Expressions researched:
"fearless"
|"fearlessly"
|"fearlessness"
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Madhya-lila
The test of advanced spiritual consciousness is that one becomes fearless.
CC Madhya 17.31, Purport: A mahā-bhāgavata, being learned and advanced in spiritual consciousness, sees no difference between a tiger, an elephant or a learned scholar. The test of advanced spiritual consciousness is that one becomes fearless. He envies no one, and he is always engaged in the Lord's service. He sees every living entity as an eternal part and parcel of the Lord, rendering service according to his capacity by the will of the Supreme Lord.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura remarks that although the brāhmaṇa did not belong to a superior community, he fearlessly chastised so-called caste brāhmaṇas because he was situated on the platform of pure devotional service.
CC Madhya 17.183, Translation and Purport: "Foolish people will blaspheme You, but I shall not tolerate the words of such mischievous people."
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura remarks that although the brāhmaṇa did not belong to a superior community, he fearlessly chastised so-called caste brāhmaṇas because he was situated on the platform of pure devotional service. There are people who are opposed to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's accepting a Vaiṣṇava belonging to a lower caste. Such people do not consider mahā-prasādam transcendental, and therefore they are described here as mūrkha (foolish) and duṣṭa (mischievous). A pure devotee has the power to challenge such high-caste people, and his brave statements are not to be considered proud or puffed up. On the contrary, he is to be considered straightforward. Such a person does not like to flatter high-class brāhmaṇas who belong to the non-Vaiṣṇava community.
CC Madhya 18.167, Translation: The devotee Kṛṣṇadāsa, who belonged to the Rājaputa race, was very fearless. The Sanoḍiyā brāhmaṇa was also fearless, and he spoke very bravely.
"Due to transcendental intelligence, I now refuse to obey the unwanted orders of these desires, and I now come to You to surrender myself at Your fearless lotus feet."
CC Madhya 22.16, Translation: "O my Lord, there is no limit to the unwanted orders of lusty desires. Although I have rendered these desires so much service, they have not shown any mercy to me. I have not been ashamed to serve them, nor have I even desired to give them up. O my Lord, O head of the Yadu dynasty, recently, however, my intelligence has been awakened, and now I am giving them up. Due to transcendental intelligence, I now refuse to obey the unwanted orders of these desires, and I now come to You to surrender myself at Your fearless lotus feet. Kindly engage me in Your personal service and save me."
The Personality of Godhead is eternally devoid of all disturbances, fearless, completely conscious as opposed to matter, uncontaminated and without distinctions.
CC Madhya 22.32, Purport: "What is realized as the Absolute Brahman is full of unlimited bliss without grief. That is certainly the ultimate phase of the supreme enjoyer, the Personality of Godhead. He is eternally devoid of all disturbances, fearless, completely conscious as opposed to matter, uncontaminated and without distinctions. He is the principal, primeval cause of all causes and effects, in whom there is no sacrifice for fruitive activities and in whom the illusory energy does not stand."
CC Madhya 22.110, Translation: "O descendant of Bharata! O Mahārāja Parīkṣit! The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is situated in everyone"s heart as Paramātmā, who is the supreme controller, and who always removes the miseries of the living entities, must always be heard about from reliable sources, and He must be glorified and remembered by one who wishes to become fearless."
CC Antya-lila
CC Antya 1.190, Translation: "My dear friend, who is this fearless young man? He is as bright as a lightning cloud, and He wanders in His pastimes like a maddened elephant. From where has He come to Vṛndāvana? Alas, by His restless movements and attractive glances He is plundering from the vault of My heart the treasure of My patience."
Constant chanting of the holy name of the Lord after the ways of the great authorities is the doubtless and fearless way of success for all, including those who are free from all material desires.
CC Antya 4.71, Purport: In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.1.11) Śukadeva Gosvāmī says:
- etan nirvidyamānānām icchatām akuto-bhayam
- yogināṁ nṛpa nirṇītaṁ harer nāmānukīrtanam
"O King, constant chanting of the holy name of the Lord after the ways of the great authorities is the doubtless and fearless way of success for all, including those who are free from all material desires, those who are desirous of all material enjoyment, and those who are self-satisfied by dint of transcendental knowledge."
CC Antya 9.56, Translation: The messenger replied, “He was fearlessly, incessantly chanting the mahā-mantra—Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
CC Antya 15.70, Translation: "'Dear Kṛṣṇa, by seeing Your beautiful face decorated with tresses of hair, by seeing the beauty of Your earrings falling on Your cheeks, and by seeing the nectar of Your lips, the beauty of Your smiling glances, Your two arms, which assure complete fearlessness, and Your broad chest, whose beauty arouses conjugal attraction, we have simply surrendered ourselves to becoming Your maidservants.'"
