If one who has taken birth in the land of Bhārata-varṣa as a human being does not take advantage of the opportunity for spiritual elevation, his position is certainly the most miserable. In the land known as Bhāratavarṣa, even if one is a sarva-kāma-bhakta, a devotee seeking the fulfillment of some material desire, he is freed from all material desires by his association with devotees, and ultimately he becomes a pure devotee and returns home, back to Godhead, without difficulty.
Free from material desire
Expressions researched:
"free"
|"freed"
|"material desire"
|"material desires"
Notes from the compiler:
VedaBase query: "free* material desire*"/10
Bhagavad-gita As It Is
BG Chapters 1 - 6
BG 2.20, Purport:
There are two kinds of souls—namely the minute particle soul (aṇu-ātmā) and the Supersoul (vibhu-ātmā). This is also confirmed in the Kaṭha Upaniṣad (1.2.20) in this way:
- aṇor aṇīyān mahato mahīyān
- ātmāsya jantor nihito guhāyām
- tam akratuḥ paśyati vīta-śoko
- dhātuḥ prasādān mahimānam ātmanaḥ
"Both the Supersoul (Paramātmā) and the atomic soul (jīvātmā) are situated on the same tree of the body within the same heart of the living being, and only one who has become free from all material desires as well as lamentations can, by the grace of the Supreme, understand the glories of the soul."
BG 5.26, Translation:
Those who are free from anger and all material desires, who are self-realized, self-disciplined and constantly endeavoring for perfection, are assured of liberation in the Supreme in the very near future.
BG Chapters 7 - 12
BG 7.16, Purport:
On the whole, when the distressed, the inquisitive, the seekers of knowledge, and those who are in need of money are free from all material desires, and when they fully understand that material remuneration has nothing to do with spiritual improvement, they become pure devotees. As long as such a purified stage is not attained, devotees in transcendental service to the Lord are tainted with fruitive activities, the search for mundane knowledge, etc. So one has to transcend all this before one can come to the stage of pure devotional service.
BG 7.17, Purport:
Free from all contaminations of material desires, the distressed, the inquisitive, the penniless and the seeker after supreme knowledge can all become pure devotees. But out of them, he who is in knowledge of the Absolute Truth and free from all material desires becomes a really pure devotee of the Lord. And of the four orders, the devotee who is in full knowledge and is at the same time engaged in devotional service is, the Lord says, the best.
BG 7.20, Purport:
Those who are freed from all material contaminations surrender unto the Supreme Lord and engage in His devotional service. As long as the material contamination is not completely washed off, they are by nature nondevotees. But even those who have material desires and who resort to the Supreme Lord are not so much attracted by external nature; because of approaching the right goal, they soon become free from all material lust. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is recommended that whether one is a pure devotee and is free from all material desires, or is full of material desires, or desires liberation from material contamination, he should in all cases surrender to Vāsudeva and worship Him.
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 1
SB 1.6.22, Translation:
O virtuous one, you have only once seen My person, and this is just to increase your desire for Me, because the more you hanker for Me, the more you will be freed from all material desires.
SB Canto 2
SB 2.1.11, Translation:
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 also those who are self-satisfied by dint of transcendental knowledge.
SB 2.2.32, Purport:
The two different ways of reaching the spiritual sky and thereby getting emancipation from all material bondage, namely either the direct process of reaching the kingdom of God or the gradual process through the other higher planets of the universe, are set forth exactly according to the version of the Vedas. The Vedic versions in this connection are, yadā sarve pramucyante kāmā ye 'sya hṛdi śritāḥ/ atha martyo 'mṛto bhavaty atra brahma samaśnute (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.4.7) and te 'rcir abhisambhavanti (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 6.2.15): "Those who are free from all material desires, which are diseases of the heart, are able to conquer death and enter the kingdom of God through the Arci planets."
SB Canto 3
SB 3.5.51, Purport:
The demigods are entrusted leaders of the conditioned souls. As some of the old prisoners in government jails are entrusted with some responsible work of prison management, so the demigods are improved conditioned souls acting as representatives of the Lord in the material creation. Such demigods are devotees of the Lord in the material world, and when completely free from all material desire to lord it over the material energy they become pure devotees and have no desire but to serve the Lord. Therefore any living entity who desires a position in the material world may desire so in the service of the Lord and may seek power and intelligence from the Lord, as exemplified by the demigods in this particular verse.
SB 3.13.39, Purport:
The qualification of bhakti, or devotional service to the Lord, is that the devotee should be free from all material contaminations and desires. This freedom is called vairāgya, or renouncement of material desires. One who engages in devotional service to the Lord according to regulative principles is automatically freed from material desires, and in that pure state of mind one can realize the Personality of Godhead.
SB 3.21.12, Purport:
According to Patañjali, when one becomes free from all material desires he attains his real, transcendental situation, and realization of that stage is called spiritual power. In material activities a person engages in the modes of material nature. The aspirations of such people are (1) to be religious, (2) to be economically enriched, (3) to be able to gratify the senses and, at last, (4) to become one with the Supreme. According to the monists, when a yogī becomes one with the Supreme and loses his individual existence, he attains the highest stage, called kaivalya. But actually, the stage of realization of the Personality of Godhead is kaivalya.
SB 3.21.12, Purport:
The oneness of understanding that the Supreme Lord is fully spiritual and that in full spiritual realization one can understand what He is—the Supreme Personality of Godhead—is called kaivalya, or, in the language of Patañjali, realization of spiritual power. His proposal is that when one is freed from material desires and fixed in spiritual realization of the self and the Superself, that is called cit-śakti. In full spiritual realization there is a perception of spiritual happiness, and that happiness is described in Bhagavad-gītā as the supreme happiness, which is beyond the material senses.
SB 3.24.36, Translation:
My appearance in this world is especially to explain the philosophy of Sāṅkhya, which is highly esteemed for self-realization by those desiring freedom from the entanglement of unnecessary material desires.
SB 3.26.21, Purport:
The vāsudeva stage is free from infringement by material desires and is the status in which one can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or the objective which is described in the Bhagavad-gītā as adbhuta. This is another feature of the mahat-tattva. The vāsudeva expansion is also called Kṛṣṇa consciousness, for it is free from all tinges of material passion and ignorance. This clear state of understanding helps one to know the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
SB 3.28.35, Purport:
In the conditioned state the mind is always engaged in activity impelled by the three modes of the material world, but in the transcendental stage, the material modes cannot disturb the mind of the devotee. The devotee has no other concern than to satisfy the desires of the Lord. That is the highest stage of perfection, called nirvāṇa or nirvāṇa-mukti. At this stage the mind becomes completely free from material desire.
SB 3.29.10, Purport:
Pure devotional service as described by Rūpa Gosvāmī is free from all material desires. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (CC Madhya 19.167). There can be no excuse for personal or material interest. Devotional activities should be transcendental to fruitive activities and empiric philosophical speculation. Pure devotional service is transcendental to all material qualities.
SB Canto 4
SB 4.1.20, Purport:
Atri Muni wanted a son exactly like the Lord, and therefore he is not supposed to have been a pure devotee, because he had a desire to be fulfilled, and that desire was material. Although he wanted a son exactly like the Supreme Personality of Godhead, this desire was material because he did not want the Personality of Godhead Himself, but only a child exactly like Him. If he had desired the Supreme Personality of Godhead as his child, he would have been completely free of material desires because he would have wanted the Supreme Absolute Truth, but because he wanted a similar child, his desire was material. Thus Atri Muni cannot be counted among the pure devotees.
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.
SB 4.9.29, Purport:
A pure devotee is always free from any kind of material desires. In the material world, one's material desires are all most demonic; one thinks of others as one's enemies, one thinks of revenge against one's enemies, one aspires to become the topmost leader or topmost person in this material world, and thus one competes with all others. This has been described in the Bhagavad-gītā, Sixteenth Chapter, as asuric. A pure devotee has no demand from the Lord. His only concern is to serve the Lord sincerely and seriously, and he is not at all concerned about what will happen in the future.
SB 4.9.36, Purport:
The Lord's feet are compared to the lotus, wherein there is saffron dust. A devotee is always engaged in drinking the honey from the lotus feet of the Lord. Unless one is freed from all material desires, he cannot actually taste the honey from the Lord's lotus feet. One has to discharge his devotional duties without being disturbed by the coming and going of material circumstances. This desirelessness for material prosperity is called niṣkāma.
