Category:God and His Devotees
Theme Analysis
The ultimate spiritual reality is not a static, formless void, but a dynamic, eternal relationship between the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His pure devotees. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that while mundane scholars and impersonalists strive to merge into the Brahman effulgence, they completely miss the beauty of bhakti-yoga—the reciprocal exchange of love in various transcendental mellows like servitorship, friendship, parenthood, and conjugal love. Although the Supreme Lord is entirely self-sufficient and the master of all creation, He finds supreme bliss in becoming subordinate to the love of His devotees. He willingly accepts their chastisement, begs for their food, and purposefully arranges situations to give them more glory than Himself. These intimate dealings are never to be considered material; they are completely transcendental to the laws of karma and represent the highest perfection of spiritual existence.
- The Exchange of Love: The essence of spiritual life is a personal relationship. Devotees do not desire to merge into God; they desire to serve, talk, and dance with Him in eternal loving reciprocation.
- The Lord's Willing Dependence: Though unconquerable by vast intelligence or mundane power, the Supreme Lord is easily conquered by submissive love, happily accepting a dependent role to please His pure servants.
- Intimate Reciprocations: Because everyone approaches God with reverence, He relishes the intimate affections of His devotees, taking more pleasure in being treated as a child or friend than as the supreme creator.
- Divine Partiality: Out of His causeless mercy, the Lord is openly partial to His devotees. He actively takes their side and frequently manipulates circumstances to ensure they receive ultimate credit and glorification.
- A Transcendental Reality: The mutual attachment between God and the living entity is not a product of material illusion. It is a factual, spiritual dynamic that occurs entirely beyond the jurisdiction of material nature.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: The Beauty of the God's Dealings With His Devotees.
Subcategories
This category has the following 224 subcategories, out of 224 total.
A
B
C
E
G
I
K
N
P
R
S
T
Pages in category "God and His Devotees"
The following 94 pages are in this category, out of 94 total.
A
- A devotee in this state becomes very eager to learn of the transcendental qualities of the Lord. The most important business of such a devotee is attaining the association of the Lord
- A devotee of the Lord never prays to the Lord to appear for the sake of the troubles the miscreants cause for him, and he never bothers Him by asking for protection
- A disparity exists in the original reality - between the Lord and His devotees - and is reflected here not only in the relations between parents and children in human society but even in the animal kingdom
- According to the monists, God and the devotee may be separate in the material state, but when they are spiritually situated, there is no difference between them. This is called advaita-siddhanta, the conclusion of the monists
- Actually, in the Brahman effulgence there is no chance for reciprocation of loving ecstasy between the Lord and the devotee
- All the relatives of the Lord are His devotees only, and they are situated in different transcendental mellows as friends, parents, and lovers
- Although He (the Supreme Personality of Godhead) is full in Himself, He nonetheless becomes pleased when His devotee offers Him patram puspam phalam toyam (BG 9.26) - a leaf, flower, fruit or water - in devotion
- As an ideal husband, Lord Jagannatha remained fifteen days in a secluded place with His wife, the supreme goddess of fortune. Nonetheless, the Lord wanted to come out of seclusion to give happiness to His devotees
- As for the word maya, when used in reference to the dealings of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His devotees, this word means affection
- As the owner of all transcendental opulences, the Lord displays His partiality by taking the side of His devotees
B
- Because He (The Lord) is very merciful and is bhakta-vatsala, very favorable to the devotees, He certainly eats whatever they offer Him with love and devotion. This quality should not be misjudged to be childish
- 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
- Bhagavata means pertaining to God and His devotees. That is called bhagavata. Just like this book is called Bhagavata because it deals only with the subject matter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, nothing more
- Bhagavata-dharma means the relationship between the devotees and the Lord. The Lord is Bhagavan and the devotee is bhagavata, or in relationship with Bhagavan
- Bhakti-yoga means that the Lord is there, the devotee is there and the activity of exchange of love between the Lord and the devotee is there. BG 1972 purports
D
- Demigods means those who are devotee of the Lord. Visnu-bhakto bhaved daivah. Visnu-bhakta: the all-pervasive Supreme Personality of Godhead and His devotee. The Godhead is called deva, and his devotees are called daiva
- Demons do not like such activity (devotional service). They are always envious of God and His devotees
- Devotional service to the Lord is very simple: one should always engage in the service of the Lord, observe the fasting days commemorating the appearances and disappearances of the Lord and His devotees. BG 1972 purports
- Dharma is transcendental. As Lord Sri Krsna teaches, we must give up all other systems of religion and simply surrender unto Him. Thus the Lord & His devotees and representatives teach the transcendental dharma, which does not allow animal-killing at all
E
- Even though the Supreme Personality of Godhead is endowed with all possessions and is self-sufficient, He depends on His devotees
