Category:Advanced in Devotional Service to God
Theme Analysis
Advancement in devotional service depends on sincere obedience, purified conduct, and careful avoidance of offense. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that a bona fide disciple takes the spiritual master's instructions as life and soul, and by that submission advances on the path of devotional service. Real progress is not measured by pride, caste, scholarship, imitation, or external display, but by detachment from material enjoyment, steady service to Kṛṣṇa, and respect for the Vaiṣṇavas. The quotes repeatedly warn that Vaiṣṇava-aparādha can spoil even great advancement, while association with pure devotees, service through proper guidance, and chanting without offense help the heart become clean. As one advances, Kṛṣṇa reveals Himself more fully, gives instructions from within, and allows the devotee to see Him everywhere.
- Instruction Is Life and Soul: A bona fide disciple advances by accepting the spiritual master's order as life and soul. Devotional service grows through obedience, not independent invention.
- Offense Can Spoil Advancement: Even one very advanced in devotional service may lose progress by committing offenses at the feet of a Vaiṣṇava. Humility and respect are therefore essential protections.
- Detachment Reveals Progress: Advancement in bhakti is tested by detachment from material enjoyment and the disappearance of anarthas. A person attached to sense enjoyment while claiming advancement is cheating.
- Kṛṣṇa Reveals Himself to the Advanced Devotee: When devotional service matures, the devotee can see Kṛṣṇa everywhere and receive guidance from within. The Lord responds according to the devotee's advancement.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: To Become Advanced in Devotional Service We Must Serve Without Offense.
Subcategories
This category has the following 7 subcategories, out of 7 total.
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Pages in category "Advanced in Devotional Service to God"
The following 78 pages are in this category, out of 78 total.
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- A bona fide disciple takes the instructions of his Spiritual Master as his life and soul and thus he is advanced on the path of devotional service
- A person advanced in devotional service sees within everything the soul of souls, the S P of Godhead, Sri Krsna. Consequently he always sees the form of the S P of Godhead as the cause of all causes and understands that all things are situated in Him
- Advancement in the transcendental loving service
- Advancement of devotional service means
- Although junior by age, Uddhava was much advanced in the devotional service of the Lord, and therefore he is described herein (SB 3.4.24) as the chief amongst the devotees of the Lord
- Anyone who tries sincerely to present Bhagavad-gita as it is will advance in devotional. BG 1972 purports
- Arjuna, the ksatriya, was refusing to fight despite being directly ordered by the Supreme Lord. He was thus chastised by the Lord as belonging to a non-Aryan family. Anyone who is advanced in the devotional service of the Lord certainly knows his duty
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- Bhakti is a cleansing method, vidhi-bhakti. But by engaging oneself in this Deity worship, he also becomes cleansed. Tat-paratve... Sarvopadhi... As he becomes enlightened or advanced in understanding that he is eternal servant of Krsna
- Bhaktih paresanubhavo viraktir anyatra ca (SB 11.2.42). One who is advanced in devotional service has no attachment for material things for sense enjoyment, but for preaching, to spread the glories of the Lord, he accepts such things without attachment
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- Damayanti made all these preparations following the order of her brother, Raghava Pandita. Both of them had unlimited affection for Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and were advanced in devotional service
- Devotees who are still further advanced, in full knowledge, can understand the transcendental pastimes of the Lord. Only on that platform can one fully enjoy transcendental bliss
- Due to his advanced devotional service, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu accepted him (Rupa Gosvami) as a gosvami. Vallabha Bhattacarya knew all this. One who is a devotee is above caste and creed, yet Vallabha Bhattacarya felt himself prestigious
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- If a devotee thinks that he is very much advanced in devotional service, he is considered puffed up and unfit to sit beneath the shelter of the Lord's lotus feet. Again, this instruction by Lord Caitanya is applicable
- If a person is advanced in devotional service, it does not matter whether he was born in a candala family. He becomes purified
- If one commits vaisnava-aparadhas, 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 Vaisnava, his advancement is all spoiled
- If one is not factually detached from material activities but still proclaims himself advanced in devotional service, he is cheating. No one will be happy to see such behavior
- If one is still attached to all these habits (illicit sex, intoxication, meat-eating and gambling), he should know that he is not making progress. When one is actually advanced in bhajana-kriya, all these anarthas (unwanted things) will be finished
