In the Padma Purāṇa there is a statement of submission in feeling by devoteespraying to the Lord: "My Lord, I know that young girls have natural affectionfor young boys, and that young boys have natural affection for young girls.I am praying at Your lotus feet that my mind maybecome attracted unto You in the same spontaneous way."This is a material example, but the devotee is praying that he may develop asimilar spontaneous attachment for the Supreme Lord, free from anydesire for profit and without any other cause. This natural attraction forthe Lord is the perfectional stage of self-realization.(The Nectar of Devotion).In the Padma Purāṇa there is a statement about submission in humbleness.It is stated there, "My dear Lord, there is no sinful living entity who is moreof a sinner than myself. Nor is there a greater offender than myself.I am so greatly sinful and offensive that when I come to confess my sinfulactivities before You, I am ashamed."This is a natural position for a devotee.As far as the conditioned soul is concerned, there is no wonder that he hassome sinful activities in his past life, and this should be admitted andconfessed before the Lord. As soon as this is done, the Lord excuses thesincere devotee. But that does not mean that one should take advantageof the Lord's causeless mercy and expect to be excused over and over again,while he commits the same sinful activities.Such a mentality is only for shameless persons.(The Nectar of Devotion).In the Nārada-pañcarātra there is a statement of submission accompaniedby the desire for perfection. The devotee says, "My dear Lord, when shallthat day come when You will ask me to fan Your body, and according toYour pleasure, You will say, 'You just fan Me in this way'?"The idea in this verse is that the devotee is desiring to personally fan the bodyof the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That means that he is desiringto become the personal associate of the Supreme Lord.(The Nectar of Devotion).One should learn how to cry for the Lord. One should learn this small technique,and he should be very eager and actually cry to become engaged in someparticular type of service. This is called laulyam, and such tears are the pricefor the highest perfection. If one develops this laulyam, or excessive eagernessfor meeting and serving the Lord in a particular way,that is the price to enter into the kingdom of God.(The Nectar of Devotion).In Skanda Purāṇa the glories of these prayers are stated as follows:"Devotees whose tongues are decorated always with prayers to Lord Kṛṣṇaare always given respect even by the great saintly persons and sages,and such devotees are actually worshipable by the demigods."In the Nṛsiḿha Purāṇa it is stated, "Any person who comes before the Deityof Lord Kṛṣṇa and begins to chant different prayers is immediately relievedfrom all the reactions of sinful activities and becomes eligible,without any doubt, to enter into the Vaikuṇṭhaloka."In the Padma Purāṇa: "A person who honours the prasāda and regularly eats it,not exactly in front of the Deity, along with caraṇāmṛta (the water offered tothe lotus feet of the Lord, which is mixed with seeds of the tulasī tree),immediately can achieve the results of pious activities which areobtained through ten thousand performances of sacrificial rites."In the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya there is a statement about the incense which isoffered in the temple: "When the devotees smell the good flavour of theincense which is offered to the Deity, they thus become cured of thepoisonous effects of material contamination, as much as one becomescured of a snakebite by smelling the prescribed medicinal herbs."The explanation of this verse is that there is an herb found in the jungleswhich expert persons know how to use to revive the consciousness of onewho is bitten by a snake. Simply by smelling that herb one becomesimmediately relieved of the poisonous effects of the snakebite.The same example is applicable: when a person comes to visit the templeand smells the incense offered to the Deity,he is cured at that time from all his material contamination.(The Nectar of Devotion).It is confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, "One who has not washed off allreactions of sinful activities cannot be a pure devotee. A pure devotee hasno more doubts about the supremacy of the Personality of Godhead,and thus he engages himself in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and devotional service."In the Viṣṇu-dharmottara there is a statement about touching the lotus feetof the Lord. It is said, "Only a person who is initiated as a Vaiṣṇavaand is executing devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousnesshas the right to touch the body of the Deity."In the Varāha Purāṇa there is a statement praising the seeing of theDeity of Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the temple. A devotee says there, "My dear Vasundharā,any person who goes to Vṛndāvana and sees the Deity of Govindadevais free from the courthouse of Yamarāja and is allowed to enterinto the highest planetary system, in which reside the demigods."In the Skanda Purāṇa there is the following description of the result ofseeing ārati (worship) of the Deity: "If someone sees the face of the Lordwhile āratiis going on, he can be relieved of all sinful reactions comingfrom many, many thousands and millions of years past."
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