Prabhupada : When the brahmana asked the woman who the man lying on the floor was, she answered that he was her spiritual master and that she was perplexed about who to do in his absence. At such a time the Supersoul immediately appears, provided the devotee is purified in heart by following the direction of the spiritual master. A sincere devotee who follows the instructions of the spiritual master certainly gets direct instructions from him from Supersoul. This is confirmed in Caitanya-caritamrta : guru-krsna- prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija. If the devotee serves his spiritual master sincerely, Krsna automatically becomes pleased. Yasya Prasadad bhagavad - prasadah. By satisfying the spiritual master, one automatically satisfies Krsna. Thus the devotee becomes enriched by both the spiritual master and Krsna. The Supersoul is eternally the friend of the living-entity and always remains with him. The Supersoul has been ready to help the living-entity, even before the creation of this ma
devotee (11)
Srila Prabhupada - "If there is no chance of directly serving the spiritual master,
then the devotee does serve him by remembering his instructions only.
There is no difference between the spiritual master's instructions and the spiritual master himself."
We should always remember that a person who is reluctant to accept a spiritual master for initiation is sure to become baffled in his endeavour to go back to Godhead. Such person who is not properly initiated may present himself as a great devotee but in fact he is sure to encounter many many stumbling blocks on his way of progressive march towards spiritual realisation and the net result is that he has to continue the term of his material existence without any relief. Such helpless person is compared with a ship without a rudder as such a careless ship cannot reach her destination. It is imperative therefore to accept a spiritual master if at all anyone desires to gain the favour of the Lord. Service of the spiritual master is esse
Even before death, a pure devotee has no material affection, due to his body's being spiritualized like a red-hot iron in contact with fire
SB 1.6.27, Purport: That is the sign of spiritually enriched persons. And in due course of time, when a pure devotee is completely prepared, all of a sudden the change of body occurs which is commonly called death. And for the pure devotee such a change takes place exactly like lightning, and illumination follows simultaneously. That is to say a devotee simultaneously changes his material body and develops a spiritual body by the will of the Supreme. Even before death, a pure devotee has no material affection, due to his body's being spiritualized like a red-hot iron in contact with fire.
Therefore change of the body means stoppage of the reaction of three qualitative modes of material nature upon the pure devotee
SB 1.6.28, Purport: A devotee's body becomes at once
Prabhupāda: (laughs) Krodha bhakta-dveṣi-jane. That is Narottama Ṭhākura's instruction. You must be very angry, those who are against God and devotee, very angry. Utilize your anger for them. Krodha bhakta-dveṣi-jane. That anger is service. Kṛṣṇa-sebā kāmārpaṇe. For Kṛṣṇa's service one should be mad. Kāma-krodha should be given up, but a bhakta does not give up. Utilize it. A bhakta should be very much for kamut(?) serving Kṛṣṇa. And he must utilize his anger for the bhakta-dveṣi, those who are not devotee.
"I joined ISKCON in 1971. I know this movement.. I noticed the erosion of ISKCON about a year after the departure of Srila Prabhupada. The leaders of ISKCON are deemed as criminals by many. Srila Prabhupada once made a statement in the early seventies; many of you are here in the garbs of a devotee, but you are here to destroy - demons from the lower planetary system have taken birth on this planet just to destroy this movement. We were all bewildered by this statement of Srila Prabhupada - We wondered who were these people? Well, now we know." (Jivadhara Dasa ACBSP. New York USA - BTP Issue 42)
\William Arz ; Srila Prabhupada: "So Kṛṣṇa has enemies.
Arisudana. And He has to kill them. Kṛṣṇa has got two businesses: paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtam [Bg. 4.8]. Miscreants... They are miscreants. The demons who challenge Kṛṣṇa, who want to compete with Kṛṣṇa, who want to share with the property of Kṛṣṇa, they are all enemies of Kṛṣṇa, and they should be killed.....So rea
“A devotee in Mādhurya-rasa has five characteristics in all:
1 - she is steadfast in her attachment to Śrī Kṛṣṇa (like a Śānta-devotee);
2 - extreme Sevā (of the Dāsa-devotee);
3 - the unhesitating (frank) behavior of the Sakhā;
4 - caring and protecting attitude of the Vātsalya-devotee;
5 - over and above, she serves Śrī Kṛṣṇa by offering her body.
Just as the five elements (sky, air, fire, water and earth) have the qualities of the previous
elements, and ultimately the earth has all the five characteristics, similarly the Mādhurya-devotee
has a beautiful conglomeration of all the qualities of the devotees in other Rasas.
Therefore this Rasa has much more relish and it tastes extraordinarily wonderful !!!”
(Rādhā Kuṇḍa Mahānta Paṇḍita Śrī Ananta Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)
Devotee: Srila Prabhupada, why has it taken so long for a pure devotee to come to the West? Has the West been so sinful that no pure devotee has come before Your Divine Grace?
Prabhupada: Don’t be sorry. At that time, you were so sinful that you could not receive a pure devotee.
Devotee: Yes. Once in a lecture a lady asked you why hadn’t you come sooner, and you just said, “Well, you weren’t ready for me.”
Prabhupada: Yes, “Because you were not ready.” Yes, I told. Yes. Now the Western boys, the descendant of the Western people, they are fortunate; therefore they receive Kṛṣṇa. Kona bhāgyavān jīva (CC Madhya 19.151). It is Kṛṣṇa’s desire that “These people are suffering so much; let some devotees come here.” So you are all devotees. You have come to join together.
(Srila Prabhupada Morning Walk, Los Angeles, December 7, 1973)
Devotee: If someone is actually sincere, can he be cheated, or will he always get a bona fide guru?
Prabhupada: No, if he is sincere, he’ll get.
Devotee: Bona
What is the difference between a pure devotee and a mixed devotee ?
Srila Prabhupada..."The sunrays are open to everyone, but the capacities of the receptacles differ. Foolish people think that devotional service is flattering the Lord to get special mercy. Factually the pure devotees who are engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord are not a mercantile community. A mercantile house renders service to someone in exchange for values. The pure devotee does not render service unto the Lord for such exchange, and therefore the full mercy of the Lord is open for him. Suffering and needy men, inquisitive persons, or philosophers make temporary connections with the Lord to serve a particular purpose. When the purpose is served, there is no more relation with the Lord. A suffering man, if he is pious at all, prays to the Lord for his recovery. But as soon as the recovery is over, in most cases the suffering man no longer cares to keep any connection with the L
A devotee will never allow a poor animal to be killed in the name of religion. This is the difference between a superficially religious person and a devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. -- Srimad Bhagavatam 8.8.21 purport
