Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī says that the distresses from sinful activities are due both to the sins themselves and to sins committed in our past lives. Generally, one commits sinful activities due to ignorance. But ignorance is no excuse for evading the reaction—sinful activities. Sinful activities are of two kinds: those which are mature and those which are not mature. The sinful activities for which we are suffering at the present moment are called mature. The many sinful activities stored within us for which we have not yet suffered are considered immature. For example, a man may have committed criminal acts, but not yet been arrested for them. Now, as soon as he is detected, arrest is awaiting him. Similarly, for some of our sinful activities we are awaiting distresses in the future, and for others, which are mature, we are suffering at the present moment.
Immature (Books)
Bhagavad-gita As It Is
BG Chapters 1 - 6
Desire for overlording and for sense gratification is the greatest enemy of the conditioned soul; but by the strength of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one can control the material senses, the mind and the intelligence. One may not give up work and prescribed duties all of a sudden; but by gradually developing Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one can be situated in a transcendental position without being influenced by the material senses and the mind—by steady intelligence directed toward one's pure identity. This is the sum total of this chapter. In the immature stage of material existence, philosophical speculations and artificial attempts to control the senses by the so-called practice of yogic postures can never help a man toward spiritual life. He must be trained in Kṛṣṇa consciousness by higher intelligence.
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 1
One who has forsaken his material occupations to engage in the devotional service of the Lord may sometimes fall down while in an immature stage, yet there is no danger of his being unsuccessful. On the other hand, a nondevotee, though fully engaged in occupational duties, does not gain anything.
In the ultimate issue only, when there is no alternative, the nuclear weapon called the brahmāstra is applied. The word dvijātmajaḥ is significant here because Aśvatthāmā, although the son of Droṇācārya, was not exactly a qualified brāhmaṇa. The most intelligent man is called a brāhmaṇa, and it is not a hereditary title. Aśvatthāmā was also formerly called the brahma-bandhu, or the friend of a brāhmaṇa. Being a friend of a brāhmaṇa does not mean that one is a brāhmaṇa by qualification. A friend or son of a brāhmaṇa, when fully qualified, can be called a brāhmaṇa and not otherwise. Since Aśvatthāmā's decision is immature, he is purposely called herein the son of a brāhmaṇa.
O my boy, your intelligence is immature, and therefore you have no knowledge that the king, who is the best amongst human beings, is as good as the Personality of Godhead. He is never to be placed on an equal footing with common men. The citizens of the state live in prosperity, being protected by his unsurpassable prowess.
Then the ṛṣi prayed to the all-pervading Personality of Godhead to pardon his immature boy, who had no intelligence and who committed the great sin of cursing a person who was completely free from all sins, who was subordinate and who deserved to be protected.
Everyone is responsible for his own action, either pious or sinful. Ṛṣi Śamīka could foresee that his son had committed a great sin by cursing Mahārāja Parīkṣit, who deserved to be protected by the brāhmaṇas, for he was a pious ruler and completely free from all sins because of his being a first-class devotee of the Lord.
Ṛṣi Śamīka also knew that the Lord does not forgive a person who has committed an offense at the feet of a devotee. The Lord can only give direction to take shelter of the devotee. He thought within himself that if Mahārāja Parīkṣit would countercurse the boy, he might be saved. But he knew also that a pure devotee is callous about worldly advantages or reverses. As such, the devotees are never inclined to counteract personal defamation, curses, negligence, etc. As far as such things are concerned, in personal affairs the devotees do not care for them. But in the case of their being performed against the Lord and His devotees, then the devotees take very strong action. It was a personal affair, and therefore Śamīka Ṛṣi knew that the King would not take counteraction. Thus there was no alternative than to place an appeal to the Lord for the immature boy.
SB Canto 4
Transcendental devotional service cannot be complete and cannot be relishable without the association of devotees. We have therefore established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Anyone who is trying to be aloof from this Krishna Consciousness Society and yet engage in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is living in a great hallucination, for this is not possible. From this statement by Dhruva Mahārāja it is clear that unless one is associated with devotees, his devotional service does not mature; it does not become distinct from material activities.
The perfection of life can be achieved only by devotees. Even if one completes only a minute percentage of devotional service and then falls down from his immature position, he is better than a person who fully engages in the fruitive activities of this material world.
