Awakening Pure Feelings for God

The journey of spiritual realization is essentially the process of purifying the heart so that genuine, unalloyed feelings for the Supreme Lord can awaken. In the conditioned state, the soul’s natural emotions are misdirected toward temporary material objects, leading to false pride and a hardened heart. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that when a person is intoxicated by material opulence, they lose their spiritual sensitivity and become incapable of feelingly addressing the Lord. However, as one begins to practice devotional service and understands the teachings of scriptures like the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.8.26, the heart becomes cleansed. The devotee then naturally invests their thinking, feeling, and willing into the service of Kṛṣṇa, leading to the ultimate perfection: a sublime, reciprocal exchange of transcendental love with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Teachings Overview

This article explores how a conditioned soul awakens true spiritual emotions for God. It contrasts the emotional deadness caused by material pride with the vibrant gratitude, humility, and transcendental reciprocation found in pure devotional service.

Key Teachings

• Intoxication from material assets makes one incapable of feelingly chanting the holy name.
• Cleansing the heart of material desire allows the soul to constantly and feelingly think of the Lord.
• Sincere feelings for God naturally manifest as profound gratitude and a desire to serve.
• The supreme perfection of life is the intimate exchange of feelings between Kṛṣṇa and His devotees.

The Barrier of Material Intoxication

Material wealth, high birth, and prestigious education often act as stumbling blocks on the path of devotion. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that such temporary possessions artificially puff up the conditioned soul, destroying their spiritual humility and making it impossible for them to address the Lord with genuine, heartfelt emotion.

Overcoming False Pride

"By possessing all these material assets one becomes artificially puffed up, intoxicated by such temporary possessions. Consequently, such materially puffed up persons are incapable of uttering the holy name of the Lord by addressing Him feelingly."

Śrīla Prabhupāda explains how material pride stifles spiritual emotion.

"Kuntidevi says that those who are intoxicated in this way cannot feelingly address the Lord. They cannot feelingly say, jaya radha-madhava: "All glories to Radha and Krsna!" They have lost their spiritual feeling."

Śrīla Prabhupāda highlights Queen Kuntī's realization regarding material intoxication.

"They cannot feelingly address the Lord, because they do not have knowledge. "Oh, God is for the poor man," they think."

Śrīla Prabhupāda notes the foolish arrogance of materially successful people.

"Being completely cleansed of all material desires, the devotees are freed from all mental contamination. Thus they can always think of the Lord constantly and address Him very feelingly."

Śrīla Prabhupāda reveals the result of a completely cleansed consciousness.

Expressing Gratitude and Humility

When the heart is cleared of false prestige, the soul naturally feels a profound sense of indebtedness to the Supreme Creator. Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that this awakened feeling manifests as deep gratitude for the Lord's daily benedictions and a humble recognition of one's own material shortcomings.

The Foundation of Spiritual Emotion

"As a matter of gratitude, they (human beings) should feel obliged to the Lord for their supply of foodstuff, and they must first offer Him food in sacrifice and then partake of the remnants."

Śrīla Prabhupāda instructs on the daily practical application of gratitude.

"There is no sufficient means to repay the Personality of Godhead for His act of benediction; therefore, we can simply feel gratitude and pray to the Lord with folded hands."

Śrīla Prabhupāda identifies the only appropriate response to divine mercy.

"Then that supreme authority, personified by sound and unseen by eyes, but most wonderful, stopped speaking. Feeling a sense of gratitude, I (Narada) offered my obeisances unto Him, bowing my head."

Śrīla Prabhupāda references Nārada Muni's emotional surrender to the Supreme.

"In the Aparadha-bhanjana a pure devotee expresses his feelings: "My dear Lord, I am ashamed to admit before You that I have carried out the orders of my masters named lust, anger, avarice, illusion and envy.""

Śrīla Prabhupāda illustrates the profound humility of a pure devotee.

Redirecting the Mind and Heart

To fully awaken spiritual emotions, one must actively redirect their internal faculties away from mundane subjects. Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that when a person intentionally invests their thinking, feeling, and willing into the service of Lord Kṛṣṇa, they immediately experience the highest peace and spiritual satisfaction.

Investing Emotions in the Supreme

"Let me now invest my thinking, feeling and willing, which were so long engaged in different subjects and occupational duties, in the all-powerful Lord Sri Krsna."

