Category:Attachments of a Devotee of God
Theme Analysis
The concept of attachment within the realm of bhakti-yoga undergoes a complete transformation, shifting from temporary matter to the eternal reality of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that while the material attachments of a conditioned soul lead to bondage and recurrent suffering, the transcendental attachments of a devotee of God break the chains of illusion. A pure devotee becomes firmly anchored in the infallible Lord Viṣṇu, earning the designation acyutātma, and develops a deep inclination toward one of the Lord's eternal forms. This spiritual attachment does not mean an artificial eradication of desire or a cold neglect of duty; rather, the devotee executes worldly responsibilities without attachment to the fruitive results, acting solely for Kṛṣṇa’s satisfaction. As the practitioner advances through the stages of hearing and chanting, initial faith matures into a spontaneous taste, leading to profound ecstasies and pure love of Godhead. This spiritual platform automatically grants detachment from material power, sensual pleasure, and familial entanglement. Furthermore, if a sincere devotee harbors lingering material possessions that hinder their progress, Kṛṣṇa exhibits unique favor by dismantling those false protections, forcing the soul to depend entirely on His shelter. Ultimately, the mutual affection between the Lord and His servant is an unalloyed, permanent truth that safely guides the devotee back to the spiritual world.
- The Status of Acyutātma: By anchoring their hearts in the infallible Lord, devotees transcend the dualities of the material plane and remain completely unaffected by the promises of heaven or the fears of hell.
- Steadfastness in Form and Service: Each living entity is naturally inclined toward a specific transcendental relationship, which manifests as an unshakeable attachment to worshiping a particular form of the Lord.
- The Mechanics of Divine Favor: When a dedicated practitioner is overly attached to temporary assets, the Lord kindly intervenes by removing those material impediments to accelerate their spiritual elevation.
- Development of Spontaneous Love: Progressive engagement in regulative devotional service purifies the heart of mundane lust, gradually invoking spontaneous, ecstatic affection that disregards external social conventions.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Anchored in the Infallible - The Transcendental Attachments of a Devotee of God.
Subcategories
This category has the following 14 subcategories, out of 14 total.
D
Pages in category "Attachments of a Devotee of God"
The following 88 pages are in this category, out of 88 total.
A
- A devotee is attached to a particular form (God's Form), and it is that form which he worships
- A devotee of Krsna is very much attached to brahminical culture. Indeed, an expert personality who knows who Krsna is and what He wants is a real brahmana. Brahma janatiti brahmanah
- A devotee should not associate with such people (who are always busy trying to maintain the body very nicely). Nor should he be overly attached to his family members, knowing that he has been accidentally thrown together with his wife, children, & so on
- A devotee who is actually free from all designations due to complete attachment in love for the Supreme exhibits spontaneous love for Godhead, which is always superior to the devotion of regulative principles
- A devotee who is attached to a particular form of the Lord does not wish to change his devotion to other forms
- A Krsna conscious person has no attachment for the result but acts on behalf of Krsna alone. He engages in all kinds of activities, but is completely nonattached. BG 1972 purports
- A mahatma is attached to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. BG 1972 purports
- A narayana-para devotee is unconcerned with hell and heaven; he is simply attached to rendering service to Krsna
- A person acting for Krsna, or in Krsna consciousness, under proper guidance and without attachment to the result of the work, is certainly making progress toward the supreme goal of life. BG 1972 purports
- A person in bhava is very much attached to gratifying the Lord and in chanting or hearing about the Lord, and he is always attached to describing the transcendental qualities of the Lord. He also prefers to live in holy places like Mathura or Vrndavana
- A pure devotee becomes attached to one of the eternal forms of the Lord, and the Lord is pleased to appear before him in the form desired
- A pure devotee, however, is never attached to material power, although he gets it very easily without personal endeavor
- Acyuta refers to the infallible Lord Visnu, whose heart is always infallible. Because the devotees are attached to the infallible, they are called acyutatma
