Beyond Sectarian Religion - Reviving Our Dormant Love for God
The pursuit of spiritual life is often misunderstood as the adoption of a new set of beliefs or a sectarian identity. However, Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that the real purpose of religion is to reawaken a quality that we already possess: our dormant love for God. This love is the original, pure state of the soul, currently covered by layers of material desire and perverted reflections. By following the scientific process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, a person can move beyond temporary material aspirations and revive their eternal relationship with the Supreme. This article explores the nature of this dormant love, the method for its arousal, and its role as the ultimate necessity of life.
Original Quality of the Soul
Love of God is not a quality that is manufactured or taught; it is the constitutional position of every living entity. Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that while this love is currently dormant, it manifests in the material world in perverted forms, such as love for one's country, family, or community. These material attachments are merely reflections of the original loving spirit that has been contaminated by material association. The goal of human life is to move past these temporary reflections and revive the pure, dormant love that resides within the heart.
- Love of God is dormant in everyone, and if one is given a chance to hear about the Lord, certainly that love develops. Our Krsna consciousness movement acts on this principle.
- This love of God is now in a dormant state in everyone's heart. And, there, love of God is manifested in different ways, but it is contaminated by the material association.
- The so-called love of material things - even love for one's country, community, religion, or family, which is accepted as a superior qualification for civilized human beings - is simply a perverted reflection of the love of God dormant in every soul.
- We do not advocate any sectarian religion. We are concerned to invoke our dormant love for God.
The Criterion for Authentic Religion
If a religious system does not lead to the awakening of God consciousness, it is considered a useless labor. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that we should have no quarrel with any type of religion, provided it fulfills its primary purpose: helping people develop their dormant love of God. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is specifically praised as the literature that teaches this essence without sectarian bias. Whether one identifies as a member of a particular faith is secondary to whether they have actually revived their loving relationship with the Supreme Authority.
- If you do not awaken your dormant love for Krsna, or God, then all such labor is useless.
- Every religion as a matter of principle accepts authority, God being the supreme authority, and His representative also as authority. So we have no quarrel with any type of religion but we simply teach that awaken your dormant love of God.
- The best process or the easiest process, in this age especially, is to chant the Holy name of God. From this definition of religion as we find in the Srimad-Bhgavatam, the criterion test of religion is how it helps people to develop his dormant Love of God.
- Srimad-Bhagavatam teaches only how to develop one's dormant love of God.
Purification and the Process of Awakening
The most effective method for reviving this dormant state is the chanting of the Holy Name, particularly the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that this process purifies the heart of its material coverings, allowing the original devotional service to emerge. As one becomes purified, their eyes are "anointed with love," enabling them to see God everywhere. This transformation is only possible on the Vaiṣṇava platform, where the practitioner moves beyond the desire for material enjoyment or impersonal liberation to focus purely on the satisfaction of the Lord.
- In this way (by chanting the Hare Krsna mantra offenselessly) one is purified, and his devotional service causes the arousal of his dormant love of God.
- By this knowledge we can develop or awaken our dormant love for God. Then we can see God when our eyes are anointed with love for Him.
- All these aspirations (becoming a religious man, a rich man, or a first-class enjoyer or becoming God) should be rejected by the prospective devotee who actually wants to revive his dormant love of God.
The Mission of the Compassionate Devotee
One who has successfully reawakened their own love for God naturally feels compassion for others who are still in a dormant state. The madhyama-adhikārī (intermediate devotee) takes it as their mission to try and awaken this dormant love in the hearts of the innocent. Śrīla Prabhupāda describes this as the core mission of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement—to give everyone the chance to learn about God and develop their dormant loving spirit. Once this love is revived, a person’s life becomes truly successful, as they have achieved their "ultimate necessity."
- Madhyama-adhikari adores the Lord, considering Him the object of love; he makes friends with those who are in DS; he tries to awaken the dormant love of God in the hearts of the innocent; and he avoids the atheists, who deride the very name of the Lord.
- It is a genuine movement, and if you want to learn about God, and if you want to develop your dormant loving spirit for God, then take to this movement. That is our request.
- It is only on this Vaisnava platform that it is possible to awaken one’s dormant love of Godhead, and as soon as one does so, his life is successful.
- The real purpose of life is to revive our dormant love of God. Indeed, that is our ultimate necessity. How that love of God can be attained is explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam.
Conclusion
The awakening of dormant love for God is the bridge between the temporary material world and the eternal spiritual sky. Śrīla Prabhupāda’s teachings remind us that we do not need to look for something new, but rather uncover what is already there. By rejecting perverted reflections of love and taking to the scientific process of chanting and hearing, we can cleanse our consciousness and see the Lord face to face. This transformation is the highest success of human life, transforming a heart hardened by material association into a fountain of transcendental affection for 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 Dormant Love 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.