Not attracted (Books)

Expressions researched:
"no attraction" |"not attract" |"not attracted" |"not attracting" |"not attraction"

BG Chapters 1 - 6

BG 4.14, Purport:

The living entities are engaged in their respective activities of sense gratification, and these activities are not ordained by the Lord. For advancement of sense gratification, the living entities are engaged in the work of this world, and they aspire to heavenly happiness after death. The Lord, being full in Himself, has no attraction for so-called heavenly happiness. The heavenly demigods are only His engaged servants. The proprietor never desires the low-grade happiness such as the workers may desire. He is aloof from the material actions and reactions. For example, the rains are not responsible for different types of vegetation that appear on the earth, although without such rains there is no possibility of vegetative growth. Vedic smṛti confirms this fact as follows:

BG 4.20, Purport:

This freedom from the bondage of actions is possible only in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, when one is doing everything for Kṛṣṇa. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person acts out of pure love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore he has no attraction for the results of the action. He is not even attached to his personal maintenance, for everything is left to Kṛṣṇa. Nor is he anxious to secure things, nor to protect things already in his possession. He does his duty to the best of his ability and leaves everything to Kṛṣṇa. Such an unattached person is always free from the resultant reactions of good and bad; it is as though he were not doing anything. This is the sign of akarma, or actions without fruitive reactions. Any other action, therefore, devoid of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is binding upon the worker, and that is the real aspect of vikarma, as explained hereinbefore.

BG 5.21, Translation:

Such a liberated person is not attracted to material sense pleasure but is always in trance, enjoying the pleasure within. In this way the self-realized person enjoys unlimited happiness, for he concentrates on the Supreme.

BG 5.21, Purport:

The highest pleasure in terms of matter is sex pleasure. The whole world is moving under its spell, and a materialist cannot work at all without this motivation. But a person engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness can work with greater vigor without sex pleasure, which he avoids. That is the test in spiritual realization. Spiritual realization and sex pleasure go ill together. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person is not attracted to any kind of sense pleasure, due to his being a liberated soul.

BG 5.22, Purport:

"My dear sons, there is no reason to labor very hard for sense pleasure while in this human form of life; such pleasures are available to the stool-eaters (hogs). Rather, you should undergo penances in this life by which your existence will be purified, and as a result you will be able to enjoy unlimited transcendental bliss."

Therefore, those who are true yogīs or learned transcendentalists are not attracted by sense pleasures, which are the causes of continuous material existence. The more one is addicted to material pleasures, the more he is entrapped by material miseries.

BG Chapters 7 - 12

BG 9.13, Purport:

The mahātmā does not divert his attention to anything outside Kṛṣṇa, because he knows perfectly well that Kṛṣṇa is the original Supreme Person, the cause of all causes. There is no doubt about it. Such a mahātmā, or great soul, develops through association with other mahātmās, pure devotees. Pure devotees are not even attracted by Kṛṣṇa's other features, such as the four-armed Mahā-viṣṇu. They are simply attracted by the two-armed form of Kṛṣṇa. They are not attracted to other features of Kṛṣṇa, nor are they concerned with any form of a demigod or of a human being. They meditate only upon Kṛṣṇa in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They are always engaged in the unswerving service of the Lord in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

BG 11.55, Purport:

The word mat-paramaḥ refers to one who considers the association of Kṛṣṇa in His supreme abode to be the highest perfection of life. Such a person does not wish to be elevated to the higher planets such as the moon or sun or heavenly planets, or even the highest planet of this universe, Brahmaloka. He has no attraction for that. He is only attracted to being transferred to the spiritual sky. And even in the spiritual sky he is not satisfied with merging into the glowing brahma-jyoti effulgence, for he wants to enter the highest spiritual planet, namely Kṛṣṇaloka, Goloka Vṛndāvana. He has full knowledge of that planet, and therefore he is not interested in any other. As indicated by the word mad-bhaktaḥ, he fully engages in devotional service, specifically in the nine processes of devotional engagement: hearing, chanting, remembering, worshiping, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering prayers, carrying out the orders of the Lord, making friends with Him, and surrendering everything to Him. One can engage in all nine devotional processes, or eight, or seven, or at least in one, and that will surely make one perfect.

