Empowered Devotees of God

The mission of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is executed in the material world through His empowered devotees. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that while the Lord is omnipotent, He chooses to invest His potency into specific surrendered souls to preach His glories and deliver the fallen. This article explores the unique qualifications of the empowered devotee, their specific functions such as writing and preaching, the humility they maintain despite their power, and the strict etiquette required when dealing with such exalted personalities.

The Power to Deliver and Preach

The primary symptom of an empowered devotee is their ability to spread the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and deliver sinful souls. Śrīla Prabhupāda cites the principle that without the specific power of Kṛṣṇa (kṛṣṇa-śakti), one cannot spread the holy name worldwide. Such devotees act as authorized representatives, carrying the mercy of the Lord to places and people that are otherwise inaccessible.

• As stated in the Caitanya-caritamrta (CC Antya 7.11), krsna-sakti vina nahe tara pravartana: Unless a devotee is specifically empowered by God, he cannot preach the holy name of the Lord all over the world. This is an explanation of the word avesa-rupa.
• A pure devotee like Narada can give assurance to any sinful man because by the grace of the Lord such a devotee is empowered to deliver any sinful person if that person follows the principles set forth.
• Devotional service to the Lord is so powerful that it can cleanse the hearts of the people in general by the devotional service of the pure, empowered devotee.
• The Personality of Godhead always does good for one and all, by empowering His devotees to preach and propagate the transcendental process of devotional service to Godhead everywhere in accord with the specific time, place, and audience.

Higher Duties: Writing and Establishing Principles

While all service to the Lord is absolute, Śrīla Prabhupāda makes a distinction between the duties of neophytes and those of advanced, empowered devotees. He notes that while constructing temples is important for engaging the general public, the specific business of empowered souls is often to write books, publish literature, and establish the philosophical conclusions of the sampradāya.

• Temple construction is meant for the general populace and neophyte devotees, but the business of advanced and empowered devotees is to write books, publish them and distribute them widely.
• Sanatana Gosvami was empowered to establish the cult of Vaisnavism.
• Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya was undoubtedly a great scholar, and after receiving the causeless mercy of the Lord, he was empowered to explain the Lord's activities in different ways. Indeed, he was able to express the method of chanting Hare Krsna Maha-mantra.

Humility and Divine Inspiration

A defining characteristic of an empowered devotee is their humility. Even though they may perform extraordinary feats, they do not take credit for themselves. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that they feel themselves to be the lowest of men, understanding that their actions are dictated by the inspiration of the Lord within the heart.

• An empowered devotee sees and feels himself to be the lowest of men, for he knows that whatever he does is due to the inspiration given by the Lord in the heart. This is confirmed by Lord Krsna in the Bhagavad-gita - BG 10.10.
• A sincere devotee can therefore be empowered by the Lord regardless of his situation. In the preceding verse (CC Madhya 19.134) from the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, Srila Rupa Gosvami has described how he was personally empowered by the Lord.

Etiquette: Avoiding Offenses

Because empowered devotees act under the direct protection and inspiration of the Supreme Lord, it is dangerous to view them with a mundane vision. Śrīla Prabhupāda warns that one should never be jealous of an empowered Vaiṣṇava, nor should one attempt to correct or advise them. Such offenses can destroy one's spiritual life.

• Everyone should therefore be very careful not to be jealous of an empowered Vaisnava, or a suddha-vaisnava.
• It is also an offense to consider an empowered Vaisnava an object of disciplinary action. It is offensive to try to give him advice or to correct him.
• Narada Muni, Haridasa Thakura and similar acaryas especially empowered to broadcast the glories of the Lord cannot be brought down to the material platform. Therefore one is strictly forbidden to think that the acarya is an ordinary human being.

Conclusion

The empowered devotee is a manifestation of the Lord's causeless mercy upon the conditioned souls. By empowering His servants, the Lord makes Himself accessible. Whether through writing, preaching, or establishing religious principles, these great souls act as transparent mediums. Śrīla Prabhupāda concludes that the duty of the intelligent person is not to criticize or envy such empowered beings, but to follow their instructions, as this is the surest path to understanding the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

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