Chapter 23 -The Twenty-Six Qualities of a Devotee
These qualities of a devotee, twenty-six in number, are listed by Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu:
1.kind to everyone, 2.does not quarrel with anyone, 3.fixed in the Absolute
Truth, 4.equal to everyone, 5.faultless, 6.charitable, 7.mild, 8.clean,
9.simple, without material possession, 10.benevolent, 11.peaceful, 12.completely
attached to Krsna, 13.has no material hankering, 14.meek, 15.steady,
16.self-controlled, 17.does not eat more than required, 18.sane, 19.respectful,
20.humble, 21.grave, 22.compassionate, 23.friendly, 24.poetic, 25.silent,
26.expert
Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Krsna's
incarnation in Kali Yuga in the mood of a perfect devotee
The Lord is satisfied by the development of the transcendental qualities of
the living entities and not by artificial performance of sacrifices and mystic
yoga. In other words, unless one is fully qualified to become a pure devotee of
the Lord, one cannot expect to be liberated from material entanglement.
1. KIND TO EVERYONE
The devotee is merciful because he is the well-wishing
friend of all living entities. He is not only favorably inclined to the human
society but also to plants and animals. He treats all living entities in such a
way that they can ultimately become free from material bondage and go back home,
back to Godhead.
2. HUMBLE, DOES NOT QUARREL WITH ANYONE
To be humble means that one is not
hankering to be worshiped by others. Humility should not be artificial but
honest, deep, and natural. It will develop when the conditioned soul admits its
wrong attitude towards Krsna and prays to Him for forgiveness and to be allowed
to always engage in His devotional service.
3.TRUTHFUL, FIXED IN THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH
The primary truthfulness for a
disciple to keep his vow of following the regulative principles and chanting 16
rounds of japa every day. Also, a devotee should not perform any illegal
activities and he should always act in Krsna's interest and not in his own in
order to remain fixed in the absolute truth.
4.EQUAL TO EVERYONE
A devotee sees the soul and the Supersoul in
everyone's heart and treats every living entity according to its position and in
a way that is most beneficial for its spiritual progress.
5.FAULTLESS
A devotee, who in words, deeds, and mind is always surrendered
to Krsna and who executes Krsna's desire to the best of his ability is
considered to be faultless.
6.CHARITABLE
A devotee is charitable because he knows that love for Krsna
is the best, and he distributes it without selfish motives. His charity has no
limits, just like the happiness someone experiences who got the gift of Krsna
consciousness.
7.MILD
A devotee avoids illusory, materialistic happiness, and thus is
spared from the suffering which is bound to it. He always remains peaceful,
because he is satisfied within Krsna consciousness.
8.CLEAN, PURE
The Krsna conscious movement is meant for purifying the
world in a revolutionary way-by hygienic external principles as well as by
chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra which purifies the heart.
9.SIMPLE, WITHOUT MATERIAL POSSESSION
The highest realization is to see
everything as Krsna's property. The sincere devotee is not only satisfied to see
everything as Krsna's property, but also to engage everything in a proper way in
Krsna's service.
10.BENEVOLENT
Since Krsna-consciousness effects the heart of every living
entity, the welfare work of a devotee is not restricted to a specific race,
species, etc., but for the benefit of all living entities.
11.PEACEFUL
To be peaceful does not mean to physically maintain idyllic
peace but to experience real peace in one's relationship with Krsna. Only
someone who has realized that there is nothing beyond Krsna can achieve real
peace and fearlessness.
12.COMPLETELY ATTACHED TO KRSNA
Devotion to Krsna is neither sentimental
nor whimsical but authorized and scientific. By practicing devotional service we
can learn to surrender properly. Complete surrender to Krsna is the goal of
every devotee because he wants to become free from material desires in order to
serve Krsna more and more. Complete surrender to Krsna is the most important of
all qualities to be developed.
13.DESIRELESS
When one is fully engaged in devotional service, one
realizes that all one's desires are satisfied. Thus one does not have any
material desire anymore. One only desires to serve guru and Krsna.
14.INDIFFERENCE TOWARDS MATERIAL POSSESSIONS
A devotee may use things in
Krsna's service but he does not become attached to or dependent on them. He may
serve Krsna with millions of dollars by opening temples, printing books, etc.
However, he is also satisfied when he does not have any material assets and then
simply chants Hare Krsna.
15.STEADY, FIXED
The realizations of a devotee should be so profound that
his dedication to his spiritual master and Krsna cannot be influenced anymore by
various temptations, suffering or opposing philosophies.
16.SELF-CONTROLLED
There are six bad qualities, namely lust, anger, greed,
illusion, madness and envy. A pure devotee controls these bad qualities by
engaging in Krsna's service. These qualities cannot be left behind in an
artificial way by can be easily counteracted with transcendental knowledge and
transcendental taste arising from one's devotional service.
17.DOES NOT EAT MORE THAN REQUIRED
Lord Krsna explains in the
Bhagavad-gita that a yogi does not eat too much nor too little. This means
practically exactly as much as he can easily digest. According to Ayurveda,
one's stomach should be filled with 1/2 food, 1/4 water, and 1/4 air.
18.SANE
A devotee is never intoxicated by material enjoyment. He reduces
his requirements to a minimum and offers his whole life to Krsna. In this way he
is completely balanced.
19.RESPECTFUL
A devotee offers respect to others without expecting
anything in return. He respects everyone as part of Krsna and treats them
accordingly.
20.HAS NO MATERIAL HANKERING
A devotee is not attracted by material
possessions which help us to gain a prestigious position. He sees everything
attractive in this world as a reflection of Krsna, the all-attractive cause of
all causes.
21.GRAVE
Although we lead a happy life in Krsna consciousness, we are
always conscious that the material existence can be finished at any time and
that the way back home, back to Godhead is not cheap. To be grave means that the
devotee is constantly thinking of Krsna and the ultimate goal of life.
22.COMPASSIONATE
The essence of compassion is the distribution of
transcendental knowledge. The basis of it are Srila Prabhupada's books and the
force behind it is our purity.
23.FRIENDLY
A devotee is friendly because he leads everyone to Krsna, who
is the best friend of all living entities.
24.POETIC
A devotee is even poetic if he is not literarily active because
he is able to connect everything with Krsna's transcendental nature.
25.SILENT
Silence means that one only speaks about Krsna and not about
material topics.
26.EXPERT
The essence of the expertise of a devotee is that he can do
anything for Krsna. The best expertise is to surrender to Krsna |
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