In the history of the devotees there was one devotee of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Īśāna. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu wanted to give him some benediction. He was very poor man. Even his roof, thatched roof, that was not properly... There were so many holes. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, "My dear Īśāna, if you like, you can take some benediction." "No, why I shall take benediction?" "No, you have no roof even on your thatched house." He said, "Why? There are many birds. They are living on the tree. There is no roof at all. I have got roof with some holes, that's all. And they have no roof at all, so how they are living? For this purpose I shall ask You benediction? No, no, no." In this way he refused. So that is pure devotion, that "I shall not take any benediction from the Lord, but I shall give everything to God." This is. There is competition.

The Lord wants to give the devotee all opulences, and the devotee refuses to accept it. He wants to give his life and soul to the Lord. This is perfection. The gopīs, the gopīs, the ideal, the topmost devotee, they gave their everything to Kṛṣṇa, but they did not ask anything from Kṛṣṇa. Their honor, their body, their life—everything, sacrificed everything. Therefore Kṛṣṇa said to the gopīs that "I have no power to repay your debt. You be satisfied with your own activity. I cannot give you anything."
So this is the ideal devotion.

Prabhupada's lecture - Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.9.55 - Vṛndāvana, April 10, 1976

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Last newsletters

Friday, April 19, 2024
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.9.11 — Montreal, August 17, 1968 Now here it is said, yad yaj jano bhagavate vidadhīta mānam. Whatever you are offering to Kṛṣṇa... Practically, we see that we are offering so many nice foodstuffs to Kṛṣṇa, but Kṛṣṇa, apparently...
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.9.10-11 — Montreal, July 14, 1968 Therefore Bhāgavata says they do not know their self-interest. Bahir arthaḥ maninaḥ: "Being captivated by the external energy." Na te viduḥ svārtha gatiṁ hi viṣṇum durāśayā ye...
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.9.10-11 — Montreal, July 14, 1968 No. Utopian, yes. That is the exact word. You are thinking something, building castle in the air. So Bhāgavata says durāśayā, utopian theory. He's thinking that "I shall be very great by doing...
Tuesday, April 16, 2024
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.9.10-11 — Montreal, July 14, 1968 So this is the creation. Sarvam idam. Therefore the Vedic injunction, sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma. There is nothing except Brahman. But the Māyāvādī philosophers, they do not accept the varieties....