Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Sri Caitanya Caritamrita Madhya 19.149krishna-bhakta -- nishkama, ataeva 'santa'bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kami -- sakali 'asanta'SYNONYMSkrishna-bhakta -- a devotee of Lord Krishna; nishkama -- actually desireless; ataeva -- therefore; santa -- peaceful; bhukti -- of material enjoyment; mukti -- of liberation from material activities; siddhi -- of perfection in yogic performance; kami -- those who are desirous; sakali -- all of them; asanta -- not peaceful.TRANSLATION"Because a devotee of Lord Krishna is desireless, he is peaceful. Fruitive workers desire material enjoyment, jnanis desire liberation, and yogis desire material opulence; therefore they are all lusty and cannot be peaceful.PURPORTThe devotee of Lord Krishna has no desire other than serving Krishna. Even so-called liberated people are full of desires. Fruitive actors desire better living accommodations, and jnanis want to be one with the Supreme. Yogis desire material opulence, yogic perfections and magic. All of these nondevotees are lusty (kami). Because they desire something, they cannot have peace.The peace formula is given by Krishna in the Bhagavad-gita (5.29):bhoktaram yajna-tapasam sarva-loka-mahesvaramsuhridam sarva-bhutanam jnatva mam santim ricchatiOne who simply understands that throughout the entire universe Krishna is the supreme enjoyer and beneficiary of all kinds of sacrifices, penances and austerities, which should be performed only to attain His devotional service, that Krishna is the Supreme Being and thus the proprietor of all the material worlds, and that Krishna is the only friend who can actually do good to all living entities (suhridam sarva-bhutanam) -- one who understands these three principles about Krishna immediately becomes desireless (nishkama) and therefore peaceful. A krishna-bhakta knows that his friend and protector in all respects is Krishna, who is able to do anything for His devotee. Krishna says, kaunteya pratijanihi name bhaktah pranasyati: "O son of Kunti, declare it boldly that My devotee never perishes." Since Krishna gives this assurance, the devotee lives in Krishna and has no desire for personal benefit. The background for the devotee is the all-good Himself. Why should the devotee aspire for something good for himself? His only business is to please the Supreme by rendering as much service as possible. A krishna-bhakta has no desire for his own personal benefit. He is completely protected by the Supreme. Avasya rakshibe krishna visvasapalana. Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that he is desireless because Krishna will give him protection in all circumstances. It is not that he expects any assistance from Krishna; he simply depends on Krishna just as a child depends on his parents. The child does not know how to expect service from his parents, but he is always protected nevertheless. This is callednishkama (desirelessness).Although karmis, jnanis and yogis fulfill their desires by performing various activities, they are never satisfied. A karmi may work very hard to acquire a million dollars, but as soon as he gets a million dollars he desires another million. For the karmis, there is no end of desire. The more the karmi gets, the more he desires. The jnanis cannot be desireless because their intelligence is unsound. They want to merge into the Brahman effulgence, but even though they may be raised to that platform, they cannot be satisfied there. There are many jnanis or sannyasis who, after taking sannyasa and giving up the world as false, return to the world to engage in politics or philanthropy or to open schools and hospitals. This means that they could not attain the real Brahman (brahma satyam). They have to come down to the material platform to engage in philanthropic activity. Thus they again cultivate desires, and when these desires are exhausted, they desire something different. Therefore the jnani cannot be nishkama, desireless. Nor can the yogis be desireless, for they desire yogic perfections in order to exhibit some magical feats and gain popularity. People gather around these yogis, and the yogis desire more and more adulation. Because they misuse their mystic power, they fall down again to the material platform. It is not possible for them to become nishkama, desireless.The conclusion is that only the devotees, who are simply satisfied in serving the Lord, can actually become desireless. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu says here, krishna-bhaktanishkama. Since the krishna-bhakta, the devotee of Krishna, is satisfied with Krishna, there is no possibility of falldown.Copyright (c) The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
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