Different categories of devotional service (Srimad Bhagavatam #40)

Just as material life starts when the soul's consciousness becomes focused on the material world, liberation comes when our consciousness is transferred back to Krishna.

Dec 19, 2024

In the previous chapters, Lord Kapila already described the creation and structure of the material world and how the soul becomes entrapped in it, as well as the process of devotional service by which the soul can become free. Just as material life starts when the soul's consciousness becomes focused on the material world, liberation comes when our consciousness is transferred back to Krishna. This original, transcendental consciousness of the soul is what Srila Prabhupada defines as Krishna Consciousness. That's what we have to reattain somehow or another.

Full Krishna Consciousness is however not something we attain from one moment to another. In some cases, it may be so, due to some causeless mercy, but in general, it is something we develop gradually by following the process of sadhana-bhakti. This means that between the contaminated state when we are fully immersed in material life, and the fully liberated state when our spiritual consciousness is fully restored, there are many intermediate stages where we are trying to practice devotional service while still acting under the three modes of material nature. Although devotional service is transcendental, it can be executed under the material modes. Just like the light of the sun when passed through a blue, red, or yellow glass assumes these different colors, devotional service when executed by a person conditioned by the three material modes may be expressed through these three modes, and thus the practical actions of the devotee may show qualities that are not exactly transcendental.

For us to be able to become free from these contaminations, the first step is to understand them. That's the next step in the detailed explanations given by Lord Kapila. He then proceeds to describe other practical details of the practice of devotional service.

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:. Different categories of devotional service (Chapter 3.29)

:. Devahuti asks more questions

"Devahūti inquired: My dear Lord, You have already very scientifically described the symptoms of the total material nature and the characteristics of the spirit according to the Sāṅkhya system of philosophy. Now I shall request You to explain the path of devotional service, which is the ultimate end of all philosophical systems. My dear Lord, please also describe in detail, both for me and for people in general, the continual process of birth and death, for by hearing of such calamities we may become detached from the activities of this material world. Please also describe eternal time, which is a representation of Your form and by whose influence people in general engage in the performance of pious activities. My dear Lord, You are just like the sun, for You illuminate the darkness of the conditional life of the living entities. Because their eyes of knowledge are not open, they are sleeping eternally in that darkness without Your shelter, and therefore they are falsely engaged by the actions and reactions of their material activities, and they appear to be very fatigued. (SB 3.29.1-5)

As Prabhupada explains, the Sankhya philosophy of Lord Kapila is a study of all existence, including both the spiritual and material realities. The basic meaning of the word "Maya" is "that which is not". We misunderstand this world and our relationship with it, and as result, we remain conditioned in the material reality, without finding a way out.

Sankhya philosophy means to properly understand the nature of this world, our own nature as spirit souls, the nature of the Supreme Lord and His abode, and our relationship with Him. By understanding all these components, we can find our way out of material existence.

After hearing the previous explanations, Devahuti asks:

a) Explain more about the path of devotional service, which is the ultimate yoga system.

b) Describe the influence of time, that makes everyone involved in material activities and ultimately brings everything that is material to an end.

c) Describe in detail the process of birth and death in this material world, in a way that one may become detached from material life.

All that we do in this material world, as well as everything that happens to us, happens under the influence of time. Birth and death, as well as all material activities (both pious and impious) happen inside this purview. Therefore, the essence of the last two questions is the nature of kala or time.

Apart from being the very energy of the Lord that makes the material manifestation possible, time is the potency that reminds us that this material world is not our real home.

Due to the influence of time, at every step we have to deal with anxiety about what we lack, fear of losing what we have, and the terrible realization that no matter what we do, we all have to face death, and everything we care about will eventually be destroyed. All the sorrow and anxiety created by the changing nature of this world have the potential to eventually bring a person to question material existence, inquire about his eternal nature beyond the body and become free from material activities. Devahuti implies this with the sentence "yad-dhetoḥ kuśalaṁ janāḥ", time ultimately brings auspiciousness to all people.