Śrīla Prabhupāda describes the conscious shift of the soul's inner faculties.

"There are five kinds of relationship. Just like "God is great." That is simply feeling the greatness of God. Then, when he feels exactly how God is great, then naturally there will be an inclination to serve God. That is called servitude."

Śrīla Prabhupāda details the natural progression from awe to active service.

"Persons who may not even be conversant with knowledge of the Supreme Personality but who always think of the Lord with love and faith, feeling that He is great and that they are His parts and parcels, ever His servitors, are even more favored by Him."

Śrīla Prabhupāda affirms that sincere feelings attract the Lord's favor more than vast knowledge.

"He (a person who tries to reciprocate a feeling of love towards the Supreme Personality of Godhead) will at once feel the highest peace of mind for which he is hankering life after life."

Śrīla Prabhupāda guarantees ultimate satisfaction through reciprocating with God.

The Transcendental Exchange of Feelings

The ultimate goal of devotional service is not impersonal voidism, but a dynamic, personal relationship with God. Śrīla Prabhupāda reveals that in the highest stages of pure devotion, such as the love exhibited by Prahlāda Mahārāja or the gopīs of Vṛndāvana, the Lord directly exchanges deeply intimate feelings with His devotees.

The Highest Perfection of Reciprocation

"It is (The Lord's rasa-lila with the gopis) the highest perfectional stage of the exchange of feelings between the Lord and the living entities. The Lord gives the fallen souls the chance for this highest perfection of life."

Śrīla Prabhupāda defines the zenith of all spiritual emotion.

"He (Uddhava) always kept them (the gopis) engaged in thinking of the transcendental message of Krsna and His pastimes, and the gopis felt as if they were experiencing direct association with Krsna."

Śrīla Prabhupāda shows how deep feelings of separation create direct association.

"Here the feelings of Prahlada Maharaja were in the mellow of vatsalya, filial love and affection. As a child cries when left by his mother, when Prahlada Maharaja felt that the Lord was away from him he began to cry (nadati)."

Śrīla Prabhupāda illustrates the profound affection of Prahlāda Mahārāja.

"Sometimes the Lord informs the devotee through dreams. These exchanges of feelings between the Deity and the devotee are not understandable by atheists, but actually the devotee enjoys them."

Śrīla Prabhupāda reveals the mystical, personal nature of divine reciprocation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does material success sometimes make it harder to connect with God?

Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that possessing wealth or prestige artificially puffs up the conditioned soul, destroying the humility necessary to feelingly address the Lord.

"By possessing all these material assets one becomes artificially puffed up, intoxicated by such temporary possessions. Consequently, such materially puffed up persons are incapable of uttering the holy name of the Lord by addressing Him feelingly."

How should we practically express our gratitude to God every day?

Śrīla Prabhupāda instructs that as a basic matter of gratitude, we should feel obliged for our daily sustenance and always offer our food in sacrifice before eating.

"As a matter of gratitude, they (human beings) should feel obliged to the Lord for their supply of foodstuff, and they must first offer Him food in sacrifice and then partake of the remnants."

What is the result of trying to reciprocate feelings of love with Kṛṣṇa?

Śrīla Prabhupāda guarantees that by directing one's love toward the Supreme Lord, a person will immediately feel the highest peace of mind they have been seeking for lifetimes.

"He (a person who tries to reciprocate a feeling of love towards the Supreme Personality of Godhead) will at once feel the highest peace of mind for which he is hankering life after life."

Can atheists understand the relationship between a devotee and the Deity?

Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that the intimate exchanges of feelings between the Lord and His devotee are completely beyond the comprehension of atheists.

"Sometimes the Lord informs the devotee through dreams. These exchanges of feelings between the Deity and the devotee are not understandable by atheists, but actually the devotee enjoys them."

Conclusion

The path of bhakti is the science of awakening the dormant love of the soul. Śrīla Prabhupāda beautifully illustrates that as long as one is intoxicated by the temporary allurements of the material world, the heart remains hard and closed to the Supreme Lord. However, by embracing humility, practicing deep gratitude, and consciously investing one's thinking, feeling, and willing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the soul is revived. Ultimately, it is these pure, unalloyed feelings for God that allow the living entity to re-enter the eternal, blissful exchange of love with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani

Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Feelings for God. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.

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