Activities in Devotional Service - an essential subject

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A conditioned soul under the spell of material nature cannot understand that action performed for personal sense gratification is faulty -- the cause of bewilderment, unlimited anxieties, and misery. Diverting even a little of one's attention toward Krishna and activities in devotional service immediately enables one to achieve a life free from calamity and lamentation. Sincerely engaging in these activities with love is so potent that one becomes enlightened without a doubt. Each and every living creature has a forgotten personal relationship with God. That relationship is revealed through the process of devotional activities, Kṛishna consciousness. Considering this, the highest perfection of charity is to give people immunity from the failures and anxieties of material existence by giving them transcendental knowledge and engaging them in activities in devotional service. Such distribution of knowledge and service is incomparable.

Srila Prabhupada's books, lectures, conversations and letters offer a comprehensive presentation of this essential subject as seen in the Vaniquotes Activities in Devotional Service category. An introduction from his books is given below in the following 10 quotes.

Quotes from Srila Prabhupada's books


vanipedia.org 		A pure devotee, who is attached to the activities of devotional service and who always engages in the service of My lotus feet, never desires to become one with Me. Such a devotee, who is unflinchingly engaged, always glorifies My pastimes and activities. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.25.34)



vanipedia.org 		A pure devotee cuts off the limited ties of affection for his family and widens his activities of devotional service for all forgotten souls. The typical example is the band of six Gosvāmīs, who followed the path of Lord Caitanya. All of them belonged to the most enlightened and cultured rich families of the higher castes, but for the benefit of the mass of population they left their comfortable homes and became mendicants. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.8.41)



vanipedia.org 		A devotee who is actually advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, who is constantly engaged in devotional service, should not manifest himself, even though he has attained perfection. The idea is that he should always continue to act as a neophyte devotee as long as his material body is there. Activities in devotional service under regulative principles must be followed even by the pure devotee. (Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 16)



vanipedia.org 		An intelligent man should cease from the desire for fruitive actions, for by such endeavors one cannot achieve the ultimate goal of life. If one acts without desires for fruitive results—in other words, if one engages in devotional activities—he can achieve the highest goal of life with freedom from miserable conditions. Considering this, one should cease from material desires. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.16.59)



vanipedia.org 		If one wants to know the Supreme Personality of Godhead in truth, one must take to the activities of devotional service. These activities are called sattva or śuddha-sattva. In the material world, activities of goodness, which are symptomatic of a pure brāhmaṇa, are appreciated. But the activities of devotional service are śuddha-sattva; in other words, they are on the transcendental platform. Only by devotional service can one understand the Supreme. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 8.3.11)



vanipedia.org 		In his pure state of existence he (the devotee) is meant to dovetail his activities in devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. He therefore engages himself in the activities of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and becomes naturally unattached to the activities of the material senses, which are all circumstantial and temporary. He knows that his material condition of life is under the supreme control of the Lord; consequently he is not disturbed by all kinds of material reactions, which he considers to be the mercy of the Lord. (Bhagavad-gītā 3.28)



vanipedia.org 		It may be questioned why there is a necessity for initiation or further spiritual activities in devotional service for one who engages in the chanting of the holy name of the Lord. The answer is that although it is correct that one who fully engages in chanting the holy name need not depend upon the process of initiation, generally a devotee is addicted to many abominable material habits due to material contamination from his previous life. In order to get quick relief from all these contaminations, it is required that one engage in the worship of the Lord in the temple. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 7.76)



vanipedia.org 		The atheistic mystic practitioner of yoga cannot understand this perfect knowledge. Only persons who engage in the practical activities of devotional service in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness can become absorbed in full samādhi. It is possible for them to see and understand the actual fact of the entire cosmic manifestation and its cause. It is clearly stated here that this is not possible to understand for one who has not developed devotional service in full faith. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.32.30)



vanipedia.org 		The devotional service of the Lord consists of nine principles of service activities, and they are (1) hearing, (2) chanting, (3) remembering, (4) serving the lotus feet, (5) worshiping, (6) praying, (7) executing the orders, (8) fraternizing, and (9) fully surrendering. Any one of them or all of them are equally competent to award the desired result, but they require to be practiced persistently under the guidance of an expert devotee of the Lord. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.9.43)



vanipedia.org 		Those who are engaged in auspicious activities in devotional service certainly understand that the ultimate enjoyer or beneficiary of all activities is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus when one acts, he offers the results to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and passes life always engaged in the topics of the Lord. Even though such a person may be participating in family life, he is not affected by the results of his actions. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.30.19)


Activities in Devotional Service - explore more within this category.

Vanipedia has now over 903 introductory articles compiled from Srila Prabhupada's books under the series titled Essential Subjects. All these articles can be seen in the Table of Content on the right side of this article and also here in this Umbrella Category. Browse through them to relish the breadth and depth of Srila Prabhupada's teachings - There is a subject for everyone.


   
 

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