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Poor devotees

Srimad-Bhagavatam

SB Canto 4

Dear Lord, You are the killer of all inauspicious things. You are compassionate upon Your poor devotees through the expansion of Your arcā-vigraha. You should certainly think of us as Your eternal servants.
SB 4.30.28, Translation and Purport:

Dear Lord, You are the killer of all inauspicious things. You are compassionate upon Your poor devotees through the expansion of Your arcā-vigraha. You should certainly think of us as Your eternal servants.

The form of the Lord known as arcā-vigraha is an expansion of His unlimited potencies. When the Lord is gradually satisfied with the service of a devotee, in due course of time He accepts the devotee as one of His many unalloyed servants. By nature, the Lord is very compassionate; therefore the service of neophyte devotees is accepted by the Lord. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (9.26):

patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ
yo me bhaktyā prayacchati
tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam
aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ

"If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it." The devotee offers eatables in the form of vegetables, fruits, leaves and water to the arcā-vigraha. The Lord, being bhakta-vatsala, compassionate upon His devotees, accepts these offerings. Atheists may think that the devotees are engaged in idol worship, but the fact is different. Janārdana, the Supreme Lord, accepts bhāva, the attitude of service. The neophyte devotee engaged in the worship of the Lord may not understand the value of such worship, but the Supreme Lord, being bhakta-vatsala, accepts His devotee and in due course of time takes him home.

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Now, the materialist says, "All right, you do not know whether you are going or not. You are giving up this material enjoyment. You are simply living on cāpāṭis. Oh, we have got so many palatable dishes, and you are not enjoying this. You are fool." So to these poor devotees who are taking cāpāṭis, the Lord says a very nice thing.
Lecture on BG 9.20-22 -- New York, December 6, 1966:

Gatāgatam kāma-kāmā labhante. Kāma-kāmāḥ means sense gratification. Sense gratification. But transcendentalists, they have understood that "This sense gratification process will not help me." This is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. One must understand perfectly well that this process of sense gratification, variyagasan, that will not help me. He is very intelligent. I will have to search out something else, not this sense gratification. So long I have got a pinch of desire for sense gratification, I will have to take this material body. And as soon as I have got this material body, then all of the material miseries are along with it. So those who are serious about, that "I do not want any more..." But we have become callous. We don't think that "What is miseries of...?" But those who are actually in knowledge, those who want to live, those who want to have perfect knowledge, those who want to have blissful life, they understand that "This material existence, either this Svargaloka or the heavenly planet or this planet or that, will never give me happiness. I will have to... As Kṛṣṇa informs herein, that yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama (BG 15.6), I will have to enter the kingdom of God, spiritual planet, where going I will have not to return back again to accept this material body."

That seriousness, one who has taken that serious attitude, they can actually perform this Kṛṣṇa consciousness very nicely. But those who are still under the impression that "Material advancement will make me happy," they are still under the spell of illusion. Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā (BG 7.14). This planet, that planet, that planet, that planet, that planet. But in no planet nowhere you can have perfect peace of life. That is impossible. Therefore those who are intelligent, those who are by God's grace, Kṛṣṇa's grace, or by good association one who can understand that "This sort of life is not desirable. I must perform dṛḍha-vrata, with great determination and vow, in this life so that yad gatvā na nivartante (BG 15.6), I may be transferred into the Kṛṣṇaloka planet where going I shall not have to return back..." Now, the materialist says, "All right, you do not know whether you are going or not. You are giving up this material enjoyment. You are simply living on cāpāṭis. Oh, we have got so many palatable dishes, and you are not enjoying this. You are fool." So to these poor devotees who are taking cāpāṭis, the Lord says a very nice thing. What is that?

ananyāś cintayanto māṁ
ye janāḥ paryupāsate
teṣāṁ nityābhiyuktānāṁ
yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham
(BG 9.22)

Well, materialist, Mr. materialist, you have to work very hard. But here the assurance is from the Lord that "Those who are unflinching and cent percent devoted in the transcendental service of Me, for them I take charge of the maintenance, all comforts." Nityābhiyuktānāṁ yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham (BG 9.22).

Page Title:Poor devotees
Compiler:Visnu Murti
Created:18 of Jan, 2012
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=1, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=1, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:2