Among many millions of living entities, the number of human beings is extremely small, and among human beings who are actually religious, only some are eager to be liberated from material existence. Among many thousands of people who desire relief from material existence, one is freed from the association of unwanted persons or is relieved of material contamination. And among many millions of such liberated persons, one may become a devotee of Lord Nārāyaṇa. Therefore such devotees are extremely rare. Since bhakti, devotional service, is not ordinary, Parīkṣit Mahārāja was astonished that an asura could rise to the exalted position of a devotee. Being doubtful, Parīkṣit Mahārāja inquired from Śukadeva Gosvāmī, who then described Vṛtrāsura with reference to his previous birth as Citraketu, the King of Śūrasena.
Devotional service is not
Bhagavad-gita As It Is
BG Chapters 7 - 12
A person who accepts the path of devotional service is not bereft of the results derived from studying the Vedas, performing sacrifices, undergoing austerities, giving charity or pursuing philosophical and fruitive activities. Simply by performing devotional service, he attains all these, and at the end he reaches the supreme eternal abode.
t is said here that this devotional service is eternally existing. It is not as the Māyāvādī philosophers claim. Although they sometimes take to so-called devotional service, their idea is that as long as they are not liberated they will continue their devotional service, but at the end, when they become liberated, they will "become one with God." Such temporary time-serving devotional service is not accepted as pure devotional service. Actual devotional service continues even after liberation. When the devotee goes to the spiritual planet in the kingdom of God, he is also engaged there in serving the Supreme Lord. He does not try to become one with the Supreme Lord.
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 1
The Absolute Truth is realized in full by the process of devotional service to the Lord, Vāsudeva, or the Personality of Godhead, who is the full-fledged Absolute Truth. Brahman is His transcendental bodily effulgence, and Paramātmā is His partial representation. As such, Brahman or Paramātmā realization of the Absolute Truth is but a partial realization. There are four different types of human beings—the karmīs, the jñānīs, the yogīs and the devotees. The karmīs are materialistic, whereas the other three are transcendental. The first-class transcendentalists are the devotees who have realized the Supreme Person. The second-class transcendentalists are those who have partially realized the plenary portion of the absolute person. And the third-class transcendentalists are those who have barely realized the spiritual focus of the absolute person. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā and other Vedic literatures, the Supreme Person is realized by devotional service, which is backed by full knowledge and detachment from material association. We have already discussed the point that devotional service is followed by knowledge and detachment from material association. As Brahman and Paramātmā realization are imperfect realizations of the Absolute Truth, so the means of realizing Brahman and Paramātmā, i.e., the paths of jñāna and yoga, are also imperfect means of realizing the Absolute Truth. Devotional service, which is based on the foreground of full knowledge combined with detachment from material association and which is fixed by the aural reception of the Vedānta-śruti, is the only perfect method by which the seriously inquisitive student can realize the Absolute Truth. Devotional service is not, therefore, meant for the less intelligent class of transcendentalist. There are three classes of devotees, namely first, second, and third class. The third-class devotees, or the neophytes, who have no knowledge and are not detached from material association, but who are simply attracted by the preliminary process of worshiping the Deity in the temple, are called material devotees. Material devotees are more attached to material benefit than transcendental profit. Therefore, one has to make definite progress from the position of material devotional service to the second-class devotional position. In the second-class position, the devotee can see four principles in the devotional line, namely the Personality of Godhead, His devotees, the ignorant and the envious. One has to raise himself at least to the stage of a second-class devotee and thus become eligible to know the Absolute Truth.
A living being in his normal constitutional position is fully satisfied in spiritual bliss. This state of existence is called brahma-bhūta (SB 4.30.20) or ātmā-nandī, or the state of self-satisfaction. This self-satisfaction is not like the satisfaction of the inactive fool. The inactive fool is in the state of foolish ignorance, whereas the self-satisfied ātmānandī is transcendental to the material state of existence. This stage of perfection is attained as soon as one is fixed in irrevocable devotional service. Devotional service is not inactivity, but the unalloyed activity of the soul.
As it is stated in Bhagavad-gītā, the Lord can be known in His real nature by dint of pure devotional service only. So it is stated here that only the great devotees of the Lord who are able to clear the mind of all material dust by rigid devotional service can experience the Lord as He is. Jitendriya means one who has full control over the senses. The senses are active parts of the body, and their activities cannot be stopped. The artificial means of the yogic processes to make the senses inactive has proved to be abject failure, even in the case of great yogīs like Viśvāmitra Muni. Viśvāmitra Muni controlled the senses by yogic trance, but when he happened to meet Menakā (a heavenly society woman), he became a victim of sex, and the artificial way of controlling the senses failed. But in the case of a pure devotee, the senses are not at all artificially stopped from doing anything, but they are given different good engagements. When the senses are engaged in more attractive activities, there is no chance of their being attracted by any inferior engagements. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that the senses can be controlled only by better engagements. Devotional service necessitates purifying the senses or engaging them in the activities of devotional service. Devotional service is not inaction. Anything done in the service of the Lord becomes at once purified of its material nature. The material conception is due to ignorance only. There is nothing beyond Vāsudeva. The Vāsudeva conception gradually develops in the heart of the learned after a prolonged acceleration of the receptive organs. But the process ends in the knowledge of accepting Vāsudeva as all in all. In the case of devotional service, this very same method is accepted from the very beginning, and by the grace of the Lord all factual knowledge becomes revealed in the heart of a devotee due to dictation by the Lord from within. Therefore controlling the senses by devotional service is the only and easiest means.
