Symptoms of a pure devotee — Krishna becomes his life and soul and he constantly hears about and discusses Krishna
“Thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me”
“Life fully devoted to My service”
“They derive great satisfaction and bliss always conversing about Me”
aTwo stages of devotional service
Preliminary stage – They relish the transcendental pleasure from the service itself
Mature stage – They are always situated in Love of God and thus relish the highest perfection, which is exhibited by the Lord in His abode
bAnalogy: Bhakti-lata-bija — Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu compares transcendental devotional service to sowing of a seed in the heart of a living entity (Ref. Madhya-lila Chapter 19)
Rare fortune to get the seed – Innumerable living entities are travelling all over the universe
– Few fortunate ones meet a pure devotee and get a chance to practice devotional service (“Brahmanda brahmita…”)
Watering of the seed – hearing and chanting Hare Krishna
Seed fructifies and grows – penetrates the covering of material universe
Reaches Brahmajyoti and grows more
Final destination – Reaches the highest planet Goloka Vrindavan and take shelter under the lotus feet of Krishna and rests there
Gradually bears fruits and flowers and watering process goes on
Full absorption – Thus one becomes fully absorbed in Love of Godhead
Cannot live a moment without Lord – At this stage devotee attains transcendental qualities in contact with the Lord
Analogy: Just like fish cannot live without water FOCUS OF LEARNING: PURPORT 10.9 continued…
cWhat do the devotees discuss — Srimad Bhagavatam
What is Srimad Bhagavatam – Nectarean narrations about transcendental relation between Lord and His devotees
Standard of Srimad Bhagavatam – Free from Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha
Pleasure in Srimad Bhagavatam – This is a transcendental narration and realised souls take pleasure in such literatures
Analogy: Just like a young boy and girl take pleasure in association
Ref. SB 12.13.10 – Srimad Bhagavatam is very dear to the devotees