- Everyone worships the Supreme Lord with great reverence; therefore the Lord sometimes wants to enjoy the chastisement of His devotees. In this way the relationship eternally existing between the Lord and His devotees is fixed, just like the sky overhead
- Everything is actually done according to the will & direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but to make His devotee Dhruva the most important individual within the universe, the Lord has placed the activities of the time factor under his control
- Everything is done by Krsna, but Krsna . . . and Arjuna is devotee. As the devotee wants to serve Krsna, similarly, Krsna also wants to give credit to His devotee. That is the business between the Lord and His devotee
H
I
- If anyone hears about the activities of the Lord's devotee, he can achieve the same result. There is no difference between the activities and character of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and those of His pure devotees
- If the Lord Himself instructs the devotee, how can he remain foolish like the mundane wranglers
- Illusioned mundaners cannot understand the transcendental and reciprocal relationship between the Lord and His devotees, and therefore they want to lord it over material nature or cynically merge with the Absolute
- In bhakti-yoga there is a relationship established between the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the devotee. Such a relationship is established in the transcendental mellows known as dasya, sakhya, vatsalya and madhurya
- In that exchange of service (between the devotee and God) there are many transcendental transactions, which are called transcendental qualitative activities
- In the spiritual sky there are spiritual planets known as Vaikunthas, which are the residence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His pure devotees and are worshiped by the residents of all the material planets
- It is advised that one read them (the life and history of Prthu Maharaja) at least three times. Those who are materially afflicted will so benefit by hearing of the Supreme Lord and His devotees that they need not go to any demigod
- It is said that He (Krsna) is the ocean of all the relationships exchanged between two living entities, between the gods, or between the Supreme Lord and His devotees. BG 1972 purports
S
- Since the Lord is absolute, there is no difference between His activities of killing the miscreants and favoring the devotees
- Sometimes He (the Lord) is buried in the earth, and as if unable to come out Himself, He requests His devotee to rescue Him
- Sometimes He (the Lord) requests His devotee to preach His glories all over the world, although He alone is quite competent to perform this task
- Sometimes He (the Lord) tells His devotee in a dream that His temple and His garden are now very old and that He cannot enjoy them very nicely. Thus He requests the devotee to repair them
- Sometimes the Lord informs the devotee through dreams. These exchanges of feelings between the Deity and the devotee are not understandable by atheists, but actually the devotee enjoys them
- Sometimes the Lord, as the child of mother Yasoda, requests His devotee for some food, as if He were very hungry
- Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura says that both the Supreme Lord and His devotee are rasa jna, full of transcendental humor
- Srimad-Bhagavatam describes the glories of the Lord and His devotees. Because the whole subject matter is the glorification of the Lord, naturally the glorification of His devotees automatically follows
- Srimad-Bhagavatam is filled with descriptions of the characteristics of various devotees, with reference to the service of the Lord. This Vedic literature is called Bhagavatam because it deals with the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His devotee
- Srimad-Bhagavatam is full of the transcendental topics of the Personality of Godhead and His pure devotees. In the absolute world there is no difference in quality between the Supreme Lord and His pure devotee
- Srimad-Bhagavatam is the book of knowledge which is dealing with the Supreme Personality of Godhead with His different devotees. That is called Bhagavata
- Such manifestations of the transcendental forms of the Lord are accepted by Him mostly to enliven His devotees. All His incarnations are manifested whenever there is a need to deliver His devotees and maintain His own principles
T
- That a devotee should come into an atheistic family is surprising, but it is simply a show. After finishing their mock fighting, both the devotee and the Lord are again associated in the spiritual planets
- That is the beauty of the Lord's dealings with His devotees; sometimes the Lord gives more credit to His devotees than He takes for Himself
- That the Lord can manifest Himself before His devotees by His inconceivable power is not against the teaching of the Pancaratras
- The adjustment is that the Lord, being bhakta-vatsala, or one who wants to please His devotees, assumes such features so that devotees like Lord Brahma, Lord Siva and other demigods may be pleased
- The impersonalists misunderstand the statements of Srimad-Bhagavatam to mean that the Lord entered His own effulgence and therefore become impersonal. But the Lord is a person, and His devotees are persons
- The Lord and His devotees are always transcendental to the modes of material nature. Persons who are completely Krsna conscious are very rare and very peaceful
- The Lord and His devotees simultaneously perceive the hladini potency directly by the power of the samvit potency
- The Lord and His pure devotees are always beyond the range of Maya's action. Even though they appear like action of Maya, we should understand their action of Yogamaya or the internal potency of the Lord