BG Chapters 13 - 18

BG 16.24, Purport:

Those in the modes of passion and ignorance deride the scriptures, deride the holy man, and deride the proper understanding of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They disobey the instructions of the spiritual master, and they do not care for the regulations of the scriptures. In spite of hearing the glories of devotional service, they are not attracted. Thus they manufacture their own way of elevation. These are some of the defects of human society which lead to the demoniac status of life. If, however, one is able to be guided by a proper and bona fide spiritual master, who can lead one to the path of elevation, to the higher stage, then one's life becomes successful.

SB Preface and Introduction

SB Introduction:

O my Lord, Your holy name alone can render all benediction to living beings, and thus You have hundreds and millions of names like Kṛṣṇa and Govinda. In these transcendental names You have invested all Your transcendental energies. There are not even hard and fast rules for chanting these names. O my Lord, out of kindness You enable us to easily approach You by chanting Your holy names, but I am so unfortunate that I have no attraction for them.

SB Canto 1

SB 1.13.17, Purport:

Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja and his brothers the Pāṇḍavas were all engaged in the service of the Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and they had very little attraction for the illusory happiness of this material world. As we have discussed previously, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was fixed in the service of the Lord Mukunda (the Lord, who can award salvation), and therefore he had no attraction even for such comforts of life as are available in the kingdom of heaven, because even the happiness obtained on the planet Brahmaloka is also temporary and illusory. Because the living being is eternal, he can be happy only in the eternal abode of the kingdom of God (paravyoma), from which no one returns to this region of repeated birth and death, disease and old age. Therefore, any comfort of life or any material happiness which does not warrant an eternal life is but illusion for the eternal living being.

SB Canto 2

SB 2.2.6, Purport:

Such holy places of worship are also occupied by the Lord because the Lord is omnipresent. For the common man these holy places are centers of learning about the science of God. When the temples are devoid of activities, the people in general become uninterested in such places, and consequently the mass of people gradually become godless, and a godless civilization is the result. Such a hellish civilization artificially increases the conditions of life, and existence becomes intolerable for everyone. The foolish leaders of a godless civilization try to devise various plans to bring about peace and prosperity in the godless world under a patent trademark of materialism, and because such attempts are illusory only, the people elect incompetent, blind leaders, one after another, who are incapable of offering solutions. If we want at all to end this anomaly of a godless civilization, we must follow the principles of revealed scriptures like the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and follow the instruction of a person like Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī who has no attraction for material gain.

SB 2.2.31, Purport:

In the Bhagavad-gītā (8.15) also the same is confirmed, as the Lord says, "The great mahātmās, or the bhakti-yogīs, after attaining My association, never come back to this material world, which is full of miseries and is nonpermanent." The highest perfection of life, therefore, is to attain His association, and nothing else. The bhakti-yogī, being completely engaged in the Lord's service, has no attraction for any other process of liberation like jñāna or yoga. A pure devotee is a one hundred percent devotee of the Lord and nothing more.

We should further note in this verse the two words śāntam and ānandam, which denote that devotional service of the Lord can really bestow upon the devotee two important benedictions, namely peace and satisfaction. The impersonalist is desirous of becoming one with the Supreme, or in other words, he wants to become the Supreme. This is a myth only. The mystic yogīs become encumbered by various mystic powers and so have neither peace nor satisfaction.

SB 2.2.31, Purport:

The mystic yogīs become encumbered by various mystic powers and so have neither peace nor satisfaction. So neither the impersonalists nor the yogi can have real peace and satisfaction, but the devotee can become fully peaceful and satisfied because of his association with the complete whole. Therefore, merging in the Absolute or attaining some mystic powers has no attraction for the devotee.

Attainment of love of Godhead means complete freedom from all other attractions. The conditioned soul has many aspirations such as becoming a religious man, a rich man, or a first-class enjoyer or becoming God himself, or becoming powerful like the mystics and acting wonderfully by getting anything or doing anything, but all these aspirations should be rejected by the prospective devotee who actually wants to revive his dormant love of God. The impure devotee aspires after all of the abovementioned material things by perfection of devotion.

