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NJ Namhatta

Qualities of a sadhu or vaishnava discussed in 11th canto of Srimad bhagavatam...

antanagari

12/10/2013

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase:Srimad Bhagavatam11.11.2932

Purport by srila prabhupad...

Verses 29-31 describe twenty-eight qualities of a saintly person, and verse 32 explains
the highest perfection of life. According to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta SarasvatiThakura, the
seventeenth quality (mat-sarana, or taking complete shelter of Lord Krishna) is the most
important, and the other twenty-seven qualities automatically appear in one who has
become a pure devotee of the Lord. As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (5.18.12), yasyasti
bhaktir bhagavatyakincana sarvair gunais tatrasamasate surah. The twenty-eight saintly
qualities may be described as follows.
(1) Kripalu. A devotee cannot tolerate seeing the world merged in ignorance and
suffering
the
whiplashes
of maya.
Therefore
he
busily
engages
in
distributingKrishnaconsciousness and is calledkripalu, or merciful.
(2)Akrita-droha. Even if someone is offensive toward a devotee, a devotee does not
become offensive in return. Indeed, he never acts against the interest of any living entity.
One may argue that great Vaishnava kings, such as Maharaja Yudhishthira and P
arikshit Maharaja, executed many criminals. However, when justice is properly
administered by the state, sinful, destructive persons actually benefit from their
punishment because they become freed from the severe karmic reactions to their illicit
activities. A Vaishnava ruler gives punishment not out of envy or malice, but in faithful
obedience to the laws of God. The Mayavadi philosophers who want to kill God by
imagining that He does not exist are certainlykrita-droha, or most injurious to themselves
and others. The impersonalist imagines that he himself is supreme and thus creates a
most dangerous situation for himself and his followers. Similarly, the karmis, who are
dedicated to material sense gratification, are also killers of the self, because by their
absorption in material consciousness they lose all chance of experiencing the Absolute
Truth and the truth of their own self. Therefore, all living entities who come under the
control of materialistic regulations and duties are unnecessarily harassing themselves and
others, and a pure Vaishnava feels great compassion and concern for them. A devotee
never uses his mind, body or words to perform any act harmful to the welfare of any living
entity.
(3) Titikshu. A devotee forgives and forgets any offense against himself.
AVaishnava is personally detached from his material body, which is made of pus, stool,

blood, and so on. Therefore the devotee is able to overlook the obnoxious behavior he
sometimes meets with in the course of preaching work and always deals with people as a
perfect gentleman. AVaishnavaloudly chants the holy name of the Lord and tolerates and
forgives those fallen conditioned souls who are unable to reciprocate properly with a pure
devotee.
(4) Satya-sara. A devotee always remembers that he is the eternal servant of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is omniscient, the reservoir of all pleasure and the
ultimate enjoyer of all activities. By avoiding activities outside devotional service, a devotee
remains fixed in the truth, does not uselessly waste time and thus becomes bold, powerful
and steady.
(5) Anavadyatma. A devotee knows that the material world is a temporary
phantasmagoria and therefore does not envy anyone in any material situation. He never
tries to agitate others or criticize them unnecessarily.
(6)Sama. A devotee remains steady and equal in material happiness or distress, fame
or infamy. His actual wealth is his consciousness ofKrishna, and he understands that his
real self-interest lies outside the scope of material nature. He does not become excited or
depressed by external events, but remains fixed in consciousness of the omnipotency of
LordKrishna.
(7) Sarvopakaraka. Neglecting one's selfish desires and working for the satisfaction of
others is called paropakara, whereas causing trouble to others for one's personal
gratification is called parapakara. A devotee always works for the pleasure of LordKrishna,
who is the resting place of all living entities, and thus a devotee's activities are ultimately
pleasing to everyone. Devotional service to Lord Krishna is the perfectional stage of
welfare work, since Lord Krishna is the supreme controller of everyone's happiness and
distress. Foolish persons under the influence of false egotism, considering themselves to
be the ultimate well-wishers of others, execute superficial materialistic activities rather
than attending to the eternal happiness of others. Because a devotee remains pure and
engages in missionary activities, he is everyone's best friend.
(8) Kamair ahata-dhi. Ordinary persons see all material things as objects for their
personal gratification and thus try to acquire or control them. Ultimately a man wants to
possess a woman and enjoy sex gratification with her. The Supreme Lord supplies the
desired fuel that causes the fire of lust to burn painfully in one's heart, but the Lord does
not give self-realization to such a misguided person. Lord Krishna is transcendental and
neutral, but if one is eager to exploit the Lord's creation, the Lord gives one facility
through maya, and one becomes cheated of real happiness by entangling himself in the
false role of a great and lusty enjoyer of the world. On the other hand, one who has taken
full shelter ofKrishnais enriched with perfect knowledge and bliss and is not cheated by
the seductive appearances of the material world. A pure devotee does not follow the path
of the foolish deer, which is seduced by the hunter's horn and killed. A devotee is never
attracted by the sensuous entreaties of a beautiful woman, and he avoids hearing from
bewildered karmis about the so-called glories of material acquisition. Similarly, a pure
devotee is not bewildered by aroma or taste. He does not become attached to sumptuous
eating, nor does he spend the whole day making arrangements for bodily comfort. The only
actual enjoyer of God's creation is the Lord Himself, and the living entities are secondary
enjoyers who experience unlimited pleasure through the Lord's pleasure. This perfect

