Elevation of a Devotee of God - Beyond the Heavenly Planets
In the material world, elevation usually implies attaining greater wealth, power, or promotion to higher planetary systems. However, Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that for a pure devotee, the concept of elevation is entirely spiritual, characterized by a complete rejection of mundane goals in favor of eternal, loving service to the Supreme Lord.
Disinterest in Material Elevation
A pure soul recognizes the temporary and ultimately frustrating nature of the material universe. Śrīla Prabhupāda points out that a sincere servant of the Lord rejects even the most coveted forms of material ascension, having no desire for the heavenly planets or even impersonal liberation.
- A pure devotee is never interested in elevation to the heavenly planets, even though such places are extremely dear even to the demigods.
- A pure devotee is not anxious to elevate himself in his next birth. He has already given up that sort of hope.
- For a devotee there is no concern for this life or the next life because in any life he does not desire elevation in material prosperity or a high-grade or low-grade life.
- Such devotees are not interested even in so-called liberation, and they certainly have no interest in material activities for elevation to the heavenly planets for sense gratification.
The Process of True Elevation
Spiritual ascension does not require mechanical yogic exercises or fruitive rituals. Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that the true mechanism for spiritual ascension relies entirely on authorized practices like hearing, chanting, and mutually uplifting association with other sincere Vaiṣṇavas.
- The devotee who wants to elevate himself simply by the process of devotional activities, especially by hearing and chanting, very soon comes out of the clutches of the dualities of material existence.
- He (a Devotee of God) should make friendship with other devotees so that by discussing among themselves, they may elevate one another on the path of spiritual understanding. This is called ista-gosthi.
- When one associates with a pure devotee, he becomes so elevated that he does not aspire even for sarsti, sarupya, samipya or salokya, because he feels that such liberation is a kind of sense gratification.
- When the conditioned soul is not satisfied with them, he comes to devotees and pure brahmanas who try to elevate him for final liberation from material bondage.
Advancing to the Highest Stages
As a devotee faithfully executes their service, the Lord pulls them closer. Śrīla Prabhupāda describes how the Lord personally intervenes to lift His surrendered servants to the highest platforms of ecstatic love, far beyond the initial stages of regulative practice.
- Pariksit Maharaja is addressed as bhagavatottama, the best of devotees, because unless one is very much elevated in devotional service, one cannot feel ecstasy from hearing more and more and appreciate the topics as ever fresher and newer.
- By constant reciprocation with the Lord, the devotee is elevated to the highest stage of love of Godhead, prema.
- The principles of raga-marga are especially meant for devotees who are elevated to the Vrndavana platform.
- The pure devotee's mundane frustration is meant to elevate the devotee to a higher transcendental position.
The Ultimate Assurance
The most glorious aspect of a pure devotee's elevation is its absolute permanence. Unlike those who reach the heavenly planets only to fall back to Earth when their pious credits are exhausted, the pure devotee is eternally secured in the spiritual world.
- A devotee is at once elevated to the spiritual platform.
- The distinction between the elevated position of a devotee and that of an ordinary person attracted to fruitive activities is that when a devotee is elevated to the spiritual kingdom he never falls down.
- This evidence from Srimad-Bhagavatam gives assurance to the pure devotee of being elevated to association with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- Whether a devotee acts in a so-called pious or impious manner, he is neither elevated nor degraded, but is transferred to the spiritual kingdom.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Śrīla Prabhupāda completely redefines the concept of elevation for the sincere transcendentalist. While conditioned souls exhaust their energy striving for promotion to higher planetary systems, a pure devotee of God considers such material elevation to be a mere continuation of sense gratification. The true ascension of a Vaiṣṇava is facilitated by the simple, joyful processes of hearing, chanting, and engaging in iṣṭa-goṣṭhī (spiritual discussion) with other pure devotees. Through this continuous reciprocation, the Supreme Lord personally elevates the devotee, sometimes even using mundane frustration as a catalyst to lift them to the exalted platform of rāga-mārga, the spontaneous love experienced in Vṛndāvana. Ultimately, the hallmark of this divine elevation is its eternal security. While fruitive workers must inevitably fall from their temporary heavenly positions, the pure devotee is transferred to the spiritual kingdom and never falls down, remaining forever blissful in the association of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
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 Elevation 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.