Hare Krishna ! Please accept my humble obeisances !
Our acharyas have told us that we will get love of God only if we chant without material desires. However Dhruva Maharaj got love of God even when he approached the Lord with material desires. I understand that once he got love of God he became free of material desires but still the fact is that he approached the Lord with material desires and still got love of God where as in our case our acharyas told us that if we will approach the Lord with material desires then we will not get love of God. This information is contradictory. I request someone to throw light on my query.
ys,
Mihir.
Replies
Hare Krishna Mihir.
Dhruva was a very special devotee. He approached the Lord with material desires. But once he saw the Lord he was purified and was ashamed that the Lord granted him his desires. He got love of God because he followed the instructions of his guru Narada strictly.
For us we dont have the determination to approach the Lord. Even if you have material desire, if you are determined to worship the Lord under all circumstances just like Dhruva did, the Lord would purify us. The thing is we dont want to be purified of our desires and we are happy if Krishna satisfies our material desires. And if we keep chanting maintaining such material attachments, it will be an offense. Dhruva did chant the names of God with a desire to achieve material perfection. Thats why he felt that the Lord did not take Dhruva with Him but allowed him to enjoy for 36,000 years and then achieve His abode. Prabhupada warns many times in his purports in relation to this that we should not harbor material desires, otherwise we had to lament like Dhruva. After he achieved what he wanted and also prema, Dhruva lamented because of his ambition.
Very true. We can ask till our devotional attitue is not disturbed.
JAI CAHRYAS, VAISHNAVAS
GLORIES TO SRILA A.C. BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI PRABHUPADA
JAI NITYANANDA GAURACHANDRA
JAI RUKMINI DVARAKADHISH
Prabhu ji!
First of all.
Scriptures also support that even materialistic devotees become pure devotees. Examples are Gajendra, Dhruva Maharaj, etc.
CC Madhya 22.35: "Due to bad association, the living entity desires material happiness, liberation or merging into the impersonal aspect of the Lord, or he engages in mystic yoga for material power. If such a person actually becomes intelligent, he takes to Krsna consciousness by engaging himself in intense devotional service to Lord Sri Krsna.
CC Madhya 22.36: "'Whether one desires everything or nothing, or whether he desires to merge into the existence of the Lord, he is intelligent only if he worships Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by rendering transcendental loving service.'
CC Madhya 22.37: "If those who desire material enjoyment or merging into the existence of the Absolute Truth engage in the Lord's transcendental loving service, they will immediately attain shelter at Krsna's lotus feet, although they did not ask for it. Krsna is therefore very merciful.
CC Madhya 22.38: "Krsna says, 'If one engages in My transcendental loving service but at the same time wants the opulence of material enjoyment, he is very, very foolish. Indeed, he is just like a person who gives up ambrosia to drink poison.
CC Madhya 22.39: "'Since I am very intelligent, why should I give this fool material prosperity? Instead I shall induce him to take the nectar of the shelter of My lotus feet and make him forget illusory material enjoyment.'
CC Madhya 22.40: "'Whenever Krsna is requested to fulfill one's desire, He undoubtedly does so, but He does not award anything which, after being enjoyed, will cause one to petition Him again and again to fulfill further desires. When one has other desires but engages in the Lord's service, Krsna forcibly gives one shelter at His lotus feet, where one will forget all other desires.'
CC Madhya 22.41: "When someone engages in Lord Krsna's devotional service for the satisfaction of the senses and instead acquires a taste for serving Krsna, he gives up his material desires and willingly offers himself as an eternal servant of Krsna.
CC Madhya 22.42: "[When he was being blessed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Dhruva Maharaja said:] 'O my Lord, because I was seeking an opulent material position, I was performing severe types of penance and austerity. Now I have gotten You, who are very difficult for the great demigods, saintly persons and kings to attain. I was searching after a piece of glass, but instead I have found a most valuable jewel. Therefore I am so satisfied that I do not wish to ask any benediction from You.'
SO ONE CAN ATTAIN SHUDDHA BHAKTI BY APPROACHING LORD KRSNA OR HARI OR GAURANGA WITH ANY TYPE OF DESIRES.
SECONDLY, LOVE OF GOD IS ATTAINED BY PREMI BHAKTAS. IT IS HIGHER THAN SHUDDHA BHAKTI. JNANA BHAKTI<SHUDDHA BHAKTI<PREMA BHAKTI
DHRUVA MAHARAJA IN THIS WAY DID NOT GET KRISHNA PREMA.
HE GOT PURE DEVOTION.
BUT PREMA ALSO HAS MANY LEVELS:
VAIKUNTHAVASIS PREMA FOR NARAYANA
AYODHYAVASIS LOVE FOR RAMACHANDRA
DVARAKAVASIS LOVE FOR RUKMINIRAMAN
VRAJAVASIS LOVE FOR VRAJACHANDRA
SO, DHRUVA MAHARAJA ATTAINED VAISKUNTHA PREMA.
SORRY IF THERE IS ANY ERROR.
Hare Krsna Prabhu!
Here is an interesting article about Dhruva Mahraja by Satsvarupa Das:
http://backtogodhead.in/the-history-of-a-great-boy-devotee-dhruva-m...
While it doesn't directly answer your question, Satsvarupa Prabhu mentions "As a plucky young warrior child, Dhruva was looking for land in revenge for being pushed off the lap of his father. His cause was originally childish because he was asking God to become his order supplier. But the Supreme Lord is so kind that if one approaches Him even for land, he eventually gets the greatest opportunity the chance to become a lover of God. "
In other words, what our acharyas have mentioned is to guide us properly. Ultimately we will reach God if we persevere as much as Dhruva did, but then again this is Kali Yuga and that was Satya Yuga. The characteristics and tolerance levels are very different, for example in Satya Yuga one could meditate for ages without breaking concentration, but in Kali Yuga our attention span is less than 30 seconds.
Thus our acharyas told us to stay away from material desires because in this age we are more easily swayed by material pleasure and we should focus only on Krsna. But ultimately everything is Krsna's control. He could give us love of God if he so pleased, like he gave Dhruva Maharaja, but that would just make things easy. Dhruva, though he sought material desires, literally shook the 3 worlds with his meditation, that was how determined he was, and that determination is something we don't have in this age. His goal was to ask the Lord for material pleasure. If material pleasure was his sole gain, why did he not go to Lord Brahma or Lord Shiva who could have quickly given him the same in less amount of time and effort? Krsna works in many ways and in the end I think that this is one of his leelas :)
My apologies Prabhu if this is all jumbled up.