SB Canto 3
In the beginning, no one can be elevated to the highest stage of devotional service. Here bhakta means one who does not hesitate to accept the reformatory processes for becoming a bhakta. In order to become a devotee of the Lord, one has to accept a spiritual master and inquire from him about how to progress in devotional service. To serve a devotee, to chant the holy name according to a certain counting method, to worship the Deity, to hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhagavad-gītā from a realized person and to live in a sacred place where devotional service is not disturbed are the first out of sixty-four devotional activities for making progress in devotional service. One who has accepted these five chief activities is called a devotee.
SB Canto 6
As stated in the Brahma-saṁhitā, karmāṇi nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhājām: (Bs. 5.54) one who has taken to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, devotional service, is not affected by the results of karma. In this verse, karma has been stressed on the basis of karma-mīmāṁsā philosophy, which says that one must act according to his karma and that a supreme controller must give the results of karma. The subtle laws of karma, which are controlled by the Supreme, cannot be understood by ordinary conditioned souls. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says that one who can understand Him and how He is acting, controlling everything by subtle laws, immediately becomes freed by His grace. That is the statement of Brahma-saṁhitā (karmāṇi nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhājām (Bs. 5.54)). One should take to devotional service without reservations and surrender everything to the supreme will of the Lord. That will make one happy in this life and the next.
SB Canto 7
When Hiraṇyakaśipu left his kingdom and went to the mountain known as Mandarācala to execute severe austerities, all the demons scattered. Hiraṇyakaśipu's wife, Kayādhu, was pregnant at that time, and the demigods, mistakenly thinking that she carried another demon in her womb, arrested her. Their plan was that as soon as the child took birth they would kill him. While they were taking Kayādhu to the heavenly planets, they met Nārada Muni, who stopped them from taking her away and took her to his āśrama until Hiraṇyakaśipu's return. In Nārada Muni's āśrama, Kayādhu prayed for the protection of the baby in her womb, and Nārada Muni reassured her and gave her instructions on spiritual knowledge. Taking advantage of those instructions, Prahlāda Mahārāja, although a small baby within the womb, listened very carefully. The spirit soul is always apart from the material body. There is no change in the spiritual form of the living entity. Any person above the bodily conception of life is pure and can receive transcendental knowledge. This transcendental knowledge is devotional service, and Prahlāda Mahārāja, while living in the womb of his mother, received instructions in devotional service from Nārada Muni. Any person engaged in the service of the Lord through the instructions of a bona fide spiritual master is immediately liberated, and being free from the clutches of māyā, he is relieved of all ignorance and material desires. The duty of everyone is to take shelter of the Supreme Lord and thus become free from all material desires. Regardless of the material condition in which one is situated, one can achieve this perfection. Devotional service is not dependent on the material activities of austerity, penance, mystic yoga or piety. Even without such assets, one can achieve devotional service through the mercy of a pure devotee.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
The Absolute Truth is realized in full by the process of devotional service to the Lord, Vāsudeva, or the Personality of Godhead, who is the full-fledged Absolute Truth. Brahman is His transcendental bodily effulgence, and Paramātmā is His partial representation. As such, Brahman or Paramātmā realization of the Absolute Truth is but a partial realization. There are four different types of human beings—the karmīs, the jñānīs, the yogīs and the devotees. The karmīs are materialistic, whereas the other three are transcendental. The first-class transcendentalists are the devotees who have realized the Supreme Person. The second-class transcendentalists are those who have partially realized the plenary portion of the absolute person. And the third-class transcendentalists are those who have barely realized the spiritual focus of the absolute person. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā and other Vedic literatures, the Supreme Person is realized by devotional service which is backed by full knowledge and detachment from material association. We have already discussed the point that devotional service is followed by knowledge and detachment from material association. As Brahman and Paramātmā realization are imperfect realizations of the Absolute Truth, so the means of realizing Brahman and Paramātmā, i.e., the paths of jñāna and yoga, are also imperfect means of realizing the Absolute Truth. Devotional service which is based on the foreground of full knowledge combined with detachment from material association, and which is fixed by dint of the aural reception of the Vedānta-śruti, is the only perfect method by which the seriously inquisitive student can realize the Absolute Truth. Devotional service is not, therefore, meant for the less intelligent class of transcendentalists.
This tree of devotional service is not of this material world. It grows in the spiritual world, where there is no distinction between one part of the body and another. It is something like a tree of sugar, for whichever part of such a tree one tastes, it is always sweet. The tree of bhakti has varieties of branches, leaves and fruits, but they are all meant for the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There are nine different processes of devotional service (śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam (SB 7.5.23)), but all of them are meant only for the service of the Supreme Lord. Therefore whether one hears, chants, remembers or worships, his activities will yield the same result. Which one of these processes will be the most suitable for a particular devotee depends upon his taste.
CC Madhya-lila
The six Gosvāmīs, under the direction of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī, studied various Vedic literatures and picked up the essence of them, the devotional service of the Lord. This means that all the Gosvāmīs wrote many scriptures on devotional service with the support of the Vedic literature. Devotional service is not a sentimental activity. The essence of Vedic knowledge is devotional service, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15): vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ. All the Vedic literature aims at understanding Kṛṣṇa, and how to understand Kṛṣṇa through devotional service has been explained by Śrīla Rūpa and Sanātana Gosvāmīs, with evidence from all Vedic literatures. They have put it so nicely that even a rascal or first-class fool can be delivered by devotional service under the guidance of the Gosvāmīs.
