Category:Attaining Love of God
Theme Analysis
The ultimate objective of human existence is clearly defined in the Vedic literatures as the attainment of pure love of Godhead (prema). Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that while the Vedas mention various goals such as religiosity (dharma), economic development (artha), sense gratification (kāma), and liberation (mokṣa), these are subordinate. Love of Godhead is considered the fifth and highest goal (pañcama-puruṣārtha). This was the central mission of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who taught that prema is the supreme necessity (prayojana-siddhi) and the only perfection that brings complete satisfaction to the soul.
Attaining love of God is not an artificial imposition on the mind; it is the revival of the soul's dormant, constitutional nature. This revival occurs through a systematic process known as abhidheya, the execution of regulative devotional service. By giving up fruitive activities (karma) and mental speculation (jñāna), and by strictly following the regulative principles under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master, the practitioner's devotion matures. As one's attachment to Kṛṣṇa deepens, the preliminary stage of ecstasy (bhāva) awakens, which eventually blossoms into unalloyed, spontaneous love (prema). At this stage, the devotee acts without any expectation of return, finding complete fulfillment simply in satisfying the Supreme Lord.
The most potent and recommended method for attaining this perfection in the current age is the congregational chanting of the holy names—the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that anyone who sincerely chants the holy name can rapidly attain the platform of ecstatic love, becoming "mad after God." Once this stage of love of Godhead is attained, the devotee immediately becomes liberated even within the present body, achieves immortality, and experiences complete freedom from all material bondage. Furthermore, when one attains pure love for the Supreme Lord, universal love for all other living beings naturally and automatically follows.
- The Ultimate Necessity: Attaining love of Godhead (prema) is the highest perfectional stage of human life, superseding all desires for material enjoyment and impersonal liberation.
- The Systematic Process: Love of God is attained by first executing regulative devotional service (abhidheya), which gradually cleanses the heart and matures into ecstatic attachment.
- The Power of the Holy Name: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu established that the sincere chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is the chief and most rapid means of attaining this exalted stage.
- The Result of Prema: Upon attaining pure love for Kṛṣṇa, the soul achieves absolute liberation, immortality, and a natural, causeless love for all other living entities.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Attaining Love of God - The Supreme Goal of Human Life.
Pages in category "Attaining Love of God"
The following 84 pages are in this category, out of 84 total.
A
- A devotee of Godhead is he who glorifies the Personality of Godhead under the dictation of transcendental ecstasy. This ecstasy is a by-product of profound love for the Supreme, which is itself attained by the process of glorification
- A householder mahatma has only one aim: how to attain the perfectional stage of love of God
- According to the Tattvavadis, the highest goal is returning home, back to Godhead, but in Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's opinion the highest goal is attaining love of Godhead, in either the material world or the spiritual world
- After attaining this position (of ultimate goal of devotional service), the plant (of devotional service) produces fruit, which is known as the fruit of love of Godhead
- After executing prescribed duties (in relationship to God), when one attains the highest goal of life, love of Godhead, he achieves prayojana-siddhi, or the fulfillment of his human mission
- After hearing the arguments and talks of Caitanya, all the Mayavadi sannyasis who were present became pacified and replied with sweet words: Dear sir, what You have spoken is all true. A person who attains love of Godhead is certainly very fortunate
- All the Mayavadi sannyasis replied: undoubtedly You (Caitanya) are very fortunate to have attained this stage of love of Godhead. But what is the fault in Vedanta? It is the duty of a sannyasi to read and understand Vedanta. Why do You not study it
- Anyone who sincerely chants this holy name very soon attains elevation to the platform of love of God and becomes mad after God. This madness arising from love of God is the first perfectional stage for a human being
- Anywhere, any part of the world, at home or out of home, anywhere you can, with your ecstasy, you can chant Hare Krsna, and you attain love of God very quickly
- As one advances in devotional service, he attains love of Godhead, and as he advances in this love, he becomes free from all material bondage
- As stated before, after attaining the highest stage of self-realization, one becomes situated in devotional service to the Lord. The perfection of devotional service is to attain love of God
