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Imported quote 13096 It is the duty of an advanced devotee in the second stage of devotional perfection to act in accordance with this verse. There are three stages of devotional life. In the lowest stage, a devotee is simply concerned with the Deity in the temple, and he worships the Lord with great devotion, according to rules and regulations. In the second stage the devotee is cognizant of his relationship with the Lord, his relationship with fellow devotees, his relationship with persons who are innocent and his relationship with persons who are envious. Sometimes devotees are ill-treated by envious persons. It is advised that an advanced devotee should be tolerant; he should show complete mercy to persons who are ignorant or innocent. A preacher-devotee is meant to show mercy to innocent persons whom he can elevate to devotional service. Everyone, by constitutional position, is an eternal servant of God. Therefore, a devotee's business is to awaken everyone's Krsna consciousness. That is his mercy. As for a devotee's treatment of other devotees who are his equals, he should maintain friendship with them. His general view should be to see every living entity as part of the Supreme Lord. Different living entities appear in different forms of dress, but according to the instruction of the Bhagavad-gita, a learned person sees all living entities equally. Such treatment by the devotee is very much appreciated by the Supreme Lord. It is said, therefore, that a saintly person is always tolerant and merciful, he is a friend to everyone, never an enemy to anyone, and he is peaceful. These are some of the good qualities of a devotee.
(More...) Imported quote 13647 The word atmavatam is significant in this verse. There are three different kinds of devotees, namely kanistha-adhikari, madhyama-adhikari and uttama-adhikari: the neophyte, the preacher and the maha-bhagavata or the highly advanced devotees. The highly advanced devotee is one who knows the conclusion of the Vedas in full knowledge; thus he becomes a devotee. Indeed, not only is he convinced himself, but he can convince others on the strength of Vedic evidence. The advanced devotee can also see all other living entities as part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, without discrimination. The madhyama-adhikari (preacher) is also well versed in the sastras and can convince others also, but he discriminates between the favorable and the unfavorable. In other words, the madhyama-adhikari does not care for the demoniac living entities, and the neophyte kanistha-adhikari does not know much about sastra but has full faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Kumaras were, however, maha-bhagavatas because after scrutinizingly studying the Absolute Truth, they became devotees. In other words, they were in full knowledge of the Vedic conclusion. In the Bhagavad-gita it is confirmed by the Lord that there are many devotees, but a devotee who is fully conversant in the Vedic conclusion is very dear to Him. Everyone is trying to elevate himself to the highest position according to his mentality. The karmis, who have a bodily concept of life, try to enjoy sense gratification to the utmost. The jnanis' idea of the highest position is merging into the effulgence of the Lord. But a devotee's highest position is in preaching all over the world the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore the devotees are actually the representatives of the Supreme Lord, and as such they travel all over the world directly as Narayana because they carry Narayana within their hearts and preach His glories. The representative of Narayana is as good as Narayana, but he is not to conclude, like the Mayavadis, that he has become Narayana. Generally, a sannyasi is addressed as Narayana by the Mayavadis. Their idea is that simply by taking sannyasa one becomes equal to Narayana or becomes Narayana Himself. The Vaisnava conclusion is different, as stated by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura:
(More...) Imported quote 16101 "As living entities surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Prtha." Everyone is seeking Krsna, for He is the Supersoul of all individual souls. Everyone loves his body and wants to protect it because he is within the body as the soul, and everyone loves the soul because the soul is part and parcel of the Supersoul. Therefore, everyone is actually seeking to achieve happiness by reviving his relationship with the Supersoul. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gita (15.15), vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ: "By all the Vedas, it is I who am to be known." Therefore, the karmis, jnanis, yogis and saintly persons are all seeking Krsna. But by following in the footsteps of devotees who are in a direct relationship with Krsna, especially the inhabitants of Vrndavana, one can reach the supreme position of associating with Krsna. As it is said, vrndavanam parityajya padam ekam na gacchati: Krsna does not leave Vrndavana even for a moment. The vrndavana-vasis-Mother Yasoda, Krsna's friends and Krsna's conjugal lovers, the younger gopis with whom He dances-have very intimate relationships with Krsna, and if one follows in the footsteps of these devotees, Krsna is available. Although the nitya-siddha expansions of Krsna always remain with Krsna, if those engaged in sadhana-siddhi follow in the footsteps of Krsna's nitya-siddha associates, such sadhana-siddhas also can easily attain Krsna without difficulty. But there are those who are attached to bodily concepts of life. Lord Brahma and Lord Siva, for example, have very prestigious positions, and thus they have the sense of being very exalted isvaras. In other words, because Lord Brahma and Lord Siva are guna-avataras and have exalted positions, they have some small sense of being like Krsna. But the pure devotees who inhabit Vrndavana do not possess any bodily conception. They are fully dedicated to the service of the Lord in sublime affection, prema. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has therefore recommended, prema pum-artho mahan: the highest perfection of life is prema, pure love in relationship with Krsna. And Mother Yasoda appears to be the topmost of devotees who have attained this perfection.