SB Canto 3

SB 3.2.11, Purport:

The Lord Himself comes to display His transcendental pastimes, typically represented at Vṛndāvana, Mathurā and Dvārakā. He appears just to attract the conditioned souls back to Godhead, back home to the eternal world. But for want of sufficient piety, the onlookers are not attracted by such pastimes of the Lord. In Bhagavad-gītā it is said that only those who have completely surpassed the way of sinful reaction can engage themselves in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. The entire Vedic way of ritualistic performances is to put every conditioned soul on the path of piety. By strict adherence to the prescribed principles for all orders of social life, one can attain the qualities of truthfulness, control of the mind, control of the senses, forbearance, etc., and can be elevated to the plane of rendering pure devotional service to the Lord. Only by such a transcendental vision are one's material hankerings fully satisfied.

SB 3.4.28, Purport:

The word upagateṣu is also significant. All the members of Vṛṣṇi and Bhoja directly reached the abode of the Lord. Other devotees do not reach the abode of the Lord directly, but the pure associates of the Lord have no attraction for the opulence of any planets of the material world. Sometimes, due to inquisitiveness, devotees who are to be promoted to the abode of the Lord have some attraction for the opulence of the higher material planets above the earth, and thus they desire to see them while going up to the perfection. But the Vṛṣṇis and Bhojas were directly dispatched because they had no attraction for material planets. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura also suggests that according to the Amara-kośa dictionary, ākṛti also means "signal." Lord Kṛṣṇa ordered Uddhava by signal to go to Badarikāśrama after His departure, and Uddhava, as a pure devotee of the Lord, carried out the order more faithfully than going back to Godhead, or the abode of the Lord. That was the cause of his remaining alone even after the departure of the Lord from the face of the earth.

SB 3.23.11, Purport:

The mental situation at the time of sex life may then be transferred into the womb of the wife, and good children can come out of that pregnancy. Here is a special reference to Devahūti's bodily features. Because she had become skinny, she feared that her body might have no attraction for Kardama. She wanted to be instructed how to improve her bodily condition in order to attract her husband. Sexual intercourse in which the husband is attracted to the wife is sure to produce a male child, but sexual intercourse based on attraction of the wife for the husband may produce a girl. That is mentioned in the Āyur-veda. When the passion of the woman is greater, there is a chance of a girl's being born. When the passion of the man is greater, then there is the possibility of a son. Devahūti wanted the passion of her husband to be increased by the arrangement mentioned in the kāma-śāstra. She wanted him to instruct her in that way, and she also requested that he arrange for a suitable house because the hermitage in which Kardama Muni was living was very simple and completely in the mode of goodness, and there was less possibility of passion's being aroused in his heart.

SB 3.27.30, Purport:

Yogīs who have incomplete information of the result of devotional service are attracted by these powers, but these powers are material; they have nothing to do with spiritual progress. As other material powers are created by the material energy, mystic yogic powers are also material. A perfect yogīs mind is not attracted by any material power, but is simply attracted by unalloyed service to the Supreme Lord. For a devotee, the process of merging into the Brahman effulgence is considered to be hellish, and yogic power or the preliminary perfection of yogic power, to be able to control the senses, is automatically achieved. As for elevation to higher planets, a devotee considers this to be simply hallucinatory. A devotee's attention is concentrated only upon the eternal loving service of the Lord, and therefore the power of death has no influence over him. In such a devotional state, a perfect yogī can attain the status of immortal knowledge and bliss.

SB 3.28.16, Purport:

The word darśanīyatamam, which is used in this verse, means that the Lord is so beautiful that the devotee-yogī does not wish to see anything else. His desire to see beautiful objects is completely satisfied by the sight of the Lord. In the material world we want to see beauty, but the desire is never satisfied. Because of material contamination, all the propensities we feel in the material world are ever unsatisfied. But when our desires to see, hear, touch, etc., are dovetailed for the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they are on the level of the topmost perfection.

Although the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His eternal form is so beautiful and pleasing to the heart of the devotee, He does not attract the impersonalists, who want to meditate on His impersonal aspect. Such impersonal meditation is simply fruitless labor. The actual yogīs, with half-closed eyes, fix on the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, not upon anything void or impersonal.

