B H A K T I (DEVOTIONAL SERVICE). part 14.

An unalloyed devotee who has developed ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa is alwaysengaging his words in reciting prayers to the Lord. Within the mind he isalways thinking of Kṛṣṇa, and with his body he either offers obeisances bybowing down before the Deity or engages in some other service. Duringthese ecstatic activities he sometimes sheds tears. In this way his wholelife is engaged in the service of the Lord, with not a moment wastedon any other engagement.(The Nectar of Devotion).When a person is undisturbed even in the presence of various causes ofdisturbance, he is called reserved and perseverant. An example of thisperseverance and reservation is found in the behavior of King Parīkṣit,as described in the First Canto, Nineteenth Chapter, verse 15, of ŚrīmadBhāgavatam. The King says there to all the sages present before him at thetime of his death, "My dear brāhmaṇas, you should always accept me asyour surrendered servant. I have come to the bank of the Ganges just todevote my heart and soul unto the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa. So please blessme, that mother Ganges may also be pleased with me. Let the curse of thebrāhmaṇa's son fall upon me — I do not mind. I only request that at thelast moment of my life all of you will kindly chant the holy name of Viṣṇu,so that I may realize His transcendental qualities."(The Nectar of Devotion).The senses are always desiring sense enjoyment, but when a devotee developstranscendental love for Kṛṣṇa his senses are no longer attracted by materialdesires. This state of mind is called detachment. There is a nice example of thisdetachment in connection with the character of King Bharata. In the Fifth Canto,Fourteenth Chapter, verse 43, of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is stated, "EmperorBharata was so attracted by the beauty of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa that even in hisyouthful life he gave up all kinds of attachments to family, children, friends,kingdom, etc., as though they were untouchable stools."(The Nectar of Devotion).When a devotee, in spite of possessing all the qualities of pure realization, is notproud of his position, he is called prideless. In the Padma Purāṇa it is stated thatKing Bhagīratha was the emperor above all other kings, yet he developed suchecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa that he became a mendicant and went out begging even tothe homes of his political enemies and untouchables. He was so humble that herespectfully bowed down before them.(The Nectar of Devotion).The strong conviction that one will certainly receive the favor of the SupremePersonality of Godhead is called in Sanskrit āśā-bandha. Āśā-bandha means tocontinue to think, "Because I'm trying my best to follow the routine principlesof devotional service, I am sure that I will go back to Godhead, back to home."(The Nectar of Devotion).When one is sufficiently eager to achieve success in devotional service, thateagerness is called samutkaṇṭhā. This means "complete eagerness." Actuallythis eagerness is the price for achieving success in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.Everything has some value, and one has to pay the value before obtainingor possessing it. It is stated in the Vedic literature that to purchase the mostvaluable thing, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one has to developintense eagerness for achieving success.(The Nectar of Devotion).This intense eagerness is very nicely expressed by Bilvamańgala Ṭhākura in hisbook Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta. He says, "I am eagerly waiting to see that boy ofVṛndāvana whose bodily beauty is captivating the whole universe, whose eyesare always bounded by black eyebrows and expanded like lotus petals, andwho is always eagerly glancing over His devotees and therefore moving slightlyhere and there. His eyes are always moist, His lips are colored like copper, andthrough those lips there comes a sound vibration which drives one madderthan a mad elephant. I want so much to see Him at Vṛndāvana!"Attachment for chanting the glories of the Lord is also expressed in theKṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta as follows: "What shall I do for Kṛṣṇa, who is pleasing beyondall pleasurable conceptions, and who is naughtier than all restless boys? Theidea of Kṛṣṇa's beautiful activities is attracting my heart,and I do not know what I can do!"It is said by Rūpa Gosvāmī that the attachment exhibited by pure devotees forKṛṣṇa cannot possibly be perfected in the hearts of fruitive workers (karmīs)or mental speculators, because such attachment in pure Kṛṣṇa consciousnessis very rare and not possible to achieve even for many liberated persons. Asstated in Bhagavad-gītā, liberation from material contamination is the stageat which devotional service can be achieved.As attachment can be invoked by the association of pure devotees, soattachment can also be extinguished by offenses committedat the lotus feet of pure devotees.(The Nectar of Devotion).If one can gradually advance his status in devotional service, this isunderstood to be due to the causeless mercy of Kṛṣṇa Himself. If a personis completely detached from material enjoyment and has developedpure ecstatic devotion, even if he is sometimes accidentally found not livingup to the standard of devotional service, one should not be envious of him.(The Nectar of Devotion).Ecstatic love of Godhead can be potently invoked simply by following the rulesand regulations of devotional service as they are prescribed in scriptures,under the direction of a bona fide spiritual master.(The Nectar of Devotion).When a devotee is found to be always associated with the Lord in ecstatic love,it is to be understood that such a position has been awarded by theLord Himself out of His causeless extraordinary mercy.(The Nectar of Devotion).Spontaneous attraction to Kṛṣṇa, which is said to be due to the extraordinarymercy of the Lord, can be placed under two headings: one is profoundveneration for the greatness of the Lord, and the other is one's beingautomatically attracted to Kṛṣṇa without any extraneous consideration.(The Nectar of Devotion).In the Nārada-pañcarātra pure, unalloyed devotional service is explained asbeing without any motive for personal benefit. If a devotee is continuouslyin love with Lord Kṛṣṇa and his mind is always fixed upon Him, that devotionalattitude will prove to be the only means of attracting the attention of the Lord.In other words, a Vaiṣṇava who is incessantly thinking of the formof Lord Kṛṣṇa is to be known as a pure Vaiṣṇava.The beginning of ecstatic love of Godhead is basically faith. There are manysocieties and associations of pure devotees, and if someone with just a littlefaith begins to associate with such societies, his advancement to puredevotional service is rapid. The influence of a pure devotee is such that ifsomeone comes to associate with him with a little faith, one gets the chanceof hearing about the Lord from authoritative scriptures like Bhagavad-gītāand Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Thus, by the mercy of the Lord, who is situated ineveryone's heart, one gradually develops his faith in the descriptions ofsuch authoritative scriptures. This is the first stage of association with puredevotees.(The Nectar of Devotion).In the second stage, after one becomes a little advanced and mature,he automatically offers to follow the principles of devotional service underthe guidance of the pure devotee and accepts him as the spiritual master.(The Nectar of Devotion).In the next stage, under the guidance of the spiritual master, the devoteeexecutes regulative devotional service, and as a result of such activities,he becomes freed from all unwanted occupations. When he is freed fromunwanted occupations, his faith becomes steadily fixed, and he develops atranscendental taste for devotional service, then attachment, then ecstasies,and in the last stage there is pure love of Godhead. These are the differentstages of the development of pure love.(The Nectar of Devotion).Only the most fortunate persons can achieve such success in life. Those whoare simply academic students of the Vedic scriptures cannot appreciate howsuch a development takes place. In the Nārada-pañcarātra Lord Śiva thereforetells Pārvatī, "My dear supreme goddess, you may know from me thatany person who has developed the ecstasy of love for the Supreme Personalityof Godhead, and who is always merged in transcendental bliss on accountof this love, cannot even perceive the material distress orhappiness coming from the body or mind."(The Nectar of Devotion).