However, action is part of the nature of the soul. As Krishna explains in the Gita, no one can become inactive, even for a moment. Mayavadis consider all activities Maya, and thus they try to become inactive. This is however a very unnatural process. In the end they just end-up getting involved into some different type of material activities, such as philanthropy.

Devotees however understand that activities also exist in the spiritual plane. Our goal is thus not to stop activity, but to reconnect ourselves with our original activities connected with Krishna. That is the path of devotional service that Devahuti asks Lord Kapila to describe in more detail.

As discussed by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana in his Govinda-Bhasya, all the verses of the scriptures speak about devotional service to the Lord. This is not only the goal but actually the only topic discussed in the Vedas. All the verses of the scriptures describe topics that are connected with devotional service, or that have the aim of elevating a person to the platform of devotional service. Every verse should thus be interpreted under this prism.

Bhakti is thus the basic principle of all systems of philosophy discussed in the Vedas. Everything else has the sole goal of gradually elevating a person to the platform of bhakti. Any interpretation of the Vedas that don't bring us to this conclusion is just mental speculation without any real value. Cultivating knowledge without coming to the platform of Bhakti is compared to beating the husk of wheat grains after the grains have already been removed. In other words, it is just useless labor that doesn't give any benefit.

On the other hand, Bhakti should be practiced under philosophical understanding. As Prabhupada mentions, bhakti-yoga with no philosophical basis is more or less just sentiment. Therefore, the teachings of Lod Kapila have these two basic components: to describe the material world in order to bring us to the devotional service of the Lord, and to explain the process of Bhakti in detail.

:. Devotional service in the three modes of material nature

"Lord Kapila, the Personality of Godhead, replied: O noble lady, there are multifarious paths of devotional service in terms of the different qualities of the executor. Devotional service executed by a person who is envious, proud, violent, and angry, and who is a separatist, is considered to be in the mode of darkness. The worship of Deities in the temple by a separatist, with a motive for material enjoyment, fame, and opulence, is devotion in the mode of passion. When a devotee worships the Supreme Personality of Godhead and offers the results of his activities in order to free himself from the inebrieties of fruitive activities, his devotion is in the mode of goodness." (SB 3.29.7-10)

Just like Arjuna in the Bhagavad-Gita, Devahuti didn't ask her questions just for her personal benefit but for the benefit of all conditioned souls. As we can see in the many dialogues reproduced in the Srimad Bhagavatam, spiritual knowledge is transmitted in response to the inquiries of a qualified student. In the Bhagavad-Gita, Arjuna plays the role of the student, and here Devahuti plays the same role for our benefit. In his purport, Srila Prabhupada mentions that "when the Lord saw that His beloved mother was very compassionate towards the fallen souls, He was pleased, and He also became compassionate towards her."

The first inquiry of Devahuti in the previous verses was for the Lord to explain the path of devotional service. Devotional service in itself is pure and fully spiritual, but people have material contaminations and take to devotional service with different purposes in mind. In the Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna describes four classes of people who approach him: ārtaḥ (people looking for a solution for their material distress), jijñāsuḥ (the inquisitive), artha-arthī (people who desire material gain) and jñānī (the philosopher who come to Krishna as a result of his process of philosophical inquiry). By practicing devotional service, all of them have the opportunity of eventually becoming pure, but at least in the initial stage their devotional service will be expressed through their different contaminations, and thus, their external actions will take different forms.

A devotee contaminated by the mode of ignorance will show qualities such as pride, anger, and violence. Such a person is defined by Lord Kapila as a separatist because his desires are not dovetailed with the Lord. In other words, the Lord desires one thing and he desires another. Even though he becomes somehow or other attracted to the practice of devotional service and the association of devotees, his practical actions are contrary to the desires of the Lord. He may act in inconsiderate, dismissive, offensive, or even violent ways against other devotees and people in general, engage in dishonest activities, tell lies, spread rumors, and so on.

