The Humble Considerations of a Devotee of God
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains the unique, transcendental worldview of a pure Vaiṣṇava. By studying his instructions, we can understand how a devotee considers impersonal liberation to be hellish, views material reversals as the Lord's special mercy, and maintains a state of absolute humility in all circumstances.
Rejecting Impersonal Liberation
For a pure devotee, the goal of life is not to extinguish one's existence, but to engage in eternal loving service to the Supreme Lord. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that a devotee considers merging into the Lord's impersonal effulgence (kaivalya) to be suicidal and worse than hell.
- A devotee is especially adverse to merging into the existence of the Lord and losing his individual identity. Indeed, a devotee considers oneness with the Lord to be hellish.
- For a devotee, kaivalya-sukha, or merging into the existence of the Lord, is hellish because the bhakta considers it suicidal to lose his individuality and merge into the effulgence of Brahman.
- If one is destined to remain in the Lord’s impersonal effulgence, he misses the opportunity to render service to the Personality of Godhead. Therefore devotees consider remaining in the impersonal Brahman effulgence a kind of punishment.
Seeing Mercy in Material Distress
When ordinary people face suffering, they often become angry with God and blame Him for their misfortune. Conversely, Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that an advanced devotee patiently tolerates distress, humbly considering it a minimized reaction to their own past misdeeds and a special blessing from the Supreme Lord.
- A true devotee of the Lord always considers these sufferings (becoming diseased, impoverished, or disappointed by life's events) to be due to past sinful activities, and thus without becoming disturbed he patiently awaits the mercy of the Supreme Lord.
- An advanced devotee does not distinguish between happiness and distress. As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (SB 10.14.8): When a devotee is in a condition of so-called distress, he considers it a gift or blessing from the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- The knower of the Absolute Truth 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.
The Supreme Value of Pure Association
A sincere devotee places no value on material opulence, wealth, or elevation to the heavenly planets. Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that the true wealth of a Vaiṣṇava is the opportunity to associate with and serve other pure devotees of the Lord, considering it superior to any material gain.
- A pure devotee considers a moment's association with another pure devotee to be far superior to residing in a heavenly planet or merging in the Brahman effulgence.
- He (the pure devotee) considers promotion to heavenly planets (tridasa-pur) just another kind of phantasmagoria.
- Srila Rupa Gosvami has said that the position of a devotee is so superexcellent that a devotee does not consider any material opulence worth having.
The Absolute Humility of a Vaiṣṇava
Spiritual advancement is intrinsically characterized by a deep, genuine sense of humility. Śrīla Prabhupāda points out that no matter how exalted a pure devotee becomes, they never proudly consider themselves liberated; instead, they view themselves as unfit, sinful, and simply the servant of the servant of Kṛṣṇa.
- At any moment all one's material opulence can be finished; therefore a devotee is never proud of such opulence. He is always humble and meek, considering himself lower than a piece of straw. Because of this, he is eligible to return home, back to Godhead.
- He (Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami) considers himself unqualified, lower than the worms in stool, and more sinful than Jagai and Madhai. A pure Vaisnava actually thinks of himself in this way.
- The pure devotee never thinks that he is fit for liberation. Considering his past life and his mischievous activities, he thinks that he is fit to be sent to the lowest region of hell.
- Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has instructed that an unalloyed devotee should consider himself a servant of the servant of the servant of the Supreme Lord. In Vaisnava philosophy, one should not even become a direct servant.
Conclusion
Śrīla Prabhupāda reveals that the inner life and considerations of a pure Vaiṣṇava are vastly different from those of ordinary conditioned souls. While materialists seek bodily comforts and impersonalists desire to eradicate their individuality by merging into the Supreme, a true devotee considers such liberation to be suicidal. A devotee’s only desire is to render loving service to the Lord. Therefore, when faced with severe distress or setbacks, they do not protest; instead, they humbly consider the suffering to be the Lord's mercy and a minimized reaction to their past misdeeds. Grounded in profound humility, advanced devotees consider themselves lower than the straw in the street, desiring only the association of other pure souls and the opportunity to act as the servant of the servant of God.
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 Considerations of a Devotee of God. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.