Anxieties of a Devotee of God - The Paradox of Transcendental Worry
In the material world, anxiety is a symptom of disease and insecurity. However, Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings reveal that in the realm of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, anxiety takes on an entirely different nature. While a pure devotee is perfectly free from all mundane worries regarding their own maintenance, their heart burns with a dual, transcendental anxiety: a deep compassion for the suffering conditioned souls, and an ecstatic, loving concern for the pleasure and safety of the Supreme Lord Himself.
Freedom from Material Cares
The first symptom of full surrender to Kṛṣṇa is the complete cessation of material anxiety. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that because a pure devotee knows the Supreme Lord is their ultimate maintainer, they do not worry about basic necessities or the dualities of material life. Their peace is absolute, baffling the minds of ordinary materialists.
- The devotees have no anxiety over what will happen next, where they will stay or what they will eat, for everything is maintained and supplied by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has promised, kaunteya pratijanihi na me bhaktah pranasyat - BG 9.31.
- The Lord will never fail to care for His devotees who are fully surrendered unto Him. In any case, the devotee is always protected, and therefore he should not be at all anxious for his maintenance.
- While in material existence, he (the devotee) lives very peacefully and blissfully, without cares and anxieties, and after quitting this body he goes back home, back to Godhead.
- In Los Angeles the neighbors of our temple are sometimes very envious. "You do not work," they say to our Krsna conscious devotees. - You have no anxiety. You have four cars. You are eating so nicely. How is that.
Anxiety for the Conditioned Souls
Although a devotee has no anxiety for their personal well-being, they are not callous. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that a true Vaiṣṇava is consumed by a profound, compassionate anxiety for the deliverance of others. Seeing the conditioned souls suffering in the pursuit of illusory happiness, the devotee's only worry is how to bring them to Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
- He (Prahlada Maharaja) went on to say: I am not very anxious about living in this material world. I have no anxiety for myself because somehow or other I have been trained to be Krsna conscious always.
- Prahlada Maharaja continues: There is only one source of anxiety for me. I am anxious for those who are not Krsna conscious. For myself I have no anxiety, but I am thinking of them.
- Not caring what will happen in the next birth, gross materialists are simply busy enjoying during the present short span of life. A Vaisnava is always anxious to give all such bewildered materialists the real happiness of spiritual bliss.
- According to the statements of Prahlada Maharaja, material enjoyment is maya-sukha, illusory enjoyment. A Vaisnava is full of anxieties for the deliverance of all living entities from such false enjoyment.
Anxious to Serve the Supreme Lord
The very fabric of a devotee's consciousness is woven with the desire to please Kṛṣṇa. Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that a devotee's primary anxiety is how to render better service and how to ensure that not a single moment is wasted on activities unconnected to the Supreme Lord.
- A devotee is always anxious to see that his time is not wasted in anything which is not connected with Krsna. Consequently he does not like the benefits derived from fruitive activity, yogic meditation or the cultivation of knowledge.
- A devotee should not be greedy. It is also recommended that the devotee should be muni, or thoughtful; he should always think of Krsna and how to render better service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That should be his only anxiety.
- He (a devotee) may construct a temple for the Lord, and for that he may take all kinds of anxiety, but he does not construct a big house for his personal relations.
- When the transcendental sound of Krsna's flute is heard, the devotee's anxiety to continue to hear that flute enables him to penetrate the covering of the material world and enter into the spiritual sky.
The Ecstatic Anxieties of Vṛndāvana
In the most exalted stages of devotion, love for God manifests as intense, protective anxiety. In the spiritual realm of Vṛndāvana, the devotees do not view Kṛṣṇa as the all-powerful Creator, but as their vulnerable child or beloved. Śrīla Prabhupāda beautifully describes how Mother Yaśodā was constantly in anxiety over Kṛṣṇa's safety, a symptom of the highest ecstatic love.
- When Yasoda and Rohini were unable to protect the babies (Krsna and Rama) from calamities threatened by monkeys, dogs and cats, and by thorns, swords and other weapons on the ground, they were always in anxiety, and their household engagements were disturbed - Srimad Bhagavatam 10.8.25
- Upon hearing this from Krsna's playmates (that Krsna has eaten earth), mother Yasoda, who was always full of anxiety over Krsna's welfare, picked Krsna up with her hands to look into His mouth and chastise Him - 10.8.33.
- Feeling the child (Krsna) to be as heavy as the entire universe and therefore being anxious, the astonished Yasoda put the child down on the ground and began to think of Narayana - Srimad Bhagavatam 10.7.19.
- Lord Krsna is the primeval Lord, the fountainhead of all avataras. Lord Sri Krsna descends for the specific purposes of mitigating the anxieties of the pure devotees, who are very anxious to see Him in His original Vrndavana pastimes.
Conclusion
In conclusion, understanding the anxieties of a devotee reveals the profound difference between material bondage and spiritual freedom. Śrīla Prabhupāda masterfully explains that while worldly anxiety degrades the soul, transcendental anxiety—whether for the deliverance of the fallen or for the pleasure and safety of Kṛṣṇa—is the very heartbeat of pure devotion. By transferring our worries from our own temporary, bodily maintenance to the eternal, loving service of the Supreme Lord and His parts and parcels, we can achieve the supreme, blissful perfection of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
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Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Anxieties of a Devotee of God. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience the teachings in their direct, verbatim form.