One contaminated by the mode of passion will have a tendency to use his practice of devotional service to achieve fame, power, prestige, material facilities, and so on, and use all kinds of political maneuvers to attain such ends. Just like a person contaminated by the mode of ignorance, this doesn't mean he has no desire to serve the Lord, but such propensity of service is filtered through his material contaminations and is thus manifested in perverted ways. Just like the devotee in ignorance, the devotee in passion is also a separatist who acts against the desires of the Lord and wants to use Him as an order supplier of material benefits. As Prabhupada explains in his purport:

"The word “separatist” must be understood carefully. The Sanskrit words in this connection are bhinna-dṛk and pṛthag-bhāvaḥ. A separatist is one who sees his interest as separate from that of the Supreme Lord. Mixed devotees, or devotees in the modes of passion and ignorance, think that the interest of the Supreme Lord is supplying the orders of the devotee; the interest of such devotees is to draw from the Lord as much as possible for their sense gratification. This is the separatist mentality."

In his natural state, he soul has no separate interest from the Lord. One simply sees himself as an eternal servant and desires to satisfy the Lord to the best of his capacity. This selfless consciousness exists when we are situated in pure Krishna Consciousness.

Separate interests appear when we are under the influence of the false ego, the root of all material contamination. Due to the false ego, we see ourselves as separate or independent of the Supreme Lord and thus remain entangled in this material world. The cure for both the false ego and separate interests is the process of surrendering to the Lord, which should be voluntary and backed by proper philosophical understanding. To the extent we advance in the process of surrender, we become free from both.

In his purport to verse 10, Prabhupada gives us a practical hint on how to advance in this process.

"Devotional service in the modes of ignorance, passion, and goodness can be divided into eighty-one categories. There are different devotional activities, such as hearing, chanting, remembering, worshiping, offering prayer, rendering service, and surrendering everything, and each of them can be divided into three qualitative categories. There is hearing in the mode of passion, in the mode of ignorance, and in the mode of goodness. Similarly, there is chanting in the mode of ignorance, passion, and goodness, etc. Three multiplied by nine equals twenty-seven, and when again multiplied by three it becomes eighty-one. One has to transcend all such mixed materialistic devotional service in order to reach the standard of pure devotional service, as explained in the next verses."

There are nine processes of devotional service, namely:

a) Hearing about the transcendental name, form, qualities, paraphernalia, and pastimes of the Lord.

b) Chanting His holy names and glorifying Him.

c) Remembering the name, qualities, and pastimes of the Lord.

d) Serving the lotus feet of the Lord.

e) Offering the Lord respectful worship.

f) Offering prayers to the Lord.

g) Becoming His servant.

h) Considering the Lord one’s best friend.

i) Fully surrendering one's body, mind, and words.

There are also three modes of material nature: ignorance, passion, and goodness, whose symptoms Lord Kapila already described. Each of the nine processes of devotional service can be expressed through one of the three modes of material nature, resulting in different symptoms. We can hear or chant grudgingly, we can serve or worship with the idea of becoming famous and respected as great devotees, we can pray to obtain material benefits, we can serve the Lord or the spiritual master with the idea of achieving a certain social position or certain material status and benefits, we can imitate full surrender to become great spiritual leaders, and so on. There are many ways of doing the right thing in the wrong way. We can also practice each one of the nine processes with the ultimate goal of achieving liberation and not exactly out of love.

Each of the nine processes can be obscured by one of the three modes, resulting in twenty-one combinations, and each variation can be subdivided into three, by again combining it with one of the three modes. There is thus hearing in ignorance-ignorance, ignorance-passion, ignorance-goodness, passion-ignorance, passion-passion, and so on, resulting in a total of 81 combinations, as described by Srila Prabhupada.

The idea is that by understanding the symptoms of the three modes and the contaminations they introduce, we may gradually learn to avoid this influence, by first progressing from ignorance to passion, then from passion to goodness, and finally purifying ourselves from the subtle contamination of goodness and reaching the transcendental stage.