process of experiencing pleasure is called bhakti-yoga, or pure devotional service, and a

devotee never sacrifices his auspicious position of steady intelligence, even in the face of
so-called material opportunity.
(9)Danta. A devotee is naturally repelled by sinful activities and controls his senses by
dedicating all his acts to Krishna. This requires steady concentration and a cautious
mentality.
(lo) Mridu. A materialistic person will always see people as friends or enemies and
thus will sometimes justify cruel or small-minded behavior in order to subdue his
opponents. Since a devotee has taken shelter of LordKrishna, he does not consider anyone
his enemy and is never disturbed by the tendency to desire or enjoy the suffering of others.
Thus he ismridu, or gentle and sublime.
(11) Suci. A devotee never touches that which is impure or improper, and simply by
remembering such a pure devotee, one is freed from the tendency to sin. Because of his
perfect behavior, a devotee is calledsuci, or pure.
(12) Akincana. A devotee is free from possessiveness and is not eager to enjoy or
renounce anything, since he considers everything to be LordKrishna's property.
(13) Aniha. A devotee never acts on his own behalf, but rather for the service of
LordKrishna. He is therefore aloof from ordinary, worldly affairs.
(14)Mita-bhuk. A devotee accepts material sense objects only as far as necessary, to
keep himself healthy and fit in LordKrishna's service. He is therefore not entangled by his
sense activities and never injures his self-realization. When necessary, a devotee can give
up anything for Lord Krishna's service, but he does not accept or reject anything for his
personal prestige.
(15)Santa. Those trying to exploit the Lord's creation are always disturbed. A devotee,
however, is detached from such pointless activities and understands sense gratification to
be diametrically opposed to his self-interest. Being always engaged according to the Lord's
desire, he remains peaceful.
(16)Sthira. Remembering that LordKrishnais the basis of everything, a devotee does
not become fearful or impatient.
(17) Mat-sarana. A devotee does not take pleasure in anything except serving
Lord Krishna and is constantly attentive in the execution of his duties. A devotee knows
that only LordKrishnacan protect him and engage him in useful work.
(18) Muni. A devotee is thoughtful and through intelligent contemplation avoids
becoming distracted from his spiritual advancement. By intelligence he is freed from
doubts about Lord Krishna and confronts all problems in life with
steadyKrishnaconsciousness.
(19) Apramatta. One who forgets the Supreme Lord is more or less crazy, but a

devotee remains sane by offering his activities to LordKrishna.

(20) Gabhiratma. As a devotee merges into the ocean of Krishnaconsciousness, his
own consciousness becomes deeper and deeper; ordinary, superficial persons hovering on
the material platform cannot fathom the extent of a devotee's awareness.
(21) Dhritiman. By controlling the urges of the tongue and genitals the devotee
remains steady and patient and does not impulsively change his position.
(22)Jita-shad-guna. By spiritual knowledge, a devotee is able to conquer the pushings
of hunger, thirst, lamentation, illusion, old age and death.
(23) Amani. A devotee is not puffed up, and even if he is famous, he does not take
such fame very seriously.
(24)Mana-da. A devotee offers all respects to others, since everyone is part and parcel
of LordKrishna.
(25) Kalya. A devotee is expert in making people understand the truth
ofKrishnaconsciousness.
(26) Maitra. A devotee does not cheat anyone by encouraging them in the bodily
concept of life; rather, by his missionary work a devotee is the true friend of everyone.
(27) Karunika. A devotee tries to make people sane and thus is most merciful. He
ispara-duhkha-duhkhi, or one who is unhappy to see the unhappiness of others.
(28) Kavi. A devotee is expert in studying the transcendental qualities of
LordKrishna and is able to show the harmony and compatibility of the Lord's apparently
contradictory qualities. This is possible through expert knowledge of the absolute nature of
the Lord. Lord Caitanya is softer than a rose and harder than a thunderbolt, but these
opposing qualities can easily be understood in terms of the Lord's transcendental nature
and purpose. One who is always able to understand the truth of Krishnaconsciousness,
without opposition or confusion, is calledkavi, or most learned.

your servant
srimati devidasi
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