In his Anubhāṣya commentary, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura says that this stage—devotional service mixed with speculative knowledge—is also external and not within the jurisdiction of pure devotional service as practiced in Vaikuṇṭhaloka. As soon as there is some conception of materialistic thought—be it positive or negative—the service is not spiritual. It may be free from material contamination, but because there is mental speculation the devotional service is not pure and freed from the contamination of material life. A living entity who wants to be completely pure must be above this material conception. The negation of material existence does not necessarily mean spiritual existence. After material existence is negated, spiritual existence—namely sac-cid-ānanda—still may not be manifested. Until one comes to the stage of actually understanding one's eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord, he cannot enter into spiritual life. Spiritual life means becoming detached from material life and engaging in the loving service of the Lord. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore asked Rāmānanda Rāya to explain something transcendental to devotional service mixed with speculative knowledge. A pure devotee is completely surrendered to the lotus feet of the Lord, and only by his love does he conquer Kṛṣṇa, who cannot be conquered by anyone. Kṛṣṇa always stands victorious over everything. No one can conquer Him. One can attain the stage of pure devotion simply by fully surrendering. This is next corroborated by Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.14.3), wherein Lord Brahmā, defeated by the potency of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, fully surrendered unto the Lord.
To be empowered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one has to qualify himself. This means that one must engage twenty-four hours daily in the loving devotional service of the Lord. The material position of a devotee doesn’t matter because devotional service is not dependent on material considerations. In his earlier life, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī was a government officer and a gṛhastha. He was not even a brahmacārī or sannyāsī. He associated with mlecchas and yavanas, but because he was always eager to serve, he was a qualified recipient for the Lord's mercy. A sincere devotee can therefore be empowered by the Lord regardless of his situation. In the preceding verse from the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has described how he was personally empowered by the Lord.
Speculative knowledge alone, without devotional service, is not able to give liberation. On the other hand, even without knowledge one can obtain liberation if one engages in the Lord's devotional service.
O King Rahūgaṇa, without taking upon one's head the dust from the lotus feet of a pure devotee (a mahājana or mahātmā), one cannot attain devotional service. Devotional service is not possible to attain simply by undergoing severe austerities and penances, by gorgeously worshiping the Deity, or by strictly following the rules and regulations of the sannyāsa or gṛhastha order; nor is it attained by studying the Vedas, submerging oneself in water, or exposing oneself to fire or scorching sunlight.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Teachings of Lord Caitanya
"It is My promise and duty to give all protection to one who surrenders unto Me without reservation." One may enjoy fruitive activities, liberation, jñāna, or the perfection of the yoga system, but if one becomes very intelligent he will give up all these paths and engage himself in sincere devotional service to the Lord. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam also confirms (2.3.10) that even if a person desires material enjoyment or liberation, he should engage in devotional service. Those who are ambitious to derive material benefit from devotional service are not pure devotees, but because they are engaged in devotional service they are considered fortunate. They do not know that the result of devotional service is not material benediction, but because they engage themselves in the devotional service of the Lord they ultimately come to understand that material enjoyment is not the goal of devotional service. Kṛṣṇa Himself says that persons who want some material benefit in exchange for devotional service are certainly foolish because they want something which is poisonous for them. The real goal of devotional service is love of Godhead, and although a person may desire material benefits from Kṛṣṇa, the Lord, being all-powerful, considers the person's position and gradually liberates him from a materially ambitious life and engages him more in devotional service. When one is actually engaged in devotional service, he forgets his material ambitions and desires.
Devotional service with attachment is natural, and one who has been attracted by it does not argue with those who oppose him, even though others may argue by presenting scriptural injunctions. The natural inclination to devotional service is also based on scriptural injunction, and one who has attachment for such devotional service is not required to give it up simply on the strength of scriptural argument. In this connection it should be noted that a class of so-called devotees (known as prākṛta-sahajiyā) follow their own concocted ideas and, representing themselves as Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā, indulge in debauchery. Such devotional service and attachment are false, and those so engaged are actually gliding down a hellish path. This is not the standard of rāgātmikā, or devotion. The prākṛta-sahajiyā community is actually cheated and very unfortunate.
Nectar of Devotion
To perform devotional service means to follow in the footsteps of Rādhārāṇī, and devotees in Vṛndāvana put themselves under the care of Rādhārāṇī in order to achieve perfection in their devotional service. In other words, devotional service is not an activity of the material world; it is directly under the control of Rādhārāṇī. In Bhagavad-gītā it is confirmed that the mahātmās, or great souls, are under the protection of daivī prakṛti, the internal energy—Rādhārāṇī. So, being directly under the control of the internal potency of Kṛṣṇa, devotional service attracts even Kṛṣṇa Himself.
In the Middle Ages, after the disappearance of Lord Caitanya's great associate Lord Nityānanda, a class of priestly persons claimed to be the descendants of Nityānanda, calling themselves the gosvāmī caste. They further claimed that the practice and spreading of devotional service belonged only to their particular class, which was known as Nityānanda-vaṁśa. In this way, they exercised their artificial power for some time, until Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, the powerful ācārya of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava sampradāya, completely smashed their idea. There was a great hard struggle for some time, but it has turned out successfully, and it is now correctly and practically established that devotional service is not restricted to a particular class of men. Besides that, anyone who is engaged in devotional service is already at the status of being a high-class brāhmaṇa. So Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura's struggle for this movement has come out successful.
Mukti means liberation from material contamination; when liberated, one does not have to take birth again in the material world. The impersonalists desire to merge into the spiritual existence, to end their individual existence, but according to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, mukti is only the beginning of one's becoming situated in his normal condition. The normal condition of every living entity is to be engaged in the devotional service of the Lord. From the statement of the Ādi Purāṇa it appears that a devotee is satisfied simply with being engaged in devotional service. He does not aspire for any liberation from material, conditional life. In other words, anyone who is engaged in devotional service is not in the material condition of life, although he may appear so.