When we speak about the practical symptoms, devotional service contaminated by ignorance is of the lowest grade. One will be proud and tend to be fanatical and adopt rigid philosophical interpretations, accepting only members of his group as advanced devotees, or even seeing himself as the only one right. He or she will act in harsh and inconsiderate ways, may adopt dishonest means to attain goals, will be prone to be envious and revengeful, create conflicts, and so on. On the one hand, it is good that one is trying to serve the Lord, even if under the influence of the mode of darkness, but the problem is that one can create a lot of harm in the process. These are people we may choose to offer our respects from afar and keep a healthy distance from.

As Prabhupada mentions in his purport:

"Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura advises that a Vaiṣṇava who is not of good character should be avoided."

and

"One may offer his respects to such a Vaiṣṇava because he has accepted the Supreme Lord as the ultimate goal of life, but one should not keep company with a Vaiṣṇava who is in the mode of ignorance."

Devotional service contaminated by passion, in turn, is plagued with a desire for material gain, be it in the form of direct material benefits, such as money and privileges, or more subtle, in the form of power, fame, and followers. Different people may be more attracted to one side or another, but the root cause is the same.

A devotee influenced by passion may desire to take charge of the worship of the deity in a temple, for example, but this desire may be mixed with a desire to fulfill personal interests, seeing it as a way to maintain a position of power and prestige. A pure devotee may desire to take charge of the service of the deity to improve the standards or to offer his service to the Lord, just like Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura did in the temple of Lord Jagannatha in Puri, for example. This is one thing. A neophyte devotee influenced by passion, however, may fight to attain and maintain a position to extract some material benefit from it, like taking control of the money coming from donations, obtaining a prestigious position, power over others, etc. We can see that these are motives quite different from the motives of a pure devotee. Apart from deity worship, a devotee in passion may fight for a position of leadership in any other project or sector, with similar goals.

Passion will thus make one inclined to work hard to attain goals, but these goals will not exactly be solely for the satisfaction of the Lord; ego will also play a prominent role. One may also pray, but more often than not these prayers will be in the direction of asking the Lord to help him or her to attain these material goals, and if these goals are not achieved, one may become frustrated or angry at the Lord, and in some cases even lose his faith. This comes from the tendency to use the Lord as an order supplier, as mentioned by Prabhupada in his purport. Another negative tendency is that believing that his personal goals are correct, a devotee in passion will tend to adopt a "the ends justify the means" mentality, mobilizing and even manipulating others to attain his goals, without caring much for their well-being. If in charge of a project, for example, a devotee in passion will prioritize the development of the project over the well-being of the devotees involved, which can have very negative consequences.

In a proper devotional platform, a devotee may create a plan, but then be sensitive to see if the Lord agrees or not with it, offering his service, but without trying to impose something. Different from the devotee in passion, the goal of a pure devotee is to offer his service to the Lord, trying to understand what will be pleasant to Him, instead of using the Lord to satisfy his ambition. Due to the pure mentality of such a devotee, the Lord will be able to guide him from both inside and outside, in the form of instructions from the spiritual master, etc. Thus, the pure devotee remains aligned with the desires of the Lord, instead of acting as a separatist like the devotee in passion or ignorance.

When we sincerely offer some service to Krishna, it may have three possible outcomes. The Lord may accept our plan and empower us to fulfill it, the Lord may make it happen later, after giving us the necessary spiritual baggage to be able to carry it out, or He may choose to change it into something else entirely. In 1953, for example, Prabhupada created the League of Devotees in Jhansi, India, with the goal of spreading Krishna Consciousness. However, he gave it up when he saw it was not going to work as intended. Krishna had other plans, and Prabhupada showed he was ready to surrender to it.

When it comes to organization and development, an important distinction between a pure devotee and devotees influenced by passion or ignorance is that the pure devotee will try to use his project to benefit devotees, while the other two will tend to use devotees to benefit their project.

