To Attract Kṛṣṇa's Mercy One Must Be Sincere
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that while we may lack material qualifications or struggle with past conditioning, a genuine, sincere desire to serve Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate key to spiritual success. Sincerity attracts the divine mercy of the Lord, who is seated within the heart as the Supersoul, and prompts Him to provide the necessary intelligence and guidance for the devotee's advancement. It is through this pure, unalloyed sincerity that one can overcome the insurmountable forces of māyā, perfect the devotional practices, and become an empowered instrument in the preaching mission of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Attracting Divine Guidance
Regardless of one's flaws or inexperience, a deeply sincere attitude in devotional service immediately attracts the mercy and inner direction of Kṛṣṇa. Because the Lord is situated in everyone's heart, He perfectly understands our desires and readily supplies the intelligence needed to reach Him if our search is genuine.
- A devotee must be very sincere in his devotional service; then, although there may be many things wrong on the devotee's part, Krsna will guide him and gradually elevate him to the highest position of devotional service.
- Your sincerity will be accepted by Krishna and He will give you intelligence from within. Simply we must be sincere, then everything else will follow automatically.
- He is always with you, so He understands what kind of knowledge you are in search after. So we must be sincere, that we want to know that Absolute Truth. Then you will find out; Krsna will help you.
- By the mercy of guru, by the mercy of Krsna, one can make advancement in spiritual understanding. So one must be sincere. Then every direction is there.
Conquering Material Illusion
The illusory energy, māyā, is impossible to overcome by personal endeavor or mental speculation alone. However, when a conditioned soul sincerely surrenders to the lotus feet of the Lord, Kṛṣṇa's omnipotent grace makes the impossible possible, freeing the devotee from all material contamination.
- Unless we are very sincere, we cannot cope with maya. That is not possible. If you remain a servant of maya, you cannot conquer over maya. You must be very sincere servant of Krsna. Then you can conquer.
- We must be very sincere in surrendering ourselves unto the lotus feet of the Lord. Then we can immediately be liberated from all the bondage of conditioned life. This is clearly expressed in the next verse - SB 9.19.25.
- Impossible thing can be made possible by the grace of Krsna. That is possible - Krsna is all powerful - provided we are serious and sincere. That is the main business. We must be very serious and sincere. Then Krsna will give you intelligence.
- To keep oneself free from material contamination and attain the Lord’s favor, one must be sincerely eager to render service to the Lord. This is the only qualification necessary.
Eagerness in Hearing and Chanting
Mechanical spiritual practice is ineffective; for chanting and hearing to actually transform the heart, the practitioner must be deeply sincere. The processes of śravaṇam and kīrtanam bear fruit only when there is an eager, receptive, and faithful attitude toward the transcendental message.
- Sravanam kirtanam. This is the beginning of. Sraddadhanasya. And one must be very eager or sincere to hear, sraddadhanasya. Sraddha. Then it will be successful.
- The first condition is that the audience must be very sincere and eager to hear. And the speaker must be in the line of disciplic succession from the recognized acarya.
- But who is chanting, he must be a sincere devotee. Then his chanting will be effective. A gramophone machine will not do. He must be realized, then his chanting will be effective.
- You will also be able to understand. It is not very difficult subject. But you must be sincere to understand. That is the only qualification required. That's all.
Serving the Preaching Mission
To effectively spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness and open centers worldwide, devotees must be thoroughly sincere servitors of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Lord Nityānanda. When the preachers are pure and genuine, the Lord provides all necessary facilities and ensures their efforts successfully touch the hearts of others.
- One must simply be a sincere and serious servant of Nityananda Prabhu and preach this cult (of Caitanya) door to door.
- If we propagate sincerely and seriously, as Caitanya Mahaprabhu has ordered, yare dekha, tare kaha 'krsna' upadesa . . . (CC Madhya 7.128). We must be sincere. Then, if we canvass, "Please chant Hare Krsna," it will be effective.
- Simply we, the workers, the servitors, must be very sincere. Then Caitanya Mahaprabhu will give us more and more facilities so that we can work very well. So keep this mission always in view and do your best. That is my only request.
- To open a center for us is not very difficult job. Simply the devotees who volunteer their service must be very serious and sincere.
Working for Kṛṣṇa's Satisfaction
A sincere devotee performs their prescribed duties to the best of their capacity, remaining detached from material results. Whether there is immediate success or apparent failure, the true measure of spiritual advancement is the genuine desire to satisfy the Supreme Lord without any duplicity.
- Karyam means "It is my duty. Doesn't matter what is the result. I must do it sincerely to my best capacity. Then I don't care for the result. Result is in Krsna's hand."
- We want to see good result. Even there is no good result, we don't mind. We must be sincere to Krsna that "We have done our best." That's all. Without cheating Krsna.
- Karmany evadhikaras te ma phalesu kadacana: "You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of actions." One must act sincerely, according to his position. Victory or defeat depends on the Lord.
- It is coming not for my credit or another, anyone credit, Krsna's credit, He is giving. As soon as He sees that "They are working for Me," He'll supply everything, whatever you need. Simply we must be sincere.
Approaching the Spiritual Master
To safely cross the ocean of nescience, one must sincerely associate with pure devotees and faithfully serve the bona fide spiritual master. Sincerity protects a seeker from being cheated by pseudo-incarnations and ensures they receive the authentic mercy of the paramparā.
- Since the spiritual master is the captain (to guide the boat in plying across the ocean of nescience), one must serve the spiritual master very sincerely so that by his mercy one will be able to get the mercy of the Supreme Lord.
- The Indians there are now coming to realize that they have been simply cheated by all the rascal swamis and yogis. So you must be sincere, always strictly following the principles and work with determination and patience.
- Be sincere and hard-working. Then the success is sure. Not to be bewildered, misled by the so-called avatara, incarnation. You see? The so-called avataras, they are simply rascals. Especially in Bengal.
- First of all faith, the next step is to associate with devotees. But devotees must be sincere devotee, otherwise what will be the effect of such asociation? Adau sraddha tatah sadhu-sango. Then, gradually he will be inclined to become one of the devotees.
Conclusion
Sincerity is the bedrock of advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Śrīla Prabhupāda continuously assures us that Kṛṣṇa is not looking for our material expertise, faultless execution, or worldly qualifications; He is simply looking for our sincere desire to serve Him. By adopting a genuine attitude in our hearing, chanting, serving the spiritual master, and preaching efforts, we invite the Lord’s direct intervention in our lives. It is this divine mercy, attracted by our unalloyed sincerity, that empowers us to transcend material illusion and perfect our devotional service.
Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani
Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Must Be Sincere. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.