Agitation of a Devotee of God Becomes Ecstatic When Centered on Kṛṣṇa
A devotee of God is not meant to be disturbed by ordinary material reverses. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that real devotional steadiness comes from shelter in Kṛṣṇa, not from numbness or emotional suppression. The same word “agitation” can therefore indicate two different realities: material disturbance caused by passion and fear, or spiritual movement caused by ecstatic love. When agitation is centered on Kṛṣṇa, it becomes part of devotion rather than a symptom of bondage.
Devotees Remain Steady Under Material Reverses
A devotee should not be shaken by difficulty, even when circumstances become severe. This steadiness is not based on pride, denial, or external toughness, but on shelter in the Supreme Lord. The devotee understands that reverses come and go, while service to Kṛṣṇa remains the real purpose of life. Therefore the advanced devotee is compared to a mountain that is not disturbed by torrents of rain.
- A devotee should not be agitated under any circumstances, even in the worst reverses.
- Devotees are compared to high mountains, which are never agitated in any way, even when struck by powerful torrents of rain in the rainy season. Rather, such devotees remain humble in spiritual enlightenment.
- It is also stated in Bhagavad-gita (BG 6.22): yasmin sthito na duhkhena gurunapi vicalyate. Even if he suffers some reversals in life, a devotee is never agitated. Whoever takes shelter of a great soul or a great devotee becomes pacified.
- Money may be offered to a devotee, but he should not struggle to acquire it. If automatically, by the grace of the Supreme, money comes to him, he is not agitated.
Passion and Ignorance Cannot Rule a Mature Devotee
The devotee becomes peaceful because he is not driven by attachment, hatred, lust, or greed. Passion and ignorance agitate ordinary consciousness, but devotional intelligence gives another center. Śrīla Prabhupāda describes devotees as the most intelligent class of persons because they live without being ruled by these lower influences. Such peace is not emptiness; it is the stability that comes from Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
- In SB the devotees are described as nipuna-buddhayah, which means that they are the most intelligent class of men. Uninfluenced by attachment or hatred, the devotee lives very peacefully and is not agitated by the influence of passion and ignorance.
- Cupid himself tried to invoke Lord Siva's lusty desires in the presence of Parvati, but Lord Siva was never agitated. Rather, the blazing fire from Lord Siva's eyes turned Cupid to ashes.
- Lord Siva's desiring to see Lord Visnu reveal the most attractive and beautiful form of a woman (Mohini-murti) was certainly a joking affair. Lord Siva knew that he could not be agitated by any so-called beautiful woman.
- Lord Visnu told Lord Siva, "I will show you My form as a woman (Mohini-murti), and if you become agitated by lusty desires, do not blame Me."
Ecstatic Love Can Agitate the Devotee's Heart
Devotional agitation is completely different from material disturbance. When love for Kṛṣṇa becomes intense, the devotee may cry, laugh, call out loudly, or become moved beyond ordinary composure. These signs do not indicate loss of control in the material sense; they reveal the heart touched by spiritual emotion. Such agitation is meaningful only when centered on the Lord and arising from devotion.
- Lord Caitanya and all His devotees, naturally enthusiastic although agitated, must have made a great noise with their loud cries.
- The Lord replied to Haridasa Thakura, "Please check your humility. Just the sight of your humility very much agitates My mind."
- When a devotee laughs very loudly like a madman, it is done out of an extraordinary agitation of ecstatic love within the heart.
- Thinking that on that day Lord Visnu was not willing to accept his (the brahmana's) food and that he was therefore ordained to fast, the brahmana became greatly agitated and cried aloud, haya haya: "What has been done! What has been done!."
Kṛṣṇa's Sweetness Stirs Devotional Emotion
Kṛṣṇa can agitate the hearts of His devotees not by material temptation, but by His beauty, flute, pastimes, and intimate dealings. The gopīs, the wives of Kāliya, and lovers of Kṛṣṇa experience their minds drawn by His sweetness. This kind of agitation deepens relationship rather than distracting from spiritual life. It shows that devotion is not dry steadiness alone; it is living, responsive love for the all-attractive Lord.
- Krsna-karnamrta (32): O Krsna, O wonderful flute player, the beauty of Your boyhood activities is very wonderful in this world. You know the agitation of my mind, and I know what You are. No one knows how confidential our relationship is.
- The Kaliyanaga's wives addressed Krsna, "My dear cowherd boy, we are all only young wives of the Kaliyanaga, so why do you agitate our minds by sounding Your flute."
- Sometimes, if He gets no opportunity to steal butter or milk from a house, He will be angry at the householders, & for His revenge He will agitate the small children by pinching them. Then, when the children begin crying, Krsna will go away - SB 10.8.29.
- The cowherd men were very much agitated because the child Krsna, after all, had been standing between the two (fallen yamala-arjuna) trees, and if by chance the trees had fallen upon Him, He would have been smashed.
Conclusion
Agitation of a devotee of God becomes ecstatic when it is centered on Kṛṣṇa rather than matter. Material agitation comes from passion, ignorance, fear, lust, greed, and attachment, but the devotee is meant to remain steady like a mountain under reverses. Śrīla Prabhupāda shows that devotional emotion is different: loud crying, humility, laughter, and trembling can arise from love of the Lord. When Kṛṣṇa is the center, agitation no longer binds the mind; it becomes a movement of spiritual affection.
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Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Agitation 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.