SB 4.9.45, Purport:
It may be questioned why Dhruva Mahārāja offered his respect not only to his mother but also to his stepmother, due to whose insults he had to leave home. The answer is that after achieving perfection by self-realization and seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face, Dhruva Mahārāja was completely freed from all contamination of material desire. Feelings of insult or honor in this material world are never perceived by a devotee.
SB 4.22.27, Purport:
When one is liberated from the material qualities, he does not do anything for his personal sense gratification. At that time all activities performed by him are absolute. In the conditioned state there are two kinds of activities. One acts on behalf of the body, and at the same time he acts to become liberated. The devotee, when he is completely free from all material desires or all material qualities, transcends the duality of action for the body and soul. Then the bodily concept of life is completely over.
SB 4.29.65, Purport:
"One who always engages in the spiritual activities of unalloyed devotional service at once transcends the modes of material nature and is elevated to the spiritual platform." The devotee is therefore above the three modes of material nature and is even transcendental to the brāhmaṇa platform. A brāhmaṇa may be infected by the two baser modes—namely rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa. A pure devotee, who is free from all material desires experienced on the mental platform and who is also free from empiric philosophical speculation or fruitive activity, is always above material conditioning and is always liberated.
SB 4.29.66, Purport:
Unless one becomes a devotee of the Lord, or becomes fully Kṛṣṇa conscious, he will certainly hover on the mental platform and be promoted and degraded in different types of bodies. All qualities that are considered good according to the material estimation actually have no value because these so-called good qualities will not save a person from the cycle of birth and death. The conclusion is that one should be without mental desire. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam: (CC Madhya 19.167) one should be fully free from material desires, philosophical speculation and fruitive activity. The best course for a human being is to favorably accept the transcendental devotional service of the Lord. That is the highest perfection of human life.
SB 4.31.20, Purport:
As soon as the Lord is seated within the heart of the devotee, the devotee cannot be contaminated by the material modes of nature. As long as one is under the control of the material modes, he desires so many things and makes so many plans for material sense enjoyment, but as soon as the Lord is perceived in the heart, all material desires vanish. When the mind is completely free from material desire, the devotee can think of the Lord constantly. In this way he becomes completely dependent upon the lotus feet of the Lord.
SB 4.31.29, Purport:
This material world is called tamaḥ, dark, and the spiritual world is called light. The Vedas enjoin that everyone should try to get out of the darkness and go to the kingdom of light. Information of that kingdom of light can be attained through the mercy of a self-realized soul. One also has to get rid of all material desires. As soon as one frees himself from material desires and associates with a liberated person, the path back home, back to Godhead, is clear.
SB Canto 5
SB 5.5.7, Purport:
In the lowest stage of devotional life, one is not an unalloyed devotee. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam: (CC Madhya 19.167) to be an unalloyed devotee, one must be freed from all material desires and untouched by fruitive activity and speculative knowledge. On the lower platform, one may sometimes be interested in philosophical speculation with a tinge of devotion. However, at that stage one is still interested in sense gratification and is contaminated by the modes of material nature. The influence of māyā is so strong that even a person advanced in knowledge actually forgets that he is Kṛṣṇa's eternal servant. Therefore he remains satisfied in his householder life, which is centered around sexual intercourse. Conceding to a life of sex, he agrees to suffer all kinds of material miseries. Due to ignorance, one is thus bound by the chain of material laws.
SB 5.5.35, Purport:
Everyone is trying to fulfill his aspirations and desires, be they material or spiritual. Those in the material world are aśānta (without peace) because they have so many desires to fulfill. The pure devotee, however, is without desire. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnya: a pure devotee is completely free from all kinds of material desire. Karmīs, on the other hand, are simply full of desires because they try to enjoy sense gratification. They are not peaceful in this life, nor the next, during the past, present or future. Similarly, jñānīs are always aspiring after liberation and trying to become one with the Supreme. Yogīs are aspiring after many siddhis (powers)—aṇimā, laghimā, prāpti, etc. However, a devotee is not at all interested in these things because he is fully dependent on the mercy of Kṛṣṇa.
SB 5.7.11, Purport:
Everyone is searching after peace of mind. This is obtainable only when one is completely freed from the desire for material sense gratification and is engaged in the devotional service of the Lord. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā: patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati (BG 9.26). Worship of the Lord is not at all expensive. One can offer the Lord a leaf, a flower, a little fruit and some water. The Supreme Lord accepts these offerings when they are offered with love and devotion. In this way, one can become freed from material desires. As long as one maintains material desires, he cannot be happy. As soon as one engages in the devotional service of the Lord, his mind is purified of all material desires. Then one becomes fully satisfied.
SB 5.18.8, Purport:
"One should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa favorably and without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical speculation. That is called pure devotional service." Unless one is completely freed of all material desires, which are caused by the dense darkness of ignorance, one cannot fully engage in the devotional service of the Lord. Therefore we should always offer our prayers to Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, who killed Hiraṇyakaśipu, the personification of material desire.
SB 5.18.8, Purport:
Hiraṇya means "gold," and kaśipu means "a soft cushion or bed." Materialistic persons always desire to make the body comfortable, and for this they require huge amounts of gold. Thus Hiraṇyakaśipu was the perfect representative of materialistic life. He was therefore the cause of great disturbance to the topmost devotee, Prahlāda Mahārāja, until Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva killed him. Any devotee aspiring to be free of material desires should offer his respectful prayers to Nṛsiṁhadeva as Prahlāda Mahārāja did in this verse.
SB 5.18.21, Purport:
The ārta and the arthārthī, who approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead for relief from misery or for some money, are not sakāma-bhaktas, although they appear to be. Being neophyte devotees, they are simply ignorant. Later in Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says, udārāḥ sarva evaite: (BG 7.18) they are all magnanimous (udārāḥ). Although in the beginning a devotee may harbor some desire, in due course of time it will vanish. Therefore the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam enjoins:
- akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā
- mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ
- tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena
- yajeta puruṣaṁ param
"A person who has broader intelligence, whether he is full of all material desire, is free from material desire, or has a desire for liberation, must by all means worship the supreme whole, the Personality of Godhead." (SB 2.3.10)
SB 5.19.27, Translation and Purport:
The Supreme Personality of Godhead fulfills the material desires of a devotee who approaches Him with such motives, but He does not bestow benedictions upon the devotee that will cause him to demand more benedictions again. However, the Lord willingly gives the devotee shelter at His own lotus feet, even though such a person does not aspire for it, and that shelter satisfies all his desires. That is the Supreme Personality's special mercy.
The devotees mentioned in the previous verse approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead with material motives, but this verse explains how such devotees are saved from those desires. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.3.10) advises:
- akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā
- mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ
- tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena
- yajeta puruṣaṁ param
"Whether one is freed from all material desires, is full of material desires, or desires to become one with the Supreme, he should engage in devotional service." In this way, not only will the devotee's desires be fulfilled, but the day will come when he will have no other desire than to serve the lotus feet of the Lord.
SB 5.24.20, Purport:
It is not a fact that one has to offer his material possessions to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and be liberated before he can engage in devotional service. A devotee automatically attains liberation without separate endeavors. Bali Mahārāja did not get back all his material possessions merely because of his charity to the Lord. 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.
SB Canto 6
SB 6.2.17, Purport:
All desires within this material world are sinful because material desire means sense gratification, which always involves action that is more or less sinful. Pure bhakti, however, is anyābhilāṣitā-śūnya; in other words, it is free from material desires, which result from karma and jñāna. One who is situated in devotional service no longer has material desires, and therefore he is beyond sinful life. Material desires should be completely stopped. Otherwise, although one's austerities, penances and charity may free one from sin for the time being, one's desires will reappear because his heart is impure. Thus he will act sinfully and suffer.
