Reaching the Highest Perfection - Attaining in Devotional Service to God
The conditional soul is always trying to become happy by gathering material assets, but these things are completely false and temporary. Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches us that real success means entering into our eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa, which is possible only by attaining a fixed position in devotional service. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is a great science, and we must utilize its immense literatures to develop our dormant love for the Lord. When a person purifies his mind and daily activities through this authorized method, he rises above the modes of nature and achieves a state of transcendental happiness that completely satisfies the spirit soul.
Real Knowledge and Divine Attainment
Materialistic people think that God can be understood by big brain substance or logical arguments, but the śāstras completely reject this idea. Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that the transcendental knowledge of the Supreme Person can be attained by devotional service only, and nothing else. Kṛṣṇa explicitly confirms in the Bhagavad-gītā that to those who worship Him with love, He gives the clear understanding by which they can come to Him. Therefore, an intelligent person utilizes his energy to study the immense literatures of Kṛṣṇa consciousness so that he can successfully achieve the platform of bhakti.
- All these devotees are undoubtedly magnanimous souls, but he who is situated in knowledge of Me I consider verily to dwell in Me. Being engaged in My transcendental service, he attains Me.
- Krsna consciousness is a great science with immense literatures, and we should utilize them for the attainment of bhakti.
- The knowledge of the Personality of Godhead may be attained by devotional service only.
- Transcendental knowledge is only attainable by transcendental devotional service, as described in Bhagavad-gita (10.10): To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me (Krsna) with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.
Purification of Activities and Universal Elevation
The great beauty of bhakti-yoga is that it does not ask us to artificially stop working, but rather to change the quality of our work. The perfection of human life can be achieved simply by purifying the present position of our material activities and offering the results to God. This process is so incredibly strong that a pure devotee can easily enable people of all the lower classes to overcome their conditioning and reach the highest spiritual platform. Only a person who renders this unalloyed devotional service can truly attain a stage of complete indifference toward the temporary assets of this world.
- It is said that God is attainable only through devotional activities. We can get rid of the results of our work only by the intelligent process of work with transcendental results.
- Only one who renders devotional service to the Lord can attain this stage of indifference to the false and temporary assets of material nature.
- The perfection of life can be attained simply by purifying the present position of our material activities.
- The process of devotional service is so strong that the pure devotee of the Supreme Lord can enable people of all the lower classes to attain the highest perfection of life.
Real Yoga, Penance, and Transcendental Freedom
Foolish people assume that devotional service is a sentimental or emotional affair, but it is actually the path of absolute reality. Serious students of yoga practice this method because it represents the ultimate perfection of all mysticism, as stated by Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā. One must willingly engage in penance and austerity to attain this divine position, which completely purifies the internal heart. When the living entity successfully reaches this stage, he is immediately freed from the three kinds of material miseries and experiences a permanent, blissful life that lies completely beyond any material happiness.
- One should engage in penance and austerity to attain the divine position of devotional service. By such activity, one's heart is purified, and when one attains this position, he attains eternal, blissful life, which is transcendental to material happiness.
- Serious students of yoga, practice it seriously, and thus they attain the highest perfection in bhakti-yoga, as stated in Bhagavad-gita (6.47): yoginam api sarvesam, mad-gatenantaratmana, sraddhavan bhajate yo mam, sa me yuktatamo matah.
- The way of devotional service is neither sentimental nor mundane. It is the path of reality by which the living entity can attain the transcendental happiness of being freed from the three kinds of material miseries.
- This stage of highest perfection in yoga (Krsna consciousness) can be attained only by bhakti-yoga, as is confirmed in all Vedic literature: yasya deve para bhaktir yatha deve tatha gurau. tasyaite kathita hy arthah prakasante mahatmanah.
Historic Examples of Perfection and Special Abodes
Vedic history contains many brilliant examples of great kings and sages who attained absolute perfection by following this scientific path. Some of these elevated personalities achieved complete success by firmly adhering to just a single item of devotional service with faith and perseverance. Even the queens who lived with the Lord as His wives attained their exalted, transcendental position through their perfection of devotional service. Furthermore, those who are righteous but not yet completely pure are elevated to special abodes like Dhruvaloka, proving that any step taken on this path yields magnificent results.
- The women amongst whom He lived as their husband are not women of this mundane world, but are eternally related with Him as transcendental wives, a position which they attained by perfection of devotional service. That is their competency.
- There are instances in history of great personalities, including sages and kings, who attained perfection by this process (of bhakti). Some of them attained success even by adhering to one single item of devotional service with faith and perseverance.
- Those who are righteous in performing devotional service but who are not pure can attain the planetary system of the polestar, or Dhruvaloka, where Dhruva Maharaja is presiding.
Conclusion
The highest goal of human life is fully achieved when the living entity applies his energy toward attaining a fixed position in devotional service. As Śrīla Prabhupāda clearly demonstrates through the Vedic literature, the path of bhakti-yoga is the ultimate reality that alone can free us from the heavy clutches of material illusion and bodily designations. By purifying our daily work and dedicating our possessions to the service of Kṛṣṇa, our hearts are thoroughly cleansed of all material desires. This straightforward, authorized process enables any individual, regardless of his past conditioning or social status, to transcend the temporary miseries of the world. Ultimately, by dedicating oneself to this divine practice with faith and perseverance, the soul secures its original spiritual form and enters the eternal, blissful kingdom of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
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Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Attaining in Devotional Service to God. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.