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Teachings of Lord Caitanya
It is the prime duty of persons who want to become fearless to hear about the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, and to chant about Him and always remember Him.
Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 12: Devotional service may be regulative or affectionate. One who has not developed transcendental affection for Kṛṣṇa should conduct his life according to the directions and regulations of the scriptures and the spiritual master. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.1.5) Śukadeva Gosvāmī advises Mahārāja Parīkṣit:
- tasmād bhārata sarvātmā
- bhagavān īśvaro hariḥ
- śrotavyaḥ kīrtitavyaś ca
- smartavyaś cecchatābhayam
"O best of the Bhāratas, it is the prime duty of persons who want to become fearless to hear about the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, and to chant about Him and always remember Him. Lord Viṣṇu is always to be remembered; indeed, He is not to be forgotten for even a moment. He is the sum and substance of all regulative principles." The conclusion is that when all the rules, regulations, recommended and prohibited activities revealed in scriptures are taken together, the remembrance of the Supreme Lord is invariably the essence of everything.
Nectar of Devotion
If one can chant and hear Hare Kṛṣṇa and always remember Lord Kṛṣṇa, then he is sure to become fearless of death, which may come at any moment.
Nectar of Devotion 2: Mahārāja Parīkṣit met Śukadeva Gosvāmī just a week before his death, and the King was perplexed as to what should be done before he was to pass on. Many other sages also arrived there, but no one could give him the proper direction. Śukadeva Gosvāmī, however, gave this direction to him as follows: "My dear King, if you want to be fearless in meeting your death next week (for actually everyone is afraid at the point of death), then you must immediately begin the process of hearing and chanting and remembering God." If one can chant and hear Hare Kṛṣṇa and always remember Lord Kṛṣṇa, then he is sure to become fearless of death, which may come at any moment.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī has recommended to Parīkṣit Mahārāja that in order to be fearless of death, one has to hear and chant and remember the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, by all means.
Nectar of Devotion 2: According to the authorized version of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, one has to hear and chant about Lord Viṣṇu (Kṛṣṇa) only. So Śukadeva Gosvāmī has recommended to Parīkṣit Mahārāja that in order to be fearless of death, one has to hear and chant and remember the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, by all means. He also mentions that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is sarvātmā. Sarvātmā means "the Supersoul of everyone." Kṛṣṇa is also mentioned as īśvara, the supreme controller who is situated in everyone's heart. Therefore, if some way or other we become attached to Kṛṣṇa, He will make us free from all danger. In Bhagavad-gītā it is said that anyone who becomes a devotee of the Lord is never vanquished. Others, however, are always vanquished. "Vanquished" means that after getting this human form of life, a person does not come out of the entanglement of birth and death and thus misses his golden opportunity. Such a person does not know where he is being thrown by the laws of nature.
The recommendation of Rūpa Gosvāmī for reviving our original Kṛṣṇa consciousness is that somehow or other we should apply our minds to Kṛṣṇa very seriously and thus also become fearless of death.
Nectar of Devotion 2: Suppose one does not develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness in this human form of life. He will be thrown into the cycle of birth and death, involving 8,400,000 species of life, and his spiritual identity will remain lost. One does not know whether he is going to be a plant, or a beast, or a bird, or something like that, because there are so many species of life. The recommendation of Rūpa Gosvāmī for reviving our original Kṛṣṇa consciousness is that somehow or other we should apply our minds to Kṛṣṇa very seriously and thus also become fearless of death. After death we do not know our destination, because we are completely under the control of the laws of nature. Only Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is controller over the laws of nature. Therefore, if we take shelter of Kṛṣṇa seriously, there will be no fear of being thrown back into the cycle of so many species of life. A sincere devotee will surely be transferred to the abode of Kṛṣṇa, as affirmed in Bhagavad-gītā.
Yaśodā became surprised and said, "I see that the child is very fearless, but in spite of His fearlessness, I am becoming more and more afraid of His falling into some danger."
Nectar of Devotion 31: After Kṛṣṇa had just learned to walk, He was going in and out of the house very frequently. Yaśodā became surprised and said, "This child is too restless and cannot be controlled! He is incessantly going about the neighborhood of Gokula (Vṛndāvana), and then He is coming back inside the house. I see that the child is very fearless, but in spite of His fearlessness, I am becoming more and more afraid of His falling into some danger." This again is an instance of the conjunction of two opposing elements: the child was very fearless, but at the same time Yaśodā was becoming fearful of some danger. Here danger is the cause, and Yaśodā's feelings are in a conjunction of two opposing symptoms. In other words, Yaśodā was feeling both happiness and doubt, or growing fear.
The vayasyas are fearless, and on a level equal with Kṛṣṇa they discharge their transcendental loving devotional service.