SB 6.4.52, Purport:
It should be noted that although such a facility for sexual intercourse is achieved by the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, this facility is not offered to advanced devotees, who are free from material desires (anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (CC Madhya 19.167)). In this connection it may be noted that if the American boys and girls engaged in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement want to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness to achieve the supreme benefit of loving service to the Lord, they should refrain from indulging in this facility for sex life. Therefore we advise that one should at least refrain from illicit sex. Even if there are opportunities for sex life, one should voluntarily accept the limitation of having sex only for progeny, not for any other purpose.
SB 6.9.35, Translation:
These are our inquiries. The ordinary conditioned soul is subject to the material laws, and he thus receives the fruits of his actions. Does Your Lordship, like an ordinary human being, exist within this material world in a body produced by the material modes? Do You enjoy or suffer the good or bad results of actions under the influence of time, past work and so forth? Or, on the contrary, are You present here only as a neutral witness who is self-sufficient, free from all material desires, and always full of spiritual potency? We certainly cannot understand Your actual position.
SB 6.9.44, Purport:
The four classes of neophyte devotees who approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead to offer devotional service because of material motives are not pure devotees, but the advantage for such materialistic devotees is that they sometimes give up their material desires and become pure. When the demigods are utterly helpless, they approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead in grief and with tears in their eyes, praying to the Lord, and thus they become almost pure devotees, free from material desires. Admitting that they have forgotten pure devotional service because of extensive material opportunities, they fully surrender to the Lord, leaving to His consideration whether to maintain them or annihilate them. Such surrender is necessary.
SB 6.16.34, Purport:
A living entity cannot exist without desires, but desires that can never be fulfilled are called kāma, lusty desires. Kāmais tais tair hṛta jñānāḥ: (BG 7.20) because of lusty desires, nondevotees are deprived of their intelligence. Thus they are unable to conquer the Supreme Lord, whereas devotees, being freed from such unreasonable desires, can conquer the Lord. Such devotees are also conquered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because they are pure, being free from all material desires, they fully surrender to the Supreme Lord, and therefore the Lord conquers them.
SB 6.16.38, Purport:
When the demigods are vanquished, the benedictions given by the demigods to unintelligent men will also be vanquished. Therefore a devotee should not hanker to obtain material opulence by worshiping the demigods, but should engage in the service of the Lord, who will satisfy all his desires.
- akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā
- mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ
- tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena
- yajeta puruṣaṁ param
"Whether full of all material desires, free from material desires or desiring liberation, a person who has broader intelligence must by all means worship the supreme whole, the Personality of Godhead." (SB 2.3.10)
SB 6.18.74, Purport:
When Dhruva Mahārāja saw Lord Viṣṇu, he declined to take any benedictions from Him, for he was fully satisfied by seeing the Lord. Nonetheless, the Lord is so kind that because Dhruva Mahārāja, in the beginning, had desired a kingdom greater than his father's, he was promoted to Dhruvaloka, the best planet in the universe. Therefore in the śāstra it is said:
- akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā
- mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ
- tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena
- yajeta puruṣaṁ param
"A person who has broader intelligence, whether he is full of material desires, free from material desires, or desiring liberation, must by all means worship the supreme whole, the Personality of Godhead." (SB 2.3.10) One should engage in full devotional service. Then, even though he has no desires, whatever desires he previously had can all be fulfilled simply by his worship of the Lord.
SB Canto 7
SB 7.3.15-16, Purport:
One who performs severe austerities for sense gratification is fearful to the entire world, whereas a devotee who performs even a slight amount of devotional service is a friend to everyone (suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānām (BG 5.29)). Since the Lord is the well-wisher of every living entity and since a devotee assumes the qualities of the Lord, a devotee also acts for everyone's good fortune by performing devotional service. Thus although Hiraṇyakaśipu performed such a severe austerity, he remained a Daitya and a Rākṣasa, whereas Prahlāda Mahārāja, although born of the same Daitya father, became the most exalted devotee and was personally protected by the Supreme Lord. Bhakti is therefore called sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam (CC Madhya 19.170), indicating that a devotee is freed from all material designations, and anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11), situated in a transcendental position, free from all material desires.
SB 7.3.24, Purport:
Without worshiping the demigods for particular powers, a devotee worships Lord Viṣṇu, knowing that if he desires a particular power he can get that power while acting as Lord Viṣṇu's devotee. Therefore in the śāstra (SB 2.3.10) it is recommended:
- akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā
- mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ
- tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena
- yajeta puruṣaṁ param
"A person who has broader intelligence, whether he be full of material desires, free from material desires, or desiring liberation, must by all means worship the supreme whole, the Personality of Godhead." Even if a person has material desires, instead of worshiping the demigods he should pray to the Supreme Lord so that his connection with the Supreme Lord will be established and he will be saved from becoming a demon or a nondevotee.
SB 7.5.14, Purport:
A devotee is attracted by Kṛṣṇa, whereas a nondevotee, being contaminated by the dirt of material enjoyment, is not. This is confirmed by the Lord in Bhagavad-gītā (7.28):
- yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpaṁ
- janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām
- te dvandva-moha-nirmuktā
- bhajante māṁ dṛḍha-vratāḥ
"Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life, whose sinful actions are completely eradicated and who are freed from the duality of delusion, engage themselves in My service with determination." One must be freed from all the sinful dirt of material existence. Everyone in this material world is contaminated by material desire. Unless one is free from all material desire (anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11)), one cannot be attracted by Kṛṣṇa.
SB 7.7 Summary:
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.
SB 7.9.6, Translation:
By the touch of Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva's hand on Prahlāda Mahārāja's head, Prahlāda was completely freed of all material contaminations and desires, as if he had been thoroughly cleansed. Therefore he at once became transcendentally situated, and all the symptoms of ecstasy became manifest in his body. His heart filled with love, and his eyes with tears, and thus he was able to completely capture the lotus feet of the Lord within the core of his heart.
SB 7.10.4, Purport:
"If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it." Thus a man with a mercantile mentality thinks that if he can get some material benefit, like a large amount of money, simply by offering a little fruit and flower, this is good business. Such persons are not accepted as pure devotees. Because their desires are not purified, they are still mercantile men, even though they go to temples to make a show of being devotees. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam: (CC Madhya 19.170) only when one is fully freed from material desires can one be purified, and only in that purified state can one serve the Lord. Hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate. This is the pure devotional platform.
SB 7.10.8, Purport:
As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, kāmaṁ hṛd-rogam. Materialistic life means that one is afflicted by a formidable disease called lusty desire. Liberation means freedom from lusty desires because it is only due to such desires that one must accept repeated birth and death. As long as one's lusty desires are unfulfilled, one must take birth after birth to fulfill them. Because of material desires, therefore, one performs various types of activities and receives various types of bodies with which to try to fulfill desires that are never satisfied. The only remedy is to take to devotional service, which begins when one is free from all material desires.
SB 7.10.8, Purport:
Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11). Anya-abhilāṣitā means "material desire," and śūnyam means "free from." The spiritual soul has spiritual activities and spiritual desires, as described by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu: mama janmani janmanīśvare bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi (Cc. Antya 20.29, Śikṣāṣṭaka 4). Unalloyed devotion to the service of the Lord is the only spiritual desire. To fulfill this spiritual desire, however, one must be free from all material desires. Desirelessness means freedom from material desires. This is described by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī as Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11).
SB 7.11.32, Translation and Purport:
If one acts in his profession according to his position in the modes of nature and gradually gives up these activities, he attains the niṣkāma stage.
If one gradually gives up his hereditary customs and duties and tries to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead in his natural position, he is gradually able to become free from these activities, and he attains the stage of niṣkāma, freedom from material desires.
SB 7.15.9, Translation:
Because of an awakening of spiritual knowledge, those who are intelligent in regard to sacrifice, who are actually aware of religious principles and who are free from material desires, control the self in the fire of spiritual knowledge, or knowledge of the Absolute Truth. They may give up the process of ritualistic ceremonies.
SB 7.15.55, Translation:
his gradual process of elevation for self-realization is meant for those who are truly aware of the Absolute Truth. After repeated birth on this path, which is known as deva-yāna, one attains these consecutive stages. One who is completely free from all material desires, being situated in the self, need not traverse the path of repeated birth and death.