In the Nṛsiṁha Purāṇa it is stated, "If a person has completely engaged his mind, body and activities in the service of the Supreme Godhead, but externally he is found to be engaged in some abominable activities, these abominable activities will surely be very quickly vanquished by the influence of his staunch devotional force." The example is given that on the full moon there are some spots which may appear to be pockmarks. Still, the illumination spread by the full moon cannot be checked. Similarly, a little fault in the midst of volumes of devotional service is not at all to be counted as a fault. Attachment for Kṛṣṇa is transcendental bliss. Amid unlimited volumes of transcendental bliss, a spot of some material defect cannot act in any way.
Nectar of Instruction
Devotional service is not a matter of sentimental speculation or imaginative ecstasy. Its substance is practical activity. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, in his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.1.11), has defined devotional service as follows:
- anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ
- jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam
- ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-
- śīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā
- (CC Madhya 19.167)
"Uttamā bhakti, or unalloyed devotion unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, involves the rendering of devotional service in a way that is favorable to the Lord. This devotional service should be free from any extraneous motive and devoid of fruitive karma, impersonal jñāna and all other selfish desires."
Endeavor executed with intelligence in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is called utsāha, or enthusiasm. The devotees find the correct means by which everything can be utilized in the service of the Lord (nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe yuktaṁ vairāgyam ucyate). The execution of devotional service is not a matter of idle meditation but practical action in the foreground of spiritual life.
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
If by the evolutionary process of philosophical life one happens to reach the platform of intellectual life and understands that he is not this material body but a spiritual soul, he is situated in the vijñāna-maya stage. Then, by evolution in spiritual life, he comes to the understanding of the Supreme Lord, or the Supreme Soul. When one develops his relationship with Him and executes devotional service, that stage of life is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the ānanda-maya stage. Ānanda-maya is the blissful life of knowledge and eternity. As it is said in the Vedānta-sūtra, ānanda-mayo ’bhyāsāt. The Supreme Brahman and the subordinate Brahman, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the living entities, are both joyful by nature. As long as the living entities are situated in the lower four stages of life— anna-maya, prāṇa-maya, mano-maya and vijñāna-maya—they are considered to be in the material condition of life, but as soon as one reaches the stage of ānanda-maya, he is a liberated soul. This ānanda-maya stage is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā as the brahma-bhūta (SB 4.30.20) stage. There it is said that in the brahma-bhūta stage of life there is no anxiety and no hankering. This stage begins when one is equally disposed toward all living entities, and it then expands to the stage of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, in which one always hankers to render service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This hankering for advancement in devotional service is not the same as hankering for sense gratification in material existence. In other words, hankering remains in spiritual life, but it becomes purified. Similarly, when our senses are purified, they are freed from all material stages, namely anna-maya, prāṇa-maya, mano-maya and vijñāna-maya, and they become situated in the highest stage—ānanda-maya, or blissful life in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The Māyāvādī philosophers consider ānanda-maya to be the state of being merged in the Supreme. To them, ānanda-maya means that the Supersoul and the individual soul become one. But the real fact is that oneness does not mean merging into the Supreme and losing one's own individual existence. Merging into the spiritual existence is the living entity's realization of qualitative oneness with the Supreme Lord in His aspects of eternity and knowledge. But the actual ānanda-maya (blissful) stage is attained when one is engaged in devotional service. That is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā: mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām (BG 18.54). Here Lord Kṛṣṇa states that the brahma-bhūta ānanda-maya stage is complete only when there is an exchange of love between the Supreme and the subordinate living entities. Unless one comes to this ānanda-maya stage, his breathing is like the breathing of a bellows in a blacksmith's shop, his duration of life is like that of a tree, and he is no better than the lower animals like the camels, hogs and dogs.
Mukunda-mala-stotra (mantras 1 to 6 only)
Only one who renders devotional service to the Lord can attain this stage of indifference to the false and temporary assets of material nature. Such devotional service is not a mental concoction of depraved persons but is an actual process of God realization characterized by full cognizance and detachment and based on the Vedic literature. So-called devotional practices that have no reference to the rules and regulations set down in such books of Vedic literature as the śruti, the smṛti, the Purāṇas, and the Pañcarātras are not bona fide. The self-realized souls advise us to reject such pseudodevotional practices, which simply create a disturbance on the path of spiritual realization. Only by sincerely engaging in the service of the Lord according to the injunctions of scripture can one gradually become a qualified devotee of the Lord, and it does not matter whether it takes many repetitions of birth and death, life after life.
Narada-bhakti-sutra (sutras 1 to 8 only)
In the stage of perfection, one's heart becomes slackened and one becomes more and more attached to attaining the lotus feet of the Lord. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, a great ācārya in the line of devotional service, has described this stage as follows: "Although appearing just like a madman, a person in the ecstasy of devotional service is not mad in the material conception of the term; this ecstasy is the manifestation of the pleasure potency of the Supreme Lord." The Lord has various potencies, one of which is called āhlādinī-śakti, His internal pleasure potency. Only one who becomes a little conversant with this potency can taste such ecstasy. The Vedānta-sūtra (1.1.12) states, ānanda-mayo 'bhyāsāt: "By nature the Lord is always joyful." This joyfulness of the Lord is due to His pleasure potency.
