Category:Becoming Opulent
Theme Analysis
This category explores the spiritual and material dynamics of wealth, power, and prestige. Śrīla Prabhupāda distinguishes between the temporary opulence of a fruitive worker (karmī) and the stable, ever-increasing opulence of a devotee. While the materialist receives wealth from Durgādevī to facilitate sense gratification—often leading to pride and the transgression of śāstra—the devotee receives opulence as a special gift from Kṛṣṇa or Lakṣmīdevī to be utilized in divine service. The quotes emphasize that the greatest blessing is not the accumulation of wealth itself, but the development of detachment from it.
- The Source of Wealth: True opulence is a gift of the Supreme Lord’s mercy. While materialists may appear opulent through pious activities or the worship of demigods like Śiva, such wealth is easily vanquished. In contrast, the opulence of a devotee is spiritual and continues to increase as their service matures.
- The Effect on Character: For a common man, becoming opulent often results in the loss of etiquette and the forgetfulness of God. However, for an advanced devotee, becoming opulent results in deeper attachment to the Lord. If a neophyte becomes wealthy, they may forget their service, but for the advanced, it is seen as a spiritual opportunity.
- The Higher Blessing: While being favored with wealth is a blessing, the quotes highlight that giving up attachment to material wealth through the association of great souls is an even greater benediction. This leads to happiness in this life and entry into the eternal kingdom of God.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Becoming Opulent - Material Gain vs. Spiritual Gift.
Pages in category "Becoming Opulent"
The following 29 pages are in this category, out of 29 total.
A
- A devotee becomes more and more opulent as he increases his devotional service to the Lord
- A karmi's opulence is destroyed, but the opulence of a devotee is never destroyed. A devotee becomes more and more opulent as he increases his devotional service to the Lord
- After touching the hand of Krsna, Rukmini said, "My dear Lord, this one morsel of chipped rice is sufficient to cause him who offered it to become very opulent in this life and to continue his opulence in the next life"
- Although sometimes a materialist becomes very opulent in the eyes of another materialist, such opulence is bestowed upon him by the goddess Durgadevi, a material expansion of the goddess of fortune, not by Laksmidevi herself
B
- By associating in different ways with the Supreme Personality of godhead or His devotee, one can very easily become opulent in every respect
- By the blessings of a great soul one becomes materially opulent, but when one gives up attachment to material wealth, that should be considered an even greater blessing from the great souls
- By this advancement in life (becoming cleansed of sinful reactions), one not only becomes happy and opulent in this life, but also, at the end, he enters into the eternal kingdom of God. BG 1972 purports
I
- I think the Japanese people, too, can all become Krishna-ized very easily, as they have become now very opulent like Americans and they are very intelligent, clean, quiet, and respectful on the whole
- If a devotee advances in spiritual consciousness and thus becomes materially opulent also, his position is a special gift from the Lord. Such opulence is never to be considered material
- If a neophyte devotee becomes materially opulent, he forgets the service of the Lord. However, if an advanced devotee is favored by the Lord with opulence, it is not material opulence but a spiritual opportunity
- If one feeds Narayana sumptuously, the goddess of fortune, Laksmi, automatically becomes a guest in one’s house, which means that one’s home becomes opulent
- In other words, if a devotee becomes very opulent, it is to be understood that his opulence is a gift of the SPG. Such opulence will never be vanquished, whereas the opulence achieved by one's fruitive activity may be vanquished at any moment
- It is generally found that those who engage in the worship of Siva, whether in human, demoniac or demigod society, become materially very opulent, although Lord Siva himself lives just like a poverty-stricken person
- It is not good to be falsely puffed up, saying that by one's own effort one has become opulent, learned, beautiful and so on. All such good fortune is achieved through the mercy of the Lord
- It is the nature of the material qualities that when one becomes very much opulent in terms of wealth and a prestigious position, one loses one's sense of etiquette and does not care about anyone
O
- One may become famous as a brahma-jnani, an impersonalist scholar, or one may become a materially opulent person. In either case, such reputations are inferior to the reputation of Krsna’s devotee
- One should act according to the direction of the sastra, but the material energy is so powerful that as soon as one becomes materially opulent, he begins to transgress the sastric laws
T
- The great soul Bali Maharaja, thinking himself very satisfied, became very opulent and prosperous and began to enjoy the kingdom because of the favor of the brahmanas
- The word mahodayodayat indicates that by the blessings of a great soul one becomes materially opulent, but when one gives up attachment to material wealth, that should be considered an even greater blessing from the great souls
W
- When a common man becomes opulent, he forgets God; but the more opulent a devotee becomes by the grace of the Lord, the more he becomes attached to the service of the Lord
- When a devotee becomes materially opulent, that is also not due to his pious activities
- When a devotee becomes materially very opulent, one should not think that he is enjoying the results of his fruitive activities
- When the so-called devotee desires material enjoyment, without reference to the interest of the Supreme Lord, or he wants to become famous or opulent by utilizing the mercy or grace of the Supreme Lord, he is in the mode of passion