All projects we develop have the ultimate purpose of bringing people to Krishna Consciousness. People learn about Krishna Consciousness not from the wall of a temple or the grass fields in a farm, but from the devotees who live there. Therefore, the important component of any project are the devotees, and not walls or land. If advanced devotees are present, they can spread Krishna Consciousness by just chanting in a park, while even the most opulent building will fail to bring anyone to the path of devotional service if devotees are not present there. One in proper spiritual consciousness will thus see that the devotees are not only the most important part but what is most dear to Krishna. He will thus use his project to develop the devotees, instead of the opposite.

When we express our devotional service through the mode of goodness, we learn to avoid these pitfalls and develop our activities in ways that are healthy for the devotees around us. That's when our actions start to have a positive and lasting effect in bringing people to Krishna Consciousness. In ignorance, we are just a toxic person who others have to learn to avoid. In passion, we can build things, but these tend to crumble later because we see mainly the material side. Only in goodness, we can find a proper and balanced attitude that is satisfying to the Lord. In essence, in the mode of goodness, we can execute our devotional service in a way that is satisfying to the Lord, the only fault is that we do that with some self-interest, with the idea of becoming free from material suffering and achieving liberation. This mode of worship is almost pure, there is just a small tinge of personal interest due to the concern about personal salvation. As we progress, even this desire for liberation may go, and we may finally become situated on a platform of pure and unmotivated devotional service.

We can see that Krishna dedicates a great part of the verses of the Bhagavad-Gita to explaining the three modes of material nature and concludes that we should elevate ourselves to the mode of goodness. When we speak about the practice of devotional service, the mode of goodness is essential, because this is the only of the three modes that allows us to cooperate in the service of the Lord peacefully. Both the influence of passion and ignorance lead to conflict, and such conflict undermines our communities, creating a difficult situation for everyone. Only to the extent we are influenced by the mode of goodness can we be able to understand and reconcile different ideas, interests, and necessities with a calm mind.

The mode of passion is like a pair of glasses with red lenses. When we put on such glasses we see everything red. Under the influence of the mode of passion, there is a lot of pride and attachment, which can easily cause violent responses when we are antagonized. Under the influence of the modes of passion and ignorance, our intelligence becomes covered and we become propense to conflict. We start to bark at others and fight just like dogs or cats.

We can see that in Vedic society Ksatriyas are influenced by the mode of passion, while Brahmanas are influenced by the mode of goodness. Ksatriyas fight under the smallest provocation, while Brahmanas are transcendental diplomats who are peaceful and unattached and thus can easily find peaceful solutions for problems that take into consideration the needs of the different parties involved. The same applies to us. Conflicts can be avoided and solved in the mode of goodness. It's not by chance that Srila Prabhupada wanted to train his disciples as Brahmanas: The Brahmana is a transcendental diplomat and our society is in dire need of such diplomats.

Avoiding conflict includes being able to put oneself in the position of the other side and not consider one's needs more important than the needs of the other party. For this, we need to abandon our separatist attitude. We are all parts and parcels of Krishna, and therefore we are all brothers. Is there a big difference if I get something, or if my brother gets it? By ascending to the mode of goodness, we can start to be able to hear the guidance of Paramatma inside the heart and hear the guidance from the spiritual master from the outside. Only by ascending to the mode of goodness the red glasses of the mode of passion can be removed and we can start to see things as they really are.

Later, in the 4th canto, Sukadeva Goswami will give practical examples of these different qualities of devotional service and what results they award.

The pastime of Daksa cursing Lord Shiva is given as an example of devotional service polluted by the mode of ignorance. Daksa assumed an important post in the universe, becoming responsible for populating the universe as the leader of the prajapatis. This is a very responsible post, higher than even the demigods. However, because he was affected by the mode of ignorance, he exhibited envy, pride, and anger towards Lord Shiva, whom he couldn't properly appreciate. He even disregarded his own daughter, which resulted in her death.

What was the result? Daksa was punished for his offenses. He was first killed by Vīrabhadra because of his offense to Lord Shiva, then he received the head of a goat to be able to finish the sacrifice, then he had to die again to receive a new body, in which he had to practice austerities for several manvantaras to finally purify himself and regain his service. Daksa then proceeded to offend another pure devotee, Narada Muni, when he delivered his sons. There is no information about when he may go back to Godhead. From his pastime, we can learn that a devotee performing service in the mode of ignorance is not rejected by Krishna but he may have to face adverse results due to his offenses and remain in this material world for a long time.

