Neophyte devotees (Books)
Expressions researched:
"neophyte devotee"
|"neophyte devotees"
|"devotees who are neophyte"
|"neophyte and an advanced devotee"
|"neophyte and an intermediate devotee"
|"second class and neophyte"
|"neophyte or third-class devotee"
|"neophyte fruitive devotees"
|"neophyte Vaisnava devotees"
Bhagavad-gita As It Is
BG Chapters 1 - 6
BG Chapters 7 - 12
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 1
SB Canto 2
SB Canto 3
SB Canto 4
- tyaktvā sva-dharmaṁ caraṇāmbujaṁ harer
- bhajann apakvo 'tha patet tato yadi
- yatra kva vābhadram abhūd amuṣya kiṁ
- ko vārtha āpto 'bhajatāṁ sva-dharmataḥ
- atyāhāraḥ prayāsaś ca
- prajalpo niyamāgrahaḥ
- jana-saṅgaś ca laulyaṁ ca
- ṣaḍbhir bhaktir vinaśyati
- [NoI 2]
- patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ
- yo me bhaktyā prayacchati
- tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam
- aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ
SB Canto 5
- catur-vidhā bhajante māṁ
- janāḥ sukṛtino 'rjuna
- ārto jijñāsur arthārthī
- jñānī ca bharatarṣabha
"O best among the Bharatas [Arjuna], four kinds of pious men render devotional service unto Me—the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute." The ārta and the arthārthī, who approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead for relief from misery or for some money, are not sakāma-bhaktas, although they appear to be. Being neophyte devotees, they are simply ignorant. Later in Bhagavad-gītā the Lord says, udārāḥ sarva evaite: [Bg. 7.18] they are all magnanimous (udārāḥ). Although in the beginning a devotee may harbor some desire, in due course of time it will vanish. Therefore the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam enjoins: akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena yajeta puruṣaṁ param
"A person who has broader intelligence, whether he is full of all material desire, is free from material desire, or has a desire for liberation, must by all means worship the supreme whole, the Personality of Godhead." (SB 2.3.10)SB Canto 6
SB Canto 7
SB Canto 8
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
Perfect servitors of the Lord are considered His personal associates, whereas devotees endeavoring to attain perfection are called neophytes. Among the associates, some are attracted by the opulences of the Personality of Godhead, and others are attracted by nuptial love of Godhead. The former devotees are placed in the realm of Vaikuṇṭha to render reverential devotional service, whereas the latter devotees are placed in Vṛndāvana for the direct service of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
Ādi 1.65–66CC Madhya-lila
- arcāyām eva haraye pūjāṁ yaḥ śraddhayehate
- na tad-bhakteṣu cānyeṣu sa bhaktaḥ prākṛtaḥ smṛtaḥ
Yet even by associating with such a neophyte devotee, one can become a devotee also. When Lord Caitanya was teaching Sanātana Gosvāmī, He said:
- śraddhāvān jana haya bhakti-adhikārī
- ‘uttama’, ‘madhyama’, ‘kaniṣṭha’—śraddhā-anusārī
- yāhāra komala-śraddhā, se ‘kaniṣṭha’ jana
- krame krame teṅho bhakta ha-ibe ‘uttama’
- rati-prema-tāratamye bhakta-taratama
“A person who has attained firm faith is a real candidate for advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. According to the faith, there are first-class, second-class and neophyte devotees. One who has preliminary faith is called a kaniṣṭha-adhikārī, or a neophyte. The neophyte, however, can become an advanced devotee if he strictly follows the regulative principles set down by the spiritual master. Therefore it is on the basis of faith and attachment to Kṛṣṇa that one can judge who is a madhyama-adhikārī or an uttama-adhikārī.” (Cc. Madhya 22.64, 69, 71)
It is thus concluded that even a neophyte devotee is superior to the karmīs and jñānīs because he has full faith in chanting the holy name of the Lord. A karmī or a jñānī, regardless of his greatness, has no faith in Lord Viṣṇu, His holy name or His devotional service. One may be advanced religiously, but if he is not trained in devotional service, he has very little credit on the transcendental platform. Even a neophyte devotee engaged in Deity worship in accordance with the regulations set forth by the spiritual master is in a position superior to that of the fruitive worker and speculative philosopher.CC Antya-lila
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Teachings of Lord Caitanya
- (1) take shelter of a bona fide spiritual master,
- (2) receive initiation from the spiritual master,
- (3) serve the spiritual master,
- (4) inquire and learn love from the spiritual master,
- (5) follow in the footsteps of holy persons devoted to the transcendental loving service of the Lord,
- (6) prepare to give up all kinds of enjoyment and miseries for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa,
- (7) live in a place where Kṛṣṇa had His pastimes,
- (8) be satisfied by whatever is sent by Kṛṣṇa for the maintenance of the body and hanker for no more,
- (9) observe fasting on Ekādaśī day (this occurs on the eleventh day after the full moon and the eleventh day after the new moon. On such days no grains, cereals or beans are eaten; simply vegetables and milk are moderately taken, and chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and reading scriptures are increased.),
- (10) show respect to devotees, cows and sacred trees like the banyan tree.
Nectar of Devotion
- 1) accepting the shelter of the lotus feet of a bona fide spiritual master,
- (2) becoming initiated by the spiritual master and learning how to discharge devotional service from him,
- (3) obeying the orders of the spiritual master with faith and devotion,
- (4) following in the footsteps of great ācāryas (teachers) under the direction of the spiritual master,
- (5) inquiring from the spiritual master how to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness,
- (6) being prepared to give up anything material for the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa (this means that when we are engaged in the devotional service of Kṛṣṇa, we must be prepared to give up something which we may not like to give up, and also we have to accept something which we may not like to accept),
- (7) residing in a sacred place of pilgrimage like Dvārakā or Vṛndāvana,
- (8) accepting only what is necessary, or dealing with the material world only as far as necessary,
- (9) observing the fasting day on Ekādaśī and
- (10) worshiping sacred trees like the banyan tree.
Nectar of Instruction
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
Renunciation Through Wisdom
"The neophyte Vaiṣṇava devotees' ringing the bell even once during worship of the Deity of the Supreme Lord is a million times more valuable, spiritually and otherwise, than the charitable :fruitive workers building many hospitals, feeding thousands of the poor, or building homes, or :even the empirical philosophers' Vedic studies, meditation, austerities, and penances."
The mahātmās have shown the perfect path of charity: devotional service to the Lord. If anyone ignores this path and instead builds hospitals, his effort to help humanity is a mere pretense. Humanity can never reap any permanent advantage from such activities. Indeed, the number of patients only increases along with the number of hospitals. And as for feeding the poor, this will never eradicate poverty, but encourage it. Frankly speaking, we are not against opening hospitals or feeding the poor, or any other such humanitarian service. But what we have learned from our beloved spiritual master is that when devotional service to the Lord is neglected, every other activity is illusory and futile. Without genuine devotional service, even opening hospitals and feeding the poor in the name of Lord Kṛṣṇa is futile. Spiritual groups that do not strictly follow in Lord Caitanya's line cannot comprehend this because they do not wish to abide by the instructions of the mahātmās.Mukunda-mala-stotra (mantras 1 to 6 only)
Narada-bhakti-sutra (sutras 1 to 8 only)
Page Title: | Neophyte devotees (Books) |
Compiler: | Syamananda, Visnu Murti |
Created: | 21 of Dec, 2007 |
Totals by Section: | BG=2, SB=40, CC=27, OB=28, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0 |
No. of Quotes: | 97 |