SB Canto 8
SB 8.1.16, Translation:
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, works just like an ordinary human being, yet He does not desire to enjoy the fruits of work. He is full in knowledge, free from material desires and diversions, and completely independent. As the supreme teacher of human society, He teaches His own way of activities, and thus He inaugurates the real path of religion. I request everyone to follow Him.
SB 8.3.19, Purport:
Some men within this material world are akāmī, free from material desire, some are ambitious to get more and more material profit, and some desire fulfillment in religious life, economic development, sense gratification and finally liberation.
- akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā
- mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ
- tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena
- yajeta puruṣaṁ param
- (SB 2.3.10)
It is recommended that whatever one's position—whether one demands no material profit, all material profit or ultimately liberation—one should offer his obedient devotional service to the Lord, and one will get what he desires.
SB 8.12.6, Translation:
Pure devotees or great saintly persons who desire to achieve the highest goal in life and who are completely free from all material desires for sense gratification engage constantly in the transcendental service of Your lotus feet.
SB 8.12.6, Purport:
Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11). Either in this life or in the next, the only concern of such saintly devotees is to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus they are also absolute because they have no other desires. Being freed from the dualities of material desire, they are called śreyas-kāmāḥ. In other words, they are not concerned with dharma (religiosity), artha (economic development), or kāma (sense gratification). The only concern of such devotees is mokṣa, liberation. This mokṣa does not refer to becoming one with the Supreme like the Māyāvādī philosophers. Caitanya Mahāprabhu explained that real mokṣa means taking shelter of the lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead.
SB 8.16.21, Purport:
There are three kinds of men, who are called akāma, mokṣa-kāma and sarva-kāma. One who tries to get liberation from this material world is called mokṣa-kāma, one who wants to enjoy this material world to its fullest extent is called sarva-kāma, and one who has fulfilled all his desires and has no further material desires is called akāma. A bhakta has no desire. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam (CC Madhya 19.170). He is purified and free from material desires. The mokṣa-kāmī wants to achieve liberation by merging into the existence of the Supreme Brahman, and because of this desire to merge into the existence of the Lord, he is not yet pure. And since those who want liberation are impure, what to speak of the karmīs, who have so many desires to fulfill?
SB 8.16.21, Purport:
If a devotee maintains some material desire and at the same time very sincerely desires to engage at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa may directly give him unalloyed devotional service and take away all his material desires and possessions. This is the Lord's special favor to devotees. Otherwise, if one takes to Kṛṣṇa's devotional service but still has material desires to fulfill, he may become free from all material desires, as Dhruva Mahārāja did, but this may take some time. However, if a very sincere devotee wants only Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet, Kṛṣṇa directly gives him the position of śuddha-bhakti, unalloyed devotional service.
SB 8.19.12, Purport:
Materially speaking, every living entity dies; death is inevitable. But those who are karmīs, jñānīs and yogīs return to this material world after death, whereas bhaktas do not. Of course, if a bhakta is not completely perfect he takes birth in the material world again, but in a very exalted position, either in a rich family or a family of the purest brāhmaṇas (śucīnām śrīmatāṁ gehe (BG 6.41)), just to finish his development in spiritual consciousness. Those who have completed the course of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and are free from material desire return to the abode of the Supreme Personality of Godhead (yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama (BG 15.6)). Here the same fact is stated: yato nāvartate pumān. Any person who goes back home, back to Godhead, does not return to this material world.
SB Canto 9
SB 9.4.18-20, Translation:
Mahārāja Ambarīṣa always engaged his mind in meditating upon the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, his words in describing the glories of the Lord, his hands in cleansing the Lord's temple, and his ears in hearing the words spoken by Kṛṣṇa or about Kṛṣṇa. He engaged his eyes in seeing the Deity of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa's temples and Kṛṣṇa's places like Mathurā and Vṛndāvana, he engaged his sense of touch in touching the bodies of the Lord's devotees, he engaged his sense of smell in smelling the fragrance of tulasī offered to the Lord, and he engaged his tongue in tasting the Lord's prasāda. He engaged his legs in walking to the holy places and temples of the Lord, his head in bowing down before the Lord, and all his desires in serving the Lord, twenty-four hours a day. Indeed, Mahārāja Ambarīṣa never desired anything for his own sense gratification. He engaged all his senses in devotional service, in various engagements related to the Lord. This is the way to increase attachment for the Lord and be completely free from all material desires.
SB 9.4.26, Purport:
Severe austerities in the practice of devotional service are of many varieties. For example, in worshiping the Deity in the temple there are certainly laborious activities. Śrī-vigrahārādhana-nitya-nānā śṛṅgāra-tan-mandira-mārjanādau. One must decorate the Deity, cleanse the temple, bring water from the Ganges and Yamunā, continue the routine work, perform ārati many times, prepare first-class food for the Deity, prepare dresses and so on. In this way, one must constantly be engaged in various activities, and the hard labor involved is certainly an austerity. Similarly, the hard labor involved in preaching, preparing literature, preaching to atheistic men and distributing literature door to door is of course an austerity (tapo-yuktena). Tapo divyaṁ putrakā (SB 5.5.1). Such austerity is necessary. Yena sattvaṁ śuddhyet. By such austerity in devotional service, one is purified of material existence (kāmān śanair jahau). Indeed, such austerity leads one to the constitutional position of devotional service. In this way one can give up material desires, and as soon as one is freed from material desires, he is free from the repetition of birth and death, old age and disease.
SB 9.4.31-32, Purport:
Following the regulative principles of mahābhiṣeka, Mahārāja Ambarīṣa performed the bathing ceremony for the Deity of Lord Kṛṣṇa with all paraphernalia, and then he dressed the Deity with fine clothing, ornaments, fragrant flower garlands and other paraphernalia for worship of the Lord. With attention and devotion, he worshiped Kṛṣṇa and all the greatly fortunate brāhmaṇas who were free from material desires.
SB 9.8.24, Purport:
Śrīla Yāmunācārya has recited this verse in his Stotra-ratna (43):
- bhavantam evānucaran nirantaraḥ
- praśānta-niḥśeṣa-manorathāntaraḥ
- kadāham aikāntika-nitya-kiṅkaraḥ
- praharṣayiṣyāmi sanātha-jīvitam
"By serving You constantly, one is freed from all material desires and is completely pacified. When shall I engage as Your permanent eternal servant and always feel joyful to have such a fitting master?"
SB 9.9.6, Translation:
Bhagīratha said: Those who are saintly because of devotional service and are therefore in the renounced order, free from material desires, and who are pure devotees, expert in following the regulative principles mentioned in the Vedas, are always glorious and pure in behavior and are able to deliver all fallen souls. When such pure devotees bathe in your water, the sinful reactions accumulated from other people will certainly be counteracted, for such devotees always keep in the core of their hearts the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who can vanquish all sinful reactions.
SB 9.9.15, Translation:
Great sages, completely freed from material lusty desires, devote their minds fully to the service of the Lord. Such persons are liberated from material bondage without difficulty, and they become transcendentally situated, acquiring the spiritual quality of the Lord. This is the glory of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
SB 9.19.15, Purport:
Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī said, viśvaṁ pūrṇa-sukhāyate: when one becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious by the mercy of Lord Caitanya, for him the entire world appears happy, and he has nothing for which to hanker. On the brahma-bhūta (SB 4.30.20) stage, or the platform of spiritual realization, there is no lamentation and no material hankering (na śocati na kāṅkṣati (BG 18.54)). As long as one lives in the material world, actions and reactions will continue, but when one is unaffected by such material actions and reactions, he is to be considered free from the danger of being victimized by material desires.
SB 9.19.21, Translation:
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: After speaking in this way to his wife, Devayānī, King Yayāti, who was now free from all material desires, called his youngest son, Pūru, and returned Pūru's youth in exchange for his own old age.
SB 9.21.17, Translation:
O Mahārāja Parīkṣit, because King Rantideva was a pure devotee, always Kṛṣṇa conscious and free from all material desires, the Lord's illusory energy, māyā, could not exhibit herself before him. On the contrary, for him māyā entirely vanished, exactly like a dream.
