Depending on Krishna - an essential subject

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Depending on Lord Krishna (God's Name) for one's protection and sustenance is one of the principles of complete surrender to God. Krishna has stated in the Bhagavad Gita that He will protect His surrendered devotee, maintaining what he has and providing what he lacks. To the degree one depends on Krishna, to that degree the Lord protects him. A brahmana (a person who works as per the directives of the religious scriptures without expecting money or any other kind of material gain) depends on Krishna for all his material needs, and consequently Krishna provides them. But a devotee does not bother Krishna for any material shortcoming. He only asks for service (to God), because his only business is to please Krishna. Consequently, Krishna becomes pleased with him, and as He cannot reciprocate with the service attitude of such a devotee, He gives Himself to that devotee. Thus, a pure devotee of Krishna depends completely on His mercy, begging for His service, and in return gets a personal relation with Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada's books, lectures, conversations and letters offer a comprehensive presentation of this essential subject as seen in the Vaniquotes Depending on Krishna 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 of Nārāyaṇa is never afraid of any material danger. There are many examples of devotees such as Prahlāda Mahārāja, who was tortured by his father but was not at all afraid, although he was only a five-year-old boy. Therefore, following the examples of Ambarīṣa Mahārāja and Prahlāda Mahārāja, a devotee should learn how to tolerate all such awkward positions in this world. Devotees are often tortured by nondevotees, yet the pure devotee, depending fully on the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is never disturbed by such inimical activities. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 9.4.47)



vanipedia.org 		Being disgusted with family life, one separates from the family by divorce or some other means. If one has to separate, why not separate willingly? Systematic separation is better than forced separation. Forced separation cannot make anyone happy, but by mutual consent or by the Vedic arrangement one must separate from his family affairs at a certain age and fully depend on Kṛṣṇa. This makes one's life successful. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.13.8)



vanipedia.org 		The source of our income is not actually the source of our maintenance. Every living being—from the great Brahmā down to an insignificant ant—is being maintained by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān. The one Supreme Being, Kṛṣṇa, maintains everyone. Our so-called source of income is our own choice only. If I wish to be a hunter, it will appear that hunting is the source of my maintenance. If I become a brāhmaṇa and completely depend on Kṛṣṇa, I do not conduct a business, but nonetheless my maintenance is supplied by Kṛṣṇa. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 24.257)



vanipedia.org 		If one always remains a servant of Kṛṣṇa and engages everything in His service, one is accepted as jīvan-mukta, a liberated soul, even during his lifetime within the material world. Generally liberation takes place after one gives up this body, but one who lives according to the example of Pṛthu Mahārāja is liberated even in this lifetime. In Kṛṣṇa consciousness the results of one's activities depend on the will of the Supreme Person. Indeed, in all cases the result is not dependent on one's own personal dexterity but is completely dependent on the will of the Supreme. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.22.51)



vanipedia.org 		A kṛṣṇa-bhakta has no desire for his own personal benefit. He is completely protected by the Supreme. Avaśya rakṣibe kṛṣṇa viśvāsa pālana. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says that he is desireless because Kṛṣṇa will give him protection in all circumstances. It is not that he expects any assistance from Kṛṣṇa; he simply depends on Kṛṣṇa just as a child depends on his parents. The child does not know how to expect service from his parents, but he is always protected nevertheless. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 19.149)



vanipedia.org 		Lakṣmīdevī advises all devotees who approach the Lord with material desires that according to her practical experience, the Lord is Kāmadeva, and thus there is no need to ask Him for anything material. She says that everyone should simply serve the Lord without any motive. Since the Supreme Personality of Godhead is sitting in everyone's heart, He knows everyone's thoughts, and in due course of time He will fulfill all desires. Therefore let us completely depend on the service of the Lord without bothering Him with our material requests. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.18.21)



vanipedia.org 		One should depend only on the causeless mercy of the Lord for deliverance and not even slightly on one's own strength. That is the perfect position of a Kṛṣṇa conscious person. The Lord is everyone's friend, but He is especially friendly to the surrendered soul. The simple process, therefore, is that a conditioned soul should remain surrendered to the Lord, and the Lord will give him all protection to keep him out of the clutches of material contamination. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.7.30)



vanipedia.org 		Victory is always with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As for the subordinate living entities, they fight under the arrangement of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Victory or defeat is not actually theirs; it is an arrangement by the Lord through the agency of material nature. Pride in victory, or moroseness in defeat, is useless. One should fully depend on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is responsible for the victory and defeat of all living entities. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.12.7)



vanipedia.org 		Real renunciation means perfect dependence on God. Every living being is dependent on someone else because he is so made. Actually everyone is dependent on the mercy of the Supreme Lord, but when one forgets his relation with the Lord, he becomes dependent on the conditions of material nature. Renunciation means renouncing ones dependence on the conditions of material nature and thus becoming completely dependent on the mercy of the Lord. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.18.22)



vanipedia.org 		In the Bhagavad-gītā the Lord has clearly promised that His devotees are never to be vanquished. And He behaves according to the quality or degree of the devotional service rendered by the devotees. Here the word ananya-viṣayātmanām is significant. The Pāṇḍavas were cent percent dependent on the protection of the Lord, although they were all great warriors themselves. But the Lord neglects even the greatest warriors and also vanquishes them in no time. When the Lord saw that there was no time for the Pāṇḍavas to counteract the brahmāstra of Aśvatthāmā, He took up His weapon even at the risk of breaking His own vow. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.8.13)


Depending on Krishna - 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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