- If one is very highly advanced in devotional service, he will have no difficulty in seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- If they ( following the regulative principles and chanting on your beads regularly) are made the center of our activities, then Krsna will begin to answer all questions from within how to become further advanced in His loving devotional service
- If we are progressive, if we are advanced in devotional service, we can see God everywhere, anywhere. We require to be qualified. Those who developed that love of God, they are constantly, twenty-four hours, seeing God
- If we living entities want to actually associate with Radharani, that may be possible, although She is not an ordinary woman. We can become associates of Radharani by qualifying ourselves in advanced devotional service
- In a good family of devotees, the child gets the opportunity to serve the Lord in many ways. A soul who is already advanced in devotional service has the opportunity to take birth in such an enlightened family
- In Ambuya-muluka there was a person named Nakula Brahmacari, who was a perfectly pure devotee, greatly advanced in devotional service
- In sambhrama-dasya, the devotee renders respectful service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but in the more advanced gaurava-dasya, his service takes the form of giving protection to the Lord
- In Srimad-Bhagavatam (SB 11.2.45), the symptoms of a topmost devotee are described as follows: Everyone is in Krsna, and Krsna is also within everyone. Such a vision is possible only for a person who is very advanced in devotional service
- In the second stage, after one becomes a little advanced and mature, he automatically offers to follow the principles of devotional service under the guidance of the pure devotee and accepts him as the spiritual master
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- Maharaja Bharata was a great king very advanced in devotional service. He had almost reached the point of loving service to the Supreme Lord, but even from that platform he could fall down onto the material platform
- Mother Yasoda was so advanced in devotional service that Krsna agreed to be controlled by her stick. In other words, the five principal mellows are so great and glorious that they are able to control the Supreme Personality of Godhead
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- Naturally one who is always engaged in devotional service of the Lord has very little time to sleep. Sleep is a necessity of the body, not the spirit soul, and therefore as one advances in devotional service one's propensity to sleep decreases
- Not actually knowing the transcendental nature of love of God, the sahajiyas accept their material emotions to be indicative of advancement. In this way they pollute the process of devotional service
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- Once one is advanced in devotional service, his spiritual assets are never lost under any circumstances. Whatever spiritual advancement he has achieved continues. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gita
- One should associate with and faithfully serve that pure devotee who is advanced in undeviated devotional service and whose heart is completely devoid of the propensity to criticize others
- One who is advanced in devotional service is never attracted by sex life, and as soon as one becomes detached from sex life and proportionately attached to the service of the Lord, he actually experiences living in the Vaikuntha planets
- One who wishes to advance to the platform of raganuga-bhakti must follow the injunctions of the authoritative scriptures under the direction of the spiritual master
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- Sikhi Mahiti's sister was named Madhavi-devi. She was an elderly lady who always performed austerities. She was very advanced in devotional service
- Since Krsna and His energies are nondifferent, we can see Krsna everywhere if we are advanced in devotional service
- Srila Sukadeva Gosvami continued: Thereafter, because of his advanced position in devotional life, Maharaja Ambarisa, who no longer desired to live with material things, retired from active family life
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- The fruitive actor enjoys only the fruits of his own activities, but a devotee, being under the guidance of the Supreme Lord, simply advances in devotional service to achieve the ultimate goal of life - to go back home, back to Godhead
- The impersonalists' false arguments claiming the formlessness of the Supreme Truth do not appeal to a devotee of the Lord, even though such a devotee may not be very advanced in devotional service
- The jnanis and the devotees are actually in agreement up to the point of liberation from material contamination. But the jnanis remain pacified on the platform of simple understanding, the devotees develop further spiritual advancement in loving service
- The jnanis, by culture of brahma-vidya, spiritual knowledge, struggle very hard to get out of the clutches of material nature, but a devotee, by dint of his advancement in devotional service, automatically becomes detached from his material body
- The knowledge which was received by Uddhava directly from the Lord deserves to be distributed in human society, especially to persons like Vidura, who are highly advanced in the devotional service of the Lord
- The Lord is always ready to give instructions to the pure devotee so that the devotee can advance further and further in devotional service
- The madhyama-adhikari should be considered to be situated midway in devotional service. The uttama-adhikari, or highest devotee, is one who is very advanced in devotional service