- The Lord and the devotees both conquer. The Lord is conquered by the devotees, and the devotees are conquered by the Lord. Because of being conquered by one another, they both derive transcendental bliss from their relationship
- The Lord appears as the son of His devotee by His param bhavam. The word bhava refers to the stage of pure love, which has nothing to do with material transactions
- The Lord derives transcendental pleasure by accepting services from His various grades of devotees, who are situated in various grades of rasas
- The Lord is here (in BG 9.29) stated to be partial to the devotees. This is the manifestation of the Lord's special mercy to the devotees. BG 1972 purports
- The Lord is so kind that He gives shelter to everyone - both impersonalists and devotees
- The Lord is the guide of all devotees, and as such, Sukadeva Gosvami offered Him due respects with love-laden feelings
- The Lord is very fond of devotees, or brahmanas. This does not refer to so-called caste brahmanas, but to qualified brahmanas
- The Lord likes to be under the control of His devotees
- The Lord promises herein (SB 3.25.39-40) that He takes His devotee to the other side of birth and death
- The Lord's reciprocation should not be considered to be under the law of karma. It belongs to the transcendental situation in which the Lord and His devotees function. 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 particular form of the Lord exhibited to a devotee is not mundane, even though the devotee may retain material desire, nor is it manifest under the influence of material energy, as is foolishly considered by the impersonalists
- The scripture known as Brahma-tarka states that the Supreme Lord Hari is qualified by Himself, and therefore Visnu and His pure devotees and their transcendental qualities cannot be different from their persons
- The sixty-four regulative principles (of devotional service) are as follows: (21) To hear about the Lord. (22) To chant His glories. (23) To remember Him. (24) To serve and meditate upon the lotus feet of the Lord and His devotees. (25) To worship Him
- The specific mention of the word gavam by Prthu Maharaja is significant because the Lord is always associated with cows and His devotees. In pictures Lord Krsna is always seen with cows and His associates such as the cowherd boys and the gopis
- The Supreme Lord bestows upon His pure devotee the inconceivable power that allows him to stay aloof from all mundane circumstances and reside eternally in the spiritual world
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead is so kind and loves His devotee Maharaja Dhruva so much that He has placed all the luminaries under the control of Dhruva's planet and has arranged for the time factor to work under him or with his cooperation
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead Vasudeva can accept offerings from His devotees of the results of their prescribed duties
- The transcendental devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is so ecstatic that even the Lord Himself plays the part of a devotee
- The word prabhu, or master, indicates that the Lord is to be continuously served by His devotee
- There are many instances of harassment of the peaceful devotees by the itaras. When such friction takes place, God, out of His great compassion towards His pure devotees, appears in person, accompanied by His plenary portions controlling the mahat-tattva
- There is an unlimited oneness of interest between the Lord and His devotee
- There is continuous transcendental competition between the Lord and His devotees by such reciprocation of service and acknowledgement
- There is no misuse by God or His devotee. There is no question of . . . that the devotee or God should not be angry; but they know how to use it. That is the difference. As God knows where to use anger, similarly, devotee should know where to use anger
- There is no possibility of a misunderstanding between the Lord and the devotees, but when there are discrepancies or disruptions between one devotee and another, one has to suffer the consequences, although that suffering is temporary
- There is steady stand in Bhakti cult because in this cult God is there, the devotee is there and the devotional service activities are there, and when they are joined together that makes us able to stand on the Absolute platform
- These transcendental rasas (between God and his devotees) are pervertedly reflected in the material atmosphere, and thus the spiritual living being, out of ignorance only, vainly seeks the same bliss in matter
- They (God and his devotees) are mukta-purusas, liberated persons, under all circumstances
- They (King Prthu's reciters) were very pleased with the King, who, although actually an incarnation of God, was so humble and delightful in his dealings with devotees
- This attitude of the Lord was due to His unlimited quantity of transcendental qualities. His cheerful attitude towards the devotees was so pleasing and heart-touching that His very smile was attractive for them
- This verse (CC Adi 1.49) of the Bhagavad-gita (BG 10.10) clearly states how Govindadeva instructs His bona fide devotee
W
- When Arjuna inquired from Krsna how He could remember incidents that had taken place so long ago, the Lord answered that Arjuna was also present at that time
- When the living entity is enlightened by the grace of the Supreme Lord or His pure devotee and becomes inclined to revive his original state of loving service, he is on the most auspicious platform of eternal bliss and knowledge
- When the Lord wants to take pleasure in pastimes, He comes down to this material world and acts like a human being, thus showing His wonderful, glorious activities to please the devotees
- Why God should not be angry? He must be angry. But He is angry on the nondevotee, not on His devotee. On the demons He is angry