SB 3.31.37, Purport:

The first living creature is Brahmā himself, and from him were created sages like Marīci, who in their turn created Kaśyapa Muni and others, and Kaśyapa Muni and the Manus created different demigods and human beings, etc. But there is none among them who is not attracted by the spell of māyā in the form of woman. Throughout the entire material world, beginning from Brahmā down to the small, insignificant creatures like the ant, everyone is attracted by sex life. That is the basic principle of this material world. Lord Brahmā's being attracted by his daughter is the vivid example that no one is exempt from sexual attraction to woman. Woman, therefore, is the wonderful creation of māyā to keep the conditioned soul in shackles.

SB Canto 4

SB 4.24.29, Purport:

As indicated in Bhagavad-gītā (8.16), one does not escape material miseries even if he is elevated to Brahmaloka (ābrahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino 'rjuna). Similarly, one is not very safe even if he is promoted to Śivaloka, because the planet of Śivaloka is marginal. However, if one attains Vaikuṇṭhaloka, he attains the highest perfection of life and the end of the evolutionary process (mām upetya tu kaunteya punar janma na vidyate). In other words, it is confirmed herein that a person in human society who has developed consciousness must take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness in order to be promoted to Vaikuṇṭhaloka or Kṛṣṇaloka immediately after leaving the body. Tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so 'rjuna (BG 4.9). A devotee who is fully in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, who is not attracted by any other loka, or planet, including Brahmaloka and Śivaloka, is immediately transferred to Kṛṣṇaloka (mām eti). That is the highest perfection of life and the perfection of the evolutionary process.

SB 4.25.9, Purport:

Foolish persons accept the difficult path of karma-kāṇḍa for the sake of sense enjoyment, and those who are too much attached to sense enjoyment are called mūḍhas (rascals). It is very difficult for a mūḍha to understand the ultimate goal of life. In the propagation of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, we actually see that many people are not attracted because they are mūḍhas engaged in fruitive activity. It is said: upadeśo hi mūrkhāṇāṁ prakopāya na śāntaye. If good instructions are given to a foolish rascal, he simply becomes angry and turns against the instructions instead of taking advantage of them. Because Nārada Muni knew this very well, he indirectly instructed the King by giving him the history of his entire life. In order to wear a gold or diamond nose pin or earring, one has to pierce the ear or nose. Such pain endured for the sake of sense gratification is endured on the path of karma-kāṇḍa, the path of fruitive activity. If one wishes to enjoy something in the future, he has to endure trouble in the present.

SB 4.26.15, Translation:

King Purañjana said: I do not understand why my household paraphernalia does not attract me as before. I think that if there is neither a mother nor devoted wife at home, the home is like a chariot without wheels. Where is the fool who will sit down on such an unworkable chariot?

SB 4.29.56, Purport:

The real goal of life is to attain devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The King therefore decided to reject the so-called priestly orders that simply engage their followers in the ritualistic ceremonies without giving effective instructions about the goal of life. At the present moment the churches, temples and mosques all over the world are not attracting people because foolish priests cannot elevate their followers to the platform of knowledge. Not being aware of the real goal of life, they simply keep their congregations in ignorance. Consequently, those who are well educated have become uninterested in the ritualistic ceremonies. At the same time, they are not benefited with real knowledge. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is therefore very important for the enlightenment of all classes. Following in the footsteps of Mahārāja Barhiṣmān, everyone should take advantage of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and abandon the stereotyped ritualistic ceremonies that go under the garb of so many religions.

SB Canto 5

SB 5.1.1, Purport:

Since Nārada Muni instructed the King fully on this subject, why did he again enter household life, which is the main cause of material bondage? Mahārāja Parīkṣit was greatly astonished that King Priyavrata remained in household life, especially since he was not only a self-realized soul but also a first-class devotee of the Lord. A devotee actually has no attraction for household life, but surprisingly, King Priyavrata enjoyed household life very much. One may argue, "Why is it wrong to enjoy household life?" The reply is that in household life one becomes bound by the results of fruitive activities. The essence of household life is sense enjoyment, and as long as one engrosses his mind in working hard for sense enjoyment, one becomes bound by the reactions of fruitive activities. This ignorance of self-realization is the greatest defeat in human life.

