service
- The Vallabha-sampradaya, which belongs to the Visnu-svami sect of Vaisnava religion, worships Krsna in this pusti-marga. Generally devotees in Gujerat worship Bala-Krsna, under this heading of pusti-marga
- The Vrsnis (Krsna's relatives at Dvaraka) felt like that. So spontaneous love of Krsna in the parental relationship is found both amongst those denizens of Dvaraka who belonged to the dynasty of Vrsni, as well as amongst the inhabitants of Vrndavana
- There are devotees who do not wish direct contact with the Supreme Person, but who relish the conjugal love affairs of the Lord with the gopis. Such devotees enjoy simply by hearing of the activities of the Lord with the gopis
- There is a gradual development of the ambition to become like a particular devotee, and this activity is called raganuga
- There is a statement in the Narayana-vyuha-stava prayers that persons who are always engaged in thinking of the Lord as their husband, friend, father or well-wisher are always worshipable by everyone
- These raganuga devotees do not follow the regulative principles of devotional service very strictly
- These sages (the sages of Dandakaranya) also concluded that the form of Lord Krsna is more attractive than that of Lord Ramacandra, and so they prayed to become gopis in their future lives to be associated with Krsna
- These, or any of the other six different types of devotional service (remembering, serving, praying, engaging in some particular service, being in a friendly relationship or offering everything in one's possession) should be executed in full earnestness
- They (a class of men who are not very authorized) imagine that they have become associates of the Lord simply by thinking of themselves like that. This external behavior is not at all according to the regulative principles
- They (the sages) all took birth as women in the wombs of gopis at Gokula, and as they had desired in their previous lives, they enjoyed the company of Lord Krsna, who was present at that time in Gokula Vrndavana
- This devotional service in conjugal love can be divided into two categories. One is indirect conjugal love, the other direct
- This old man was instructed by Narada to follow in the footsteps of Nanda Maharaj, and thus success was achieved by him
- Those who develop conjugal love for Krsna as a lover are promoted to Goloka Vrndavana, to associate with the gopis and enjoy loving affairs with Krsna there
- To be directly attached to the Supreme Personality of Godhead in conjugal love is technically called keli. This keli performance means to directly join with the Supreme Personality of Godhead
W
- We must always remember, however, that such eagerness to follow in the footsteps of the denizens of Braja (Vrndavana) is not possible unless one is freed from material contamination
- When he realizes his actual position in relationship with the Lord, he can, along with the discharging of regulative service, think within himself of the Lord, under the guidance of a particular associate of the Lord
- When Lord Ramacandra was residing in Dandakaranya, the sages who were engaged in devotional service there became attracted by His beauty and immediately thought of the gopis at Vrndavana, who enjoyed conjugal loving affection with Krsna
- When one is actually liberated from material contamination, he can always remember an eternal devotee in Vrndavana in order to love Krsna in the same capacity. And developing such an aptitude, one will always live in Vrndavana, even within his mind
- Wherever he may be, one must always think about life in Brajadhama and about following in the footsteps of a particular devotee in the service of the Lord