Although a neophyte devotee may fall down from the path of Kṛṣṇa consciousness due to his immaturity, his service to Kṛṣṇa never goes in vain. However, a person who remains steadfast in his family duty or so-called social or family obligation but does not take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness receives no profit.
If a devotee is not mature, the Supreme Lord will take away all his opulence. This principle is stated by the Supreme Personality of Godhead-yasyāham anugṛhṇāmi hariṣye tad-dhanaṁ śanaiḥ: "My first mercy shown to My devotee is to take away all his material opulence." Material opulence detrimental to devotional service is taken away by the Supreme Lord, whereas a person who is mature in devotional service is given all material facilities.
SB Canto 5
"One who has forsaken his material occupations to engage in the devotional service of the Lord may sometimes fall down while in an immature stage, yet there is no danger of his being unsuccessful. On the other hand, a nondevotee, though fully engaged in occupational duties, does not gain anything." If one somehow or other comes to the shelter of a great Vaiṣṇava, takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness because of sentiment or realization, but in course of time falls down because of immature understanding, he is not actually fallen, for his having engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is a permanent asset. If one falls down, therefore, his progress might be checked for a certain time, but it will again become manifest at an opportune moment.
Somehow or other, if one is attracted to Kṛṣṇa, whatever he does in devotional service is a permanent asset. Even if one falls down due to immaturity or bad association, his devotional assets are never lost. There are many examples of this—Ajāmila, Mahārāja Bharata, and many others. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is giving everyone a chance to engage in devotional service for at least some time. A little service will give one an impetus to advance and thus make one's life successful.
SB Canto 7
According to Vedic civilization, the ultimate perfection of life is to take sannyāsa, but at the present moment people do not know why sannyāsa is accepted. Because of misunderstanding, they think that one accepts sannyāsa to escape social responsibilities. But one does not accept sannyāsa to escape from responsibility to society. Generally one accepts sannyāsa at the fourth stage of spiritual life. One begins as a brahmacārī then becomes a gṛhastha, a vānaprastha and finally a sannyāsī to take advantage of the duration of one's life by engaging oneself fully in self-realization. Sannyāsa does not mean begging from door to door to accumulate money for sense gratification. However, because in Kali-yuga people are more or less prone to sense gratification, immature sannyāsa is not recommended.
When one is no longer disturbed, especially by lusty desires for sexual indulgence, he is fit to become a sannyāsī. Otherwise, one should not accept the sannyāsa order. If one accepts sannyāsa at an immature stage, there is every possibility of his being attracted by women and lusty desires and thus again becoming a so-called gṛhastha or a victim of women. Such a person is most shameless, and he is called vāntāśī, or one who eats that which he has already vomited.
SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13
We can understand from Brahma-saṁhitā that the brahmajyoti, or the Brahman effulgence, emanates from the body of the Supreme Lord. And from the Brahman effulgence, all creation takes place. It is further stated in the Bhagavad-gītā that the Lord is the support of the Brahman effulgence. Originally He is the root cause of everything. But persons who are less intelligent think that when the Supreme Personality of Godhead comes within this material world, He accepts material qualities. Such conclusions are not mature, but are, made by the less intelligent.
There are many persons who worship different demigods, considering all of them to be separate gods, which in fact they are not. The fact is that every demigod, and every living entity, is part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa (mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ (BG 15.7)). The demigods are also in the category of living entities; they are not separate gods. But men whose knowledge is immature and contaminated by the modes of material nature worship various demigods, according to their intelligence.
SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)
Where the rivers joined the ocean it became agitated, its waves blown about by the wind, just as the mind of an immature yogī becomes agitated because he is still tainted by lust and attached to the objects of sense gratification.
What comparison can there be between these two professional wrestlers, with limbs as strong as lightning bolts and bodies resembling mighty mountains, and these two young, immature boys with exceedingly tender limbs?
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Madhya-lila
One must understand Kṛṣṇa in tattva (truth). One should use his common sense and consider that if simply by chanting Kṛṣṇa's holy name one is purified, how then can the person Kṛṣṇa be immoral? Unfortunately, mundane fools are accepted as educational leaders and are offered exalted posts for teaching irreligious principles to the general populace. This is explained in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.5.31): andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānāḥ. Blind men are trying to lead other blind men. Due to the immature understanding of such rascals, common men should not discuss Kṛṣṇa's pastimes with the gopīs. A nondevotee should not even discuss His stealing sweet rice for His devotees. It is warned that one should not even think about these things.