SB 9.22.21-24, Translation:
Citrāṅgada, of whom Vicitravīrya was the younger brother, was killed by a Gandharva who was also named Citrāṅgada. Satyavatī, before her marriage to Śāntanu, gave birth to the master authority of the Vedas, Vyāsadeva, known as Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana, who was begotten by Parāśara Muni. From Vyāsadeva, I (Śukadeva Gosvāmī) was born, and from him I studied this great work of literature, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The incarnation of Godhead Vedavyāsa, rejecting his disciples, headed by Paila, instructed Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to me because I was free from all material desires. After Ambikā and Ambālikā, the two daughters of Kāśīrāja, were taken away by force, Vicitravīrya married them, but because he was too attached to these two wives, he had a heart attack and died of tuberculosis.
SB 9.24.62, Translation:
Simply by receiving the glories of the Lord through purified transcendental ears, the devotees of the Lord are immediately freed from strong material desires and engagement in fruitive activities.
SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13
SB 10.1.4, Purport:
In India it is the practice among the general populace to hear about Kṛṣṇa, either from Bhagavad-gītā or from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in order to gain relief from the disease of repeated birth and death. Although India is now fallen, when there is a message that someone will speak about Bhagavad-gītā or Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, thousands of people still gather to hear. This verse indicates, however, that such recitation of Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam must be done by persons completely freed from material desires (nivṛtta-tarṣaiḥ). Everyone within this material world, beginning from Brahmā down to the insignificant ant, is full of material desires for sense enjoyment, and everyone is busy in sense gratification, but when thus engaged one cannot fully understand the value of kṛṣṇa-kathā, either in the form of Bhagavad-gītā or in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
SB 10.1.4, Purport:
For topics concerning Uttamaśloka, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the spiritual master speaks, and the disciple hears with attention. Unless both of them are free from material desires, they cannot be interested in topics of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
SB 10.1.69, Purport:
The word nivṛtta-tarṣaiḥ refers to one who no longer has any material desires (sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam (CC Madhya 19.170)). One may have many material desires because of contamination in this material world, but when one is completely free from all material desires, he is called nivṛtta-tṛṣṇa, which indicates that he no longer has any thirst for material enjoyment.
SB 10.3.39, Purport:
Loving Kṛṣṇa as one's son is a Vedic principle. Vasudeva and Devakī never desired anything but to have the Lord as their son, yet for this purpose they apparently wanted to live like ordinary gṛhasthas for sexual indulgence. Although this was a transaction of spiritual potency, their desire appears like attachment for sex in conjugal life. If one wants to return home, back to Godhead, one must give up such desires. This is possible only when one develops intense love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has said:
- niṣkiñcanasya bhagavad-bhajanonmukhasya
- pāraṁ paraṁ jigamiṣor bhava-sāgarasya
- (CC Madhya 11.8)
If one wants to go back home, back to Godhead, one must be niṣkiñcana, free from all material desires. Therefore, instead of desiring to have the Lord come here and become one's son, one should desire to become free from all material desires (anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11)) and go back home, back to Godhead.
SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)
SB 10.51.55, Translation:
O all-powerful one, I desire no boon other than service to Your lotus feet, the boon most eagerly sought by those free of material desire. O Hari, what enlightened person who worships You, the giver of liberation, would choose a boon that causes his own bondage?
SB 10.60.50, Translation:
Whatever benedictions you hope for in order to become free of material desires are ever yours, O fair and noble lady, for you are My unalloyed devotee.
SB 11.11.9, Translation:
An enlightened person who is free from the contamination of material desire does not consider himself to be the performer of bodily activities; rather, he knows that in all such activities it is only the senses, born of the modes of nature, that are contacting sense objects born of the same modes of nature.
SB 11.17.36, Translation:
A brāhmaṇa observing the great vow of celibacy becomes brilliant like fire and by serious austerity burns to ashes the propensity to perform material activities. Free from the contamination of material desire, he becomes My devotee.
SB 11.27.15, Translation:
One should worship Me in My Deity forms by offering the most excellent paraphernalia. But a devotee completely freed from material desire may worship Me with whatever he is able to obtain, and may even worship Me within his heart with mental paraphernalia.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
CC Adi 5.204, Purport:
Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, who is famous for his poetic composition known as Prārthanā, has lamented in one of his prayers, "When will Lord Nityānanda be merciful upon me so that I will forget all material desires?" Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura confirms that unless one is freed from material desires to satisfy the needs of the body and senses, one cannot understand the transcendental abode of Lord Kṛṣṇa, Vṛndāvana. He also confirms that one cannot understand the loving affairs of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa without going through the direction of the six Gosvāmīs. In another verse Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has stated that without the causeless mercy of Nityānanda Prabhu, one cannot enter into the affairs of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.
CC Madhya-lila
CC Madhya 1.206, Translation:
"'By serving You constantly, one is freed from all material desires and is completely pacified. When shall I engage as Your permanent eternal servant and always feel joyful to have such a fitting master?'"
CC Madhya 4.111, Purport:
A gṛhastha-brāhmaṇa partaking of the varṇāśrama-dharma institution can secure various types of paraphernalia to worship Lord Viṣṇu through his honest labor. Actually, people beg to be initiated by these householder brāhmaṇas just to become successful in the varṇāśrama institution or to become free from material desires. It is therefore necessary for a spiritual master in the gṛhastha-āśrama to be a strict Vaiṣṇava.
CC Madhya 6.73, Purport:
When a sannyāsī lives in a beautiful, solitary place in the forest and is freed from all material desires, he is called Vana.
CC Madhya 8.73, Translation and Purport:
"'By serving You constantly, one is freed from all material desires and is completely pacified. When shall I engage as Your permanent eternal servant and always feel joyful to have such a perfect master?'"
This is a statement made by the great saintly devotee Yāmunācārya in his Stotra-ratna (43).
CC Madhya 9.277, Purport:
A pure devotee should be free from all kinds of material desire. He simply engages in the service of the Lord. Nonetheless, Caitanya Mahāprabhu was pleased that the Madhvācārya-sampradāya, or the Tattvavāda sampradāya, accepted the transcendental form of the Lord. This is the great qualification of the Vaiṣṇava sampradāyas.
CC Madhya 13.137, Purport:
The mind's activities are thinking, feeling and willing, by which the mind accepts materially favorable things and rejects the unfavorable. This is the consciousness of people in general. But when one's mind does not accept and reject but simply becomes fixed on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, then one's mind becomes as good as Vṛndāvana. Wherever Kṛṣṇa is, there also are Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, the gopīs, the cowherd boys and all the other inhabitants of Vṛndāvana. Thus as soon as one fixes Kṛṣṇa in his mind, his mind becomes identical with Vṛndāvana. In other words, when one's mind is completely free from all material desires and is engaged only in the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then one always lives in Vṛndāvana, and nowhere else.
CC Madhya 20.135, Purport:
When one follows the system of fruitive activity, his material desires remain prominent. Consequently the results of this process are compared to wasps and drones. The living entity is bitten by the wasps and drones of fruitive activity and thus suffers in material existence birth after birth. One cannot become free from material desires by following this process. The propensity for material enjoyment never ends. Therefore the cycle of birth and death continues, and the spirit soul suffers perpetually.
CC Madhya 22.99, Translation:
"There are two kinds of devotees—those who are fully satiated and free from all material desires and those who are fully surrendered to the lotus feet of the Lord. Their qualities are one and the same, but those who are fully surrendered to Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet are qualified with another transcendental quality—ātma-samarpaṇa, full surrender without reservation."
CC Madhya 23.109, Purport:
The word anapekṣa means that one should not be concerned with mundane people and should not depend upon them. One should depend solely on the Supreme Personality of Godhead and be free from material desires. One should also be clean, within and without. To be outwardly clean, one should regularly bathe with soap and oil, and to be inwardly clean one should always be absorbed in thoughts of Kṛṣṇa. The words sarvārambha-parityāgī indicate that one should not be interested in the so-called smārta-vidhi of pious and impious activities.
CC Madhya 23.110, Translation:
"One who is free of all material jubilation, hatred, lamentation and desire, who renounces both materially auspicious and materially inauspicious things, and who is devoted to Me is very dear to Me."
CC Madhya 24.90, Translation and Purport:
"'One who is actually intelligent, although he may be a devotee free from material desires, a karmī desiring all kinds of material facilities, or a jñānī desiring liberation, should seriously engage in bhakti-yoga for the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.'"
This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.3.10).
