Prahlāda Mahārāja said that "I don't want my liberation alone. Unless I deliver all these fools who are rotting in this material world, I do not want my personal liberation." This is Vaiṣṇava philosophy. The Māyāvādī philosophers, they are going to Himalayas or some secluded place for personal benefit. But a Vaiṣṇava, he has no desire for personal benefit. The personal benefit is already there in Vaiṣṇava because he's in touch with the Supreme Lord by his service.
Akāmaḥ is one who has no material desire. A living being, naturally being the part and parcel of the supreme whole puruṣaṁ pūrṇam, has as his natural function to serve the Supreme Being, just as the parts and parcels of the body, or the limbs of the body, are naturally meant to serve the complete body. Desireless means, therefore, not to be inert like the stone, but to be conscious of one's actual position and thus desire satisfaction only from the Supreme Lord. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has explained this desirelessness as bhajanīya parama-puruṣa-sukha-mātra-sva-sukhatvam in his Sandarbha. This means that one should feel happy only by experiencing the happiness of the Supreme Lord. This intuition of the living being is sometimes manifested even during the conditioned stage of a living being in the material world, and such intuition is expressed in the manner of altruism, philanthropy, socialism, communism, etc., by the undeveloped minds of less intelligent persons.
In the mundane field such an outlook of doing good to others in the form of society, community, family, country, or humanity is a partial manifestation of the same original feelings in which a pure living entity feels happiness by the happiness of the Supreme Lord. Such superb feelings were exhibited by the damsels of Vrajabhūmi for the happiness of the Lord. The gopīs loved the Lord without any return, and this is the perfect exhibition of the akāma spirit. Kāma spirit, or the desire for one's own satisfaction, is fully exhibited in the material world, whereas the spirit of akāma is fully exhibited in the spiritual world.
Thoughts of becoming one with the Lord, or being merged in the brahmajyoti, can also be exhibitions of kāma spirit if they are desires for one's own satisfaction to be free from the material miseries. A pure devotee does not want liberation..."
Prabhupāda: Prahlāda Mahārāja said that "I don't want my liberation alone. Unless I deliver all these fools who are rotting in this material world, I do not want my personal liberation." This is Vaiṣṇava philosophy. The Māyāvādī philosophers, they are going to Himalayas or some secluded place for personal benefit. But a Vaiṣṇava, he has no desire for personal benefit. The personal benefit is already there in Vaiṣṇava because he's in touch with the Supreme Lord by his service. Prahlāda Mahārāja said,
- naivodvije para duratyaya-vaitaraṇyās
- tvad-vīrya-gāyana-mahāmṛta-magna-cittaḥ
- śoce tato vimukha-cetasa indriyārtha-
- māyā-sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhān
- (SB 7.9.43)
"My dear Lord, I am not anxious for myself. Because I have got the thing. I have no problem how to cross over the nescience or how to go to Vaikuṇṭha or to become liberated. These problems are solved." Why? How you have solved? Now, tvad-vīrya-gāyana-mahāmṛta-magna-cittaḥ. "Because I am engaged always in glorifying your activities, so my problem is solved."
Then what is your problem? The problem is śoce. "I am lamenting," śoce tato vimukha-cetasaḥ, "those who are averse to You. Being averse to You, they are working so hard," māyā-sukhāya, "for so-called happiness, these rascals. So I am simply lamenting for them." This is our Vaiṣṇava philosophy. One who has taken shelter of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, he has no problem. But his only problem is how to deliver the rascals who are simply working hard forgetting Kṛṣṇa. That is the problem.