How Prabhupāda Trains His Disciples to Cultivate a Humble Attitude
The internal disposition of a disciple forms the very foundation of their spiritual advancement. Within his extensive personal correspondence, immense importance was placed by Śrīla Prabhupāda on cultivating a humble, tolerant, and cooperative attitude. He repeatedly taught that true progress in bhakti-yoga does not depend on material qualifications, but entirely on one's sincere desire to serve the Lord and the paramparā.
The Essence of True Humility
The core characteristic of a genuine Vaiṣṇava is a deep, unshakeable sense of humility. It was frequently explained by Śrīla Prabhupāda that an advanced devotee naturally thinks of themselves as the most faulty person, choosing to tolerate the shortcomings of others rather than criticizing them. By adopting the quiet and meek position of being the servant of the servant, a disciple sets a powerful example that inspires everyone around them and gradually dissipates any puffed-up, proud mentalities within the society.
- A pure devotee always thinks himself as not-devotee. That is a good attitude.
- One quality of a devotee is that he is always very much tolerant of other people, so I request you simply to tolerate the faults of others and always think that I am myself the most faulty. In this way your humble attitude will qualify you to advance.
- This is our real position, to be servants of the servants of the servants. And by your quiet and humble attitude, you shall set the example of Vaisnava so that all may learn from you.
- Your attitude of humbleness is praiseworthy. A devotee should always remain humble and meek especially to the authorities and devotees.
The Key to Rapid Advancement
The speed and success of a disciple's spiritual journey are determined almost exclusively by their internal state of mind. Tremendous encouragement was regularly offered by Śrīla Prabhupāda to those who approached their daily duties with a submissive and repentant heart. He assured his followers that if they simply maintained a sincere and humble attitude, Kṛṣṇa would personally supply them with all necessary intelligence, spiritual understanding, and facilities to execute their devotional service perfectly.
- Advancement in Krsna consciousness depends on the attitude of the follower. A follower of the Krsna consciousness movement should become a perfect gosvami.
- I (Prabhupada) am very pleased by your humble attitude, so if you will kindly continue to execute your devotional practices in such state of mind then you are sure to achieve perfection of Krsna consciousness very quickly as it is stated by Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
- So if you try to continue in the humble attitude you have now, with little time you will have wonderful success in further developing your Krsna consciousness.
- This attitude will help you. Always pray to Krsna humbly and He will surely help you.
Cooperation and Avoiding Conflict
To successfully manage a worldwide spiritual institution, the members must rise above their conditioned tendencies to quarrel. A grave warning was frequently issued by Śrīla Prabhupāda regarding the destructive nature of the fighting spirit, which he noted was heavily ingrained in his Western students. He insisted that true Kṛṣṇa consciousness requires suppressing one's ego, avoiding lazy or easy-going mentalities, and working together in a harmonious, cooperative spirit out of profound respect for the spiritual master and all fellow devotees.
- This fighting spirit will destroy everything, but what can I do, you American and European boys are trained up in this fighting attitude.
- We shall always do everything in cooperative spirit and avoid any fighting amongst us, that is Vaisnava attitude because Lord Caitanya has advised us to always offer all respects to others, especially to the devotees of the Lord.
- That tolerant attitude must be there to a certain extent, but we must remain also always firm on this point, that the brahmacaris living in the temple shall not disobey the orders of the spiritual master.
- Eating should be minimized. Too much eating leads to too much sleeping, and then sex desire. So, management should be done very carefully to see that there is not easy-going, lazy attitude which will only end in fall down.
Complete Submission to the Spiritual Master
The perfection of spiritual life begins with complete surrender to the bona fide representative of Kṛṣṇa. The absolute necessity of serving the spiritual master first was consistently stressed by Śrīla Prabhupāda, who explained that Kṛṣṇa's mercy is only accessed through the grace of the guru. He taught that a true disciple must possess a voluntary, loving readiness to obey orders without hesitation, dedicating their entire body, mind, and words to pleasing the spiritual master above all personal desires.
- This attitude of serving first the spiritual master is the correct one, for only by the mercy of the spiritual master can one obtain the mercy of Krsna.
- This is the correct attitude for a disciple. The disciple should be prepared to offer everything he has including his body, mind, and words, in the service of the guru.
- That voluntary attitude, Yes, Krishna, I shall gladly co-operate whatever you say, that ready willingness to obey is only possible if there is love.
- I very much appreciate your attitude in saying "It is not sannyasa so much that I am interested in, its Krsna consciousness and working to please my Spiritual Master."
Accepting Reversals as Divine Mercy
Life in the material world guarantees distress, but a pure devotee processes these hardships through the lens of transcendental philosophy. When his disciples faced severe difficulties such as illness or family separation, profound perspective was provided by Śrīla Prabhupāda. He taught them to adopt the classic Vaiṣṇava attitude of accepting all troubles as the remnants of their own past misdeeds, minimized by Kṛṣṇa's causeless mercy. By remaining undeterred and continuing to preach or chant under any circumstance, a devotee proves their unalloyed love for the Lord.
- Bhaktas, they think, tat te 'nukampam susamiksamano bhunjana evatma-krtam vipakam. When a devotee is in trouble, he thinks that "I am suffering for my past deeds." That is a devotee's attitude. "Let me do my business, chant Hare Krsna."
- Your wife has left and you are feeling that it is all Krsna's mercy. That is nice attitude. So if that is how you are feeling and you are appreciating brahmacari life, then simply forget your wife and engage yourself wholeheartedly in devotional activities.
- You are lying for some time in the hospital bed and still you are not wasting a moment of your time. This attitude is very good. This is Krsna consciousness - not to waste even a single moment without serving the Lord in some way or other.
- When Jesus Christ also preached God consciousness, only a few followers were there, and still, he had to sacrifice his life. But he was never disappointed. That should be attitude of the preacher. People may accept it or not accept it, we should go on.
Conclusion
By carefully nurturing the internal state of his followers, a society of genuine saints was cultivated by Śrīla Prabhupāda. He proved that the power of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement does not lie in aggressive dominance, but in the pure, cooperative, and humble service attitude of its members. Through his compassionate and relentless training, he ensured that his disciples possessed the exact spiritual disposition required to return back home, back to 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 Our Attitude (Disciples of SP). We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.