Antya 20.52-“I do not mind My personal distress. I only wish for the happiness of Kṛṣṇa, for His happiness is the goal of My life. However, if He feels great happiness in giving Me distress, that distress is the best of My happiness.


Purport-Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura says that a devotee does not care about his own happiness and distress; he is simply interested in seeing that Kṛṣṇa is happy, and for that purpose he engages in various activities. A pure devotee has no way of sensing happiness except by seeing that Kṛṣṇa is happy in every respect. If Kṛṣṇa becomes happy by giving him distress, such a devotee accepts that unhappiness as the greatest of all happiness. Those who are materialistic, however, who are very proud of material wealth and have no spiritual knowledge, like the prākṛta-sahajiyās, regard their own happiness as the aim of life. Some of them aspire to enjoy themselves by sharing the happiness of Kṛṣṇa. This is the mentality of fruitive workers who want to enjoy sense gratification by making a show of service to Kṛṣṇa.



Antya 20.55-“Why does a woman continue to live who knows that Kṛṣṇa’s heart is unhappy but who still shows her deep anger toward Him? She is interested in her own happiness. I condemn such a woman to be struck on the head with a thunderbolt, for We simply want the happiness of Kṛṣṇa.


Purport-A devotee who is satisfied only with his own sense gratification certainly falls down from the service of Kṛṣṇa. Being attracted by material happiness, he later joins the prākṛta-sahajiyās, who are considered to be nondevotees.

Antya 20.57-“The wife of a brāhmaṇa suffering from leprosy manifested herself as the topmost of all chaste women by serving a prostitute to satisfy her husband. She thus stopped the movement of the sun, brought her dead husband back to life and satisfied the three principal demigods [Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Maheśvara].


Purport-The Āditya Purāṇa, Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa and Padma Purāṇa tell about a brāhmaṇa who was suffering from leprosy but had a very chaste and faithful wife. He desired to enjoy the company of a prostitute, and therefore his wife went to her and became her maidservant, just to draw her attention for his service. When the prostitute agreed to associate with him, the wife brought her the leprotic husband. When that leper, the sinful son of a brāhmaṇa, saw the chastity of his wife, he finally abandoned his sinful intentions. While coming home, however, he touched the body of Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi, who thus cursed him to die at sunrise. Because of her chastity, the woman was very powerful. Therefore when she heard about the curse, she vowed to stop the sunrise. Because of her strong determination to serve her husband, the three deities — namely Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Maheśvara — were very happy, and they gave her the benediction that her husband would be cured and brought back to life. This example is given herein to emphasize that a devotee should engage himself exclusively for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa, without personal motives. That will make his life successful.



Feb 25 1977 Mayapur room conversation


Prabhupāda: No, another thing, it is aparādha... Nāmno balād yasya hi pāpa-buddhiḥ. Unless he is in the process, he'll think, "I am chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, so whatever sinful activities I am..., it will be controlled."


Brahmānanda: That's the worst offense.


Prabhupāda: Yes. That is very bad offense.


Hari-śauri: So we're actually advertising the process of devotional service, not just simply haphazard chanting.


Prabhupāda: First of all we are chanting just to make him little attracted. Ādau śraddhā.


Rāmeśvara: Just to popularize it.


Prabhupāda: Yes, that's it. Then, if the heart is little cleansed, then they will understand. It will be effective, but when it is done properly it will give real effect. Outsider, those who are chanting, we don't discourage him.


Rāmeśvara: We want then to chant more.


Prabhupāda: Yes. But we must... They must know the science also.


Rāmeśvara: Just like this Alice Coltrane. She has done her small part. She made this record album with Govinda Jaya Jaya and Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Prabhupāda: That is... That will be a good thing. But when he does it properly it will be more effective, because there is... If one does not chant in the process, then gradually it degrades. The offense will increase. There is chance.

SB 3.29.8 purport...
To act under the direction of a bona fide spiritual master with a motive to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead is pure devotional service. But if one has a motive for personal sense gratification, his devotional service is manifested differently. Such a man may be violent, proud, envious and angry, and his interests are separate from the Lord’s.

SB 3.29.9The worship of Deities in the temple by a separatist, with a motive for material enjoyment, fame and opulence, is devotion in the mode of passion.


