Lord Caitanya therefore teaches direct worship of Lord Kṛṣṇa, who appeared as the foster child of the King of Vraja. He also teaches that the place known as Vṛndāvana is as good as Lord Kṛṣṇa because, Lord Kṛṣṇa being the Absolute Truth, there is no difference between Him and His name, qualities, form, pastimes, entourage and paraphernalia. That is the absolute nature of the Personality of Godhead. Lord Caitanya also teaches that the highest mode of worship in the highest perfectional stage is the method practiced by the damsels of Vraja. These damsels (gopīs, or cowherd girls) simply loved Kṛṣṇa without any motive for material or spiritual gain. Lord Caitanya also teaches that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the spotless narration of transcendental knowledge and that the highest goal in human life is to develop unalloyed love for Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Unalloyed (CC and Other Books)
Expressions researched:
"unalloyed"
|"unalloyedly"
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Preface and Introduction
Therefore Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja, quoting Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, writes in the fourth verse of his book, "Lord Caitanya is Kṛṣṇa in a yellow complexion, and He is Śacīnandana, the son of mother Śacī. He is the most charitable personality because He came to deliver kṛṣṇa-prema, unalloyed love for Kṛṣṇa, to everyone. May you always keep Him in your hearts. It will be easy to understand Kṛṣṇa through Him."
We have often heard the phrase "love of Godhead." How far this love of Godhead can actually be developed can be learned from the Vaiṣṇava philosophy. Theoretical knowledge of love of God can be found in many places and in many scriptures, but what that love of Godhead actually is and how it is developed can be found in the Vaiṣṇava literatures. It is the unique and highest development of love of God that is given by Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
CC Adi-lila
If one develops love for Kṛṣṇa by Kṛṣṇa conscious activities, one can know the Supreme Absolute Truth, but he who tries to understand God simply by logical arguments will not succeed, nor will he get a taste for unalloyed devotion. The secret is that one must submissively listen to those who know perfectly the science of God, and one must begin the mode of service regulated by the preceptor. A devotee already attracted by the name, form, qualities, etc., of the Supreme Lord may be directed to his specific manner of devotional service; he need not waste time in approaching the Lord through logic. The expert spiritual master knows well how to engage his disciple's energy in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, and thus he engages a devotee in a specific devotional service according to his special tendency.
Following in the footsteps of Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī and Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, later ācāryas like Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura have confirmed the same truths. In his prayers to the spiritual master, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura confirms that all the revealed scriptures accept the spiritual master to be identical with the Personality of Godhead because he is a very dear and confidential servant of the Lord. Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas therefore worship Śrīla Gurudeva (the spiritual master) in the light of his being the servitor of the Personality of Godhead. In all the ancient literatures of devotional service and in the more recent songs of Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura and other unalloyed Vaiṣṇavas, the spiritual master is always considered either one of the confidential associates of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī or a manifested representation of Śrīla Nityānanda Prabhu.
“For a long time I have not bestowed unalloyed loving service to Me upon the inhabitants of the world. Without such loving attachment, the existence of the material world is useless.
Thus I have surely determined the meaning of the fourth verse. Lord Gaurāṅga (Lord Caitanya) appeared as an incarnation to preach unalloyed love of God.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura comments in his Anubhāṣya that among the five tattvas, two are energies (śakti-tattva) and the three others are energetic (śaktimān tattva). Unalloyed and internal devotees are both engaged in the favorable culture of Kṛṣṇa consciousness untinged by philosophical speculation or fruitive activities. They are all understood to be pure devotees, and those among them who simply engage in conjugal love are called mādhurya-bhaktas, or internal devotees. The loving services in parental love, fraternity and servitude are included in conjugal love of God. In conclusion, therefore, every confidential devotee is a pure devotee of the Lord.
In this way Jagannātha Miśra and the brāhmaṇa discussed the principles of religion in the dream, yet Jagannātha Miśra was absorbed in unalloyed parental mellow and did not want to know anything else.
