Constantly Engaging in Devotional Service to God
The ultimate goal of all Vedic knowledge is to bring the living entity back to their original, constitutional position of constant service to the Supreme Lord. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that just as a fish is happy only when constantly swimming in water, the soul is happy only when constantly engaged in the ocean of devotional service. This constant engagement is the definition of bhakti-yoga and the only means to transcend the material world.
Liberation in This Life (Jīvan-mukta)
A significant aspect of Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings is that one need not wait for death to attain liberation. A person who is constantly engaged in the service of the Lord is considered jīvan-mukta, or liberated even while living in the material body. By fully absorbing the mind and activities in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the devotee is untouched by māyā, even while surrounded by material conditions.
- A person who is able to attain this transcendental qualification is called jivan-mukta, liberated, even though he is apparently in material conditions. This liberation is achieved by one who constantly engages in the transcendental loving service of God.
- A pure devotee, who is constantly engaged in devotional service, maya cannot touch him. He's already liberated.
- In other words, by the transcendental bliss realized from constant engagement in devotional service, one is completely liberated from material existence. All learned men know this.
Purification of the Senses
Material existence means using the senses for personal gratification, which leads to bondage. However, Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that when the same senses are constantly engaged in the service of the master of the senses (Hṛṣīkeśa), they become purified. This process purges the blunt material covering and enables the devotee to perceive the transcendental forms, qualities, and pastimes of the Lord.
- To serve Hrsikesa, the master of the senses, with purified senses is called bhakti. Those who constantly engage in devotional service are situated in a transcendental state, above the material modes of nature.
- When our senses are purified by constantly being engaged in the devotional service of the Lord, we can understand Krsna's activities, names, forms, qualities, pastimes and entourage.
- Our senses are all blunt in the matter of receiving transcendental subject matter, but they are purified in due course of time by constant engagement in the service of the Lord.
Divine Protection and Guidance
One who is constantly engaged in service need not worry about their maintenance or spiritual progress. Śrīla Prabhupāda assures us that the Lord personally takes charge of such a surrendered soul. From within the heart as the Supersoul, the Lord dictates what to do next, guiding the devotee back home, back to Godhead. This divine protection makes the devotee fearless.
- To those who constantly engage in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, the Lord, from within, dictates what to do next in order to serve Him.
- Although the Supersoul is in everyone's heart, He talks only to the pure devotees who constantly engage in His service.
- For such a devotee (who is constantly engaged in service) there is nothing valuable to be achieved but the Lord's service. If one serves faithfully, there is no possibility of frustration because the Lord Himself takes charge of the devotee's advancement.
Transcendence Over the Modes
The material world is governed by the three modes of nature: goodness, passion, and ignorance. Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that the only way to overcome these powerful forces is constant engagement in devotional service. By keeping the mind fixed on Kṛṣṇa twenty-four hours a day, one rises above the bodily conception and becomes spiritualized, realizing the truth of ahaṁ brahmāsmi ("I am spirit soul").
- Material world is complicated with the modes of material nature, so this is called guna. So anyone who is engaged constantly in devotional service, sa gunan samatityaitan, he immediately transcends the influence of the material qualities.
- Aham brahmasmi: "I am not this body." This is applicable only to the person who constantly engages in the devotional service of Krsna and is thus in the transcendental stage; he is above the influence of the three modes of material nature.
- When a devotee constantly engages in devotional service and thinks of the Lord in his original Krsna consciousness, he no longer has any material activities, for his body is spiritualized.
The Highest Perfection
While there are many paths of self-realization, such as jñāna-yoga and aṣṭāṅga-yoga, Śrīla Prabhupāda establishes that constant devotional service is the highest perfection. Citing the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrī Īśopaniṣad, he explains that a devotee who constantly engages in service is superior to all other transcendentalists because they have captured the Lord within their heart.
- A philosopher is better than a laboring man, a mystic is superior to a philosopher, and of all the mystic yogis, he who follows bhakti-yoga, constantly engaging in the service of the Lord, is the highest. Sri Isopanisad directs us toward this perfection.
- The most intelligent devotees do not take to any means of self-realization except devotional service and constant engagement in the nine different processes of devotional life, especially hearing and chanting.
- If the real purpose of all yoga is to please Lord Krsna, then this simple bhakti-yoga system recommended for this age is sufficient. It is necessary to engage constantly in the service of the Lord.
Conclusion
Śrīla Prabhupāda concludes that the remedy for all material miseries is to take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and engage constantly in the service of Lord Vāsudeva. Whether one is in the body or out of it, the constant flow of service ensures that one is always with Kṛṣṇa. This is the ultimate aim of life and the verdict of all Vedic literatures.
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 Constantly Engaging in Devotional Service to God. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience his teachings in their direct, verbatim form.