Purport-The word “separatist” must be understood carefully. The Sanskrit words in this connection are bhinna-dṛk and pṛthag-bhāvaḥ. A separatist is one who sees his interest as separate from that of the Supreme Lord. Mixed devotees, or devotees in the modes of passion and ignorance, think that the interest of the Supreme Lord is supplying the orders of the devotee; the interest of such devotees is to draw from the Lord as much as possible for their sense gratification. This is the separatist mentality. Actually, pure devotion is explained in the previous chapter: the mind of the Supreme Lord and the mind of the devotee should be dovetailed. A devotee should not wish anything but to execute the desire of the Supreme. That is oneness. When the devotee has an interest or will different from the interest of the Supreme Lord, his mentality is that of a separatist. When the so-called devotee desires material enjoyment, without reference to the interest of the Supreme Lord, or he wants to become famous or opulent by utilizing the mercy or grace of the Supreme Lord, he is in the mode of passion.


Dec 22 1976 Poona conversation
One class is called karmī. They are thinking that by working hard and trying to find out my own way of happiness, they will be happy. This is called karmī. Without any knowledge, they are simply working. They are actually like the animals. The animals, the dog, is jumping, a few miles he is jumping. He is thinking that "By jumping I shall be happy." Or for the time being he may happy by jumping, and sometimes thinking otherwise. So karmīs, they do not know what is the actual aim of life. Out of many millions of persons, mostly they are karmīs. They do not know what is the actual aim of life. But they are devising different plans, that "I shall be happy in this way." This is called karmī. He does not take the standard way of happiness.

Then the next elevated person is jñānī. He thinks, ponders, that "I have worked so hard, but still I could not become happy." The jñānī. He searches out philosophically. Then next class, yogī. Yogī concentrates the mind to think over, "What is my problem? Why I am not happy?" How he can become happy, he is trying to, very soberly, to understand. Yoga means controlling the senses, and the master of the senses is the mind. So he, trying to make the mind concentrated on the fact, he is yogī. And then the next stage is... If he is yogī, then there are different types of yoga system. But when he comes to the point that "I am not master. There is one master, controller. So master, whatever master orders, I have to execute that. That is my real happiness," bhakta. So karmī, jñānī, yogī and bhakta.



So out of these four classes of men, the three classes---means karmī, jñānī and yogī---they are restless, because they actually did not find out what is the solution. One after another, there are different classes, there are classification. One is better than the other. That is another thing. But none of them... They are still misled. A karmī, he is thinking that "I am poor man. If I become rich man, I will be happy." He is thinking in that way. Jñānī is thinking that "Poor and rich doesn't matter. I am Brahman. I am spirit soul. If I merge into the Supreme Brahman I will be happy." Yogī is thinking that "The Absolute is present everywhere in His personal feature. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe arjuna tiṣṭhati [Bg. 18.61]. So if I become one with Him, I will be happy." But still there is a demand, "If I become like this." So, so long he is not self-realized, he will try to become something, and so long he'll try to become something, then there will be restlessness. There cannot be happiness. And when he comes to the realization point that "Why I am trying to become something? I am this, and this, that is my position," then he becomes happy. That is bhakti. Everyone is trying to become something. And bhakta knows, "I am this." There is no question of becoming. And this is my position. Very nice. Therefore Kṛṣṇa ultimately said that "This is the most confidential knowledge, Arjuna. I am teaching you so many things. There is no need of understanding so many things. The real thing is that I am the master; you are My servant. You surrender unto Me, that's all. Then you'll be happy."


Indian man: Very bold step.


Prabhupāda: So there is no second answer. The answer is one. "Kṛṣṇa is master, I am servant." That's all. What is the duty? Just like here is a servant. Whatever you are ordering, he is doing.

Some Conclusions--From karma misra yoga, to karma yoga to jnana yoga all the way to bhakti yoga can be a long way and take many births. But if one finds a bona fide spiritual master, like Srila Prahbupada who can explain this long and winding path back to Godhead in his books,(like in the above statements) then the disciple can by pass many births of wasting time searching and trying to "become" something or somebody. We are like small children who are trying to get up and walk like the grownups we see around us. Prabhupada is the "grownup" and we are the children trying to walk the talk like he does. The answer is given everywhere in his books-chant Hare Krsna mantra without offense and go back to Godhead.To understand how to do that we must read his books, there is no other way no other way no other way.....


Hare Krsna
Damaghosa das