Man has a general tendency toward fruitive activities, religious ritualistic ceremonies and philosophical speculation. A living entity thus bewildered since time immemorial does not understand the real goal of life, and thus his activities in life are wasted. Innocent persons misled in this way are deprived of unalloyed kṛṣṇa-bhakti, devotional service to the Lord. Tapana Miśra is a vivid example of such a person. He was a learned scholar, but he could not ascertain what the goal of life is. Therefore he was given a chance to hear Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu instructing Sanātana Gosvāmī. Lord Caitanya's instruction to Tapana Miśra is especially significant for persons who loiter here and there collecting books and reading none of them, thus becoming bewildered regarding the aim of life.
“By following the paths of speculative philosophical knowledge, fruitive activity or mystic yoga to control the senses, one cannot satisfy Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord. Unalloyed devotional love for Kṛṣṇa is the only cause for the Lord's satisfaction.
CC Madhya-lila
Unalloyed love of Kṛṣṇa is just like a big sheet of white cloth. Absence of attachment is compared to a black spot on that white cloth. Just as the black spot is prominent, so the absence of love of Godhead is prominent on the platform of pure love of Godhead.
"Unalloyed love of Kṛṣṇa is like an ocean of happiness. If someone gets one drop of it, the whole world can drown in that drop. It is not befitting to express such love of Godhead, yet a madman must speak. But even though he speaks, no one believes him."
Among His associates, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu enjoyed paternal loving affection from Paramānanda Purī, friendly affection with Rāmānanda Rāya, unalloyed service from Govinda and others, and humors of conjugal love with Gadādhara, Jagadānanda and Svarūpa Dāmodara. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu enjoyed all these four mellows, and thus He remained obliged to His devotees.
This was because Paramānanda Purī happened to be the Godbrother of the spiritual master of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Similarly, Rāmānanda Rāya, who is considered an incarnation of Arjuna and by some an incarnation of Viśākhādevī, enjoyed unalloyed fraternal love with the Lord. Unalloyed personal service was enjoyed by Govinda and others. In the presence of His most confidential devotees like Gadādhara Paṇḍita, Jagadānanda and Svarūpa Dāmodara, Caitanya Mahāprabhu enjoyed the ecstatic conditions of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī in Her conjugal relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Absorbed in these four transcendental mellows, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu resided in Jagannātha Purī, feeling very much obliged to His devotees.
The words āpanāra sama indicate that Advaita Ācārya considered Himself to belong to the smārta-brāhmaṇas, and He considered Nityānanda Prabhu to be on the transcendental stage with pure Vaiṣṇavas. Lord Nityānanda gave Advaita Ācārya His remnants to situate Him on the same platform and make Him a pure unalloyed Vaiṣṇava or paramahaṁsa. Advaita Ācārya's statement indicates that a paramahaṁsa Vaiṣṇava is transcendentally situated. A pure Vaiṣṇava is not subject to the rules and regulations of the smārta-brāhmaṇas. That was the reason for Advaita Ācārya's stating, āpanāra sama more karibāra tare: "to raise Me to Your own standard." A pure Vaiṣṇava, or a person on the paramahaṁsa stage, accepts the remnants of food (mahā-prasādam) as spiritual. He does not consider it to be material or sense gratificatory.
The first answer is compared to copper, the second to a better metal, bell metal, the third to a still better metal, silver, and the fourth to the best metal of all, gold. But the fifth answer is compared to the most valuable gem, touchstone, because it deals with unalloyed devotion, the ultimate goal of devotional life, and illuminates the preceding four subordinate answers.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura points out that in Vrajabhūmi there is the Yamunā River with its sandy banks. There are kadamba trees, cows, Kṛṣṇa's sticks with which He herds cows, and Kṛṣṇa's flute. All of these belong to śānta-rasa, the mellow of neutrality in devotional service. There are also the direct servants of Kṛṣṇa, such as Citraka, Patraka and Raktaka, and these are the embodiments of service in the mellow of servitude.