- All the previous acaryas, being induced to engage themselves fully in the service of the Lord, gave up attachment for material life and thus accepted the staff, which signifies full engagement of the mind, speech and body in the service of the Lord
- Although Bali Maharaja was a devotee, he was attached to material possessions, and therefore the Lord, being very kind to him, showed him special favor by appearing as Lord Vamana to take away all his material possessions, and his mind as well
- Although Prahlada was born in the family of Hiranyakasipu, an atheist, he was never attached to any kind of materialistic enjoyment
- Although the gopis and all the other inhabitants of Vrndavana had the affection and attachment for husband and home, their central affection was for Krsna in some transcendental relationship
- Although the person in full Krsna consciousness may apparently be on the sensual plane, because of his being Krsna conscious, he has no attachment to sensual activities. BG 1972 purports
- Although this was a transaction of spiritual potency (Vasudeva and Devaki apparently wanted to live like ordinary grhasthas for sexual indulgence), their desire appears like attachment for sex in conjugal life
- Anyone, whether an ordinary materialistic person or a pure devotee, can understand the behavior of Caitanya’s devotees if he studies it minutely. One will thus find that the devotees of Caitanya are not at all attached to any kind of material enjoyment
- Arjuna was advised by the Lord (Krsna) to fight as a matter of duty without attachment to the result. His nonparticipation in the battle is another side of attachment. Such attachment never leads one to the path of salvation. BG 1972 purports
- Arjuna, as a pure devotee of the Lord, never previously saw the contemplated universal form of the Lord but when he did see it, his curiosities were satisfied. But he was not happy to see such a form of the Lord because of his attachment as a pure devotee
- As lust and desires disappear from the heart of a devotee, he becomes more attached to the service of the Lord, and by such attachment he becomes free from material contamination. In that state of life he can understand the Supreme Lord. BG 1972 purports
- As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (SB 11.2.42), bhaktih paresanubhavo viraktir anyatra ca: in bhakti, a devotee’s only attachment is Krsna; he no longer wants to maintain his attachments to many other things
B
- Because they (Vidura and Maitreya) were not attached to impersonal Brahman or to the localized Paramatma but were directly attached to Bhagavan, the Personality of Godhead, they were worthy to render service to the Lord and His pure devotees
- Bharata left his home, wife, children, kingdom and everything else to advance his spiritual life in the forest, but again he fell victim to material affection due to his attachment to pet deer. What, then, was the use of his renouncing his family
- Bharata Maharaja was the firstborn son of Maharaja Rsabha in a rich ksatriya family, but due to his willful negligence of his spiritual duties and his excessive attachment to an insignificant deer, he was obliged to take birth as the son of a deer
- Bharata Maharaja was very noble and exalted, and therefore when the deer was absent from him he thought himself unworthy to give it protection. Due to his attachment for the animal, he thought that the animal was as noble and exalted as he himself was
- Bilvamangala Thakura had been an advanced devotee in his previous life, but in his next life he became greatly fallen and was attached to a prostitute
- Brahmananda Bharati said - Since the beginning of my life I was attached to impersonal Brahman realization, but as soon as I saw You (Caitanya), I became very much attached to the Personality of Godhead, Krsna
- By advancing in hearing and chanting, a devotee becomes more firmly fixed in his faith, and gradually his initial faith develops into a taste for devotional service, and that taste gradually develops into attachment
- By knowing this (the position of the Lord and how to approach His dhama) he (Maharaja Pariksit) could leave aside everything material, even his own body, without any difficulty of attachment
- By this bona fide hearing process, the neophyte devotee becomes cleansed of all material rubbish, and thus he becomes attached to one of the many transcendental forms of the Lord, as described in the Vedas
D
- Deity worship, even in the absence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, awakens the transcendental nature of the devotee, who thus becomes increasingly attached to the Lord's lotus feet
- Devotees are very much attached to glorifying the activities of the Lord, whereas the Mayavadis cannot even think of these activities. According to them the Absolute Truth is impersonal
- Devotees engaged in devotional service are not very much attached to their bodies, unlike the yogis, who are too attached to the body and who think that by performing bodily gymnastic exercises they will advance in spiritual consciousness