CC Antya-lila
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 6.200, Purport:
Everyone, whether an insect or the King of heaven, is entangled and bound by the actions and reactions of his karma. However, when one becomes a pure devotee, free from material desires and from bondage to karma, jñāna and yoga, one is freed from material actions and reactions by the causeless mercy of Kṛṣṇa. One cannot express sufficient gratitude to Kṛṣṇa for being freed from the materialistic way of life.
CC Antya 6.220, Purport:
Anyone, whether an ordinary materialistic person or a pure devotee, can understand the behavior of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's devotees if he studies it minutely. One will thus find that the devotees of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are not at all attached to any kind of material enjoyment. They have completely given up sense enjoyment to engage fully in the service of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and dedicate their lives and souls to serving Kṛṣṇa without material desires. Because their devotional service is free from material desires, it is unimpeded by material circumstances. Although ordinary men have great difficulty understanding this attitude of the devotees, it is greatly appreciated by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
CC Antya 9.68, Purport:
One should be completely free from all material desires and should serve Kṛṣṇa simply to please Him. When people become interested in their own sense gratification (bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kāmī), some of them desire to enjoy the material world to the fullest extent, some of them desire to be liberated and merge into the existence of Brahman, and others want to perform magic through mystic power and thus become incarnations of God. These are all against the principles of devotional service. One must be free from all material desires.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Teachings of Lord Caitanya
Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 1:
Simply by theoretically understanding this doctrine, one can be called liberated, but actually a mukta, or liberated soul, is he who understands his constitutional position as an eternal servant of the Lord. Such liberated souls engage with faith and devotion in the service of the Lord, and they are called kṛṣṇa-bhaktas, or Kṛṣṇa conscious persons.
Kṛṣṇa-bhaktas are free from all material desires. Those who are liberated theoretically by knowing simply that the living entity is not material may still have desires, although they may be technically classified amongst liberated souls.
Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 11:
Generally people come into the association of devotees in order to mitigate some material wants, but the influence of a pure devotee frees a man from all material desires so that he eventually comes to relish the taste of devotional service. Devotional service is so nice and pure that it purifies the devotee, and he forgets all material ambitions as soon as he engages fully in the transcendental loving service of Kṛṣṇa.
Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 28:
Without self-realization, the artificial methods of devotional service cannot be accepted as pure devotional service. Self-realized pure devotional service is completely different from all other kinds of transcendental activity. The highest stage of transcendental activity is always free from all material desires, fruitive efforts and speculative attempts at knowledge. The highest stage concentrates on the simple, favorable execution of pure devotional service.
Nectar of Devotion
Nectar of Devotion Introduction:
The definition of a pure devotee, as given by Rūpa Gosvāmī in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, can be summarized thus: his service is favorable and is always in relation to Kṛṣṇa. In order to keep the purity of such Kṛṣṇa conscious activities, one must be freed from all material desires and philosophical speculation. Any desire except for the service of the Lord is called material desire.
Nectar of Devotion 1:
In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is also confirmed by Prahlāda Mahārāja that merely by personal efforts or by the instructions of higher authorities one cannot attain to the stage of devotional service. One must become blessed by the dust of the lotus feet of a pure devotee, who is completely freed from the contamination of material desires.
Nectar of Devotion 4:
A similar verse is found in the Eighth Canto, Third Chapter, of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, verse 20. Gajendra says there, "My dear Lord, I have no experience of the transcendental bliss derived from Your devotional service, so therefore I have asked from You some favor. But I know that persons who are pure devotees and have, by serving the lotus feet of great souls, become freed from all material desires, are always merged in the ocean of transcendental bliss and, as such, are always satisfied simply by glorifying Your auspicious characteristics. For them there is nothing else to aspire to or pray for."
Nectar of Devotion 4:
Another passage which is very important is in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, First Canto, Seventh Chapter, verse 10, and is called "the ātmārāma verse." In this ātmārāma verse it is stated that even those who are completely liberated from material contamination are attracted by the transcendental qualities of Lord Kṛṣṇa. The purport of this verse is that a liberated soul has absolutely no desire at all for material enjoyment; he is wholly freed from all kinds of material desires, yet still he is irresistibly attracted by the desire to hear and understand the pastimes of the Lord. We may therefore conclude that the glories and pastimes of the Lord are not material. Otherwise, how could the liberated persons known as ātmārāmas be attracted by such pastimes? That is the important point in this verse.
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
Krsna Book 51:
"For many, many births I have been suffering from the threefold miseries of this material existence, and I am now tired of it. I have been impelled only by my senses, and I was never satisfied. I therefore take shelter of Your lotus feet, which are the source of all peaceful life and which can eradicate all lamentation caused by material contamination. My dear Lord, You are the Supersoul of everyone, and You can understand everything. Now I am free from all contamination of material desire. I do not wish to enjoy this material world, nor do I wish to take advantage of merging into Your spiritual effulgence, nor do I wish to meditate upon Your localized aspect of Paramātmā, for I know that simply by taking shelter of You, I shall become completely peaceful and undisturbed."
Krsna Book 51:
"My dear King," Lord Kṛṣṇa continued, "I offered to give you any kind of benediction just to test how much you have advanced in devotional service. Now I can see that you are on the platform of the pure devotees, for your mind is not disturbed by any greedy or lusty desires of this material world. The yogīs who try to elevate themselves by controlling the senses and who meditate upon Me by practicing the breathing exercise of prāṇāyāma are not so thoroughly freed from material desires. It has been seen in several cases that as soon as there is allurement, such yogīs again come down to the material platform."
Krsna Book 87:
"Dear Lord," the personified Vedas continued, "if saintly persons do not take care to eradicate completely the roots of sinful desires, they cannot experience the Supersoul, although He is sitting side by side with the individual soul. Samādhi, or meditation, means that one has to find the Supersoul within himself. One who is not free from sinful reactions cannot see the Supersoul. If a person has a jeweled locket in his necklace but forgets the jewel, it is almost as though he does not possess it. Similarly, if an individual soul meditates but does not actually perceive the presence of the Supersoul within himself, his meditation is useless." Persons who have taken to the path of self-realization must therefore be very careful to avoid contamination by the influence of māyā. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī says that a devotee should be completely free from all sorts of material desires. A devotee should not be affected by the results of karma and jñāna. One has to simply understand Kṛṣṇa and carry out His desires. That is the pure devotional stage.
Renunciation Through Wisdom
Renunciation Through Wisdom 5.1:
To achieve such a state of surrender, one has to be free from selfish desires, unaffected by dualities, and devoid of all false prestige. Dualities are born of false ego, the worst enemy of surrender. One who transcends false ego, and with it the effects of duality, is very easily freed from material desires, and then he vanquishes hate, greed, anger, fear, and so on. In the stage of full surrender to the Lord, even negative qualities like mundane desire and envy, along with dualities like hunger and thirst, heat and cold, joy and sorrow, loss and gain, sin and piety, and honor and dishonor, are converted into spiritual energy by being brought into contact with the Supreme Lord.
Lectures
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures
Lecture on BG 1.41-42 -- London, July 29, 1973:
If one is bewildered on account of lusty desires, they go to different demigods for begging some benefit. So they are hṛta-jñāna. Hṛta-jñāna means lost of intelligence. If Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme, so suppose if you want some material happiness, can He not give you? He can give you also. So why should you bother about other demigods? Therefore, it is said kāmais tais tair hṛta-jñāna. If Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Lord, so if I have got some desires, material desires... Actual bhakti means minus all material... Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11). One must be freed from all material desires. But even if you have got some material desire, still you can take shelter of Kṛṣṇa. You don't require to take shelter of other demigods. So that is the last instruction in the Vedic literature.
Lecture on BG 5.26-29 -- Los Angeles, February 12, 1969:
"Those who are free from anger and all material desires, who are self-realized, self-disciplined and constantly endeavoring for perfection, are assured of liberation in the Supreme in the very near future (BG 5.26)." So first thing is that suppose somebody speaks of me very harshly. Naturally we become angry. Just like somebody calls me, "You are dog," or "you are hog." But if I am self-realized, if I know perfectly well that I am not this body so you call me hog, dog, or king, emperor, majesty, what is that? I am not this body. So either you call me, "Your majesty," or you call me a dog or a pig, what I have got to do? I am neither his majesty nor a dog nor a cat—nothing of the sort. I am servant of Kṛṣṇa.
