Category:Compassion of a Devotee of God
Theme Analysis
The internal growth of a practitioner is often hidden, but its external manifestation is found in the compassion of a devotee of God. While the Supreme Lord may be strict with those who willfully choose to forget Him, Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that His devotees are even more merciful, actively seeking to revive the Kṛṣṇa consciousness of others. This analysis describes how a Vaiṣṇava, though personally free from problems, takes on the suffering of humanity out of a desire to deliver them from hellish life. By distributing knowledge and prasādam, and by tolerating personal tribulations for the sake of preaching, the devotee exhibits a level of mercy that captures the special favor of the Lord.
- The Test of Advancement: A devotee's status is determined by their outreach; neglecting the welfare of the general public results in remaining a third-class practitioner.
- Superiority of the Preacher: One who has compassion for innocent persons lacking spiritual knowledge is considered a superior devotee because they risk their own peace to fight against māyā.
- Tolerance and Sympathy: A pure devotee develops twenty-six godly qualities, including being grave, expert, and sympathetic, allowing them to tolerate personal injury while refusing to tolerate the suffering of others.
- Explore a synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: More Merciful than the Lord - The Active Compassion of Devotees of God.
- Explore a synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Beyond Sentiment - The Practical Compassion of Devotees of God.
Subcategories
This category has the following 10 subcategories, out of 10 total.
A
C
D
K
Pages in category "Compassion of a Devotee of God"
The following 78 pages are in this category, out of 78 total.
A
- A devotee should always be thoughtful, peaceful, friendly, compassionate and self-realized
- A devotee should be tolerant and should be very much compassionate toward others. For example, if he suffers personal injury, he should tolerate it, but if someone else suffers injury, the devotee need not tolerate it
- A devotee should have compassion for persons who are innocent, who are neither atheistic nor very much advanced in spiritual realization
- A devotee should worship the Supreme Lord, be friendly to persons who are on the same level and be compassionate to the ignorant. One should exhibit his compassion for ignorant living entities by distributing prasada
- A devotee shows compassion to those poor souls who are wanting in spiritual knowledge by enlightening them in order to elevate them to Krsna consciousness. That is one of the duties of a devotee
- A devotee who tries to preach, who has compassion upon innocent persons who have no knowledge of Krsna, is a superior devotee
- A pure devotee of the Lord automatically develops all godly qualities, and some of the prominent features are as follows: 3) fixed, self-controlled, a balanced eater, sane, mannerly, prideless, grave, sympathetic, friendly, poetic, expert and silent
- A Vaisnava is always compassionate, especially when he sees a prospective devotee very determined
- All pure devotees of the Lord come to this material world with full compassion to deliver the sinful. They undergo all kinds of tribulations, suffering them with tolerance, because that is another qualification of a Vaisnava
- All these affairs (animal killing and flesh-eating) are ghastly, and a compassionate person, namely a devotee of the Lord, becomes very unhappy to see such a sight. The hunting process is also carried on in a different way, as we have already explained
- Although it is not mentioned here (in BG 1.28), still one can easily imagine that not only were Arjuna's bodily limbs quivering and his mouth drying up, but that he was also crying out of compassion. BG 1972 purports
- An acarya does not exploit his followers. Since the acarya is a confidential servitor of the Lord, his heart is always full of compassion for humanity in its suffering
- Apparently Arjuna was very nice gentleman that he is forgetting his claim over the kingdom, he's nonviolent, he's not willing to fight with his brothers, and he was crying so compassionate
- Arjuna's deep affection for community and family members is exhibited here (in BG 1.32-35) partly due to his natural compassion for them. He is therefore not prepared to fight. BG 1972 purports
- Arjuna, just after seeing his kinsmen, friends and relatives on the battlefield, was at once overwhelmed by compassion for them who had so decided to fight amongst themselves. BG 1972 purports
- As far as his (Arjuna's) soldiers were concerned, he was sympathetic from the beginning, but he felt compassion even for the soldiers of the opposite party, foreseeing their imminent death. BG 1972 purports
- As long as one is not compassionate to people in general in his devotional service to the Lord, he is a third-class devotee
B
- Because a Vaisnava fully takes shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he personally has no problems, but because he is compassionate toward the fallen, conditioned souls, he is always thinking of plans to save them from their hellish life
- Because of their compassion for the poor fallen souls, the six Gosvamis gave up their exalted positions as ministers and took vows as mendicants
