The Peaceful Devotees of God Are Extremely Rare
Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that the material world is inherently disturbed because of the prevalence of materialistic desires. True peace can only be found in the hearts of unalloyed devotees who are fully surrendered to the Supreme Lord. Because such peaceful souls are extremely rare, their presence is the only real remedy for a chaotic human society.
The Illusion of Material Peace
According to Śrīla Prabhupāda, those engaged in fruitive activities, mental speculation, or mystic yoga can never achieve true peace because they still possess material desires. It is only the pure bhaktas, who are completely free from selfish motives, who experience actual tranquility.
- Above all the fruitive laborers, speculators, and mystic yogis are the bhaktas, or devotees of Krsna. A bhakta can be perfectly peaceful, whereas the others cannot because everyone but the bhakta, one who has pure love, has desire.
- These qualities of a devotee, twenty-six in number, are listed as follows: (10) benevolent, (11) peaceful, (12) completely attached to Krsna, (13) has no material hankering, (14) meek, (15) steady, (16) self-controlled.
Complete Dependence on the Supreme Lord
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that a devotee is peaceful because they recognize their helpless position and surrender completely to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Just as a child feels secure in the care of a loving parent, the devotee remains steady and undisturbed by depending entirely on the Lord's mercy.
- A devotee is peaceful because he is fully surrendered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and thinks of himself as completely helpless; just as a child feels complete peace in depending on the parent, so a devotee is completely peaceful, for he depends on the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- Because he (the Krsna conscious man) remains satisfied in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, he can remain steady, like the ocean, and therefore enjoy full peace.
- They (great devotees) are always peaceful, thinking of Krsna, and therefore they are called dhira. The best example of such a devotee is Narada Muni.
The Scarcity of Peaceful Souls
The current disturbed condition of the world is a direct result of a lack of God consciousness. Śrīla Prabhupāda points out that among millions of seemingly liberated persons, a truly peaceful devotee of Lord Nārāyaṇa is extremely rare.
- The world is in a disturbed condition because of a scarcity of such peaceful devotees in human society. Unless one is a devotee, one cannot be equal to all living entities.
- O great sage, among many millions who are liberated and perfect in knowledge of liberation, one may be a devotee of Lord Narayana, or Krsna. Such devotees, who are fully peaceful, are extremely rare.
- In the Adi-lila of Caitanya-caritamrta, Chapter Eight, there is a description of some of the qualities of devotees. For example, Sri Pandita Haridasa is described as being very well-behaved, tolerant, peaceful, magnanimous and grave.
Divine Protection from Harassment
Peaceful devotees often face persecution from materialistic individuals who are envious of their pure qualities. Śrīla Prabhupāda reassures that whenever such friction occurs, the Supreme Compassionate Lord personally intervenes to protect His unalloyed servants.
- The Lord, the all-compassionate controller of both the spiritual and material creations, is unborn, but when there is friction between His peaceful devotees and persons who are in the material modes of nature, He takes birth just like fire.
- There are many instances of harassment of the peaceful devotees by the itaras. When such friction takes place, God, out of His great compassion towards His pure devotees, appears in person, accompanied by His plenary portions controlling the mahat-tattva.
Conclusion
Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that while many groups strive for liberation or mystic perfection, their lingering material desires prevent them from achieving genuine tranquility. True peace is the exclusive property of pure devotees who have fully surrendered to Śrī Kṛṣṇa and depend solely on His mercy. Because these souls are free from envy and material hankering, they treat all living entities equally and remain undisturbed in all circumstances. Although such exalted personalities are incredibly rare, their presence is the only antidote to the chaotic conditions of modern society. Furthermore, when the envious elements of the world attempt to harass these surrendered souls, the Supreme Lord personally descends to offer them full protection and guarantee their ultimate return to the spiritual world.
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Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Peaceful Devotees 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.