The two gross meanings refer to regulative devotional service and spontaneous devotional service. There are also thirty-two subtle meanings. Under the heading of regulative devotional service, there are sixteen meanings based on understanding the word ātmārāma to mean (1) a servant of the Lord as His personal associate, (2) a personal friend, (3) personal parents or similar superiors, (4) a personal beloved, (5) a servant elevated by spiritual cultivation, (6) a friend by spiritual cultivation, (7) parents and superior devotees by cultivation of devotional service, (8) a beloved wife or female friend by cultivation of devotional service, (9) a mature devotee as a servant, (10) a mature devotee as a friend, (11) a mature devotee as a parent and superior, (12) a mature devotee as a wife and beloved, (13) an immature devotee as a servant, (14) an immature devotee as a friend, (15) an immature devotee as a father or superior, and (16) an immature devotee as a beloved. Similarly, under the heading of spontaneous devotion there are also sixteen various associates. Therefore the total number of devotees under the headings of regulated devotees and spontaneous devotees is thirty-two.
“Those who are practicing devotional service are either mature or immature. Therefore the sādhakas are of two types. Since the devotees execute either regulative devotional service or spontaneous devotional service and there are four groups within these two divisions, altogether there are eight varieties.
“Within the category of regulative devotional service, there are also immature devotees. These are also of four varieties. Thus in regulative devotional service there are altogether sixteen varieties.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Nectar of Devotion
It is stated in the Padma Purāṇa that there are four kinds of effects due to sinful activities, which are listed as follows: (1) the effect which is not yet fructified, (2) the effect which is lying as seed, (3) the effect which is already mature and (4) the effect which is almost mature. It is also stated that all these four effects become immediately vanquished for those who surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, and become engaged in His devotional service in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Those effects described as "almost mature" refer to the distress from which one is suffering at present, and the effects "lying as seed" are in the core of the heart, where there is a certain stock of sinful desires which are like seeds. The Sanskrit word kūṭam means that they are almost ready to produce the seed, or the effect of the seed. "An immature effect" refers to the case where the seedling has not begun.
Nectar of Instruction
Devotional service is so pure and perfect that once having begun, one is forcibly dragged to ultimate success. Sometimes a person will give up his ordinary material engagements and out of sentiment take shelter of the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord and thus begin the preliminary execution of devotional service. Even if such an immature devotee falls down, there is no loss on his part. On the other hand, what is the gain of one who executes the prescribed duties according to his varṇa and āśrama but does not take to devotional service? Although a fallen devotee may take his next birth in a low family, his devotional service will nonetheless resume from where it left off.
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
The unborn Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, knows that many great personalities have fallen from their positions because of extravagant opulence. Therefore, even when His devotee asks for some opulence from Him, the Lord sometimes does not give it. He is very cautious about His devotees. Because a devotee in an immature position of devotional service may, if offered great opulence, fall from his position due to being in the material world, the Lord does not offer opulence to him. This is another manifestation of the causeless mercy of the Lord upon His devotee. His first interest is that the devotee not fall. He is exactly like a well-wishing father who does not give much wealth into the hand of his immature son, but who, when the son is grown up and knows how to spend money, gives him the whole treasury house.”
It is also stated by Lord Kṛṣṇa that those who worship the demigods are not mature in their intelligence. The devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, therefore, because of their strong attachment for Him, do not foolishly go to the demigods.
We have practical experience of being advised by the so-called bābājīs in Vṛndāvana that there is no need to preach and that it is better to live in Vṛndāvana in a solitary place and chant the holy name. Such bābājīs do not know that if one is engaged in preaching or in glorifying the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the good reputation of a preacher automatically follows one. One should not, therefore, prematurely give up the honest life of a householder to lead a life of debauchery in Vṛndāvana. Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī’s recommendation to leave home and go to the forest in search of Kṛṣṇa is not for immature persons.
Renunciation Through Wisdom
One who has forsaken his material occupations to engage in the devotional service of the Lord may sometimes fall down while in an immature stage, yet there is no danger of his being unsuccessful. On the other hand, a nondevotee, though fully engaged in occupational duties, does not gain anything.
Light of the Bhagavata
| Page Title: | Immature (Books) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, Tugomera |
| Created: | 26 of Dec, 2010 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=1, SB=17, CC=4, OB=8, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 30 |