The pastime of Dhruva Maharaja, the second major pastime of the 4th canto, is given as an example of devotional service practiced under the mode of passion. Dhruva Maharaja was seeking the Lord out of the desire for material benefit, desiring to achieve a kingdom greater than his father. The result was that he gained what he desired, becoming the king of Bhu-Mandala, but on the other hand, had to live for 36,000 years before finally going back to Godhead. From this pastime, we can see that Krishna doesn't reject a devotee in the mode of passion, and in fact, he may achieve the material opulence he desires, but he will have to stay in the material world to enjoy it. Only after giving up this propensity may one finally go back to Godhead.

Finally, there is the example of pure devotional service, offered in the story of Prthu Maharaja. He is given as the example of the perfect devotee, because he perfectly executed his service of managing the universe without false prestige, rapt in meditation in the forms and qualities of Krishna, and perfectly dovetailed with the desires of the Lord. The result was that he was directly empowered by the Lord to execute his service, gained the association and blessings of pure devotees (the four Kumaras), and was able to easily go back home, back to Godhead.

:. Pure devotional service

The next verses speak about pure devotional service, free from the influence of the three modes:

"The manifestation of unadulterated devotional service is exhibited when one’s mind is at once attracted to hearing the transcendental name and qualities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is residing in everyone’s heart. Just as the water of the Ganges flows naturally down towards the ocean, such devotional ecstasy, uninterrupted by any material condition, flows towards the Supreme Lord. A pure devotee does not accept any kind of liberation — sālokya, sārṣṭi, sāmīpya, sārūpya or ekatva — even though they are offered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By attaining the highest platform of devotional service, as I have explained, one can overcome the influence of the three modes of material nature and be situated in the transcendental stage, as is the Lord." (SB 3.29.11-14)

The original propensity of the soul is to serve Krishna. When acting under this natural tendency, a soul fully identifies with the desire of the Lord, just as a mother identifies with the needs of her child, without considering her personal interests. Being parts and parcels of the Lord, we are eternally connected with Him. Although we are eternally individuals, in our original state we become one with the Lord in terms of interest. Joining the Lord in His Lila means to become perfectly tuned with the desires of the Lord. To achieve that, we need to become free from false ego, the root cause of our material conditioning. When we finally become free from it, our attention naturally flows in the direction of the Lord, just as a river flowing in the direction of the ocean, as described by Lord Kapila.

Lord Kapila mentions that a pure devotee does not accept any kind of liberation, even though they are offered by the Lord. Similarly, Lord Caitanya prays "mama janmani janmanishvare, bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki twayi", mentioning that all He desires is unmotivated devotional service birth after birth, without even desire for liberation. Although a pure devotee will eventually join the Lord in His pastimes, liberation is not his goal. His goal is to just serve the Lord in any position that may be pleasant to Him, without consideration for place or circumstance. A pure devotee may accept one of the four types of liberation (excluding merging unto the Lord) if this is pleasant for the Lord, or favorable for His service, but he is also perfectly fine with serving the Lord in any position in this material world. The point is about serving the Lord, not achieving a certain position. This complete surrender to the will of the Lord, without consideration for personal convenience, is what distinguishes devotional service in goodness and pure devotional service.

Devotional service executed in goodness has something in common with the process followed by jñanīs and yogis in the sense that it is practiced to achieve freedom from birth and death. It is still slightly under the influence of false ego because it still has a vestige of self-consideration. Desire for liberation is not bad, especially in the beginning, since it helps us to be motivated in our spiritual practice. It is also not an impediment, since a devotee who practices with the desire to go back to Godhead will surely achieve it. It is just that there is something higher after that.

Different categories of devotional service (Srimad Bhagavatam #40)

Just as material life starts when the soul's consciousness becomes focused on the material world, liberation comes when our consciousness is transferred back to Krishna.

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