- Devotees generally do not fall down, but if circumstantially they do, the Lord, because of their strong attachment to Him, gives them protection in all circumstances
E
- Each day of the demigods in the upper planetary system equals six months of our measurement. Although the demigods in the upper planetary system are attached to material enjoyment, they are all devotees, and therefore they are called demigods
- Elevation to the heavenly planets, liberation from material bondage, and condemnation to hell are all equal to the devotee. The devotee’s only desire is to be attached to the lotus feet of Krsna and to engage in His transcendental loving service
F
- For a Vaisnava, the renounced order means completely giving up attachment for material things and engaging nonstop in the transcendental loving service of the Lord
- From the spiritual point of view the King (Bharata) was actually falling from his exalted spiritual position and unnecessarily becoming attached to an animal. Thus degrading himself, he would have to accept an animal body
H
- He (the devotee in dasya-rati) considers the Lord to be a worshipable object, and this means that his attachment for the Lord increases. Thus dasya-rati is characterized as bhaktih paresanubhavo viraktir anyatra ca - SB 11.2.42
- How much a devotee is seriously attached to the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead can be understood from the statement of Maharaj Prthu
I
- If a sincere devotee wants Krsna above everything but at the same time is attached to material possessions, which hinder his advancement in Krsna consciousness, by tactics the Lord takes away all his possessions
- In SB the devotees are described as nipuna-buddhayah, which means that they are the most intelligent class of men. Uninfluenced by attachment or hatred, the devotee lives very peacefully and is not agitated by the influence of passion and ignorance
- Indeed, a devotee of Krsna who is attached to the sublime attractive features of the Lord does not consider Narayana very important. When the gopis sometimes saw Krsna in the form of Narayana, they were not very much attracted to Him
- It is their (paramahamsa's) nature to talk only of Krsna at every moment, as if such topics were newer and newer. They are attached to such topics, just as materialists are attached to topics of women and sex - SB 10.13.2
M
- Maharaja Bharata because of his attachment to a deer, thought of the deer at the time of death, and therefore in his next life he became a deer (yam yam vapi smaran bhavam tyajaty ante kalevaram) - BG 8.6
- Material devotees are more attached to material benefit than transcendental profit. Therefore, one has to make definite progress from the position of material devotional service to the second-class devotional position
N
- Nanda Maharaja was his (Vasudeva's) friend, but out of deep affection and attachment for his own son, he knowingly did this - placed his own son on the bed of Yasoda, picked up Nanda Maharaja's daughter
- Newly engaged devotees can be divided into two: those who have already attained attachment for the Lord and those who have not attained such attachment
- Nirmama means that a devotee does not attach much importance to the peace and trouble pertaining to the body because he knows perfectly well that he is not the material body. BG 1972 purports
O
- On the dasya-rati platform a devotee is attached to rendering service to the Lord, and he is detached from material activities
- One fixed in Krsna consciousness has neither attachment nor detachment because his life is dedicated in the service of the Lord. Consequently he is not at all angry even when his attempts are unsuccessful. BG 1972 purports
- Other pure devotees, who are more or less attached to Sri Nityananda Prabhu and Advaita Prabhu, are attracted by other transcendental relationships, such as parental affection, friendship and servitorship
P
- Paramahamsas, devotees who have accepted the essence of life, are attached to Krsna in the core of their hearts, and He is the aim of their lives - SB 10.13.2
- Perception of the disagreeable arises from attachment. A devotee has no personal attachment to anything; therefore for him there is no question of agreeable or disagreeable
S
- So, whether in social life or political life, or in the matter of eating, sleeping, mating, and defending, a devotee should avoid performing any action tainted by material attachment
- Sometimes He does this (creating a favorable condition for his devotee) by taking away a devotee’s material attachments by force and baffling all his material protective agents, for thus the devotee must completely depend on the Lord’s protection
- Sometimes the purpose is that in distress a devotee's feelings of attachment to Krsna are magnified
- Sri Krsna says that He takes everything away from the devotee whom He especially favors when that devotee is overly attached to material possessions. When everything is taken away, the devotee feels helpless and frustrated in society, friendship and love
