The faithfulness of the goddess of fortune is the ideal for a chaste woman. The Brahma-saṁhitā (5.29) says, lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānam. In the Vaikuṇṭha planets, Lord Viṣṇu is worshiped by many, many thousands of goddesses of fortune, and in Goloka Vṛndāvana, Lord Kṛṣṇa is worshiped by many, many thousands of gopīs, all of whom are goddesses of fortune. A woman should serve her husband as faithfully as the goddess of fortune. A man should be an ideal servant of the Lord, and a woman should be an ideal wife like the goddess of fortune. Then both husband and wife will be so faithful and strong that by acting together they will return home, back to Godhead, without a doubt. In this regard, Śrīla Madhvācārya gives this opinion:
harir asmin sthita iti
strīṇāṁ bhartari bhāvanā
śiṣyāṇāṁ ca gurau nityaṁ
śūdrāṇāṁ brāhmaṇādiṣu
bhṛtyānāṁ svāmini tathā
hari-bhāva udīritaḥ
A woman should think of her husband as the Supreme Lord. Similarly, a disciple should think of the spiritual master as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, a śūdra should think of a brāhmaṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and a servant should think of his master as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this way, all of them will automatically become devotees of the Lord. In other words, by thinking this way, all of them will become Kṛṣṇa conscious.
(Srimad Bhagavatam----7:11:29----purport).
For instance, on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, Śrī Kṛṣṇa provoked Arjuna to fight because all the warriors on the battlefield were to die by Kṛṣṇa's plan. Kṛṣṇa Himself did not want to take credit; rather, He wanted Arjuna to take credit. Therefore He asked him to fight and win fame:
tasmāt tvam uttiṣṭha yaśo labhasva
jitvā śatrūn bhuṅkṣva rājyaṁ samṛddham
mayaivaite nihatāḥ pūrvam eva
nimitta-mātraṁ bhava savya-sācin
"Therefore get up. Prepare to fight and win glory. Conquer your enemies and enjoy a flourishing kingdom. They are already put to death by My arrangement, and you, O Savyasācī, can be but an instrument in the fight." (B.G.11:33)
Thus the Supreme Personality of Godhead gives credit to a devotee who performs any heavy task perfectly. Hanumānjī, or Vajrāṅgajī, the servant of Lord Rāmacandra, serves as another example. It was Hanumānjī who jumped over the sea in one leap and reached the shore of Laṅkā from the shore of Bhārata-varṣa. When Lord Rāmacandra chose to go there, He paved the way with stones, although by His will the stones were able to float on the sea. If we simply follow Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's instructions and follow in the footsteps of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement can advance, and even more difficult tasks can be performed by the preachers remaining faithful to the service of the Lord.
(Sri Caitanya Caritamrta----2:16:65----purport).
Vallabha Bhaṭṭa was greatly proud of his knowledge in devotional service, and therefore he wanted to speak about Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu without understanding the Lord's position. The Lord therefore hinted in many ways that if Vallabha Bhaṭṭa wanted to know what devotional service actually is, he would have to learn from all the devotees He mentioned, beginning with Advaita Ācārya, Lord Nityānanda, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya and Rāmānanda Rāya. As Svarūpa Dāmodara has said, if one wants to learn the meaning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, one must take lessons from a realized soul. One should not proudly think that one can understand the transcendental loving service of the Lord simply by reading books. One must become a servant of a Vaiṣṇava. As Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has confirmed, chāḍiyā vaiṣṇava-sevā nistāra peyeche kebā: one cannot be in a transcendental position unless one very faithfully serves a pure Vaiṣṇava. One must accept a Vaiṣṇava guru (ādau gurv-āśrayam), and then by questions and answers one should gradually learn what pure devotional service to Kṛṣṇa is. That is called the paramparā system.
(Sri Caitanya Caritamrta----3:7:53----purport).
The mahā-mantra (Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare) is also simply an address to the Lord and His energy. So to anyone who is constantly engaged in addressing the Lord and His energy, we can imagine how much the Supreme Lord is obliged. It is impossible for the Lord to ever forget such a devotee. It is clearly stated in this verse that anyone who addresses the Lord immediately attracts the attention of the Lord, who always remains obliged to him.
Another instance of Kṛṣṇa's feeling of obligation is stated in connection with His dealings with Jāmbavān. When the Lord was present as Lord Rāmacandra, Jāmbavān, the great king of the monkeys, rendered very faithful service to Him. When the Lord again appeared as Lord Kṛṣṇa, He married Jāmbavān's daughter and paid him all the respect that is usually given to superiors. Any honest person is obliged to his friend if some service has been rendered unto Him. Since Kṛṣṇa is the supreme honest personality, how can He forget an obligation to His servitor?
(Nectar of Devotion).
When one fully engages in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, he gradually realizes his own spiritual identity. Unless one faithfully chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, Kṛṣṇa does not reveal Himself: sevonmukhe hi jihvādau svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ. (Brs. 1.2.234) We cannot realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead by any artificial means. We must engage faithfully in the service of the Lord. Such service begins with the tongue (sevonmukhe hi jihvādau), which means that we should always chant the holy names of the Lord and accept kṛṣṇa-prasāda. We should not chant or accept anything else. When this process is faithfully followed, the Supreme Lord reveals Himself to the devotee.
When a person realizes himself to be an eternal servitor of Kṛṣṇa, he loses interest in everything but Kṛṣṇa's service. Always thinking of Kṛṣṇa, devising means by which to spread the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, he understands that his only business is in spreading the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement all over the world. Such a person is to be recognized as an uttama-adhikārī, and his association should be immediately accepted according to the six processes (dadāti pratigṛhṇāti, etc.). Indeed, the advanced uttama-adhikārī Vaiṣṇava devotee should be accepted as a spiritual master. Everything one possesses should be offered to him, for it is enjoined that one should deliver whatever he has to the spiritual master.
(Nectar of Instruction).
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