Perfectly a devotee

Expressions researched:
"perfectly a devotee"

Philosophy Discussions

Guru means who has learned knowledge by the paramparā system. Śrotriyaṁ brahma. The result is that he is perfectly a devotee.

Philosophy Discussion on B. F. Skinner:

Śyāmasundara: Make the environment perfect.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That I have repeatedly said.

Devotee: The reason he built the box, he could not control the environment.

Prabhupāda: No, no, box, you are speaking box, (indistinct) different box. That is another thing. But the perfection is required.

Devotee: His supposition of being able to control the environment completely is imperfect, because he can't control the environment perfectly. Even if he builds his child a box, what if there is a fire in the house and the box burns down? How he can control that environment?

Śyāmasundara: Right now, the level of their experiments are relatively small. For instance, they have created teaching machines where a child is put in front of the machine and a question is asked, and if the child answers it correctly he gets the reward.

Prabhupāda: Another nonsense. The thing is that the Vedic conception of raising children, brahmācārya, that system is perfect.

Śyāmasundara: Not by machine.

Prabhupāda: No, this is (indistinct). We are not machines.

Śyāmasundara: No. But he says that when the answer is given correctly by the child, then he is rewarded by him.

Prabhupāda: The answers and questions are already there. That is (indistinct). Just like we say that tad vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet (MU 1.2.12). There is question and answer. Therefore in order to understand the transcendental science, we must go to guru, gurum eva abhigacchet. And then what is the symptom of guru? Samit-pāṇiḥ śrotriyaṁ brahma-niṣṭham. Guru means who has learned knowledge by the paramparā system. Śrotriyaṁ brahma. The result is that he is perfectly a devotee.

Śyāmasundara: Suppose we had a machine and one of our children was given the question "Who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead?" And then there were three possibilities, and if she pushed "Kṛṣṇa," some reward would come out.

Prabhupāda: She has to push some button to take out Kṛṣṇa.

Śyāmasundara: Just like the answer has three choices: Kṛṣṇa, Durgā, Kālī. Which one is the Supreme Personality? So if she chooses Kṛṣṇa and then he gets rewarded. So in the future he will always think Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Prabhupāda: Why must think? Why not take a live master?

Devotee: Yes. He says that that can be done also, but he is saying that they should be rewarded when they say the right answer.

Śyāmasundara: He says that this will solve the problem of not enough teachers in our schools, public schools, not enough teachers for our children. A huge class, and the children have only one teacher. So there's not enough individual time given to each student.

Prabhupāda: So why not produce many teachers? That we (indistinct).

Śyāmasundara: No one wants to teach anymore. No one wants to teach anymore.

Prabhupāda: Why?

Devotee: They don't know what to teach.

Prabhupāda: Because they do not know how to teach, and they are simply teaching (indistinct).

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

If one becomes perfectly a devotee of the Lord, all the good qualities of demigods manifest automatically.

Room Conversation with Two Buddhist Monks -- July 12, 1973, London:

Buddhist Monk (1): I had last time an opportunity before coming to Southampton, I addressed some people from Śrī Laṅkā, and there were some people from Canada as well at Montreal. And I pointed this out. In this light, I find almost all the teachers that come from that part of the world and their followers are trying to live up to this noble virtue. And if people get together, live together and have meals, perhaps even that...

Prabhupāda: So these devotees, they have not been separately instructed about hospitality. But because they are devotees of the Lord, this hospitality automatically they learn. Yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ (SB 5.18.12). If one becomes perfectly a devotee of the Lord, all the good qualities of demigods manifest automatically. The hospitality is also a good quality. So out of many good qualities, this is one of them. So these devotees, they are automatically well-behaving to the guests, newcomers on account of their advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Because a Kṛṣṇa conscious person takes everyone, not only human being, but even animals, insects, trees, birds, beasts, everyone, living entities, as part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. So it is their duty to behave well with all living entities. Not only the human beings, but also even with the animals. Ahiṁsā. Amānitvam adambhitvam ahiṁsā kṣāntir ārjavam (BG 13.8). The ahiṁsā preached by Lord Buddha, that is also one of the qualifications of devotee. Amānitvam adambhitvam ahiṁsā. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. So we are preaching... Every religion preaches, but people do not follow. The Christian religion also preaches ahiṁsā: "Thou shall not kill," but they do not follow.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Kṛṣṇa says one who is completely free from sinful life, he can become perfectly a devotee.

Morning Walk -- January 21, 1977, Bhuvanesvara:

(riding in car)

Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa says one who is completely free from sinful life, he can become perfectly a devotee. So these are the four pillars of sinful life. Yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpam (BG 7.28). Oh, it is nice park.

Rāmeśvara: But because this is the age of Kali, even if the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement spreads and even captures governments, how can we stop individual people from doing this? (car stops)

Prabhupāda: No. You cannot expect cent percent will be sinless. But there must be an ideal section—"Oh, here is..." That is wanted. That is wanted, not that you can expect cent percent ideal.

Gargamuni: Gate's locked?

Hari-śauri: So that ideal should be the persons who are living in our āśramas.

Rāmeśvara: No, they're in there.(?)

Gargamuni: That's our man. He jumped over the fence to get the gate open open.

Rāmeśvara: But now, suppose there is some businessman, and he knows that everybody is wanting this sex. So he is making movie or writing a book describing these things.

Prabhupāda: These things were formerly restricted-censor board.