T
- The Bhagavatam further states: Due to their spontaneous attachment for the Lord, when they (devotees) chant His holy names they sometimes cry, sometimes laugh, dance, sing and so on, not caring for any social convention - SB 11.2.40
- The forefathers of Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami were all Vaisnavas and were very rich men. His spiritual master at home was Yadunandana Acarya. Although Raghunatha dasa was a family man, he had no attachment for his estate and wife
- The jnanis, they want brahma satyam jagan mithya - detachment. But bhakta, without any endeavor, because he develops attachment for Krsna, he automatically gives up attachment for this material world
- The Krsna conscious person is concerned only with the satisfaction of Krsna, and nothing else. Therefore he is transcendental to all attachment. BG 1972 purports
- The mutual attachment between the Supreme Lord and His devotee is never to be considered material. It always exists as a transcendental fact
- The opulence of devotees who are attached to the service of Narayana is not like the opulence of karmis. The opulence of devotees is as permanent as the opulence of Narayana Himself
- The signs of such exceptional devotees of the Lord (who do duties for God) are that they are unattached to material enjoyment, contented, pure in heart, attached to devotional service, free from affection for temporary things, and devoid of false ego
- The Vaisnavas are free of attachment to this world because although the material world is generally accepted as an object of sense gratification, the Vaisnavas are not in favor of sense gratification and are therefore not attached to material activities
- There are many devotees attached to Lord Ramacandra, and Murari Gupta is a vivid example of such unalloyed devotion. He never agreed to give up Ramacandra's worship, not even upon Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s request. Such is the chastity of devotional service
- There is no attachment for material things on the spiritual platform (viraktir anyatra ca). A devotee in dasya-rati has no attachment for anything but Krsna’s service
- There is no difference between the transcendental forms of the Lord. Different forms are manifested due to different attachments of different devotees. Actually the Lord is one, but He appears in different forms just to satisfy His devotees
- Therefore, a devotee is attached to the brahminical stage of life. He is not very much interested in passion or ignorance, although these qualities also emanate from the Supreme Lord, Visnu
- This (Krsna) consciousness is the causeless mercy of the Lord, which the devotee can achieve in spite of his being attached to the sensual platform. BG 1972 purports
- This (Lord makes a special arrangement to take away the objects of devotee's false attachment) is special mercy bestowed upon the devotee to bring him back home, back to Godhead
- This attachment of the devotee to a particular form of the Lord is due to natural inclination. Each and every living entity is originally attached to a particular type of transcendental service because he is eternally the servitor of the Lord
- This particular attachment is invoked by practice of regulative devotional service to the Lord, and thus the devotee becomes attached to the eternal form of the Lord, exactly like one who is already eternally attached
W
- When Baladeva saw this attachment (the cows' constant attachment to those calves (Krsna's expansions) that were grown up and had stopped sucking milk), He was unable to understand the reason for it, and thus He began to consider - SB 10.13.35
- When he (the devotee) is freed from unwanted occupations, his faith becomes steadily fixed, and he develops a transcendental taste for devotional service, then attachment, then ecstasies, and in the last stage there is pure love of Godhead
- When King Pariksit heard about this, he was struck with wonder, but he was somewhat bewildered as to how a devotee with no attachment for material enjoyment could later become attached to it
- When one's attachment to Krsna becomes very deep, one attains the condition called love of Godhead. Such a state of existence is considered a permanent situation for a devotee
- When such devotees (who are more or less attached to Sri Nityananda Prabhu and Advaita Prabhu) are attached to the activities of Lord Caitanya, they at once become confidential devotees in conjugal love with the Supreme Lord
- While a devotee must know this (no one is a wife, child, husband, or father of anyone else), that does not mean he should neglect his family. As a matter of duty he should maintain his family members without attachment and instruct them in KC
- Without any training there is a natural attraction due to the sex impulse. This is a material example, but the devotee is praying that he may develop a similar spontaneous attachment for the Supreme Lord