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
If you take the bhakti-yoga process, then you are no longer influenced by either of these three qualities, goodness, passion, and ignorance. That is also stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: māṁ ca avyabhicāriṇī bhakti-yogena sevate. Anyone who is engaged in the devotional service of Kṛṣṇa, avyabhicāriṇī, without any deviation, staunch, devout attention, such person, māṁ cāvyabhicāriṇī yogena, māṁ ca avyabhicāreṇa yogena bhajate māṁ sa guṇān samatītyaitān (BG 14.26). Immediately, he becomes transcendental to all the qualities. So devotional service is not within these material qualities. They are transcendental. Bhakti is transcendental. Therefore, you cannot understand Kṛṣṇa or God without bhakti. Bhaktyā māṁ abhijānāti (BG 18.55). Only bhaktyā māṁ abhijānāti. Otherwise, it is not possible. Bhaktyā māṁ abhijānāti yāvan yas cāsmi tattvataḥ. Reality, in reality, if you want to understand what is God, then you have to adopt this bhakti process, devotional service. Then you transcend. Therefore, in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, Nārada says that: tyaktvā sva-dharmaṁ caraṇāmbujaṁ harer (SB 1.5.17). If anyone, even by sentiment, gives such, gives up his occupational duty according to guṇa... That is called svadharma... Svadharma means one's duty according to the quality he has acquired. That is called svadharma. The brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, they are divided guṇa-karma-vibhāgaśaḥ (BG 4.13), by guṇa and karma.
Our activities can be made a fried seed by the fire of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So there will be no reaction. Pratyakṣāvagamaṁ dharmyaṁ susukhaṁ kartum avyayam (BG 9.2). Susukham, very pleasant. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ (SB 7.5.23). This devotional service is not very unpleasant. It is very pleasant. You very melodiously sing with instruments, and somebody will participate in hearing, śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ. Of course, it must be in relationship with the Supreme Lord. Not ordinary music. We take the advantage of musical science. But we don't sing any ordinary song. We glorify the Supreme Lord. But we enjoy. Therefore it is happy. Then again, śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇam. Now, what you are hearing from Bhagavad-gītā, if you remember it at home, that "Swamiji was spoke, speaking like this, and how does it apply in my life?"... We should remember this. We should not forget just after leaving this place. And if there is any question, any doubt, we should place before this assembly. I am inquiring. I am inviting you for any question because we are trying to understand a very nice and great science.
In this way you have to be situated on the devotional service. Devotional service is not sentiment. Just like Kṛṣṇa, after describing so many stages of advancement of knowledge, then he says, mayi ca ananya-yogena bhaktir avyabhicāriṇī. Ananya-yogena. Always... Yoga means linking up. Always linking up with Kṛṣṇa. Mayi. Kṛṣṇa says mayi, "Unto Me, Kṛṣṇa." Mayi ca ananya-yogena bhakti-yogena. So you can become attached with Kṛṣṇa if you are dovetailed in the service of Kṛṣṇa, not casually, but constantly. Mayi ca ananya-yogena bhakti-yogena avyabhicāriṇī. Acyabhicāriṇī means without break, always, constantly.
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
There are different stages of bhakti. The first-class bhakti is anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ, without any material desires, ahaituki. Apratihatā and cannot be checked by any material condition. Bhakti, or devotional service is not such a thing which can be checked. "Sir, I was feeling very sick, therefore I could not chant." No, that is not bhakti. We are subjected to all these tribulations utterly, but bhakti... Just like Haridāsa Ṭhākura, he was going to die, or he's change his body, he's going to Vaikuṇṭha. Caitanya... He was chanting daily 300,000s. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu advised him, "Now you are sick-willed, you can reduce your chanting." Haridāsa Ṭhākura said, "No, sir. That I cannot do." That is Haridāsa Ṭhākura. We cannot imitate Haridāsa Ṭhākura. Even at the point of death he was chanting 300,000s of Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. Apratihatā, this is called apratihatā, without being checked by any material condition. So if you want to become a devotee, no material condition can check you. It is so nice, so easy, ahaituki apratihatā yayātmā suprasīdati. The real thing is that we want satisfaction of our self, so if we want actually satisfaction of self then we shall take to this devotional service without being checked by any material condition or for without any material reason, then you shall be happy.
Pradyumna: "The inactive fool is in the state of foolish ignorance, whereas the self-satisfied ātmānandī is transcendental to the material state of existence. This stage of perfection is attained as soon as one is fixed up in irrevocable devotional service. Devotional service is not inactivity, but the unalloyed activity of the soul."
Prabhupāda: Soul. This is, this is the activity of the soul. You stop the activity of the body, of the mind; then you must be engaged in the activity of the soul. Actually, the soul is active, not this body and mind. As soon as the soul is out of this body, there is no activity. So the real source of activity is coming from the soul. So how it is that after one becomes liberated, he becomes inactive? That is the theory of the Māyāvādīs. Real activity begins there. Here we are active. We have got so many impediments offered by the mind and the body; and when we actually come to the platform of soul, that is liberated position. The activity should be very nice and very polished, very advanced.
Kṛṣṇa orders, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (BG 18.66). If we accept it, even by sentiment... That is confirmed in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Tyaktvā sva-dharmaṁ caraṇāmbujaṁ hareḥ patet tato yadi, bhajann apakvo 'tha. Nārada Muni says that "If somebody, even by sentiment-'All right, Kṛṣṇa says sarva-dharmān parityajya. Let us stop any other business, become Kṛṣṇa conscious'—even one accepts by sentiment, not thoroughly understanding, he is also fortunate." He also fortunate because he accepts the real thing. Therefore Nārada Muni said that "Even one accepting by sentiment, and later on," bhajann apakvo 'tha, "his execution of devotional service not mature and he falls down, then," Nārada Muni says, yatra kva vābhadram abhūd amuṣya kim, "where is the loss for that person? On the other hand, the other person who has not accepted this—he is very regularly executing his respons..., material responsibility—what does he gain by that?" This is the opinion. "If Kṛṣṇa consciousness is accepted even by sentiment, and after that, even he falls down, there is no loss. And if we are very faithful to our material duties, then," Nārada Muni says, "what do we gain by that?"
