Pure Love - an essential subject

Attaining pure love for Krishna (God's Name) is the goal of all revealed scriptures, including the Koran and the Bible. For eg. the Bible tells us "Love thy Lord with all thy heart and all thy soul". Love for Krishna is inherent to the living entities, but, due to forgetfulness of Krishna, is forgotten. This love is awakened again by serving the Lord, because then the Lord reminds the living entity of his eternal relation with Him, at which time the living entity remembers his love for God. This love is very difficult to understand or analyze. Unflinching, simple faith in the Lord is the symptom of pure love, and unconditional surrender (to Krishna) is its manifestation. Such a devotee has no agitation from material affections and is interested only in the service of Radha (the topmost lover of Krishna) and Krishna in Vrindavana (the original, primeval abode of God). Elevation to this stage of ecstasy is possible in two ways, 1. by constant association with pure devotees (of Krishna), which is obtained only by mercy, whereby one starts to perform devotional activities under the influence of that association and eventually attracts the attention or Krishna or His devotee, who bestow that love upon the practitioner, and 2. by a special mercy of Krishna or a pure devotee of Krishna, when one is favored even without having any devotional credits. In any case, love can only be given/received, it is never learnt nor achieved (by efforts).

Srila Prabhupada's books, lectures, conversations and letters offer a comprehensive presentation of this essential subject as seen in the Vaniquotes Pure Love category. An introduction from his books is given below in the following 13 quotes.

Quotes from Srila Prabhupada's books


vanipedia.org 		"Then, by hearing about the pure love of the residents of Vraja, devotees will worship Me on the path of spontaneous love, abandoning all rituals of religiosity and fruitive activity." Many realized souls, such as Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī and King Kulaśekhara, have recommended with great emphasis that one develop this spontaneous love of Godhead, even at the risk of transgressing all the traditional codes of morality and religiosity. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 4.33)



vanipedia.org 		The informal language used between lover and beloved is indicative of pure affection. When devotees worship their beloved as the most venerable object, spontaneous loving sentiments are observed to be lacking. A neophyte devotee who follows the Vedic instructions that regulate those who lack pure love of Godhead may superficially seem more exalted than a devotee in spontaneous love of Godhead. But in fact such spontaneous pure love is far superior to regulated devotional service. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 4.26)



vanipedia.org 		Although generally people worship God with reverence, the Lord is more pleased when a devotee thinks of Him as his pet son, personal friend or most dear fiance and renders service unto Him with such natural affection. The Lord becomes a subordinate object of love in such transcendental relationships. Such pure love of Godhead is unadulterated by any tinge of superfluous nondevotional desires and is not mixed with any sort of fruitive action or empiric philosophical speculation. It is pure and natural love of Godhead, spontaneously aroused in the absolute stage. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 4.19)



vanipedia.org 		One who lovingly engages with the Supreme Lord as if he were His mother or father sometimes supersedes the position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Similarly, His fiancee or lover sometimes supersedes the position of the Lord. But such attempts are exhibitions of the highest love. Only out of pure love does the subordinate lover of the Supreme Personality of Godhead chide Him. The Lord, enjoying this chiding, takes it very nicely. The exhibition of natural love makes such activities very enjoyable. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 4.26)



vanipedia.org 		Sometimes loving ecstasy transcends regulative principles; such ecstasy, however, is completely on the spiritual platform and cannot be imitated. The regulative principles help ordinary devotees rise to the stage of perfect love of Godhead. Pure love for Kṛṣṇa is the perfection of pure devotion, and pure devotional service is identical with spontaneous devotional service. Flawless execution of regulative principles is exhibited in the Vaikuṇṭha planets. By strictly executing these principles one can be elevated to the Vaikuṇṭha planets. But spontaneous pure loving service is found in Kṛṣṇaloka alone. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 4.21-22)



vanipedia.org 		When natural love arises, all regulative methods are surpassed, and pure love is exhibited between the Lord and the devotee. Although on such a platform of love the devotee sometimes appears to predominate over the Lord or transgress regulative principles, such dealings are far more advanced than ordinary dealings through regulative principles with awe and veneration. A devotee who is actually free from all designations due to complete attachment in love for the Supreme exhibits spontaneous love for Godhead, which is always superior. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 4.26)



vanipedia.org 		Those who are liberated from the bondage of conditioned life are elevated to the spiritual world, where they achieve five kinds of liberation—sāyujya, sālokya, sārūpya, sārṣṭi and sāmīpya (CC Madhya 6.266). They personally associate with the Lord in five mellows—śānta, dāsya, sakhya, vātsalya and mādhurya. These rasas are all emanations from Kṛṣṇa. As described by Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, the original mellow, ādi-rasa, is conjugal love. Kṛṣṇa is the origin of pure and spiritual conjugal love. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.9.45)



vanipedia.org 		The author of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta advises everyone to give up all engagements of sense gratification and, like the gopīs, dovetail oneself entirely with the will of the Supreme Lord. That is the ultimate instruction of Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā. We should be prepared to do anything and everything to please the Lord, even at the risk of violating the Vedic principles or ethical laws. That is the standard of love of Godhead. Such activities in pure love of Godhead are as spotless as white linen that has been completely washed. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 4.170)



vanipedia.org 		By looking at the beautiful gopīs Kṛṣṇa becomes enlivened, and this enlivens the gopīs, whose youthful faces and bodies blossom. This competition of increasing beauty between the gopīs and Kṛṣṇa, which is without limitations, is so delicate that sometimes mundane moralists mistake these dealings to be purely amorous. But these affairs are not at all mundane, because the gopīs' intense desire to satisfy Kṛṣṇa surcharges the entire scene with pure love of Godhead, with not a spot of sexual indulgence. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 4.195)



vanipedia.org 		The love of the predominated nourishes the love of the predominator. The gopīs had no desire for selfish enjoyment. Their feeling of happiness was indirect, for it was dependent on the pleasure of Kṛṣṇa. Causeless love of Godhead is always so. Such pure love is possible only when the predominated is made happy by the happiness of the predominator. Such unadulterated love is exemplified when the lover deprecates her happiness in service that hinders her from discharging it. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 4.200-201)



vanipedia.org 		It is stated that a devotee will at once develop pure love of Kṛṣṇa in the wake of the gopīs if he once takes a bath in Rādhā-kuṇḍa. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī recommends that even if one cannot live permanently on the banks of Rādhā-kuṇḍa, he should at least take a bath in the lake as many times as possible. This is a most important item in the execution of devotional service. (Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 11)



vanipedia.org 		When one becomes a pure devotee in love, he may also be blessed with a good material position by the will of the Supreme Lord. However, one should not mistakenly think that the material opulence of a devotee is the result of his devotional service. The real result of devotional service is the awakening of pure love for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, which continues under all circumstances. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.24.19)



vanipedia.org 		Kṛṣṇa was smiling because He was thinking to Himself, "These two young demigods fell from the higher planetary system to this planet, and I have delivered them from the bondage of standing for a long time as trees, but as for Me, I am bound by the ropes of the gopīs and am subject to their chastisements." In other words, Kṛṣṇa submits to being chastised and bound by the gopīs because of pure love and affection worthy of being praised by a devotee in so many ways. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.10.39)


Pure Love - 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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