perfection
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As a father and mother care for their child, Govinda cared for Prahlāda Mahārāja, who remained always absorbed in thoughts of Govinda. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Prahlāda Mahārāja is the vivid example of p Prahlada Maharaja was always absorbed in thought of Krsna. Thus, being always embraced by the Lord, he did not know how his bodily necessities, such as sitting, walking, eating, lying down, drinking and talking, were being automatically performed.
(More...) A small child, while being cared for by his mother, does not know how the needs of the body for eating, sleeping, lying down, passing water and evacuating are being fulfilled. He is simply satisfied to be on the lap of his mother. Similarly, Prahlada Maharaja was exactly like a small child, being cared for by Govinda. The necessary activities of his body were performed without his knowledge. As a father and mother care for their child, Govinda cared for Prahlada Maharaja, who remained always absorbed in thoughts of Govinda. This is Krsna consciousness. Prahlada Maharaja is the vivid example of perfection in Krsna consciousness.
(More...) Imported quote 15487 According to Bhagavad-gita the characteristics of pure devotees are wonderful (Bg. 10.9). The complete functional activities of a pure devotee are always engaged in the service of the Lord, and thus they exchange feelings of ecstasy between themselves and relish transcendental bliss. This transcendental bliss is experienced even in the stage of devotional practice (sadhana-avastha), if properly undertaken under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master. And in the mature stage the developed transcendental feeling culminates in realization of the particular relationship with the Lord by which a living entity is originally constituted (up to the relationship of conjugal love with the Lord, estimated as highest transcendental bliss). Thus bhakti-yoga, being the only means of God realization is called kaivalya. Srila Jiva Gosvami quotes the Vedic version (eko narayano devaḥ, paravaranam parama aste kaivalya-sangitaḥ) in this connection and establishes that Narayana, the Personality of Godhead, is known as kaivalya, and the means which enables one to approach the Lord is called the kaivalya-pantha, or the only means of attainment of Godhead. This kaivalya-pantha begins from sravana, or hearing those topics that relate to the Personality of Godhead, and the natural consequence of hearing such hari-katha is attainment of transcendental knowledge, which causes a detachment from all mundane topics, for which a devotee has no taste at all. For a devotee, all mundane activities, social and political, become unattractive, and in the mature state such a devotee becomes disinterested even in his own body, and what to speak of bodily relatives. In such a state of affairs one is not agitated by the waves of the material modes. There are different modes of material nature, and all mundane functions in which a common man is very much interested or takes part become unattractive for the devotee. This state of affairs is described herein as pratinivrtta-gunormi, and it is possible by atma-prasada, or complete self-satisfaction without any material connection. The first-class devotee of the Lord attains this stage by devotional service, but despite his loftiness, still, for the matter of the Lord's satisfaction, he may play the voluntary part of a preacher of the Lord's glory and dovetail all into devotional service, even mundane interest, just to give a chance to the neophytes to transform mundane interest into transcendental bliss. Srila Rūpa Gosvami has described this action of a pure devotee as "nirbandhaḥ krsna-sambandhe yuktam vairagyam ucyate." Even mundane activities dovetailed with service of the Lord are also calculated to be transcendental or approved kaivalya affairs.
(More...) In Sanskrit, this highest stage is called Prema. The word Prema can be explained as love of God without any exchange or return. Actually, the words Prema and love are not synonymous, but still one can say that Prema is the highest stage of love. One who has attained this stage of Prema is the most perfect human being. Srimad Bhagwatam also confirms this statement in the Third Canto, Twenty-fifth Chapter [25]: Only by the association of pure devotees can one develop a taste for Krishna Consciousness; and when he tries to apply such developed Krishna Consciousness in his life, one can achieve all other things up to the stages of Bhava and Prema.
(More...) Imported quote 15510 Those external features exhibited on the body of the devotees are called Udbhasvar. The Byabhichary symptoms are thirty-three in number. Such symptoms principally comprise the matter of words and different features of the body. These different features of the body, such as dancing and trembling and laughing, etc., when mixed with the Byabhichary symptoms are called Samchary. And, when Bhava, Anubhava and Byabhichary symptoms are mixed together they make the devotee dive into the ocean of immortality. That is called the Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu, The Ocean of the Pure Nectar of Devotional Service; and one who is merged into that ocean is always concentratedly in transcendental pleasure on the waves and sound of that particular ocean.
(More...) This perfectional stage of spiritual life, even while being in the material world, is described in the Twelfth Chapter of the Bhagavad Gita [12.13-14] as follows: "Such a devotee, who is not envious of any living entity, who is friendly, who is merciful, who is detached from material possessions, who is situated in pure identification without any false conception of the body, who is equipoised both in happiness and distress, who is forgiving, always satisfied and always engaged in devotional service, always being surrendered with body and mind unto the Supreme Lord-he is very dear to Me." Such a devotee, who never gives trouble to any living entity either by the body or by the mind, who is never affected by material distress and happiness, is never angry or pleased with anything material, who is freed from all kinds of material affection,..is very dear to the Supreme Lord. Such a devotee is never dependent on anyone in this world. He who is a soul completely surrendered to the Supreme Lord, who is purified, expert, neutral, painless, and aloof from any material endeavor which requires too much attention-such a devotee is also very dear to Lord Krishna.
(More...) Imported quote 24310 Devotee (4): Many people say, "No one can become perfect." How can we help them understand that there is...?
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