Kṛṣṇa Becomes Controlled by the Affection of His Devotees
Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, complete in all opulences and independent of everyone. Yet Śrīla Prabhupāda shows that the Lord accepts the affection of His devotees as the greatest treasure. He becomes a child for Mother Yaśodā, a friend for the cowherd boys, a beloved for the gopīs, and the center of every devotee's heart. This is the wonder of devotional life: the all-powerful Lord is conquered by pure love.
Kṛṣṇa Is the Center of All Affection
Every living being is naturally connected with Kṛṣṇa, and affection reaches perfection when it is directed toward Him. The heart searches for loving exchange because its original relationship is with the Supreme Lord. When that affection awakens, the living being no longer seeks satisfaction apart from Kṛṣṇa, who is the true center of love.
- Krsna is the center of all affection for all living creatures. When this affection is developed for Krsna, one surpasses and transcends all Vedic injunctions.
- Every living being is related with the Supreme Lord by some sort of affectionate relation, either as servant or as friend or as parent or as an object of conjugal love.
- Our affection for Krsna is so intimate that as soon as there is some touch of Krsna consciousness, we at once revive our relationship with Him.
- Krsna consciousness movement means to bring back everyone to his original consciousness, affection, love between the child and the father.
Pure Love Makes the Lord Accept Simple Service
Kṛṣṇa does not need anything, yet He gladly accepts offerings made with love. The value of an offering is not measured by wealth or grandeur, but by the affection carried in the devotee's heart. Śrīla Prabhupāda repeatedly emphasizes that this affectionate exchange is the essence of bhakti, because the self-sufficient Lord allows Himself to be pleased by His devotee's love.
- Krsna is not in need of anything from anyone, because He is self-sufficient, and yet He accepts the offering of His devotee in an exchange of love and affection.
- Any part of the world, anybody can secure and offer to Krsna. "Krsna, I have nothing to offer You, I am very poor. Please accept this." Krsna will accept. Krsna says, tad aham asnami, "I eat." So main thing is bhakti, affection, love.
- Krsna says, "My devotee, with affection," yo me bhaktya prayacchati. Krsna is not hungry. Krsna has not come to you for accepting your offering because He is hungry. No. He is not hungry. He is self-complete.
- Krsna responds to the proportion of the devotee's affection for Him.
Vṛndāvana Reveals Affection Beyond Reverence
In Vṛndāvana, Kṛṣṇa's devotees love Him with such intimacy that His majesty becomes covered by sweetness. They do not calculate that He is the Supreme Lord; they think only of feeding Him, protecting Him, playing with Him, or pleasing Him. This affection reveals the highest spiritual exchange, where love becomes more prominent than awe and reverence.
- Dealings in affection with the Supreme Personality of Godhead bring happiness many millions of times greater than dealings with Him in awe and veneration.
- Generally the Lord is worshiped by the devotees in a reverential attitude, but the Lord is meticulously pleased when the devotee, out of pure affection and love, considers the Lord to be less important than himself.
- Lord Krsna's friends in Vrndavana, headed by Sridama, have pure fraternal affection for Lord Krsna and have no idea of His opulences.
- Not knowing Krsna's identity, the cowherd boys simply love Krsna, and their love is unending. This is true of everyone in Vrndavana. For example, Yasodamata and Nanda Maharaja, Krsna's mother and father, love Krsna with parental affection.
Mother Yaśodā Shows the Power of Parental Love
Mother Yaśodā's affection shows how Kṛṣṇa accepts the position of a dependent child for the pleasure of His devotee. Though He is full of all opulence, He opens His mouth, drinks her milk, accepts her care, and allows her love to cover awareness of His supremacy. In this vātsalya-rasa, the Supreme Lord becomes subordinate to maternal affection.
- Although Krsna was full of opulences, now, by the order of mother Yasoda, He opened wide His mouth like a human child and did not neglect the transcendental humor of maternal affection.
- Because of her (mother Yasoda's) deep affection for Krsna, she could never think that her very son was Narayana, the Personality of Godhead Himself. That is the action of yogamaya, the internal potency of the Supreme Lord.
- Mother Yasoda was always overwhelmed by intense love for Krsna, not knowing who Krsna was or how powerful He was. Because of maternal affection for Krsna, she never even cared to know who He was - SB 10.9.12.
- Krsna is always neat, clean and opulent and does not need to be washed, bathed or dressed, yet mother Yasoda, because of affection, considered Him her ordinary child and did her duties to keep her son brilliant.
The Gopīs Show the Highest Affection for Kṛṣṇa
The gopīs show affection so pure that Kṛṣṇa Himself praises it as the means of attaining His favor. Their love is not ordinary desire; it is the highest form of selfless devotion, centered entirely on Kṛṣṇa's pleasure. Their affection reveals the summit of rāgānugā-bhakti, where love moves spontaneously and without calculation.
- Krsna said, "Fortunately, you (gopis) have developed loving affection for Me, which is the only way to achieve the transcendental position of association with Me."
- Lord Krsna finally admitted His defeat before the transcendental affection of the gopis and declared that He was unable to repay them for their unalloyed affection.
- The highest form of transcendental worship of the Lord was exhibited by the damsels of Vrajabhumi in the form of pure affection for the Lord, and Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu recommends this process as the most excellent mode of worship.
- There are sixty-four categories of devotional service by performance of which one can rise to the gopis' stage of unconditional devotion. Affection for Krsna on the level of the gopis is called raganuga, spontaneous love.
Affection Deepens Into the Perfection of Devotional Life
Affection for Kṛṣṇa grows from initial attraction into steady attachment, ecstatic love, and permanent devotional relationship. As the devotee advances, formal awareness of distance gives way to deeper service, intimacy, and surrender. The goal is not to imitate advanced devotees, but to awaken one's own eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa through faithful service and authorized hearing.
- If one engages in spontaneous loving service to the Lord, his affection for the lotus feet of Krsna gradually increases.
- Through the execution of loving service, one can attain transcendental affection for Krsna.
- When affection for Krsna becomes deeper, one attains love of Godhead in devotional service. Such a position is called sthayi-bhava, permanent enjoyment of the mellows of devotional service to Krsna.
- We have to learn from the authorized sastras, from the Bhagavad-gita, from Srimad-Bhagavatam, from Vedas, not from the rascals. Then you'll understand. Your real affection from Krsna will be awakened, and your life will be successful.
Conclusion
Kṛṣṇa becomes controlled by the affection of His devotees because pure love is the deepest law of spiritual life. He remains the Supreme Personality of Godhead, yet He accepts the role of son, friend, beloved, and master according to the devotee's loving mood. Śrīla Prabhupāda reveals that this affection is not sentiment but the perfection of bhakti, by which the soul awakens its eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa and enters loving service forever.
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 Affection for Krsna. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.