- The more one spiritually advances by devotional service to the Lord, in exchange for his temporary possessions, the more one is freed from the attachment of material illusion
- The parakiya-rasa of the spiritual world should not be discussed except by one who is very advanced in pure devotional service. The parakiya-rasa in the spiritual world and that in the material world are not comparable
- The process of advancing in Krsna consciousness and devotional service is described here - in SB 3.25.25
- The story of the Battle of Kuruksetra may be interesting for the mass of people, but to a person like Vidura, who is highly advanced in devotional service, only krsna-katha and that which is dovetailed with krsna-katha is interesting
- There are many pseudo-devotees, claiming to belong to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu's sect, who artificially dress themselves as the damsels of Vraja. This is not approved by advanced spiritualists, or advanced students of devotional service
- This (to become advanced in devotional service) is not a very difficult task. It is very easy. If it is not easy, how the Europeans, Americans are now taking seriously
- This is a natural characteristic of those advanced in devotional service. They do not personally speak of their own good qualities
- This Krsna consciousness movement is educating people how to become advanced in devotional service and how to go back home, back to Godhead. And this is not a very difficult task. It is very easy
- Those who work without fruitive results are also perfect in their attitude. They are given a chance to advance to the platform of devotional service in Krsna consciousness. BG 1972 purports
- To advance in devotional service, a devotee should see other living entities as spiritual sparks, parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord. A devotee is to offer respect to every entity that has a relationship with the Lord
- To become advanced in spiritual life of devotional service to Krsna means to acquire spiritual strength, and this spiritual strength is for impressing devotional service into the hearts of the fallen souls
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- Unless one becomes little advanced, one has got little taste in devotional service, they cannot give up these material comforts. The Gosvamis are the best example
- Unless one is advanced to this pure state of devotional service, there is a tendency to desire elevation to a higher material position. A mixed devotee may desire to enjoy a comfortable life on another planet with a greater span of life
- Unless one is substantially advanced in krsna-bhakti, they cannot give up this material attachment - illicit sex, meat-eating. They cannot. It is impossible
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- Vidura was confident about this (although junior by age, Uddhava was much advanced in the devotional service of the Lord), and thus he addressed Uddhava in that higher category. That is the way of courteous dealings between two devotees
- Vrtrasura requested Indra to release his thunderbolt against him as soon as possible so that both he and Indra would benefit according to their proportionate advancement in devotional service
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- We can imagine the potency of advanced devotional service, especially when devotees sit together and engage in talking of the pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- We should be very careful about the regulative principles and follow the footprints of Vaisnava. Don't think that Prahlada Maharaja is ordinary boy. We should learn from Prahlada Maharaja how to advance in devotional service
- When a person who is a little advanced (in devotional service) and is therefore called a jnani advances even more, he is in the category of a jnana-misra-bhakta, or a devotee whose love is mixed with empiric knowledge
- When he (Dhruva Maharaja) became advanced in self-realization, or devotional service, by the pressure of his toe he could push down the whole earth. That is the difference between ordinary consciousness and Krsna consciousness
- When Krsna is satisfied with one's devotional service, He does everything Himself. Sevonmukhe hi jihvadau svayam eva sphuraty adah. He reveals more and more to the devotee as the devotee advances in service
- When one is advanced in devotional service, it will be easier (to see the Lord in His arca form), and he will appreciate the Lord's presence in these tangible forms
- When one is perfectly advanced in the devotional service of Vasudeva, one becomes completely detached from the service of the body, that is, his designated position in material existence
- When she (Devahuti) heard him (Kardama Muni) speak she was confident that since he was very much advanced in devotional service he had already surpassed all transcendental educational activities
- When the Brahman perfection is still more advanced by the selfsame execution of devotional service, there is no doubt at all that one can attain the supreme spiritual planet, Goloka Vrndavana, without change of body
- Why he should be given this business? He's such irresponsible man. He should not be given any responsible work. Our first business should see how he is advanced in devotion. We don't want so-called scholars
- With our material senses, we cannot see Krsna, nor can we even hear His name. We can begin to perceive Him when we advance in devotional service. That devotional service begins with the tongue, not the legs, eyes or ears