Cultivating the Desire for Devotional Service to God
The soul is by nature active and full of desire. While impersonalists seek to annihilate desire to escape suffering, Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that the Vaiṣṇava philosophy views desire as the symptom of life which cannot be killed. Instead, it must be purified. Cultivating the desire for devotional service to God is the process of redirecting the soul's energy from the temporary to the eternal. This article explores how this specific desire is the key to liberation, peace, and ultimately, spontaneous love of God.
Liberated State of Desire
To be "desireless" in the spiritual sense does not mean to become like a stone; it means to have no desire separate from the Lord's service. A devotee is constantly full of desires, but they are all centered on how to please Kṛṣṇa. This state of desiring service is considered liberation itself, regardless of one's external situation.
- A devotee of the Lord always has the Lord in his mind, and thus he does not need to be desireless because all his desires are in relationship with the service of the Lord.
- In the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu it is said that a person whose only desire is to render transcendental loving service to the Lord is a free person in any condition of material existence.That service attitude is the svarupa, real form, of the living entity.
- All different varieties of atmaramas (those who take pleasure in atma), especially those established on the path of self-realization, though freed from all kinds of material bondage, desire to render unalloyed devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead.
Necessity of Association
How does one acquire this desire for service? It is not a product of intellectual adjustment or millions of births of karma. It is a rare benediction that is communicated through the association of a pure devotee. If one is fortunate enough to meet a pure soul and desires to follow in their footsteps, the path to unalloyed devotion opens up.
- Even after millions and millions of births one cannot achieve a sense of devotional service, but if, somehow or other, one desires to attain devotional service, the association of a pure devotee will render it possible.
- If one desires unalloyed devotional service, one must associate with devotees of Sri Krsna, for by such association only can a conditioned soul achieve a taste for transcendental love.
- Somehow or other if one gets in touch with a pure devotee and thus develops a desire to render devotional service to Krsna, he gradually rises to the platform of love of Godhead and is thus freed from the clutches of material energy.
Purification Through Sincere Desire
One need not be perfectly pure to begin. The beauty of bhakti-yoga is that the very act of desiring to serve Kṛṣṇa is purifying. Even if a devotee has lingering material attachments (kāma), if he sincerely engages in service, Kṛṣṇa helps him by removing the obstacles and establishing him in the position of akāma (no material desire).
- Even with your kama, desires, you execute devotional service, make connection with the Supreme Lord, a time will come, you'll become akamah, no more desires.
- If a devotee maintains some material desire and at the same time very sincerely desires to engage at the lotus feet of Krsna, Krsna may directly give him unalloyed devotional service and take away all his material desires and possessions.
- The mind can be peaceful and thoroughly cleansed when one no longer desires anything but devotional service.
From Regulation to Spontaneous Love
Initially, the desire to serve may be based on duty and scripture, but Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that as one advances, this desire intensifies into rāgānuga-bhakti—spontaneous attraction. At this stage, the devotee is absorbed in thoughts of the Lord with intense love, and the desire to serve flows naturally like a river to the ocean, without any external compulsion.
- The more the taste grows, the more one desires to render service to the Lord. In this way one becomes attached to a particular mellow in the Lord’s service - santa, dasya, vatsalya or madhura. As a result of such attachment, bhava develops.
- Rupa Gosvami has defined raganuga-bhakti as spontaneous attraction for something while completely absorbed in thoughts of it, with an intense desire of love. Devotional service executed with such feelings of spontaneous love is called raganuga-bhakti.
Conclusion
The path of spiritual advancement is essentially the path of refining one's desires. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that by turning away from the complex and frustrating desires of the material world and cultivating the simple, singular desire to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the living entity finds true peace. This desire for service is the seed of divine love, and when watered by the association of devotees and the chanting of the holy names, it grows into the creeper of devotion that ultimately reaches the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
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 Desiring Devotional Service to God. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.