SB 5.1.6, Purport:

This is the symptom of a great, liberated devotee. Even though engaged in worldly affairs, he does not take pleasure in them, but remains always absorbed in the Lord's service. While thus serving the Lord, he deals externally with worldly affairs without being affected. For example, although he has no attraction for his children, he cares for them and educates them to become devotees. Similarly, he speaks to his wife with affectionate words, but he is not attached to her. By rendering devotional service, a devotee acquires all the good qualities of the Supreme Lord. Lord Kṛṣṇa had sixteen thousand wives, all of them very beautiful, and although He dealt with each of them as a beloved husband, He was not attracted or attached to any of them. In the same way, although a devotee may enter family life and act very affectionately toward his wife and children, he is never attached to these activities.

SB 5.1.22, Purport:

"The only remedy is hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana, the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, which is imported from the spiritual world, Goloka Vṛndāvana. How unfortunate I am that I have no attraction for this." Manu wanted to seek shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord, and therefore when his son Priyavrata took charge of his worldly affairs, Manu was very relieved. That is the system of Vedic civilization. At the end of life, one must free himself from worldly affairs and completely engage in the service of the Lord.

The word surarṣi-vara-anumatena is also significant. Manu entrusted the government to his son with the permission of the great saint Nārada. This is particularly mentioned because although Nārada wanted Priyavrata to become free from all material affairs, when Priyavrata took charge of the universe by the request of Lord Brahmā and Manu, Nārada was also very pleased.

SB 5.1.23, Purport:

The words māna-vardhano mahatām ("just to show honor to superiors") are very significant. Although Mahārāja Priyavrata was already a liberated person and had no attraction for material things, he engaged himself fully in governmental affairs just to show respect to Lord Brahmā. Arjuna had also acted in the same way. Arjuna had no desire to participate in political affairs or the fighting at Kurukṣetra, but when ordered to do so by the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, he executed those duties very nicely. One who always thinks of the lotus feet of the Lord is certainly above all the contamination of the material world. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā:

SB 5.2.17, Purport:

Since King Āgnīdhra was a devotee, he actually had no attraction for material enjoyment, but because he wanted a wife for progeny and Lord Brahmā had sent Pūrvacitti for this purpose, he expertly pleased her with flattering words. Women are attracted by a man's flattering words. One who is expert in this art of flattery is called vidagdha.

SB 5.26.39, Translation:

One who is interested in liberation, who accepts the path of liberation and is not attracted to the path of conditional life, is called yati, or a devotee. Such a person should first control his mind by thinking of the virāṭ-rūpa, the gigantic universal form of the Lord, and then gradually think of the spiritual form of Kṛṣṇa [sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1]] after hearing of both forms. Thus one's mind is fixed in samādhi. By devotional service one can then realize the spiritual form of the Lord, which is the destination of devotees. Thus his life becomes successful.

SB Canto 6

SB 6.3.25, Translation:

Because they are bewildered by the illusory energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Yājñavalkya and Jaimini and other compilers of the religious scriptures cannot know the secret, confidential religious system of the twelve mahājanas. They cannot understand the transcendental value of performing devotional service or chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. Because their minds are attracted to the ritualistic ceremonies mentioned in the Vedas—especially the Yajur Veda, Sāma Veda and Ṛg Veda—their intelligence has become dull. Thus they are busy collecting the ingredients for ritualistic ceremonies that yield only temporary benefits, such as elevation to Svargaloka for material happiness. They are not attracted to the saṅkīrtana movement; instead, they are interested in dharma, artha, kāma and mokṣa.

SB Canto 8

SB 8.12.35, Purport:

The same principle acted upon Lord Śiva. He was allured by the beautiful woman Mohinī-mūrti, but when his semen had been fully discharged, he came to his senses and realized how he had been victimized as soon as he saw the woman in the forest. If one is trained to protect his semen by observing celibacy, naturally he is not attracted by the beauty of a woman. If one can remain a brahmacārī, he saves himself so much trouble in material existence. Material existence means enjoying the pleasure of sexual intercourse (yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukham (SB 7.9.45)). If one is educated about sex life and is trained to protect his semen, he is saved from the danger of material existence.