- Association with a devotee, the mercy of Krsna, and the nature of devotional service help one to give up all undesirable association and gradually attain elevation to the platform of love of Godhead
- Attainment of love of Godhead means complete freedom from all other attractions
B
- Being always absorbed in the ecstasy of Srimati Radharani, Sri Caitanya felt the same separation from Krsna that Radharani felt when Krsna left Vrndavana and went to Mathura. This ecstatic feeling is very helpful in attaining love of God in separation
- But for these three items - namely, eternal relation with God, exchange of dealings with Him and the attainment of love for Him - all that is instructed in the Vedas is superfluous and that any other explanation of the Vedas is concocted
- By studying Srimad-Bhagavatam, we can obtain information about our eternal relationship with the Supreme Lord, understand the procedure by which the Lord can be attained and receive the ultimate realization, which is love of Godhead
C
- Caitanya Mahaprabhu has said that the real goal of life is prema pum-artho mahan (Caitanya-manjusa). Prema, to attain love
- Caitanya told Prakasananda Sarasvati that the holy name of Krsna, called the maha-mantra (great chanting), enables anyone who chants it to attain the stage of love of Godhead, or intensified bhava. Such love of Godhead is the ultimate human necessity
- Chanting the holy name is the chief means of attaining love of Godhead
- Complete attainment of the lotus feet of Lord Krsna is made possible by love of Godhead, specifically madhurya-rasa, or conjugal love. Lord Krsna is indeed captivated by this standard of love. This is stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam
D
- Dear Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, what You have said is all true. Only one who is favored by fortune attains love of Godhead
- Devotees worship the Supreme Lord to attain unalloyed devotion to the Lord. The Lord is not worshiped by others, who have no program for attaining love of God, which is the essential aim of human life
I
- If I can go back to Godhead in this very life then, why wait for another lifetime? If in this life we can attain the Lord then why not? Who knows if I will get human birth next life
- If one wants to attain the stage of love of Godhead, he must give up all desires for material enjoyment, he should refrain from worshiping any of the demigods, and he should devote himself only to the worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- In every revealed scripture there is condemnation of fruitive activities. It is advised everywhere to give up engagement in fruitive activities, for no one can attain the highest goal of life, love of Godhead, by executing them
- In the human form of life the highest achievement is to attain the platform of love of Godhead. Lord Caitanya did not invent a system of religion, as people sometimes assume
- It (the Brhad-bhagavatamrta) also describes real knowledge, devotional service, the spiritual world, love of Godhead, attainment of life’s destination, & the bliss of the world. In this way there are seven chapters in each part, fourteen chapters in all
- It is possible to attain that affection of love for God... without taking part in this Krsna consciousness movement?
- It is stated that through love of Godhead, one becomes perfectly liberated and attains the highest goal of life
- It is to be understood that one who has attained the stage of love of God has perfect knowledge, and even if he may fall short of perfect knowledge, he has the preliminary perfection of life that a living entity can attain
- It is very good, my dear child, that You have attained the supreme goal of life by developing love of Godhead. Thus You have pleased me very much, and I am very much obliged to You
L
- Lord Caitanya explained that His spiritual master had confirmed the validity of His ecstasy which resulted from His chanting the holy name of God and also confirmed that the essence of all Vedic literature is the attainment of love of Godhead
- Lord Caitanya's spiritual master had said that the Lord was fortunate enough to have attained love of Godhead. By attaining such transcendental love, one's heart becomes very anxious to attain direct contact with the Lord
- Love of Godhead is so exalted that it is considered to be the fifth goal of human life. By awakening one's love of Godhead, one can attain the platform of conjugal love, tasting it even during the present span of life
O
- One cannot attain love of Godhead by executing karma-kanda or jnana-kanda
- One who has attained love of Godhead chants and dances by his nature, not caring for the public. This stage of life is known as bhagavata-jivana, or the life of a devotee
- One who hears this narration with faith and devotion attains the treasure of love of Godhead at the lotus feet of Sri Krsna
P
- Pariksit inquired from Sukadeva Gosvami: O learned brahmana, demons are generally sinful, being obsessed with the modes of passion and ignorance. How, then, could Vrtrasura have attained such exalted love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana?