- Because of their spiritual compassion for all the fallen souls, Vaisnavas go out to preach, but unfortunately, because of the influence of Kali-yuga, Vaisnavas who have dedicated their lives to preaching the glories of the Lord are sometimes harassed
- Because Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu rejected him, Kala Krsnadasa became very, very sorry and began to cry. Therefore the Lord's devotees took compassion upon him, gave him assurance and encouraged him to continue to engage in the Lord's service
- Being very much compassionate upon the killing of animals in sacrifice, the great sage Narada began his instructions to King Pracinabarhisat
C
- Caitanya said, You (Vasudeva Datta) do not even have to take up the burden of their sinful activities. Thus there is no need for you to suffer for their sinful lives. Whoever receives your compassion becomes a Vaisnava immediately
- Compassionate Mahatma Vidura could not stand to see the Pandavas distressed at any time. Therefore he did not disclose this unpalatable and unbearable incident (the annihilation of the Yadu dynasty) because calamities come of their own accord
D
- Deviation from duty does not help one in the progress of spiritual life, nor does it even give one the opportunity to become famous in this world. Lord Krsna did not approve of the so-called compassion of Arjuna for his kinsmen. BG 1972 purports
- Devotees are compassionate to every conditioned soul, and therefore they are known as aparakya-buddhi
- Devotees are very compassionate. (laughs) Karunikah. "Please you take this service, and other service, I may take prasadam. (laughter) That I cannot neglect."
- Devotees of God feel compassion for the mass of people, who have completely forgotten the Supreme Lord and who engage in the false pursuit of happiness that ends in the sense pleasures enjoyed by the hogs and dogs
- Devotees of the Lord are generally compassionate upon the miseries of living entities, and what to speak of the great sage Narada? He became very much aggrieved, and after proceeding a few steps, he saw the hunter engaged in hunting with bow and arrows
F
- For a compassionate soul like Vidura, especially in his dealings with the beloved Pandavas, it was almost impossible to disclose an unpalatable piece of news like the annihilation of the Yadu dynasty. Therefore he purposely refrained from it
- Further, he (Narada Muni) saw that a boar was also suffering, and, in another place, he saw a rabbit twitching in pain. All this made him very compassionate, and he began to think, Who is the foolish man who has committed such sins
G
- Great souls are naturally inclined to do good to others, and a Vaisnava especially is the most compassionate and merciful personality in society
- Great unalloyed devotees of the Lord are compassionate towards the fallen, and therefore they travel all over the world with the mission of bringing souls back to Godhead, back to home
I
- I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaisnava devotees of the Lord. They are just like desire trees who can fulfill the desires of everyone, and they are full of compassion for the fallen conditioned souls
- I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaisnava devotees of the Lord. They can fulfill the desires of everyone, just like desire trees, and they are full of compassion for the fallen souls
- If in some places materialists, who are already bewildered by the insurmountable illusory energy of the Supreme Godhead, sometimes commit offenses, a saintly person, with compassion, does not take this seriously
K
- Krsna and His devotees are so kind and compassionate that they are unhappy to see all the misery of this material world
- Krsna is very strict. If anyone wants to forget Him, He will give him so many chances that he will never be able to understand what is Krsna. But Krsna's devotee are more compassionate than Krsna. Therefore they preach KC to the poor people
N
- Narada Muni being the best amongst the Vaisnavas, is compassionate toward such unfortunate victims of worthless literatures
- Niyamena: one should offer the greatest respect to the acaryas according to the standard regulations. A devotee should also be compassionate to the poor. This does not refer to those who are poverty-stricken materially
- Now (in BG 2.36) in so many words, He (Krsna) has proved His statements against Arjuna's so-called compassion. BG 1972 purports
O
- O my lord, great philanthropic souls travel on the earth on behalf of the Supreme Personality of Godhead to show compassion to the fallen souls who are averse to the sense of subordination to the Lord
- One who actually assimilated the essence of the Vedas can preach the truth. He is compassionate to conditioned souls who are suffering the threefold miseries of this conditional world due to their not being Krsna conscious
- One who is pandita, one who is learned, sees all living entities to be on an equal level. Therefore, because a Vaisnava, or devotee, is learned, he is compassionate (lokanam hita-karinau), and he can work in such a way as to actually benefit humanity
- Only a Vaisnava leader can fulfill all the desires of the people (vancha-kalpataru), and he is compassionate because he is the contributor of the greatest benefit to human society. He is patita-pavana, the deliverer of all fallen souls
P