SB Canto 9

SB 9.4.25, Purport:

As far as the perfection of mystic powers is concerned, a devotee compares it to a venomous snake with no teeth. A mystic yogī is especially concerned with controlling the senses, but because the senses of a devotee are engaged in the service of the Lord (hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate (CC Madhya 19.170)) there is no need for separate control of the senses. For those who are materially engaged, control of the senses is required, but a devotee's senses are all engaged in the service of the Lord, which means that they are already controlled. Paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate (BG 2.59). A devotee's senses are not attracted by material enjoyment. And even though the material world is full of misery, the devotee considers this material world to be also spiritual because everything is engaged in the service of the Lord. The difference between the spiritual world and material world is the mentality of service. Nirbandhaḥ kṛṣṇa-sambandhe yuktaṁ vairāgyam ucyate. When there is no mentality of service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one's activities are material.

SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13

SB 10.7.1-2, Purport:

Kṛṣṇa has different avatāras, or incarnations, all of which are wonderful and which arouse one's inquisitiveness, but generally such avatāras as Matsya, Kūrma and Varāha are not as attractive as Kṛṣṇa. First of all, however, we have no attraction for hearing about Kṛṣṇa, and this is the root cause of our suffering.

But Parīkṣit Mahārāja specifically mentions that the wonderful activities of baby Kṛṣṇa, which amazed Mother Yaśodā and the other inhabitants of Vraja, are especially attractive. From the very beginning of His childhood, Kṛṣṇa killed Pūtanā, Tṛṇāvarta and Śakaṭāsura and showed the entire universe within His mouth. Thus the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa, one after another, kept Mother Yaśodā and all the inhabitants of Vraja in great astonishment. The process to revive one's Kṛṣṇa consciousness is ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅgaḥ (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.4.15).

SB Cantos 10.14 to 12 (Translations Only)

SB 10.21.14, Translation:

O mother, in this forest all the birds have risen onto the beautiful branches of the trees to see Kṛṣṇa. With closed eyes they are simply listening in silence to the sweet vibrations of His flute, and they are not attracted by any other sound. Surely these birds are on the same level as great sages.

SB 11.21.33-34, Translation:

The worshipers of demigods think, "We shall worship the demigods in this life, and by our sacrifices we shall go to heaven and enjoy there. When that enjoyment is finished we shall return to this world and take birth as great householders in aristocratic families." Being excessively proud and greedy, such persons are bewildered by the flowery words of the Vedas. They are not attracted to topics about Me, the Supreme Lord.

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 2.55, Purport:

This text is from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.11.38). Those who have taken shelter of the lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead do not identify with the material world, even while living in it. Pure devotees may deal with the three modes of material nature, but because of their transcendental intelligence in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they are not influenced by the material qualities. The spell of material activities does not attract such devotees. Therefore, the Supreme Lord and His devotees acting under Him are always free from material contamination.

CC Adi 3.16, Translation:

“Knowing My opulences, the whole world looks upon Me with awe and veneration. But devotion made feeble by such reverence does not attract Me.

CC Adi 4.33, Purport:

"I have no attraction for performing religious rituals or holding any earthly kingdom. I do not care for sense enjoyments; let them appear and disappear in accordance with my previous deeds. My only desire is to be fixed in devotional service to the lotus feet of the Lord, even though I may continue to take birth here life after life."

CC Adi 4.35, Purport:

If one accepts Kṛṣṇa as the supreme friend, the attraction of material friendship will be finished for him, and he will not be dismayed by so-called friendship with mundane wranglers. If he is attracted by servitorship to Kṛṣṇa, he will no longer have to serve the material body in the degraded status of material existence, with the false hope of becoming master in the future. Similarly, one who sees the greatness of Kṛṣṇa in neutrality will certainly never again seek the so-called relief of impersonalist or voidist philosophy. If one is not attracted by the transcendental nature of Kṛṣṇa, one is sure to be attracted to material enjoyment, thus to become implicated in the clinging network of virtuous and sinful activities and to continue material existence by transmigrating from one material body to another. Only in Kṛṣṇa consciousness can one achieve the highest perfection of life.