Nectar of Devotion 41: The vayasyas are fully confident of protection by Kṛṣṇa. Devotees sometimes pray, "Let us offer our respectful obeisances unto the vayasyas of Kṛṣṇa, who are firmly convinced of Kṛṣṇa's friendship and protection and whose devotion to Kṛṣṇa is ever fixed. They are fearless, and on a level equal with Kṛṣṇa they discharge their transcendental loving devotional service." Such eternal vayasyas are also found beyond the jurisdiction of Vṛndāvana, in places such as Dvārakā and Hastināpura. Except for Vṛndāvana, all the places of Kṛṣṇa's pastimes are called puras (towns). Mathurā and Hastināpura, the capital of the Kurus, are both puras. Personalities like Arjuna, Bhīma, Draupadī and Śrīdāmā Brāhmaṇa are counted among Kṛṣṇa's fraternal devotees in the puras.
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
When the gopīs saw little Kṛṣṇa fearlessly playing on Pūtanā’s lap, they very quickly came and picked Him up.
Krsna Book 6: When the gopīs saw little Kṛṣṇa fearlessly playing on Pūtanā’s lap, they very quickly came and picked Him up. Mother Yaśodā, Rohiṇī and other elder gopīs immediately performed the auspicious rituals by taking the tail of a cow and circumambulating His body. The child was completely washed with the urine of a cow, and the dust created by the hooves of the cows was thrown all over His body. This was all just to save little Kṛṣṇa from future inauspicious accidents. This incident gives us a clear indication of how important the cow is to the family, society and to living beings in general. The transcendental body of Kṛṣṇa did not require any protection, but to instruct us on the importance of the cow, the Lord was smeared over with cow dung, washed with the urine of a cow, and sprinkled with the dust upraised by the walking of the cows.
When I bow down before Lord Kṛṣṇa in that way, certainly He will place His fearless lotus hand on my head. His hand is offered to all conditioned souls who take shelter under His lotus feet.
Krsna Book 38: The lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa are always worshiped by great mystic yogīs, so I shall also worship His lotus feet and become one of His friends in Vṛndāvana like the cowherd boys. When I bow down before Lord Kṛṣṇa in that way, certainly He will place His fearless lotus hand on my head. His hand is offered to all conditioned souls who take shelter under His lotus feet. Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate goal of life for all people who fear material existence, and certainly when I see Him He will give me the shelter of His lotus feet. I am aspiring for the touch of His lotuslike hand on my head. When that hand touched the presentations of King Indra and King Bali, these two became qualified to be lords of the universe, and when that hand touched the gopīs as they danced with Kṛṣṇa in the rāsa-līlā, it relieved all their fatigue.
When everyone offered respect to Kṛṣṇa by standing up, Śiśupāla remained in his seat, but as he became angrier at Kṛṣṇa's being honored, he stood up suddenly, raised his hand and spoke very strongly and fearlessly against Lord Kṛṣṇa in such a way that Lord Kṛṣṇa could hear him distinctly.
Krsna Book 74: In that meeting, King Śiśupāla was also present. He was an avowed enemy of Kṛṣṇa for many reasons, especially because of Kṛṣṇa's having stolen Rukmiṇī from his intended marriage ceremony. Therefore, he could not tolerate such honoring of Kṛṣṇa and glorification of His qualities. Instead of being happy to hear the glories of the Lord, he became very angry. When everyone offered respect to Kṛṣṇa by standing up, Śiśupāla remained in his seat, but as he became angrier at Kṛṣṇa's being honored, he stood up suddenly, raised his hand and spoke very strongly and fearlessly against Lord Kṛṣṇa in such a way that Lord Kṛṣṇa could hear him distinctly.
To become nirguṇa means to achieve eternal peace, fearlessness, religiousness, knowledge and renunciation.
Krsna Book 88: To be nirguṇa means to be bereft of material opulences because, as we have explained, material opulence means an increase of the actions and reactions of the three material qualities. By worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead, instead of being puffed up with material opulences one becomes enriched with spiritual advancement of knowledge in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. To become nirguṇa means to achieve eternal peace, fearlessness, religiousness, knowledge and renunciation. All these are symptoms of becoming free from the contamination of the material qualities.
Renunciation Through Wisdom
We fearlessly proclaim that it is precisely such atheistic views that have brought the world to the present acute food crisis.
Renunciation Through Wisdom 2.10: Many may claim that in the modern age material scientists have helped increase agricultural yield. But we fearlessly proclaim that it is precisely such atheistic views that have brought the world to the present acute food crisis. If we are not careful, the day will soon come when fruits will be reduced to just skin and seed, cows' udders will dry up, and paddy fields will grow only grass. The scriptures predict that these things will come to pass in the Kali-yuga.
Added to the list are qualities in the mode of passion, such as strong desire, fearlessness, and unwavering determination, as well as qualities in the mode of ignorance, such as fear, madness, and distress over birth, death, old age, and disease.