So this is very important thing. We do not gain anything. We gain only another body—again begin chapter, the same struggle for existence. And that also, there is no guarantee. According to our karma, we shall have to accept a body.
Prabhupāda: So mṛtyu, death, is stopped as soon as you take Kṛṣṇa consciousness very seriously, immediately, from that moment, as soon as you are initiated. You promise before the spiritual master, "Yes, I am initiated, I shall act like this," and if you follow, then your death is stopped from that point. No more death. No more death. Simply an official business, just like you sleep and again you awake, similarly, a devotee's death is like that. It is like sleeping, and next moment in the spiritual kingdom, immediately. Immediately. When he will rise, he will see that "I am with Kṛṣṇa."
Devotees: Jaya! Prabhupāda!
Prabhupāda: This is the fact. So don't fall down. Don't be childish, that "Yes, I have promised before spiritual master, before Kṛṣṇa, before fire. All right, that's all right. Let me break." No, don't do that. Don't do that. Don't lose this opportunity. You are now on the point of deathlessness, but if you again commit... Bhajann apakvo 'tha patet tato yadi. There is chance. If your execution of devotional service is not going perfectly, so there is chance of falldown.
So this is going on. I do not know how long, since what time we have begun this wandering, changing. Lord Caitanya says that ei rūpe brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva (CC Madhya 19.151). He said that the living entities are wandering in such a way, in different species of life, in different planets, lower and higher. In this way, if he is fortunate enough, he comes in contact with a bona fide spiritual master under the grace of Lord Kṛṣṇa. That means if anyone is fortunate, he comes in contact with guru and Kṛṣṇa, a bona fide spiritual master and Kṛṣṇa. And what is the benefit? The benefit is guru-kṛṣṇa-kṛpāya pāya bhakti-latā-bīja (CC Madhya 19.151). The benediction from the bona fide spiritual master and Lord is that his sense of devotional service is invoked. That is the gift. He does not give anything material opulence. Of course, if one is advanced in spiritual consciousness, material happiness is not very rare for him. That is automatically there. But the gift of Kṛṣṇa and spiritual master is to inject him. Not inject him... The devotional service, love of Godhead is there, but to invoke it. This devotional service is not artificial. In every one of you there is dormant devotional service, as I have already explained, but they are exhibited in a different way. Instead of loving God, that devotional service is diverted in loving a dog. But the love is there. Love is there. Nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-bhakti sādhya kabhu naya. It is said that this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not an artificial thing that we have manufactured something, ideal thing, concocted, and we are preaching to the world that "You become Kṛṣṇa conscious." No. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness is there. What is that Kṛṣṇa consciousness? To love God. That is there. We are simply helping that "You try to love God; then you'll be happy." That is our mission.
Bhakti, devotional service, is not easy, but at the same time very easy, one moment's business, one moment's. But I must be willing. Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇam (BG 18.66). If I do it, immediately... But that, I am not willing. We have seen so many persons. Kṛṣṇa says directly that "You surrender unto Me," sarva-dharmān parityajya. Still, he says, "When Kṛṣṇa will be merciful, then I shall do." What is this nonsense? Kṛṣṇa is directly asking you. Again He has to become merciful? What kind of mercy? These are all pleas, different pleas. Actually He doesn't want that "I shall not surrender unto You, sir. I shall place some pleas. That's all." In that way... When we become actually niṣkiñcana or akiñcana, then, as Caitanya Mahaprabhu advises, niṣkiñcanasya bhagavad-bhajanonmukhasya. Bhagavad-bhajanonmukha means niṣkiñcana. Param... What is that bhagavad-bhajana? Pāraṁ paraṁ jigamiṣor bhava-sāgarasya. Bhava-sāgara. This ocean. Sāgara means ocean, and bhava means take birth, again die. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). That is called mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani, Kṛṣṇa says. Mām aprāpya nivartante mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani. This is bhagavad-bhajana. We do not know how many times we have taken birth and again died. That's a fact. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ (BG 2.13). Millions and millions, for years, we are doing that. Mṛtyu saṁsāra. Still, we are so shameless, we want to do again and again that thing.
Just like many students come to us, and they stick for some days, again go away. Not very much, but I have got experience. Some boys came, three, four boys. They are no longer with us. They have left us. Now Nārada Muni said tyaktvā sva-dharmam. Sva-dharmam means everyone has got his specific activity, duty. So Nārada Muni says even if Of course, this specific duty is in reference with the system of varṇa and āśrama. Just like somebody is brāhmaṇa, executing the duties of abrāhmaṇa, somebody is executing the duty of a kṣatriya, somebody is executing the duty of avaiśya, or a śūdra, or a brahmacārī, or a sannyāsī, vānaprastha. There are eight divisions. So Nārada Muni says that if one gives up his occupational duty, specific duty either as a brahmacārī or sannyāsī or gṛhastha or brāhmaṇa or kṣatriya, he gives up Why he gives up? Tyaktvā sva-dharmaṁ caraṇāmbujaṁ harer (SB 1.5.17). By sentiment or by association, he becomes encouraged that "I shall take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. I shall give up everything." So Nārada Muni says, "Oh, it is a very good thing. Even if he's sentimental."Tyaktvā sva-dharmaṁ caraṇāmbujaṁ harer (SB 1.5.17). And because one comes by sentiment to understand Kṛṣṇa consciousness he cannot stick. So bhajann apakvo 'tha. That means, bhajann, when the execution of devotional service is not complete, apakvo, immature Tyaktvā sva-dharmaṁ caraṇāmbujaṁ harer bhajann apakvo 'tha patet tato yadi (SB 1.5.17). Or even falls down.