(More...) The subject matter of Hari-bhakti-vilasa, by Sri Sanatana Gosvami, was collected by Srila Gopala Bhatta Gosvami and is known as a vaisnava-smrti. This vaisnava-smrti-grantha was finished in twenty chapters, known as vilasas. In the first vilasa there is a description of how a relationship is established between the spiritual master and the disciple, and mantras are explained. In the second vilasa, the process of initiation is described. In the third vilasa, the methods of Vaisnava behavior are given, with emphasis on cleanliness, constant remembrance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the chanting of the mantras given by the initiating spiritual master. In the fourth vilasa are descriptions of samskara, the reformatory method; tilaka, the application of twelve tilakas on twelve places of the body; mudra, marks on the body; mala, chanting with beads; and guru-pūja, worship of the spiritual master. In the fifth vilasa, one is instructed on how to make a place to sit for meditation, and there are descriptions of breathing exercises, meditation and worship of the salagrama-sila representation of Lord Visnu. In the sixth vilasa, the required practices for inviting the transcendental form of the Lord and bathing Him are given. In the seventh vilasa, one is instructed on how to collect flowers used for the worship of Lord Visnu. In the eighth vilasa, there is a description of the Deity and instructions on how to set up incense, light lamps, make offerings, dance, play music, beat drums, garland the Deity, offer prayers and obeisances and counteract offenses. In the ninth vilasa, there are descriptions about collecting tulasi leaves, offering oblations to forefathers according to Vaisnava rituals, and offering food. In the tenth vilasa there are descriptions of the devotees of the Lord (Vaisnavas or saintly persons). In the eleventh vilasa, there are elaborate descriptions of Deity worship and the glories of the holy name of the Lord. One is instructed on how to chant the holy name of the Deity, and there are discussions about offenses committed while chanting the holy name, along with methods for getting relief from such offenses. There are also descriptions of the glories of devotional service and the surrendering process. In the twelfth vilasa, Ekadasi is described. In the thirteenth vilasa, fasting is discussed, as well as observance of the Maha-dvadasi ceremony. In the fourteenth vilasa, different duties for different months are outlined. In the fifteenth vilasa, there are instructions on how to observe Ekadasi fasting without even drinking water. There are also descriptions of branding the body with the symbols of Visnu, and discussions of Caturmasya observations during the rainy season, and discussions of Janmastami, Parsvaikadasi, Sravana-dvadasi, Rama-navami and Vijaya-dasami. The sixteenth vilasa discusses duties to be observed in the month of Karttika (October-November), or the Damodara month, or urja, when lamps are offered in the Deity room or above the temple. There are also descriptions of the Govardhana-pūja and Ratha-yatra. The seventeenth vilasa discusses preparations for Deity worship, maha-mantra chanting and the process of japa. In the eighteenth vilasa the different forms of Sri Visnu are described. The nineteenth vilasa discusses the establishment of the Deity and the rituals observed in bathing the Deity before installation. The twentieth vilasa discusses the construction of temples, referring to those constructed by the great devotees. The details of the Hari-bhakti-vilasa-grantha are given by Sri Kaviraja Gosvami in the Madhya-lila (24.329-345). The descriptions given in those verses by Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami are actually a description of those portions compiled by Gopala Bhatta Gosvami. According to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, the regulative principles of devotional service compiled by Gopala Bhatta Gosvami do not strictly follow our Vaisnava principles. Actually, Gopala Bhatta Gosvami collected only a summary of the elaborate descriptions of Vaisnava regulative principles from Hari-bhakti-vilasa. It is Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami's opinion, however, that to follow the Hari-bhakti-vilasa strictly is to actually follow the Vaisnava rituals in perfect order. He claims that the smarta-samaja, which is strictly followed by caste brahmanas, has influenced portions that Gopala Bhatta Gosvami collected from the original Hari-bhakti-vilasa. It is therefore very difficult to find out Vaisnava directions from the book of Gopala Bhatta Gosvami. It is better to consult the commentary made by Sanatana Gosvami himself for Hari-bhakti-vilasa under the name of Dig-darsini-tika. Some say that the same commentary was compiled by Gopinatha-pūja Adhikari, who was engaged in the service of Sri Radha-ramanaji and who happened to be one of the disciples of Gopala Bhatta Gosvami.
(More...) Haridasa's renunciation of the Moslem faith in favor of devotional service to the Lord Sri Krsna, who is often mistaken by sectarians to be the Supreme Deity of the Hindu faith, is significant because if we are to come to an understanding of the purity of Haridasa's activities, we must first note the difference between mundane religious activities and transcendental loving service to God. Those who are engaged in the process of religion may be classified in three groups, according to their realization of the presence of the Supreme Lord. First, there are those who are kanistha-adhikaris. Next, above them, are the madhyama-adhikaris. And finally there are the uttama-adhikaris. The kanistha-adhikari is characterized by the activities of going to a place of worship such as a church, temple or mosque and performing a particular type of religious function determined by an established formula. This type of religious person considers one type of religion to be better than another. The madhyama-adhikari is characterized by four principles: 1) He sees first of all the Supreme Lord. 2) He sees next the devotees. 3) He sees next the innocent, those who have no knowledge of the Lord. 4) Lastly, he sees the atheists. The madhyama-adhikari behaves differently toward each of the above four persons. He adores the Lord and desires the association of the devotees of the Lord. He tries to inform the innocent about the Lord, and he completely avoids the atheists.
(More...) one who not only can preach but who also sees everything in the Absolute Truth and the Absolute Truth in everything is in the highest class of Vaiṣṇavas. The highest perfectional brahmana is the Vaisnava. A Vaisnava who knows the science of the Absolute Truth but is not able to preach such knowledge to others is described as being in the lower stage, one who not only understands the principles of the science of God but can also preach is in the second stage, and one who not only can preach but who also sees everything in the Absolute Truth and the Absolute Truth in everything is in the highest class of Vaisnavas. It is mentioned here that a Vaisnava is already a brahmana; in fact, the highest stage of brahminical perfection is reached when one becomes a Vaisnava.
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