Renunciation Through Wisdom 2.12: The facilities available to us in our material condition are many. One facility in the mode of goodness is intelligence, which gives us the ability to distinguish subtle elements and to discriminate between matter and spirit, and in this way to avoid coming under illusion. Also in the mode of goodness are tolerance, truthfulness, control of the senses, equanimity, and other such qualities. Added to the list are qualities in the mode of passion, such as strong desire, fearlessness, and unwavering determination, as well as qualities in the mode of ignorance, such as fear, madness, and distress over birth, death, old age, and disease. All these facilities are products of the Lord's external, material energy. Since māyā is under the Supreme Lord's control, all the above-mentioned qualities also emanate from Kṛṣṇa Himself. But Lord Kṛṣṇa is beyond the periphery of our sensual experience, and therefore simply cultivating the nobler qualities—those in the mode of goodness—is not sufficient spiritual practice to elevate us to the Lord's lotus feet. The only way to overcome māyā is to take complete shelter at the Lord's lotus feet.
Intelligence, knowledge, freedom from doubt and delusion, forgiveness, truthfulness, control of the senses, control of the mind, happiness and distress, birth, death, fear, fearlessness, nonviolence, equanimity, satisfaction, austerity, charity, fame, and infamy—all these various qualities of living beings are created by Me alone.
Renunciation Through Wisdom 3.5: Intelligence, knowledge, freedom from doubt and delusion, forgiveness, truthfulness, control of the senses, control of the mind, happiness and distress, birth, death, fear, fearlessness, nonviolence, equanimity, satisfaction, austerity, charity, fame, and infamy—all these various qualities of living beings are created by Me alone. The seven great sages and before them the four other great sages and the Manus (progenitors of mankind) come from Me, born from My mind, and all the living beings populating the various planets descend from them.
Where can one see qualities such as intelligence, knowledge, freedom from doubt, joy, sorrow, fear, fearlessness, nonviolence, equanimity, contentment, austerity, charity, fame, and infamy?
Renunciation Through Wisdom 3.5: Where can one see qualities such as intelligence, knowledge, freedom from doubt, joy, sorrow, fear, fearlessness, nonviolence, equanimity, contentment, austerity, charity, fame, and infamy? These qualities are indicative of consciousness, so they are present wherever consciousness is present. The Supreme Lord has declared that these qualities are His, that they have sprung from Him. And the Kaṭha Upaniṣad states, nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān: "Among all the eternal, conscious living entities, there is one supreme conscious being who supplies all others with their necessities." Therefore, to deny that these qualities are inherent in all conscious beings, and in this way to equate both the minute living entities and the Supreme Soul with dead matter, results in complete confusion and certainly demonstrates a severe lack of insight.
A simple example proves this point: we see how a puny conscious being like a crow defecates fearlessly on the head of a stone statue of some hero, thus demonstrating the conquest of dynamic spirit over dead matter.
Renunciation Through Wisdom 3.5: The Māyāvādīs are confused as to whether refuting the existence of consciousness or accepting it will give them contentment. The conscious beings always control inert matter. A simple example proves this point: we see how a puny conscious being like a crow defecates fearlessly on the head of a stone statue of some hero, thus demonstrating the conquest of dynamic spirit over dead matter. Only those with stonelike intelligence will try to make the supreme conscious being into an unfeeling, formless object. Such an attempt is utter foolishness.
Indians must fearlessly preach the glories of the Lord far and wide.
Renunciation Through Wisdom 5.1: Indians must fearlessly preach the glories of the Lord far and wide. One who surrenders to the Supreme Lord, Nārāyaṇa, can easily face all dangers in the effort to propagate His message. As said in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.17.28),
- nārāyaṇa-paraḥ sarve
- na kutaścana bibhyati
- svargāpavarga-narakeṣv
- api tulyārtha-darśinaḥ
Devotees solely engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa, never fear any condition of life. For them the heavenly planets, liberation, and the hellish planets are all the same, for such devotees are interested only in the service of the Lord.
Light of the Bhagavata
Fearless devotees of God always speak scientifically about the existence of God, even at the risk of death.
Light of the Bhagavata 6, Purport: The warning is already there, and responsible leaders of religious sects must meet together and form a common platform of a league of devotees of the Lord. There is no need for self-realized souls to live in a secluded place. Perfect self-realized souls, engaged in the service of the Lord, are unafraid of māyā, just as law-abiding citizens of a state never fear the police. Such fearless devotees of God always speak scientifically about the existence of God, even at the risk of death. Such devotees of God feel compassion for the mass of people, who have completely forgotten the Supreme Lord and who engage in the false pursuit of happiness that ends in the sense pleasures enjoyed by the hogs and dogs.