By hearing the talks between Rāmānanda Rāya and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, one becomes enlightened with the transcendental knowledge of the mellows of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa's pastimes. Thus one can develop unalloyed love for the lotus feet of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.
"Therefore keep your younger brother Śaṅkara with you because he is connected to Me by pure unalloyed love."
“Such is the service of Rāghava Paṇḍita. He did not accept the coconuts but threw them over the wall. His service is purely based on unalloyed love, and it conquers the whole world.
One may be initiated and yet contaminated by the Māyāvāda philosophy, but a person who chants the holy name of the Lord offenselessly will not be so contaminated. A properly initiated Vaiṣṇava may be imperfect, but one who chants the holy name of the Lord offenselessly is all-perfect. Although he may apparently be a neophyte, he still has to be considered a pure, unalloyed Vaiṣṇava. It is the duty of the householder to offer respects to such an unalloyed Vaiṣṇava. This is Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's instruction.
The word prabhu, or master, indicates that the Lord is to be continuously served by His devotee. The original prabhu is the Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Nonetheless, there are many devotees attached to Lord Rāmacandra, and Murāri Gupta is a vivid example of such unalloyed devotion. He never agreed to give up Lord Rāmacandra's worship, not even upon Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's request. Such is the chastity of devotional service, as stated in the Antya-līlā of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (4.46–47):
“In the stage of kevalā (unalloyed devotion) a devotee does not consider the unlimited opulence of Kṛṣṇa, even though he experiences it. He takes seriously only his own relationship with Kṛṣṇa.
When a devotee reaches the stage of pure, unalloyed devotion, especially in friendship with Kṛṣṇa, he forgets the Lord's opulences, although he sees them, and he considers himself equal to Kṛṣṇa. There is no question of actually comparing oneself to Kṛṣṇa, but because the devotee is so advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he is able to behave with Kṛṣṇa as he would with an ordinary man.
CC Antya-lila
“It is impossible to describe the influence and knowledge of Rāmānanda Rāya, for only by his mercy have I understood the unalloyed love of the residents of Vṛndāvana.
“The unalloyed love of the gopīs and Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is without any trace of material lust. The criterion of such transcendental love is that its only purpose is to satisfy Kṛṣṇa.
This verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.47.61) was spoken by Uddhava. When Uddhava was sent by Kṛṣṇa to see the condition of the gopīs in Vṛndāvana, he stayed there for a few months in their association and always talked with them about Kṛṣṇa. Although this greatly pleased the gopīs and other residents of Vrajabhūmi, Vṛndāvana, Uddhava saw that the gopīs were severely afflicted by their separation from Kṛṣṇa. Their hearts were so disturbed that their minds were sometimes deranged. Observing the unalloyed devotion and love of the gopīs for Kṛṣṇa, Uddhava desired to become a creeper, a blade of grass or an herb in Vṛndāvana so that sometimes the gopīs would trample him and he would receive the dust of their lotus feet on his head.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Teachings of Lord Caitanya
These damsels (gopīs, or cowherd girls) simply loved Kṛṣṇa without any motive for material or spiritual gain. Lord Caitanya also taught that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the spotless narration of transcendental knowledge and that the highest goal in human life is to develop unalloyed love for Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Lord Caitanya's teachings are identical to those given by Lord Kapila, the original propounder of sāṅkhya-yoga, the sāṅkhya system of philosophy. This authorized system of yoga teaches meditation on the transcendental form of the Lord. There is no question of meditating on something void or impersonal.
Therefore Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja, quoting Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, writes in the fourth verse of his book, "Lord Caitanya is Kṛṣṇa in a yellow complexion, and He is Śacīnandana, the son of mother Śacī. He is the most charitable personality because He came to deliver kṛṣṇa-prema, unalloyed love for Kṛṣṇa, to everyone. May you always keep Him in your hearts. It will be easy to understand Kṛṣṇa through Him."
