Spiritualized Body of a Devotee
To the material vision, the body of a devotee may appear identical to that of an ordinary person, consisting of flesh and bones. However, Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that the body of a sincere devotee is spiritualized through the process of bhakti-yoga. By constant contact with the supreme spirit, Kṛṣṇa, the material quality of the body is transformed, just as an iron rod becomes fire when placed in a furnace. This article explores the nature of this transformation, the devotee's detachment from bodily designations, and their fearless transition at the time of death.
Process of Spiritualization
The key to understanding the devotee's body is the analogy of iron and fire. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that when a devotee engages their senses, mind, and body fully in the service of the Lord, the material contamination is purged. The body, although apparently material, acts on the spiritual platform because it has no engagement other than the service of the Absolute Truth.
- Even the very body of a devotee becomes spiritualized, just as an iron rod put into fire becomes as qualified as fire because it becomes red hot and will immediately burn anything it touches.
- The material body certainly consists only of material elements, but when one awakens to Krsna conscious understanding, the body is no longer material but spiritual.
- Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, "The body of a devotee is never material. It is considered to be transcendental, full of spiritual bliss."
Detachment and Transcendental Symptoms
A devotee lives within the body but is not of the body. Śrīla Prabhupāda compares this state to a dry coconut kernel that is separated from its husk. Because the devotee does not identify with the body, they are unconcerned with material dualities like praise or criticism, pain or pleasure. Furthermore, in advanced stages, the body may exhibit symptoms of spiritual ecstasy, such as trembling and tears, which are evidence of the soul's intense love for God.
- An advanced devotee does not live within the material body but within his spiritual body, just as a dry coconut lives detached from the coconut husk, even though within the husk. The pure devotee's body is called spiritualized body.
- A devotee acts differently: he knows he is not the body and that as long as he is in his body he will have to suffer the threefold material miseries.
- When such a liberated person, the pure devotee, hears of the transcendental qualities and activities of the Lord's incarnations for the performance of various pastimes, his hair stands on end on his body, tears fall from his eyes.
Victory Over Death
For a conditioned soul, death is a moment of fear and forced migration to another material womb. For a devotee, however, leaving the body is a joyful return to their original home. Śrīla Prabhupāda confirms that a devotee who has dedicated their life to Kṛṣṇa does not accept another material body but attains a spiritual form in the Vaikuṇṭha planets.
- As confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (BG 4.9), tyaktva deham punar janma naiti: after giving up his body, a devotee immediately returns to Lord Krsna and never returns to accept another body. This was Vrtrasura's interest.
- A devotee is never afraid of death or of changing his body; his consciousness is transformed into Krsna consciousness, and even if he does not go back to Godhead, even if he transmigrates to another material body, he has nothing to fear.
- Everyone, the cats, dogs, they will also give up body. We shall also give up body. But the difference is, a devotee after giving up this body, he does not get anymore material body.
Conclusion
The body of a devotee is a sacred vessel. Because it is engaged in the service of the Lord, it is worshipable and distinct from ordinary matter. Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that by utilizing the body for Kṛṣṇa, one conquers the material energy and, at the time of death, effortlessly transfers from the temporary material frame to an eternal spiritual body.
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 Body of a Devotee of God. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.