CC Adi 4.68, Purport:

Only when the hlādinī-śakti emanates from Śrī Kṛṣṇa and is bestowed upon the living being to attract Him does the living being become a pure lover of God. But when the same hlādinī-śakti is adulterated by the external, material energy and emanates from the living being, it does not attract Kṛṣṇa; on the contrary, the living being becomes attracted by the glamor of the material energy. At that time instead of becoming mad with love of Godhead, the living being becomes mad after material sense enjoyment, and because of his association with the qualitative modes of material nature, he is captivated by its interactions of distressful, unhappy feelings.

CC Adi 6.42, Purport:

"For those who take pleasure in the transcendental topics of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the four progressive realizations of religiosity, economic development, sense gratification and liberation, all combined together, cannot compare, any more than a straw could, to the happiness derived from hearing about the transcendental activities of the Lord." Those who engage in the transcendental service of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, being relieved of all material enjoyment, have no attraction to topics of impersonal monism. In the Padma Purāṇa, in connection with the glorification of the month of Kārttika, it is stated that devotees pray:

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 1.82, Purport:

Naturally the gopīs were inclined to love Kṛṣṇa, for He was an attractive young boy of Vṛndāvana village. Being village girls, they were not very much attracted to the field of Kurukṣetra, where Kṛṣṇa was present with elephants, horses and royal dress. Indeed, they did not very much appreciate Kṛṣṇa in that atmosphere. Kṛṣṇa was not attracted by the opulence or personal beauty of the gopīs but by their pure devotional service. Similarly, the gopīs were attracted to Kṛṣṇa as a cowherd boy, not in sophisticated guise. Lord Kṛṣṇa is inconceivably powerful. To understand Him, great yogīs and saintly persons give up all material engagements and meditate upon Him. Similarly, those who are overly attracted to material enjoyment, to enhancement of material opulence, to family maintenance or to liberation from the entanglements of this material world take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

CC Madhya 9.149, Translation:

“Although Kṛṣṇa assumed the four-armed form of Nārāyaṇa, He could not attract the serious attention of the gopīs in ecstatic love.

CC Antya-lila

CC Antya 17.34, Translation:

“"O dear lover," they said, ‘please answer just one question. Who among all the youthful women within this universe is not attracted by the sound of Your flute?

Teachings of Lord Caitanya

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter Mission:

O My Lord, Your holy name alone can render all benedictions to living beings, and thus You have hundreds and millions of names, like Kṛṣṇa and Govinda. In these transcendental names You have invested all Your transcendental energies, and there are no hard and fast rules for chanting these holy names. O My Lord, You have so kindly made it easy to approach You by Your holy names, but I am so unfortunate that I have no attraction for them.

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 15:

In other words, those who attain self-realization by the execution of devotional service attain a transcendental body, and, being attracted to the transcendental qualities of Kṛṣṇa, engage fully in pure devotional service.

Anyone who is not attracted to Kṛṣṇa is understood to be still under the spell of Māyā, but one who is attempting to be liberated by the process of devotional service is actually liberated from this spell. In the Eleventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam there are many instances recorded of devotees who became liberated in this life simply by engaging in devotional service.

Nectar of Devotion

Nectar of Devotion 22:

Regarding Kṛṣṇa's complete independence and lordship, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam says that although Kāliya was a great offender, Kṛṣṇa still favored him by marking his head with His lotus feet, whereas Lord Brahmā, although having prayed to Kṛṣṇa with so many wonderful verses, still could not attract Him.

This contradictory treatment by Kṛṣṇa is just befitting His position, because in all the Vedic literature He is described as the complete independent. In the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam the Lord is described as svarāṭ, which means "completely independent." That is the position of the Supreme Absolute Truth. The Absolute Truth is not only sentient, but is also completely independent.

Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead

Krsna Book 23:

All of you please go to them.” Then Lord Kṛṣṇa warned His friends, "These brāhmaṇas are not Vaiṣṇavas. They cannot even chant Our names, "Kṛṣṇa" and "Balarāma." They are very busy in chanting the Vedic hymns, although the purpose of Vedic knowledge is to find Me. But because they are not attracted by the names of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, you had better not ask them for anything in My name. Better ask for some charity in the name of Balarāma."