We have often heard the phrase "love of Godhead." How far this love of Godhead can actually be developed can be learned from the Vaiṣṇava philosophy. Theoretical knowledge of love of God can be found in many places and in many scriptures, but what that love of Godhead actually is and how it is developed can be found in the Vaiṣṇava literatures. It is the unique and highest development of love of God that is given by Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Nectar of Devotion
The idea is that we should follow in the footsteps of great devotees. If we are unable to execute all the different items of devotional service, we must try to execute at least one of them, as exemplified by previous ācāryas. If we are engaged in the execution of all the items of devotional service, as was Mahārāja Ambarīṣa, then the perfection of devotional service is guaranteed from each one of these items. With the first complete engagement, one becomes automatically detached from material contamination, and liberation becomes the maidservant of the devotee. This idea is confirmed by Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura. If one develops unalloyed devotion to the Lord, liberation will follow the devotee as his maidservant.
From the example of Candrakānti as found in the Padma Purāṇa and from the example of the gopīs as found in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it appears that a devotee who always thinks of Kṛṣṇa and who always chants His glories in ecstatic love, regardless of his condition, will attain the highest perfection of unalloyed devotional love due to Lord Kṛṣṇa's extraordinary mercy. This is confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: "If a person worships, adores and loves Hari, the Supreme Lord, he should be understood to have finished all kinds of austerities, penances and similar processes for self-realization. On the other hand, if after undergoing all types of austerities, penances and mystic yoga practices one does not develop such love for Hari, then all his performances are to be considered a useless waste of time.
Nectar of Instruction
"Uttamā bhakti, or unalloyed devotion unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, involves the rendering of devotional service in a way that is favorable to the Lord. This devotional service should be free from any extraneous motive and devoid of fruitive karma, impersonal jñāna and all other selfish desires."
Bhakti is a sort of cultivation. As soon as we say "cultivation," we must refer to activity. Cultivation of spirituality does not mean sitting down idly for meditation, as some pseudo-yogīs teach. Such idle meditation may be good for those who have no information of devotional service, and for this reason it is sometimes recommended as a way to check distracting materialistic activities.
The madhyama-adhikārī should be considered to be situated midway in devotional service. The uttama-adhikārī, or highest devotee, is one who is very advanced in devotional service. An uttama-adhikārī is not interested in blaspheming others, his heart is completely clean, and he has attained the realized state of unalloyed Kṛṣṇa consciousness. According to Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, the association and service of such a mahā-bhāgavata, or perfect Vaiṣṇava, are most desirable.
This means that in one sense they were never actually separated from Kṛṣṇa. There is no difference between thinking of Kṛṣṇa and associating with Him. Rather, vipralambha-sevā, thinking of Kṛṣṇa in separation, as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu did, is far better than serving Kṛṣṇa directly. Thus of all the devotees who have developed unalloyed devotional love for Kṛṣṇa, the gopīs are most exalted, and out of all these exalted gopīs, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is the highest. No one can excel the devotional service of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Indeed, even Kṛṣṇa cannot understand the attitude of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; therefore He took Her position and appeared as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, just to understand Her transcendental feelings.
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
When Vasudeva was sustaining the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead within his heart, he appeared just like the glowing sun, whose shining rays are always unbearable and scorching to the common man. The form of the Lord situated in the pure unalloyed heart of Vasudeva is not different from the original form of Kṛṣṇa. The appearance of the form of Kṛṣṇa anywhere, and specifically within the heart, is called dhāma. Dhāma refers not only to Kṛṣṇa's form but also to His name, His qualities and His paraphernalia. Everything becomes manifest simultaneously.
Because of their surrender, they are certain that Kṛṣṇa will always protect them. As it is promised by Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā, "My devotees are never vanquished."
"Our dear Lord," the demigods continued, “You have appeared in Your original unalloyed form, the eternal form of goodness, for the welfare of all living entities within this material world. Taking advantage of Your appearance, all of them can now very easily understand the nature and form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Persons who belong to the four divisions of the social order (the brahmacārīs, gṛhasthas, vānaprasthas and sannyāsīs) can all take advantage of Your appearance.