- Pariksit Maharaja was a Vaisnava (devotee), and a Vaisnava always feels compassion for others' distress. For instance, when Lord Jesus Christ appeared, he was greatly aggrieved by the miserable conditions of the people
- Pariksit Maharaja was the emperor and was full in power both spiritually and materially, but out of compassion and out of respect for the brahmana community, he did not counteract the action of the brahmana boy but agreed to die within seven days
- Pariksit Maharaja, being compassionate toward the conditioned souls suffering in hellish life, suggested that Sukadeva Gosvami continue describing the path of liberation
- Prahlada has compassion for such people (who are unnecessarily working so hard simply for the gratification of the senses): naitan vihaya krpanan vimumuksa eko. My Lord, I do not need salvation alone. Unless I take all these fools with me, I shall not go
- Prahlada Maharaja is the topmost example of a Vaisnava, who is always compassionate toward sinful persons suffering a hellish life within this material world
S
- Serious interest in the welfare of the public makes one a bona fide acarya. An acarya does not exploit his followers. Since the acarya is a confidential servitor of the Lord, his heart is always full of compassion for humanity in its suffering
- Since the Lord is perpetually compassionate towards them, if some of His devotees also become compassionate towards them, He is very pleased with the devotees
- Sri Maitreya Muni, out of compassion for the suffering men in the world, proposes to speak on the Srimad-Bhagavatam first and last
T
- Taking compassion upon the boy (Narada), the Vaisnavas offered him the remnants of their food. By serving them and obeying their orders, the boy became the object of their sympathy, and by the Vaisnavas’ unknown mercy, he gradually became a pure devotee
- The devotee's desirable qualities are described to be twenty-six in number. They are stated as follows: He is very grave, very compassionate and very friendly; he is poetic; he is expert in all activities, and he is silent in nonsense
- The Lord's pure devotees, however, take compassion upon such unfortunate persons & try to persuade them into the line of devotional service. Only by the grace of pure devotees can such unfortunate men be elevated to the position of transcendental service
- The mistake of materialistic life is understood by devotees, and they smile upon it, considering it insignificant. Out of compassion, however, such devotees preach the gospel of Bhagavad-gita all over the world
- The preacher has to take compassion upon such innocent people who do not know how to worship the Lord
- The pure devotee should execute devotional service by giving the greatest respect to the spiritual master and the acaryas. He should be compassionate to the poor and make friendship with persons who are his equals
- The second-class devotee is he who is merciful and compassionate to the fallen soul
- The secret of success is unknown to people in general, and therefore Srila Vyasadeva, being compassionate toward the poor souls in this material world, especially in this age of Kali, has given us the Srimad-Bhagavatam
- These are the preachings of a sadhu. He is not satisfied with his own liberation. He always thinks about others. He is the most compassionate personality towards all the fallen souls
- These qualities of a devotee, twenty-six in number, are listed as follows: (17) does not eat more than required, (18) sane, (19) respectful, (20) humble, (21) grave, (22) compassionate, (23) friendly, (24) poetic, (25) expert, (26) silent
- They (preachers) are actually fighting for Krsna's sake, and they are certainly more compassionate. Those sadhus who leave Vrndavana to go fight in the world, to spread Krsna consciousness, are superior sadhus
- They (the devotees) receive special favor from the Lord for their compassionate work that they can even go back to Godhead in this very lifetime and not be forced to take another birth
- This is a reference to the pure devotees who take compassion on the poor and innocent living entities
- This should be the standard of determination for all Krsna conscious persons. A Krsna conscious person should free himself from the clutches of maya, and he should also be compassionate to all others suffering in those clutches
W
- When a Vaisnava sees mismanagement in the government, he feels great compassion in his heart and tries his best to purify the situation by spreading the Hare Krsna movement
- When in the heart of a devotee there is expectation of some mishap to Krsna it is called devotional service in bereavement. Such bereavement is another symptom of this devotional service in compassion
- When one engages in preaching work, he must distinguish between people and understand that some people are not engaged in the devotional service of the Lord. The preacher then has to take compassion upon such innocent people
- When the Lord saw that His beloved mother was very compassionate towards the fallen souls, He was pleased, and He also became compassionate towards her
- Whenever there is disease in any part of the body, the whole body takes care of the ailing part. Similarly, a devotee's oneness is manifested in His compassion for all conditioned souls
- With similar Vaisnava compassion (as Six Gosvamis), Pariksit Maharaja told Sukadeva Gosvami: You have just described the different types of hellish life. Now, tell me how those who are suffering can be delivered. Kindly explain this to me