Developing good qualities is the real test of success, not material results
We may think that we can attract the Lord by doing great austerities or achieving great material results, but if we don’t simultaneously soften our hearts, such achievements may be of little value.
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Developing good qualities is the real test of success, not material results
There is a verse in the Srimad Bhagavatam that strikes me every time I read it:
“My dear King, I am very captivated by your elevated qualities and excellent behavior, and thus I am very favorably inclined toward you. You may therefore ask from Me any benediction you like. One who does not possess elevated qualities and behavior cannot possibly achieve My favor simply by performance of sacrifices, severe austerities or mystic yoga. But I always remain equipoised in the heart of one who is also equipoised in all circumstances.” (SB 4.20.16)
In this verse, the Lord is personally speaking to King Pṛthu after he executed 99 horse sacrifices and was about to conclude his 100th before being interrupted by Indra. At that point, King Pṛthu had already counteracted the negative influences of the reign of King Vena and had fed the citizens by milking the earth, which were quite unprecedented activities. However, we can see that the Lord doesn’t praise him for any of that; instead, He praises him for his personal qualities and personal behavior.
This reminds me of another similar verse, SB 4.30.8: “The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear sons of the King, I am very much pleased by the friendly relationships among you. All of you are engaged in one occupation — devotional service. I am so pleased with your mutual friendship that I wish you all good fortune. Now you may ask a benediction of Me.”
In this verse, the Lord speaks to the Pracetas after they practiced extraordinary austerities, by meditating underwater for 10,000 years. Again, this was something unprecedented. We can only imagine how someone can live 10,000 years inside the water, what to say about practicing austerities while doing it. However, we can see that, again, the Lord doesn’t mention any of that. Instead, the Lord mentions the friendly relationships between the ten brothers as a reason for blessing them.
Frequently, we think that we can attract the mercy of the Lord by doing great austerities or achieving great material results, but if we don’t simultaneously soften our hearts, such achievements may actually be of little value.
We can observe that Srila Prabhupada was encouraging his disciples in using their energy to do things for Kṛṣṇa and achieving results, but he was at the same time also emphasizing the other side.
It’s easy to lose track of the real goal and instead try to quantify our success in spiritual life in terms of just material results. One may accept the mission of building a temple, for example, and, becoming fixated on it, start thinking that building a temple, even if by hook or by crook, is the ultimate goal of his life. However, these verses sober us up, remembering that working for material achievements in devotional service is not a goal in itself, but just a means to achieve something higher, which is the reformation of our own character. When material results become the final goal, our devotional service becomes a mundane pursuit.
The whole idea is that by serving Kṛṣṇa, our hearts become softer, and thus a fertile ground for the plant of bhakti. As this plant grows, our hearts become even softer, and this results in improving personal qualities and relationships with other Vaiṣnavas. As our love for Kṛṣṇa grows, our service may also be improved, and this may lead to material results, but the ultimate goal is to learn to love Kṛṣṇa, not any specific material achievement.
Verses like these show that if we just serve out of a desire for fame and recognition, our service will not be as pleasant to Kṛṣṇa as the service of a humble devotee who is just doing some menial service and changing his heart.
In his purport to the first verse, Srila Prabhupada mentions that “Lord Viṣṇu was very pleased with Mahārāja Pṛthu’s good character and behavior and offered him a benediction. The Lord openly says that performing great sacrifices or undergoing the austerities of mystic yoga practice cannot satisfy Him. He is pleased only by elevated character and behavior.”
This is the true test to measure our success in spiritual life. How much is our personal behavior improving? How are we acting toward other Vaiṣnavas? How close is our behavior in public and private? How soft have our hearts become? Prabhupada continues by mentioning that: “Anyone who has developed unalloyed, unflinching devotional service unto the Lord develops his original good qualities as spirit soul. The spirit soul, as part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has all the good qualities of the Lord. When the spirit soul is contaminated by the material modes of nature, one is considered good or bad with reference to the material qualities. But when one is transcendental to all material qualities, all the good qualities come out.”
Qualities like lust, anger, greed, pride, envy, and so on are actually symptoms of our material conditioning. When one is starting on the path of devotional service, it may happen that one may try to use such qualities in Kṛṣṇa service (acting in dishonest ways to try to raise money for some project, for example), but this is supposed to go away as one advances. However, if we get caught in a mentality of “the ends justify the means”, we may continue pursuing material goals without developing real Vaiṣnava qualities.
What are these qualities, by the way? Prabhupada gives us a list later on in his purport: “These qualities of a devotee, twenty-six in number, are listed as follows: (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, (10) benevolent, (11) peaceful, (12) completely attached to Kṛṣṇa, (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) expert, (26) silent. The Lord is satisfied by development of the transcendental qualities of the living entity 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.”
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