Progress in devotional service

2009-05-28T11:06:08Z

Vinodini:

{{terms|"progress in devotional service"|"progressed in devotional service"}}

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{{compiler|Laksmipriya| Vinodini}}

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{{first|19Dec08}}

{{last|28May09}}

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[[Category:Progress]]

[[Category:Devotional Service]]

== Srimad-Bhagavatam ==

=== SB Preface and Introduction ===

'''An offense at the lotus feet of the Lord is sometimes excused by the merciful Lord, but an offense at the feet of a devotee is very dangerous for one who actually wants to make progress in devotional service.'''

'''[[Vanisource:SB Introduction|SB Introduction]]:''' By this example the Lord wanted to emphasize the proper behavior for a transcendentalist. A transcendentalist has nothing to do with women and money. He must always refrain from such intimate relations. The King was, however, favored by the Lord by the expert arrangement of the devotees. This means that the beloved devotee of the Lord can favor a neophyte more liberally than the Lord. Pure devotees, therefore, never commit an offense at the feet of another pure devotee. An offense at the lotus feet of the Lord is sometimes excused by the merciful Lord, but an offense at the feet of a devotee is very dangerous for one who actually wants to make progress in devotional service.

=== SB Canto 1 ===

'''Practice of prescribed rules and regulations will remove all personal deficiencies that hamper progress in devotional service.'''

'''[[Vanisource:SB 1.6.16|SB 1.6.16, Purport]]:''' The word bhāva is significant here. This bhāva stage is attained after one has transcendental affection for the Lord. The first initial stage is called śraddhā, or a liking for the Supreme Lord, and in order to increase that liking one has to associate with pure devotees of the Lord. The third stage is to practice the prescribed rules and regulations of devotional service. This will dissipate all sorts of misgivings and remove all personal deficiencies that hamper progress in devotional service.

=== SB Canto 3 ===

'''In the course of the yogī's progress in devotional service, the hairs on his body stand erect through excessive joy.'''

'''[[Vanisource:SB 3.28.34|SB 3.28.34, Translation]]: By following this course, the yogī gradually develops pure love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari. In the course of his progress in devotional service, the hairs on his body stand erect through excessive joy, and he is constantly bathed in a stream of tears occasioned by intense love. Gradually, even the mind, which he used as a means to attract the Lord, as one attracts a fish to a hook, withdraws from material activity.'''

'''In order to become a devotee of the Lord, one has to accept a spiritual master and inquire from him about how to progress in devotional service.'''

'''[[Vanisource:SB 3.32.42|SB 3.32.42, Purport]]:''' In the beginning, no one can be elevated to the highest stage of devotional service. Here bhakta means one who does not hesitate to accept the reformatory processes for becoming a bhakta. In order to become a devotee of the Lord, one has to accept a spiritual master and inquire from him about how to progress in devotional service. To serve a devotee, to chant the holy name according to a certain counting method, to worship the Deity, to hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or Bhagavad-gītā from a realized person and to live in a sacred place where devotional service is not disturbed are the first out of sixty-four devotional activities for making progress in devotional service. One who has accepted these five chief activities is called a devotee.

=== SB Canto 4 ===

'''If one commits vaiṣṇava-aparādhas, all of his progress in devotional service will be checked. '''

'''[[Vanisource:SB 4.21.37|SB 4.21.37, Purport]]:''' Pṛthu Mahārāja has explained in the previous verse the importance of devotional service for both the rulers and the citizens of the state. Now he explains how one can be steadily fixed in devotional service. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, while instructing Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, has compared the devotional service of the Lord with a creeper. A creeper has a feeble stem and requires the support of another tree to grow, and while growing, it requires sufficient protection so that it may not be lost. While describing the system of protection for the creeper of devotional service, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has especially stressed protection from offenses unto the lotus feet of Vaiṣṇavas. Such offenses are called vaiṣṇava-aparādha. Aparādha means "offense." If one commits vaiṣṇava-aparādhas, all of his progress in devotional service will be checked. Even though one is very much advanced in devotional service, if he commits offenses at the feet of a Vaiṣṇava, his advancement is all spoiled. In the śāstras it is found that a very great yogī, Durvāsā Muni, committed a vaiṣṇava-aparādha and thus for one full year had to travel all over the universe, even to Vaikuṇṭhaloka, to defend himself from the offense. At last, even when he approached the Supreme Personality of Godhead in Vaikuṇṭha, he was refused protection. Therefore one should be very careful about committing offenses at the feet of a Vaiṣṇava. The most grievous type of vaiṣṇava-aparādha is called gurv-aparādha, which refers to offenses at the lotus feet of the spiritual master. In the chanting of the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, this gurv-aparādha is considered the most grievous offense. Guror avajñā śruti-śāstra-nindanam (Padma Purāṇa). Among the ten offenses committed against the chanting of the holy name, the first offenses are disobedience of the spiritual master and blasphemy of the Vedic literature.

If anyone tries to love Krsna

2008-12-02T09:44:06Z

Vinodini:

{{terms|"if anyone tries to love Krsna"}}

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{{compiler|Vinodini}}

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{{first|02Dec08}}

{{last|02Dec08}}

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[[Category:Love for Krsna]]

== Lectures ==

=== General Lectures ===

'''If anyone tries to love Kṛṣṇa, understand Kṛṣṇa, He'll give full of intelligence. '''

'''[[Vanisource:Lecture -- Seattle, October 4, 1968|Lecture -- Seattle, October 4, 1968]]:''' You have got intelligence. Kṛṣṇa has given you intelligence. Try to understand with your intelligence but do not try to avoid. Make your question to understand it, not making question to avoid it. There are two kinds of question. That question will not help you. If you try to avoid, then Kṛṣṇa will help you to avoid, and if you want to capture Kṛṣṇa, then Kṛṣṇa will help you how you can capture. Two things are going on. Whatever path you want, you can accept. Ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham [Bg. 4.11]. Kṛṣṇa helps according to the person's attitude. If... There are... Just like so many philosophers, they want to forget Kṛṣṇa. Just like you will find in Dr. Radhakrishnan's book, in the Ninth Chapter Kṛṣṇa said, man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru [Bg. 18.65]. The translation is all right, but he comments, "It is not to Kṛṣṇa that you have to surrender." Just see. That means his whole process of writing the book is to mislead persons how one can forget Kṛṣṇa. So if anyone wants to forget Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa will give him such intelligence that he will never be able to understand Kṛṣṇa. But if anyone tries to love Kṛṣṇa, understand Kṛṣṇa, He'll give full of intelligence. You can understand. That is Kṛṣṇa. You have got full liberty. But if you forget Kṛṣṇa, then you have to serve māyā, and if you love Kṛṣṇa, then māyā will leave you.

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Progress in devotional service

If anyone tries to love Krsna