Lecture on BG 16.13-15 -- Hawaii, February 8, 1975:
So last night we discussed about the demons' thinking. Āśā-pāśa-śatair baddhāḥ. He does not know "So long I shall be aspiring more and more, I am getting entangled more and more within this material world. Because Kṛṣṇa is so kind, he has given me freedom to enjoy this material world, but according to my work, I am becoming implicated. So long I'll have a pinch of desire for enjoying this material world, I'll have to accept a typical body." This is the law of nature. When you'll actually be free from all material desires, then it is called mukti, mukti, liberation. That is liberation. So that standard of mukti, mukti standard or mukti platform, is bhakti-yoga.
Lecture on BG 18.67 -- Ahmedabad, December 10, 1972:
So how you can become nistraiguṇya? That is also stated in the Bhagavad-gītā:
- māṁ ca yo 'vyabhicāreṇa
- bhakti-yogena sevate
- sa guṇān samatītyaitān
- brahma-bhūyāya kalpate
- (BG 14.26)
This is nistraiguṇya. If you engage yourself in unadulterated, avyabhicāreṇa, devotion, then you become immediately situated on the platform of nistraiguṇya. Sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate. So pure devotional service means anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Brs. 1.1.11). Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam. Anyābhilāṣa. We have got so many desires, all material desires. So one should be free from all material desires. Jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam (CC Madhya 19.167).
Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures
Lecture on SB 2.1.1 -- Vrndavana, March 16, 1974:
A pure devotee means just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu says. He has no other desire. Na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīm (Cc. Antya 20.29, Śikṣāṣṭaka 4). Everyone is desiring in this material world for riches, wealth, dhanam, and janam, good family, high aristocratic family, or good followers, leader, minister. Janam. They are aspiring popular votes. Na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ kavitām. And next is to have a very beautiful, obedient wife. These are the aspirations of material life. But Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, "I do not want all these things." Na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīm. This is bhakti life. When one is free from all such material desires, he's fit for executing devotional service. That is mukti.
Lecture on SB 2.3.1-4 -- Los Angeles, May 24, 1972:
In Indian villages still, there are different wells. One well is meant for washing dishes. Another well is meant for taking bath. Another well is meant for washing cloth. Another well is meant for drinking water. So Kṛṣṇa says, "There are different wells for different purposes, but when you go to the river, all the purposes will be served." You can wash your dishes, you can wash your cloth, you can take bath, and then you take drinking water. Similarly, all these desires... Of course, a devotee has no material desire. Unless one is free from all these material desires... These are all material desires. Somebody wants to be powerful, somebody wants wealth, somebody wants to have beautiful wife, somebody wants to possess grains and worldly kingdom... There is no limit of our desires. And there are different departments also. You can fulfill your desires. Yānti deva-vratā devān pitṟn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ (BG 9.25).
Lecture on SB 2.3.9 -- Los Angeles, May 26, 1972:
So we should know, whenever there is sanction in the śāstra for meat-eating, for sex intercourse, or for drinking, it is not for encouraging; it is for prohibiting, restricting. So the next question should (be), "Why it is restricted?" Restricted means so long you'll be addicted to this habit, you'll have to accept a body. So one who cannot stop it immediately, he's restricted. "All right, you want to do it. All right. Go to this demigod." That is the list. If you want this, all right, go to this demigod." Means somehow or other, this lusty person is being brought before a demigod to understand that this is not good. This is implicating. Therefore it is said akāma. If you become completely free from all material desires, or if you want that position, then come to Kṛṣṇa. No other demigod.
Lecture on SB 2.4.2 -- Los Angeles, June 25, 1972:
So sometimes, when Kṛṣṇa, He's especially kind to a person who thinks that "By... I shall execute Kṛṣṇa consciousness; at the same time, I shall enjoy this material life," this is foolishness. This is foolishness. If you want Kṛṣṇa, go to home, back to home, back to Godhead, then you have to finish your material desires. Because Kṛṣṇa is so kind that even if you have a pinch of material desire to enjoy in this material world, He will give you a chance, "All right, you do it." That means we become entangled. Therefore, those who are executing Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they should try to become free from all material desires. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam (Brs. 1.1.11).
Lecture on SB 6.2.11 -- Allahabad, January 16, 1971:
One who has become completely freed from all kinds of material desires... Jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam (CC Madhya 19.167). Jñāna-karmādy... Jñāna, cultivation of knowledge, and cultivation of pious activities, that is also on the material field. The pious... To become very pious man does not mean that he is a liberated man. He is good man, on the platform of the quality of goodness, but he is not a liberated man. Try to understand. A good man is not a liberated man. Good man is also conditioned soul. He is bound up by good condition. Just like to become a brāhmaṇa. That does not mean that... He has acquired the good qualities but that does not mean that he is a devotee. You will find in this prayer. You will find many good men but you will find rarely a pure devotee. So good man is not a devotee. Try to distinguish.
Lecture on SB 6.2.11 -- Allahabad, January 16, 1971:
Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, karma-kāṇḍa, jñāna-kāṇḍa, sakali viṣera bandha. "Either you become pious or you become very learned philosopher, they are all poison pots because by cultivating such things you cannot become liberated from this material condition."
Therefore pure devotion means anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam (Brs. 1.1.11). Pure devotion means one should be freed from all material desires, even from the desire of being elevated to the heavenly planet or Brahmaloka, Satyaloka—that is karma—or to try to understand, just like the philosophists, they do. By speculation, by philosophical speculation, they try to understand what is God. So they are not pure devotion.
Lecture on SB 7.6.5 -- Toronto, June 21, 1976:
This chanting of the holy name of the Lord is called nivṛtta tarṣair upagīyamānād. This chanting can be performed by nivṛtta tarṣair, one who has ceased from all kinds of tṛṣṇa, or desire: sarvopādhi vinirmuktam (CC Madhya 19.170) or anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Brs. 1.1.11). One who has become free from all kinds of material desires, for them, this chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is possible, is very successful (indistinct). But still, those who are not free from these material desires, it is recommended by Parīkṣit Mahārāja Nivṛtta-tarṣair. Actually this chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra should be done by the liberated persons. But still, those who are not liberated, bhavam-āśritaḥ, for them it is bhavauṣadhi: the disease, medicine of this disease.
Nectar of Devotion Lectures
The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, October 18, 1972:
Unless you become rūpānuga, you cannot understand the Gauḍīya philosophy. Ei chay gosāi yāra tāra mui dāsa. So this is called paramparā system. Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayoḥ viduḥ (BG 4.2). If you follow the path of Rūpa Gosvāmī, Sanātana Gosvāmī... Not that simply by imitating his cloth. You must follow in principle all the rules and regulations given by...
- anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ
- jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam
- ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-
- śīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā
- (Brs. 1.1.11)
This is the definition given by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī in his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu. So one must be freed from all material desires.
The Nectar of Devotion -- Vrndavana, October 21, 1972:
So kṛṣṇa-bhakti, devotional service of Kṛṣṇa, is so exalted that a devotee can kick out even mukti. They do not want. A devotee doesn't want. Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu says,
- na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ
- kavitāṁ vā jagadīśa kāmaye
- mama janmani janmanīśvare
- bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī (tvayi)
- (Cc. Antya 20.29, Śikṣāṣṭaka 4)
So devotional service, this line of activities should not be taken for some material gain. This is not bhakti. Bhakti must be pure, cent percent pure, free from all material desires, free from the resultant action of jñāna and karma. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam (Brs. 1.1.11). In other words, if you are actually a devotee, you'll have no more interest with these material desires. Material desires means dharma artha kāma mokṣa (SB 4.8.41, Cc. Ādi 1.90). They're all material desires.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Lectures
Lecture on CC Adi-lila 1.16 -- Mayapur, April 9, 1975:
Our present position is that we are materially diseased, so we have to become free from the material disease. Material disease means sense gratification, and the most formidable disease is sex. This is called material disease. So viṣaya chāḍiyā. We have to be, become free from the contamination of viṣaya, material enjoyment. This is the statement of Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura.