Charity is generally given to high-class brāhmaṇas, but Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma did not appear in a brāhmaṇa family. Balarāma was known as the son of Vasudeva, a kṣatriya, and Kṛṣṇa was known in Vṛndāvana as the son of Nanda Mahārāja, who was a vaiśya. Neither belonged to the brāhmaṇa community. Therefore, Kṛṣṇa considered that the brāhmaṇas engaged in performing sacrifices might not be induced to give charity to a kṣatriya and vaiśya.

Krsna Book 61:

All the 16,108 wives of Kṛṣṇa were princesses, and when each saw that Kṛṣṇa was always present in her respective palace and did not leave home, she considered Kṛṣṇa a henpecked husband who was very much attached to her. Every one of them thought that Kṛṣṇa was her very obedient husband, but actually Kṛṣṇa had no attraction for any of them. Although each thought that she was the only wife of Kṛṣṇa and was very, very dear to Him, Lord Kṛṣṇa, being ātmārāma, self-sufficient, felt neither attraction nor enmity toward any one of them; He was equal to all the wives and treated them as a perfect husband would, just to please them. For Him, there was no need of even a single wife. In fact, since they were women, the wives could not understand the exalted position of Kṛṣṇa, nor the truths about Him.

Krsna Book 87:

The word "Brahman" indicates the greatest of all and the maintainer of everything. The impersonalists are attracted by the greatness of the sky, but because of their poor fund of knowledge they are not attracted by the greatness of Kṛṣṇa. In our practical life, however, we are attracted by the greatness of a person and not by the greatness of a big mountain. Thus the term "Brahman" actually applies to Kṛṣṇa only; therefore in the Bhagavad-gītā Arjuna concluded that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Para-brahman, or the supreme resting place of everything.

Renunciation Through Wisdom

Renunciation Through Wisdom 2.11:

Lord Kṛṣṇa never accepts any offering bereft of love and devotion. A person who is not hungry cannot suddenly develop an appetite, even if he is given delectable food. Similarly, the Lord has no attraction for opulent offerings made without love and devotion. We have already discussed that unauthorized worship of the Supreme Lord stems from the absence of devotion and the presence of material desire. One who is full of devotion aims to satisfy the Supreme Lord's senses, while one who is full of material desire aims to gratify his own senses. Those who carry in their hearts the desire to gratify themselves but make a show of serving the Supreme Lord will never experience the joys of being a real devotee. The scriptures have aptly described them as mercenaries. Devotion's prime objective is the attainment of God. Therefore, one must offer the Lord everything in one's possession, including the results of karma-yoga, jñāna-yoga, mystic yoga, austerity, meditation, and so on. This perfect process of surrender will lead to the attainment of God.

Renunciation Through Wisdom 4.1:

And although we do see that some so-called modern saints and mendicants are addicted to cannabis and tobacco, even they are repulsed by many other modern sensual distractions. If the illusory material world holds little or no attraction for the Lord's devotees, how much less must the Lord Himself be attracted to it! Therefore, although out of ignorance one might claim that mere mortals are God, that does not change the reality—that man is always man and God is always God, and never otherwise.

Once one of the brahmacārīs of our āśrama met Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, who is a spiritualist of sorts and an erudite scholar. Dr. Radhakrishnan is the vice-president of India as I write this essay. On meeting him, our brahmacārī received from him a copy of his Bhagavad-gītā as a gift.

Mukunda-mala-stotra (mantras 1 to 6 only)

Mukunda-mala-stotra mantra 5, Purport:

Material name, fame, and gain are only perverted reflections of the substance—the name, fame, and opulences of the Lord. Therefore the pure devotee of Lord Vāsudeva, enlightened by the transcendental service attitude, has no attraction for such false things as religiosity, economic development, sense gratification, or salvation, the last snare of Māyā.

The purpose of performing real religion is to attain attachment for hearing and chanting the messages of the kingdom of God. Materialistic people are attached to ordinary newspapers on account of their lack of spiritual consciousness. Real religion develops this spiritual consciousness and also attachment for the messages of God, without which all labor in the performance of religious rites is only a waste of energy.