Vidyā-vinaya-sampanne brāhmaṇi gavi hastini, śuni caiva śva-pāke..., paṇḍita... (BG 5.18). He has become paṇḍita. Samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu. When these conditions are fulfilled, mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām (BG 18.54)—then he enters into devotional service. So devotional service is not a sentiment. It is most scientific, just to become freed from the contamination of this material world. That means one who is devotee, he is already mukta, he is liberated.
Nectar of Devotion Lectures
Everything is resting on me, but it is not that I am there. So this philosophy, so devotional service is not only mixing, but to remain steady, engaged. The same example. The rivers, that is superficial, you..., we are seeing the ocean superficially. There is no varieties, simply water, simply water, simply water. But if you go deep into the water, there are so many varieties, so many varieties. Similarly, simply entering, merging to the Brahman effulgence, brahmajyoti, that is not secure position. The secure position is within the brahmajyoti. That is explained in the Īśopaniṣad. Within the brahmajyoti there are planets, Vaikuṇṭha planets. So you have to take shelter in one of the planets. Just like the fish, the comparison of the fish, the shark fish. He has taken shelter of the ocean. Therefore the, for him there is no evaporation. The water, although it is also sea water, that, that is subjected to be evaporated. So simply by entering into the Brahman effulgence is not safe.
Devotional service is not dependent on śubhāśubha-karma. It is simply dependent on the mercy of Kṛṣṇa and His devotees. Kṛṣṇa de... Sādhu. Guru-kṛṣṇa-kṛpāya pāya bhakti-latā-bīja (CC Madhya 19.151). Guru-kṛṣṇa-kṛpāya. Naiṣāṁ matis tāvad urukramāṅghriṁ (SB 7.5.32), mahīyasāṁ pāda-rajo-'bhiṣekam niṣkiñcanānāṁ na vṛṇīta yā... Unless we surrender to the lotus feet of a pure devotee, it is not possible to come to the platform of devotional service. That is the way. We cannot taste the honey within the bottle. The bottle must be opened by the expert. If you simply lick up the bottle, if we think, "Now we are tasting honey," that is not the proper way. We should get the bottle opened by the expert, and when we taste within the bottle, then actually... Similarly, devotional service, without being opened by the..., open, without the door being opened by the devotee, we cannot enter into the region. Guru-kṛṣṇa-kṛpāya pāya bhakti-latā-bīja (CC Madhya 19.151). Therefore the process is, as recommended by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, ādau gurvāśrayam. You must select, you must accept the guru who's coming in paramparā system. Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ (BG 4.2). Sampradāya. That is recommended. We have got Vaiṣṇava-sampradāya, four sampradāya: Rāmānuja-sampradāya, Madhva-sampradāya, Nimbārka-sampradāya. So intelligent persons should select guru from these sampradāyas and follow his instruction. Then the path of devotional service will be very easily opened. This is the way.
Pradyumna: "To perform devotional service means to follow in the footsteps of Rādhārāṇī, and devotees in Vṛndāvana put themselves under the care of Rādhārāṇī in order to achieve perfection in their devotional service. In other words, devotional service is not an activity of the material world; it is directly under the control of Rādhārāṇī. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is confirmed that the mahātmās, or great souls, are under the protection of daivī prakṛti, the internal energy—Rādhārāṇī. So, being directly under the control of the internal potency of Kṛṣṇa, devotional service attracts even Kṛṣṇa Himself."
Prabhupāda: Yes. Mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ, bhajanty ananya-manaso (BG 9.13). Here we are under the influence of this material energy, but those who are devotee of Kṛṣṇa, they are under the influence of internal energy. The internal energy of Kṛṣṇa, it has got three different functions. One of the function is hlādinī śakti. That is Rādhārāṇī. That is Rādhārāṇī. Rādhārāṇī is the pleasure potency of Kṛṣṇa.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
"Now, a similar question was put by your grandfather Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira to Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa answered like this." What is that? Yasyāham anugṛhṇāmi hariṣye tad-dhanaṁ śanaiḥ: (SB 10.88.8) "If I do somebody some special favor, then My first duty is I become him crushed in all material possessions." You see? Why? "Because to make him more surrendered to Me." When he becomes helpless, he has no other way. "Kṛṣṇa, please take me." When he has something, he thinks, "Oh, these things will protect me, my material possessions." Therefore he does not surrender. Now, Kṛṣṇa sees that "This man, this living entity, is very much devotee, but he wants something, this nonsense. So crush him so that when he'll feel helpless, he will come to Me. No more. So I'll give him all protection." So there is a policy of Kṛṣṇa. Sometimes He puts us into test, whether we are sincerely devotee of Kṛṣṇa. Because we are always after sense gratification, so if Kṛṣṇa is not a order-supplier, then one rejects Kṛṣṇa. We want God, or Kṛṣṇa, to be our order-supplier. So we must order Kṛṣṇa, "Give me this. Give me that. If You cannot give me, then what are You, Kṛṣṇa? I don't want You." This sort of bhakti, or devotional service, is not accepted by Kṛṣṇa.
