Category:Humble Submission
Theme Analysis
Humble submission, or pranipata, is the essential qualification for receiving spiritual knowledge. Srila Prabhupada explains that the challenging spirit—the idea that "I am something" or "I am very important"—must be abandoned before one can approach a spiritual master or the Supreme Lord. This analysis explores how great souls like Kuntidevi, Prthu Maharaja, and even Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu exhibited this quality, presenting themselves as powerless or lower-grade to attract the mercy of the Lord. The process of submission is not a sign of weakness but the gateway to sweet transcendental pleasure and freedom from the influence of maya. By taking "a straw in the mouth" and confessing one's incapacity, the devotee becomes eligible for the favor of the Lord and the Vaisnavas.
- The Method of Inquiry: Spiritual knowledge cannot be understood by challenge; it requires approaching the guru with a submissive attitude, questioning only to learn, not to argue.
- Exemplary Humility: Figures like Kuntidevi, Prahlada Maharaja, and King Prthu demonstrated that regardless of one's material status, one must stand humbly before the Lord and His representatives.
- The Supreme Example: Lord Caitanya, though Krsna Himself, taught the principle of humble submission by declaring that alone He had no power, thereby setting the standard for all followers.
- The Result of Submission: When one submits humbly, even offenses are excused—as seen in the case of King Rahugana and Jada Bharata—and the devotee finds relief from the material energy.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Praṇipātena – The Power of Humble Submission.
Pages in category "Humble Submission"
The following 17 pages are in this category, out of 17 total.
I
- I know something, or I can know the Supreme, by my knowledge. "I am something, I am very important," our process is to forget this first of all. This is called humbleness, submissive
- If you cannot understand, then you have to put questions very humbly, pranipatena, not by challenging. Pranipata. Pranipata means very humbly submitting oneself
- In humble submission the devotee finds such sweet transcendental pleasure that no more he is interested in the nonsense material world and no more he is affected by the influence of the inferior energy, the maya
- In India, when one becomes very humble, submissive, he takes a straw in his mouth. Perhaps you know. Even in the village, still it is going on
- In the same Skanda Purana there is a statement about submission and humbleness. It is stated there - I am so greatly sinful and offensive that when I come to confess my sinful activities before You, I am ashamed
- In the same Skanda Purana there is a statement about submission and humbleness. It is stated there - My dear Lord, there is no sinful living entity who is more of a sinner than myself. Nor is there a greater offender than myself
K
- King Prthu Maharaja. When the Kumaras preached to him about transcendental knowledge, he very humbly submitted, "My dear spiritual master, you have taught me so nice. I require to give you some daksina." Daksina, that is required
- Kuntidevi is humbly submitting: Although He (Krsna) has come to me, materially, as my nephew to offer me respect, but He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- Kuntidevi, by humble submissing that: You are meant for the paramahamsa, for the amalatmanam, for the muninam & who are engaged in bhakti-yoga. And what we are? We are simply woman. We are in the lower grade. How we can understand You? This is humbleness
T
- The author of Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, Srila Rupa Gosvami, very humbly submits that he is just trying to spread Krsna consciousness all over the world, although he humbly thinks himself unfit for this work
- To be puffed up with false learning is a disqualification for accepting the KCM. But here (in CC Adi 16.108) is a special example, for although the poetic champion was a greatly learned scholar, the Lord also favored him because of his humble submission