Therefore I request You to conceal this four-armed form of Your Lordship, which holds the four symbols of Viṣṇu—namely the conchshell, the disc, the club and the lotus flower. My dear Lord, at the end of the annihilation of the cosmic manifestation, You put the whole universe within Your abdomen; still, by Your unalloyed mercy You have appeared in my womb. I am surprised that You imitate the activities of ordinary human beings just to please Your devotee.”
In this way, Nanda Mahārāja and his wife, Mother Yaśodā, developed their unalloyed devotion for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, having gotten Him as their son. And all the gopīs and cowherd men who were associates of Kṛṣṇa naturally developed their own different feelings of love for Kṛṣṇa.
Therefore, just to fulfill the benediction of Lord Brahmā, Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared along with His plenary expansion, Balarāma, and performed all kinds of childhood pastimes in order to increase the transcendental pleasure of all the residents of Vṛndāvana.
I shall then be on the platform of transcendental bliss and knowledge. Since Kṛṣṇa knows my heart, certainly when I approach Him, He will embrace me. Not only am I a member of the Yadu dynasty, but I am His relative and an unalloyed, pure devotee. By His merciful embrace, surely my body, heart and soul will be completely cleansed of the actions and reactions of my past life. When our bodies touch, I will immediately stand up with folded hands, with all humility. Certainly Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma will call me "Akrūra, Uncle," and at that time my whole life will be glorious. Unless one is recognized by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, his life cannot be successful.”
Within their minds, they decided to accept Lord Kṛṣṇa as their husband without hesitation. Each one of them prayed to Providence that Kṛṣṇa might become her husband. Sincerely and seriously, they offered their hearts to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa with an unalloyed devotional attitude. As the Supersoul in everyone's heart, Kṛṣṇa could understand their uncontaminated desire, and He agreed to accept them as His wives. Thus He arranged for suitable garments and ornaments for them, and each of them, seated on a palanquin, was dispatched to Dvārakā City. Kṛṣṇa also collected unlimited wealth from the palace, a treasure of chariots, horses, jewels and so on. He took from the palace fifty white elephants, each with four tusks, and all of them were dispatched to Dvārakā.
My dear Rukmiṇī, such great and exalted love for Me will always remain within My soul. As far as I am concerned, it is not within My power to repay you for your unalloyed devotion to Me.”
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, certainly has no business being anyone's husband or son or father, because everything belongs to Him and everyone is under His control. He does not require anyone's help for His satisfaction. He is ātmārāma, self-satisfied; He can derive all pleasure by Himself, without anyone's help. But when the Lord descends to play the part of a human being, He plays a role either as a husband, son, friend or enemy in full perfection. As such, when He was playing as the perfect husband of the queens, especially of Rukmiṇījī, He enjoyed conjugal love in complete perfection.
The time element is so strong that no one can escape its influence; therefore we have received the reactions of our atrocious activities, and we are now bereft of all opulences and stand before You like street beggars. We consider our position Your causeless, unalloyed mercy upon us because now we can understand that we were falsely proud and that our material opulences could be withdrawn from us within a second by Your will. By Your causeless mercy only, we are now able to think of Your lotus feet. This is our greatest gain. Dear Lord, everyone knows that the body is a breeding ground of diseases. Now we are quite aged, and instead of being proud of our bodily strength, we are getting weaker day by day.
“My dear Lord, it is known to us that You are so kind and liberal that when a person leaves everything just to engage in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, You sometimes give Yourself in exchange for that unalloyed service. You have appeared in the Yadu dynasty to fulfill Your mission of reclaiming all conditioned souls rotting in the sinful activities of material existence, and this appearance is already famous all over the world. My dear Lord, You are the ocean of unlimited mercy, love and affection. Your transcendental form is full of bliss, knowledge and eternity. You can attract everyone's heart by Your beautiful form as Śyāmasundara, Kṛṣṇa. Your knowledge is unlimited, and to teach all people how to execute devotional service You have sent Your incarnation Nara-Nārāyaṇa, who is engaged in severe austerities and penances at Badarīnārāyaṇa.