- viṣaya chāḍiyā kabe śuddha ha 'be mana
- kabe hāma herabo śrī-vṛndāvana
"When my mind will be cleansed of all material desires, then I shall be able to see what is Vṛndāvana." It is very difficult to see Vṛndāvana with material desires. Bhakti means the first qualification is to become free from all material desires. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam.
Lecture on CC Adi-lila 1.16 -- Mayapur, April 9, 1975:
You know all these definition of bhakti given in our Nectar of Devotion. So spiritual life means free from material desires. And material desires mean just to hanker after sense gratification. This is material desire. When we have no more desire for sense gratification, then we should think that we are on the spiritual platform.
Sri Isopanisad Lectures
Sri Isopanisad, Mantra 1 -- Los Angeles, October 30, 1968:
. Jñāna is the platform of goodness, and karma is the platform of passion and ignorance. So bhakti means anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ (CC Madhya 19.167), without any material desires, devoid of, freed from all kinds of material desire and uncovered by ignorance, passion and goodness. Goodness also. To become very good man in this world, that does not mean that he is freed from this material contamination. He's contaminated by the goodness quality.
Initiation Lectures
Initiation Lecture Excerpt -- Los Angeles, July 2, 1971:
So similarly, Kṛṣṇa's name, we should not try to exact some material profit by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. That is not pure devotion. Sarva... What is called? Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam (CC Madhya 19.170). Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Brs. 1.1.11). We shall simply aspire to serve Kṛṣṇa. The Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra means, "He Kṛṣṇa, my Lord Kṛṣṇa." He, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare, "O the energy of Kṛṣṇa, O Kṛṣṇa, please engage me in Your service." This is the sum total meaning of this Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. Simply praying, "Please engage me," that is real profit. Not that "Please give me, instead of hundred dollars, give me thousand dollars." No. This is not pure devotion. You should all understand this. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (CC Madhya 19.167). Completely freed from any material desire. That is pure devotion. That will make you happy.
Philosophy Discussions
Philosophy Discussion on Karl Marx:
Prabhupāda: Therefore these things have been forbidden for persons who are advanced in this Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Because if you have got all these material desires, then you cannot become Kṛṣṇa conscious. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Brs. 1.1.11). These are called anyābhila, desiring something for material profit. So, bhakti is anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam, one must be completely free from all these desires, material desires. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy anāvṛtam (CC Madhya 19.167), without any aspiration for resultant action of knowledge and karma.
Purports to Songs
Purport to Gauranga Bolite Habe -- Los Angeles, January 5, 1969:
Viṣaya chāḍiyā kabe śuddha ha'be mana: "When my mind will be completely purified, uncontaminated from the material contamination, at that time it will be possible for me to see what is Vṛndāvana." In other words, one cannot go to Vṛndāvana by force and live there, and he will achieve that transcendental bliss. No. One has to make his mind freed from all material desires. Then one can live at Vṛndāvana and relish its residential benefit. So Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says that. Viṣaya chāḍiyā kabe, śuddha ha'be mana: "When my mind will be freed from the contamination of this material enjoyment and I shall be purified, then it will be possible for me to see Vṛndāvana as it is." Otherwise it is not possible.
Purport to Gauranga Bolite Habe -- Los Angeles, January 5, 1969:
So Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura is giving us the direction, how one can reach the highest perfectional stage of associating with Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. The first thing is that one should be very much attached to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. That will lead us. Because He came to deliver the understanding of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, therefore one should first of all surrender to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. By surrendering to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Nityānanda Prabhu will be pleased, and by His pleasing, we shall be freed from material desires. And when material desires are no more, then we shall be able to enter Vṛndāvana.
Purport to Gauranga Bolite Habe -- Los Angeles, December 29, 1968:
And another he sings that viṣaya chāḍiyā kabe śuddha ha'be mana. This mind, so, so, so long the mind is too much absorbed in materialistic thought, he cannot enter into the kingdom of Vṛndāvana. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says: viṣaya śuddha kabe śuddha ha'be mana. When my, my mind will be completely purified, being freed from material anxieties and desires. Then I shall be able to understand what is Vṛndāvana, what is conjugal love of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, and then my spiritual life will be successful.
Purport to Gauranga Bolite Habe -- Los Angeles, January 9, 1969:
So when actually our spiritual master or Nityānanda Prabhu is pleased upon us, at that time the symptom will be that we shall no longer hanker after material enjoyment. When that stage of life is arrived, at that time only, we can understand what is Vṛndāvana, the abode of Kṛṣṇa. Vṛndāvana is not a material place, just like ordinary city or country. It is transcendental. So appreciation of Vṛndāvana will be possible when our mind is free from all material desires. Viṣaya chāḍiyā.
Conversations and Morning Walks
1974 Conversations and Morning Walks
Morning Walk Excerpts -- May 1, 1974, Bombay:
Prabhupāda: ...Vaiṣṇava kavi has sung,
- viṣaya chāriyā, se rase mājīyā,
- mukhe bala hari hari
Unless you are free from the material desires, you cannot enjoy what is the celestial or spiritual bliss in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. If one has got material desires, he cannot enjoy.
1975 Conversations and Morning Walks
Morning Walk -- May 11, 1975, Perth:
Prabhupāda: If you actually do not want suffering, then you have to practice all these things so that you can go to the spiritual world. That is the aim of life. And for going to the spiritual world, you have to be completely, cent percent free from all material desires. And so long you will have material desires, you have to accept one material body. Nature is so kind, or the law of nature is so perfect. As long as you will have a little pinch of material desire, then you will have to accept. That's all.
1977 Conversations and Morning Walks
Room Conversation -- October 18, 1977, Vrndavana:
Prabhupāda: ...thakur re.(?) I want association of Vaiṣṇava. You are all pure Vaiṣṇavas. You have sacrificed everything, material comforts, for Kṛṣṇa's sake. That is Vaiṣṇava. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Brs. 1.1.11). You have no other desire. You Europeans, Americans, you are born amongst material desires. And when you become free from material desires... Therefore you are all Vaiṣṇava, anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (CC Madhya 19.167).
Correspondence
1967 Correspondence
Letter to Mr. Taber -- New York 9 June, 1967:
By Brahman realization, as you may have read in Bhagavad-gita: brahma-bhutah prasannatma na socati na kanksati (BG 18.54). So in our pure stage when we understand that we are eternal servants of Krishna there is no more distress. Therefore the devotee prays: "My Lord, when shall I be freed from all material desires and be completely engaged in your transcendental loving service.
1969 Correspondence
Letter to Martin Malles -- Los Angeles 22 July, 1969:
To do actual Hatha Yoga one must not live in the city, but he must go to a sacred spot, and completely freed from all attachments and all material desires and disturbances, he must concentrate his mind upon the Lord within his heart. This process is not completed in just six months time, but it extends over many, many lifetimes. So in this age of Kali Yuga it is not possible to faithfully follow the procedures of Hatha Yoga because our minds are too restless and our lives are very brief. Therefore, the Lord has descended upon this earth five hundred years ago as Lord Caitanya to encourage the process among all men of chanting the Holy Names of God, the Hare Krishna Mantra.
1974 Correspondence
Letter to Ravendra Gupta -- Vrindaban 12 February, 1974:
I know you have been attending our temple in Boston sometimes, and that you wish to be a sincere devotee of Krishna. So go on faithfully with you chanting and pray to Krishna to give you strength for advancing in His service. It is a fact, however that we must become free of all material desire before going back to Godhead, and this can only be achieved by following the instructions of a bona fide spiritual master.
1975 Correspondence
Letter to Satsvarupa -- Bombay 20 November, 1975:
Doing business and not sankirtana, this is not at all good. Visaya chadiya kabe suddha ha'be mana/ kabe hama herabo sri-vrndavana. "When the mind is completely purified, being freed from material anxieties and desires, then I shall be able to understand Vrndavana and the conjugal love of Radha and Krsna, and then my spiritual life will be successful." One has to engage himself in devotional service, giving up the engagement of manufacturing pounds, shilling, pence.
| Page Title: | Free from material desire |
| Compiler: | Labangalatika |
| Created: | 08 of Jun, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=5, SB=75, CC=16, OB=11, Lec=22, Con=3, Let=4 |
| No. of Quotes: | 136 |