Arrival Addresses and Talks
So this movement, Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement means making people directly in contact with the Supreme. Therefore immediately they're happy. I have got thousands of letters from my disciples. They're feeling so much obliged that "We have got our life. We were hopeless. "Actually, that is the position. Without Kṛṣṇa, without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we are all hopeless, confused. So I am very happy to see so many nice boys and girls assembled here. So take to this process. We have got sufficient literature-books, magazines. And the simple method is, even if you do not read, suppose you are not educated, illiterate, you can not read, and still you can reach Kṛṣṇa. Bhakti, devotional service is not dependent on any material condition. Because one man is very rich, he can get Kṛṣṇa? No. Because one man is very poor, he cannot get Kṛṣṇa? No. That's not right. Because one is Hindu or Indian, he can get Kṛṣṇa, not others? No. That is also not. Kṛṣṇa is unconditionally for everyone. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: sarva yoniṣu kaunteya (BG 14.4). Otherwise, how He can be God? If He is a Hindu God, just like they describe in the dictionary that Kṛṣṇa, a Hindu God—that is nonsense. Kṛṣṇa is for everyone. Kṛṣṇa does not say that "I am a Hindu God." But these rascals say Kṛṣṇa is Hindu God. This is going on. You see in the Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa says, sarva yoniṣu kaunteya. "In all species of life." Sambhavanti mūrtayaḥ. There are as many different forms of life. Tāsāṁ mahad yoni, brahma: "Their mother is this material nature, and I am their seed-giving father." Kṛṣṇa says that. So how can Kṛṣṇa be Indian or Hindu or this or that? No. Kṛṣṇa is for everyone. And the proof is that five years ago in the Western countries nobody knew what is Kṛṣṇa. How they're taking Kṛṣṇa in so loving attitude? This is the proof that Kṛṣṇa is for everyone, and everyone is for Kṛṣṇa.
Conversations and Morning Walks
1977 Conversations and Morning Walks
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "...As described in the second verse of this chapter, this devotional service is not only easy, but it can be performed in a happy mood. One does not need to undergo any severe penance and austerity. He can live this life in devotional service, guided by an expert spiritual master, and in any position, either as a householder or a sannyāsī, or a brahmacārī; in any position and anywhere in the world, he can perform this devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and thus become actually mahātmā, a great soul."
Prabhupāda: So all instructions are there. If you read it carefully, you get. But don't manufacture in your own way. That will not be successful. Yaḥ śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya.
Correspondence
1972 Correspondence
Krishna Consciousness has great potency to deliver us to the highest platform of perfection, but only if it is understood by the intelligence. Something understood by the intelligence is fixed forever and cannot waver, and that is almost spiritual. From your letter, I can understand you are confused in your mind, because you do not want this, you do not want that, you might like another, like that. That position of confusion is not very much desirable, so you are a Vaisnava, now rid yourself of such misunderstanding of things. Vaisnava means one who is able to sit down anywhere, under any conditions, and be happy. He wants only a place to lay down, a little prasadam, and if there's a little service he can do, gladly let me do it for Krishna, that's all. As long as we are thinking I want this, that is not to my liking, or if I adjust things a certain way everything will be better, these thoughts are material. Devotional service is not conditional. So stop this dreaming state. Try to understand things with the light of your intelligence, and if your are sincere in this way, without a doubt Krishna will give you full facility to understand Him and become freed of the bondage of ignorance.
I am little observing now, especially in your country, that our men are losing their enthusiasm for spreading on our programmes of Krishna Consciousness movement. Otherwise, why so many letters of problems are coming, dissatisfied? That is not a very good sign. The whole problem is they are not following the regulative principles, that I can detect. Without this, enthusiasm will be lacking. Even mechanically following, and if he gets gradually understanding from the class, he will come to the point of spontaneous enthusiasm. This spontaneous loving devotional service is not so easy matter, but if one simply sticks strictly to the rules and regulations, like rising early, chanting 16 rounds, chanting gayatri, keeping always clean—then his enthusiasm will grow more and more, and if there is also patience and determination, one day he will come to the platform of spontaneous devotion, then his life will be perfect. All of this I have told you in Nectar of Devotion.
1973 Correspondence
So I have introduced this marriage system in your Western countries because there is custom of freely intermingling male and female. Therefore marriage required just to engage the boys and girls in devotional service, never mind distinction of living status. But our marriage system is little different than in your country, we do not sanction the policy of quick divorce. We are supposed to take husband or wife as eternal companion or assistant in Krsna consciousness service, and there is promise never to separate. Of course if there is any instance of very advanced disciples, married couple, and they have agreed that the husband shall now take sannyasa or renounced order of life, being mutually very happy by that arrangement, then there is ground for such separation. But even in those cases there is no question of separation, the husband, even he is sannyasa, he must be certain his wife will be taken care of nicely and protected in his absence. Now so many cases are there of unhappiness by the wife who has been abandoned by her husband against her wishes. So how can I sanction such thing? I want to avoid setting any bad example for future generations, therefore I am so much cautiously considering your request. But if it becomes so easy for me to get married and then leave my wife, under excuse of married life being an impediment to my own spiritual progress, that will not be very good at all. That is misunderstanding of what is advancement in spiritual life. Occupational duty must be there, either this one or that one, but once I am engaged in something occupational duty, then I should not change that or give it up, that is the worst mistake. Devotional service is not bound up by such designations. Therefore once I have chosen, it is better to stick in that way and develop my devotional attitude into full-blown love of Godhead. That is Arjuna's understanding.
| Page Title: | Devotional service is not |
| Compiler: | Archana, Labangalatika |
| Created: | 26 of Oct, 2008 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=2, SB=7, CC=7, OB=11, Lec=16, Con=1, Let=3 |
| No. of Quotes: | 47 |