Renunciation Through Wisdom
When buddhi-yoga is executed in conjunction with fruitive activity, it is known as karma-yoga. Similarly, when it is executed in conjunction with analytical study, then it is called jñāna-yoga. And when buddhi-yoga, or devotional service, transcends both karma-yoga and jñāna-yoga and becomes completely unalloyed, that devotion is called pure bhakti-yoga, or loving devotional service to the Supreme Lord.
The fruitive activities one performs in this world, whether according to social norms or Vedic standards, give different results. Again, by experiencing the fruits of those labors, one creates new sets of activities and their concomitant results, which in turn give rise to newer sets of activities and their results.
I worship Govinda, the Primeval Lord, who is inaccessible to the Vedas, but who is obtainable by pure unalloyed devotion of the soul, who is without a second, who is not subject to decay, is without a beginning, whose form is endless, who is the beginning, and the eternal puruṣa, yet He is a person possessing the beauty of blooming youth.
In the process of executing religious duties, performing fruitive activities, cultivating empiric knowledge, and practising mystic yoga, much endeavor, time, and money is spent. One has to accept the sinful reactions along with the pious results of such activities. The only way to nullify these results and reactions is to worship the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa. Thus worshiping and serving Lord Kṛṣṇa are the only advantageous activities for the entire world.
Those who surrender to Lord Kṛṣṇa, who repose their unflinching faith in the personal form of the Supreme Lord, offer him their mental and physical activities, along with everything else. With unalloyed, single-minded devotion unencumbered by desires for empirical knowledge, fruitive activity, or severe austerities, they worship and meditate on the eternal, beautiful, two-handed form of Lord Kṛṣṇa playing a flute. Such pure devotees, their hearts saturated with love for Kṛṣṇa, quickly and easily transcend the cycle of material existence, for Lord Kṛṣṇa personally helps them. The merciful Lord promises to reciprocate with each one according to his degree of devotion.
Humility; pridelessness; nonviolence; tolerance; simplicity; approaching a bona fide spiritual master; cleanliness; steadiness; self-control; renunciation of the objects of sense gratification; absence of false ego; the perception of the evil of birth, death, old age, and disease; detachment; freedom from entanglement with children, wife, home and the rest; even-mindedness amid pleasant and unpleasant events; constant and unalloyed devotion to Me; aspiring to live in a solitary place; detachment from the general mass of people; accepting the importance of self-realization; and philosophical search for the Absolute Truth—all these I declare to be knowledge, and besides this whatever there may be is ignorance.
There is one quality among the twenty qualities Kṛṣṇa lists that is especially noteworthy, and that is mayi cānanya-yogena bhaktir avyabhicāriṇī: "Constant and unalloyed devotion to Me (Kṛṣṇa)." The other qualities are required to cleanse the consciousness. Once the mirror of the mind is purified and the blazing fire of material existence extinguished, constant and unalloyed devotion to Lord Kṛṣṇa begins to appear on the horizon of the heart. The great saintly spiritual master Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has sung, "When will my mind become purified and detached from matter? Oh, when in that purified state will I be able to see the transcendental realm of Vṛndāvana?"
It is interesting to note that once constant and unalloyed devotion to Lord Kṛṣṇa blossoms in the heart of a person, the other nineteen qualities automatically manifest in him. As mentioned in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.18.12), yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ:
All the demigods and their exalted qualities, such as religion, knowledge and renunciation, become manifest in the body of one who has developed unalloyed devotion for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva.
