Category:Actually a Devotee of God
Theme Analysis
Śrīla Prabhupāda illuminates the profound distinction between nominal practice and the state of being actually a devotee of God. This analysis reveals that true devotional service is not merely a social designation or external role, but a transcendental position of consciousness where the living entity is liberated from material duality. Whether situated in a palace, a forest, or a demon's body, the actual devotee remains untouched by the modes of nature, perceiving the Supreme Lord's presence everywhere and maintaining an unalloyed desire to serve Him without seeking personal benediction.
- Transcendental Situatedness: A devotee may appear to inhabit the material world, but Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that because of their constant engagement in service, they actually reside in Vaikuntha, beyond material contamination.
- Freedom from Material Defects: Unlike the conditioned soul, a sincere devotee of Kṛṣṇa is free from the four defects of conditional life, including the tendency to be illusioned or to cheat, effectively possessing the qualifications of a perfect brahmana.
- Indifference to Dualities: The actual devotee exhibits equal poise in heaven or hell and remains unperturbed by distress, viewing all conditions as the mercy of the Lord and seeing no second entity other than the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- Internal Purity over External Appearance: Examples such as Jada Bharata and Vṛtrāsura demonstrate that one's external body or behavior—whether appearing dull or demonic—does not limit the internal spiritual alertness of one who is actually a devotee.
- Renunciation of Material Benedictions: As exemplified by Dhruva Mahārāja, the sign of actually meeting the Lord is the cessation of material desires; upon attaining the Lord's audience, the devotee refuses the very material benefits they initially sought.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Qualities Defining One Who Is Actually a Devotee of God.
Subcategories
This category has only the following subcategory.
Pages in category "Actually a Devotee of God"
The following 31 pages are in this category, out of 31 total.
A
- A devotee does not live alone. Of course, everyone lives with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but because the devotee is engaged in His service, he actually does not live in any material condition
- A devotee of Lord Krsna is actually a perfect brahmana. His situation is transcendental, for he is free from the four defects of conditional life, which are the tendencies to commit mistakes, to be illusioned, to cheat and to possess imperfect senses
- A nondevotee is perturbed in distress, but a devotee welcomes distress as another feature of the Lord. Sarvam khalv idam brahma. A devotee can actually see that there is only the Supreme Personality of Godhead and no second entity
- A person who is actually a devotee of Krsna does not care about so-called public opinion and Vedic or philosophical literatures
- Actual Vaisnavas considered them (Raghunatha dasa’s father, Govardhana, and uncle, Hiranya dasa) almost Vaisnavas, not pure Vaisnavas. In other words, they were kanistha-adhikaris, for they were ignorant of higher Vaisnava regulative principles
- Actually Damodara Pandita was the eternal servant of the Lord (Caitanya). He could not punish the Lord at any time, nor had he any desire to, but he did give some warning to the Lord so that others would not blaspheme Him
- Actually Gopinatha Acarya had sincerely wished that his brother-in-law, Bhattacarya, would become a devotee of the Lord. He had sincerely desired that the Lord favor Bhattacarya, and he was glad to see that his desire was fulfilled by Lord Caitanya
- Actually he (Gopinatha Simha) was Akrura, as stated in text 117 of the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika
- Actually, an advanced Vaisnava is to be respected more than Visnu
- Actually, Dhruva Maharaja's mother, Suniti, was his patha-pradarsaka-guru. Patha-pradarsaka-guru means "the guru, or the spiritual master, who shows the way." Such a guru is sometimes called siksa-guru
- Actually, I (mother Yasoda) also am eternally subordinate to the Supreme Lord. He is my ultimate shelter - SB 10.8.42
- Although Devaki was crying like a very poor woman, actually she was not poor, and therefore the word used here (in SB 10.4.7) is dinavat. She had already given birth to Krsna. Therefore, who could have been richer than she
J
O
- One should therefore not see a pure devotee from a materialistic point of view. Unless one is actually a devotee, he cannot see another devotee perfectly
- One who is actually devotee, he doesn't care where he is placed, in the hell or heaven, he doesn't care. He simply wants to serve Krsna, never mind where, not even heaven or hell
S
- Since a devotee constantly chants the Hare Krsna mantra, no contamination of the material world can touch him. He is, therefore, actually purified. Muci haya suci haya yadi krsna bhaje
- Since King Agnidhra was a devotee, he actually had no attraction for material enjoyment, but because he wanted a wife for progeny and Lord Brahma had sent Purvacitti for this purpose, he expertly pleased her with flattering words
T
- The pure devotee of the Lord does not live anywhere in this material world, although he appears to live among mundane creatures. Actually, the devotee lives in Vaikuntha
- The sages wanted to stress that although the Lord, out of His causeless mercy, says that He worships the brahmanas and Vaisnavas, actually the Lord is worshipable not only by the brahmanas and Vaisnavas but also by the demigods
- They (Nanda Maharaja and all the cowherd men) had come to some place other than Vrndavana. They could not actually guess what had happened, and therefore they were struck with wonder - after seeing Putana's gigantic body
- Those who are completely dedicated to the lotus feet of Krsna in service are actually sannyasis. As a matter of formality, the devotee accepts the sannyasa dress as previous acaryas did. He also accepts the three dandas
- Transcendental ecstasies are called asta-sattvika-vikara (CC Antya 14.99), which means "eight kinds of transcendental transformations." They are never to be imitated, but when a devotee actually becomes perfect, these symptoms are visible on his body
V
- Vasudeva actually had all mystic powers under his control; otherwise he could not have become the father of Krsna
- Vrtrasura was considered a demon, but actually he was more than qualified as a devotee, or maha-paurusya. If one somehow becomes a devotee of the Supreme Lord, whatever his position, he can be brought to the position of a perfect person
W
- When a devotee is actually engaged in the devotional service of the Lord, his apparently material opulences are not material; they are all spiritual
- When a devotee is actually engaged in the service of the lotus feet of the Lord, his engagement in itself is so perfect that there is no need to ask for further benediction