- Prema can be defined as love of God without any expectation of exchange or return. Actually the words prema and love are not synonymous, yet one can say that prema is the highest stage of love. One who has attained prema is the most perfect human being
S
- Sarva-bhavena means "in all-loving ecstasy." Bhava is the preliminary stage of elevation before the attainment of pure love of Godhead
- Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu continued, "The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the central point of all relationships, acting in devotional service to Him is one's real occupation, and the attainment of love of Godhead is the ultimate goal of life"
- Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu continued, "Thus one's relationship with the Lord, activities in devotional service, and the attainment of the highest goal of life, love of Godhead, are the subject matters of Srimad-Bhagavatam"
- Srila Madhavendra Puri was one of the acaryas in the Tattvavada disciplic succession, and he established the ultimate goal of transcendentalism to be attainment of pure devotional service, love of Godhead
T
- That process by which I (the Supreme Lord) can be attained by the living entity is called abhidheya. By it, one can attain the highest perfection of life, love of Godhead. When one attains love of Godhead, his life becomes perfect
- The atmarama stage, is possible when the Lord bestows His mercy upon a devotee for his advanced devotional activity. It is the highest perfectional stage because one cannot reach it unless one has attained pure love of God
- The book, Srimad-Bhagavatam; the ideal worship, the damsels of Vrndavana; Krsna is the worshipable object; and the necessary of life, necessity of life, is to attain love of Godhead. This is the whole mission of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, sum and substance
- The devotee simply performs activities that satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead and thus attains pure love for the Lord
- The execution of duties to attain perfection is known as devotional service, and in maturity such devotional service becomes love of God, the factual goal of life for every living being
- The first requirement is that one should have sufficient faith that the only process for attaining love of Godhead is bhakti, devotional service to the Lord
- The general principles of devotional service, the execution of devotional service, ecstasy in devotional service and ultimately the attainment of love of Godhead are described - in the purva-vibhaga of the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu
- The love of Godhead can be attained only by the practice of transcendental loving service of the Lord, and nothing else
- The more one hears the pastimes of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu with faith, analytically studying them, the more one attains the ecstatic riches of love of Godhead
- The path of the Vedas does not accord with any principle devoid of an eternal relation with God, attainment of His devotional service, and culmination in transcendental love for Him
- The real purpose of life is to revive our dormant love of God. Indeed, that is our ultimate necessity. How that love of God can be attained is explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam
- The sixth Sandarbha is called Priti-sandarbha, a thesis on love of Godhead. Here it is stated that through love of Godhead, one becomes perfectly liberated and attains the highest goal of life
- The word 'anghri-padma-sudha' means 'associating intimately with Krsna.' One can attain such perfection only by spontaneous love of God. One cannot obtain Krsna in Goloka Vrndavana simply by serving the Lord according to regulative principles
- The word 'ca' may be used in place of 'api,' which gives emphasis to something. Thus it means that without sincere endeavor in devotional service, one cannot attain love of Godhead
- There (in the Priti-sandarbha) are also discussions of the transcendental state one achieves after attaining the devotional platform, which is the exact position of love of Godhead; the marginal symptoms of transcendental love, and how it is awakened
- There are three stages of devotional service: The first is the beginning stage of cultivation, the second is the realization of service, and the third, the supreme stage, is the attainment of love of Godhead
- These are six negatives, or "do-nots," for the devotee; therefore one who wants to attain the perfectional stage of love of Godhead refrains from these things
- They (foolish persons) may be scholarly, and they may be elevated in other departments of knowledge, but they are not even neophytes in the process of attaining the highest stage of perfection, love of Godhead
- Those who are related in friendship attain love of God to the point of fraternity
- Those who are situated in the neutral position attain perfection up to love of Godhead
- Those who are situated in the relationship of master and servant attain love of Godhead to the stage of attachment
- To attain the stage of transcendental love of Godhead, regulative principles of devotional service must be followed
- To practically follow Jesus Christ for a sincere searcher of the truth who does not recognize and accept the external manifestations of the Krsna consciousness movement, is it possible to attain love of God?
U
- Uddhava attained this stage (of love of Godhead) is evident from his dealings. He could simultaneously reach the supreme planet and still appear in this world
- Unless one can realize the transcendental form of the Supreme Lord, he cannot actually attain love of God, and without love of God there is no perfection in human life
- Upon attaining love of God, a person immediately becomes immortal and no longer has to change his material body
W
- We do not condemn any religion because the Bhagwatam says that the religious process is the best by which one can attain love of God. So we are teaching Love of Godhead, not any particular type of religion
- When a person attains to the perfectional stage of love of Godhead, he becomes liberated even in his present body and realizes his constitutional position of immortality
- When affection for Krsna becomes deeper, one attains love of Godhead in devotional service. Such a position is called sthayi-bhava, permanent enjoyment of the mellows of devotional service to Krsna
- When love of Godhead is attained, love for all other beings automatically follows
- When one achieves ecstatic love of Godhead, he attains the complete perfection of life
- When one attains the third stage of transcendental love of God, there occur further developments known as transcendental affection, emotion, ecstasy & extreme & intense attachment. These are technically known by the terms raga, anuraga, bhava & mahabhava
- When one becomes disappointed in his service to the Supreme Lord, that disappointment must be rejected and replaced with confidence in attaining the ultimate goal, love of Godhead
- 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 the devotee executes devotional service properly, he attains the highest perfection of life - love of Godhead: sa vai pumsam paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhoksaje - SB 1.2.6
- When the wives of the brahmanas were favored by Lord Krsna and immediately attained the ecstasy of love of Godhead, their husbands began to say
- Whoever follows the principles of devotional service with attachment and follows a particular devotee of Vrajabhumi certainly attains the highest perfection of love of Godhead in that spirit