By patiently collecting ten, twenty, thirty rupees daily, one will someday have a million rupees. But if one comes upon a million rupees all at once, one does not have to endeavor separately to collect ten, twenty, or thirty rupees and waste valuable time. Similarly, when one develops unalloyed devotion to Lord Kṛṣṇa, all the other above-mentioned qualities automatically adorn that person without extra effort. On the other hand, one who leaves aside unalloyed devotion to Lord Kṛṣṇa and tries to cultivate the other nineteen qualities separately may temporarily receive wealth and honor, but he will become unqualified for achieving the highest goal. In the same verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam mentioned above (5.8.12), Prahlāda Mahārāja says, harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā manorathenāsati dhāvato bahiḥ:
It is futile to make an external show of good qualities like humility and nonviolence while disrespecting the Lord's lotus feet and denouncing the process of devotional service. Such so-called good qualities may be of some material value, but ultimately they are useless and temporary. In fact, the nineteen other qualities combine to make a throne from which unalloyed devotion may rule. These qualities are various limbs of the Absolute Truth, and everything outside this absolute knowledge is nescience.
The pure devotees of the Lord are all embodiments of perfection in yoga; thus the four Vedic goals are truly at their beck and call. And beyond these four goals is the supreme destination: superconsciousness, or God consciousness. This is the fifth and paramount Vedic goal. One who has reached the state of unalloyed Kṛṣṇa consciousness is an extremely rare personality—one in a million devotees, according Lord Caitanya.
Such an elevated state of consciousness is the last word in yoga. None of the other yoga processes, such as haṭha-yoga or rāja-yoga, can bring one to this platform. Buddhi-yoga lies far above these yoga practices, which are mostly physical disciplines. Buddhi-yoga, however, is a spiritual discipline for self-realization. This realization is a full perception of the nondual Absolute Truth, whereby one sees everything resting in the Supreme Lord and the Supreme Lord in everything. As Lord Kṛṣṇa explains in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.7):
All this is due to previous habits. But if one fully surrenders to the Supreme Lord, the Lord Himself burns to ashes all reactions to pious and impious deeds. As stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.7.42):
- yeṣāṁ sa eṣa bhagavān dayayed anantaḥ
- sarvātmanāśrita-pado yadi nirvyalīkam
- te dustarām atitaranti ca deva-māyāṁ
- naiṣāṁ mamāham iti dhīḥ śva-śṛgāla-bhakṣye
But anyone who is specifically favored by the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, due to unalloyed surrender unto the service of the Lord, can overcome the insurmountable ocean of illusion and can understand the Lord. But those who are attached to this body, which is meant to be eaten at the end by dogs and jackals, cannot do so.
This is how the nondual principle comes alive: our mind, heart, consciousness, and activities become nondifferent from the Supreme Lord, the Absolute Truth. We consider ourselves the Lord's property, surrendered at His lotus feet, His unalloyed, eternal slaves. Rejecting all mental speculation and mundane desire, with a serene mind we experience incessant spiritual bliss in rendering Him loving service. In the Bhagavad-gītā (3.30) the Lord describes the process of surrender in this way:
Light of the Bhagavata
Therefore we must first activate our dormant love of Godhead by following the prescribed rules and by following in the footsteps of the authorities who are actually fixed in love of Godhead. The gopīs provide the highest example of such unalloyed love of Godhead, and Lord Caitanya at the ultimate stage of realization displayed the viraha worship in the mood of the gopīs.
In the mundane world there is also some shadow of such viraha. A loving wife, husband, or friend may for some time be maddened by the absence of the beloved. Such a state of mind, however, is not permanent. The loving husband or wife takes to another and forgets everything of the past. This is so because there is no reality to such relationships in the material world.
Sri Isopanisad
Nor do they know that Kṛṣṇa has His eternal form with its transcendental qualities of eternal bliss and knowledge. The dependent demigods and great sages imperfectly consider Him to be a powerful demigod, and they consider the Brahman effulgence to be the Absolute Truth. But the devotees of Kṛṣṇa, by dint of their surrendering unto Him and their unalloyed devotion, can know that He is the Absolute Person and that everything emanates from Him. Such devotees continuously render loving service unto Kṛṣṇa, the fountainhead of everything.
| Page Title: | Unalloyed (CC and Other Books) |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 02 of Dec, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=26, OB=29, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 55 |