![\"\"](\"https:\/\/iskconnews.org\/media\/img_versions\/2019\/09-Sep\/sea1_slideshow.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The company that we keep plays a significant role in our lives. Our desires, habits, and goals are often dependent on the association that we are in (sa\u1e45g\u0101t sanj\u0101yate k\u0101ma\u1e25<\/em>, BG 2.62). Associating with cultured people helps us develop good habits, and associating with corrupt people makes us corrupt generally. The holy scriptures therefore repeatedly recommend that we avoid bad association and keep good association. Here is Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s direct description on the glory of saintly association, in the Uddhava-g\u012bta<\/em>, the philosophical song that He sang to enlighten His dear devotee Uddhava.<\/p>\n Devotee association \u2013 (i) reduces one\u2019s inspiration to enjoy sense gratification, (ii) increase one\u2019s inspiration to serve and get attached to Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. \u201cAn intelligent person should reject all bad association and take to the association of saintly devotees, whose words cut off the excessive attachment of one\u2019s mind.\u201d (SB 11.26.26)<\/p>\n tato du\u1e25sa\u1e45gam uts\u1e5bjya satsu sajjeta buddhim\u0101n<\/em> The worship of a devotee is greater than the direct worship of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a (mad-bhakta-p\u016bj\u0101bhyadhik\u0101<\/em>, 11.19.21).<\/p>\n Saintly devotees are \u2013 (i) not dependent on anything material (anapek\u1e63\u0101\u1e25<\/em>), (ii) always conscious of Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a (mat<\/em>\u2013citt\u0101\u1e25<\/em>), (iii) completely peaceful (pra\u015b\u0101nt\u0101\u1e25<\/em>), (iv) endowed with equal vision (sama<\/em>\u2013dar\u015bina\u1e25<\/em>), (v) free from possessiveness (nirmama\u1e25<\/em>), (vi) free from false ego (niraha\u1e45k\u0101r\u0101\u1e25<\/em>), (vii) free from all material dualities of pain and pleasure, success and failure and so on (nirdvandv\u0101\u1e25<\/em>) and (viii) free from material greed (ni\u1e63parigrah\u0101\u1e25<\/em>). (SB 11.26.27)<\/p>\n santo \u2018napek\u1e63\u0101 mac-citt\u0101\u1e25 pra\u015b\u0101nt\u0101\u1e25 sama-dar\u015bina\u1e25<\/em> Mac-citt\u0101\u1e25<\/em> or fixing the mind on K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is the most important quality that makes one gradually attain all other good qualities.<\/p>\n In the association of saintly devotees, there is constant discussion about K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a (BG 10.9). One who associates with them is certainly purified of all sinful reactions and sinful proclivities (SB 11.26.28). Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a enters the ear holes of devotees through the sound vibration of \u015ar\u012bmad Bh\u0101gavatam as spoken by pure devotees, and purifies all their shortcomings and material desires which are unfavorable for advancement in bhakti. Spiritual hearing from saintly devotees is so powerful and nourishing to the soul, that it has become the ultimate aspiration of many advanced devotees including Dhruva, Pracet\u0101s, P\u1e5bthu, Prahl\u0101da, and so on. When all these devotees attained the dar\u015bana of the Supreme Lord, they did not ask for any material benedictions, rather they just asked for an opportunity to associate with pure devotees and hear k\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a-kath\u0101<\/em> in that association. Initially one may not have the inclination to hear hari-kath\u0101<\/em>, but gradually one can develop taste for hearing in the association of devotees. <\/p>\n Even Lord Kapila also speaks to His mother Devahuti about the glory of s\u0101dhu-sa\u1e45ga<\/em> as follows:<\/p>\n sat\u0101\u1e41 prasa\u1e45g\u0101n mama v\u012brya-sa\u1e41vido<\/em> \u201cIn the association of pure devotees, discussion of the pastimes and activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is very pleasing and satisfying to the ear and the heart. By cultivating such knowledge one gradually becomes advanced on the path of liberation, and thereafter he is freed, and his attraction becomes fixed. Then real devotion and devotional service begin. (SB 3.25.25) <\/p>\n Even if one does not receive direct instructions from pure devotees or associate with them, simply by hearing a pure devotee glorify Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, one can be purified of all sinful reactions (prapunanty agham). There are two ways of association\u2014by v\u0101\u1e47\u012b and by vapu\u1e25. V\u0101\u1e47\u012b means words, and vapu\u1e25 means physical presence. Physical proximity with a devotee is sometimes possible and sometimes not, but v\u0101\u1e47\u012b exists eternally. The opportunity to v\u0101\u1e47\u012b-sev\u0101, i.e., to serve a devotee\u2019s instructions, is more than the opportunity to engage in vapu-sev\u0101. When the physical association is available, one may be eager to take it, but when it is not available, one should still continue to serve the devotee or the guru by following the instructions.<\/p>\n Achieving bhakti by K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a-kath\u0101<\/strong><\/p>\n Whoever hears (\u015b\u1e5b\u1e47vanti<\/em>), chants (g\u0101yanti<\/em>) and respectfully (\u0101d\u1e5bt\u0101\u1e25<\/em>) takes to heart (anumodanti<\/em>) these topics about K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a becomes faithfully dedicated to Me (mat<\/em>\u2013par\u0101\u1e25<\/em>) and thus achieves My devotional service (bhakti\u1e41<\/em> vindanti<\/em>) (SB 11.26.29).<\/p>\n t\u0101 ye \u015b\u1e5b\u1e47vanti g\u0101yanti hy anumodanti c\u0101d\u1e5bt\u0101\u1e25<\/em> Hearing about K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is not just an exercise of information gathering, and chanting or speaking about K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is not just to impress people with one\u2019s knowledge. The word \u201canumodanti<\/em>\u201d indicates that a devotee not only hears and chants the narrations about K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a but also takes the message into one\u2019s heart and gradually develops one\u2019s devotion to K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a and the Vai\u1e63\u1e47ava qualities that make one dear to K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a and His devotees.<\/p>\n \u201cHearing from advanced devotees of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a saves one from the ocean of material existence. When one obeys the order of a bona fide guru, the polluted workings of the mind are checked, one sees things in a new, spiritual light, and there blossoms the propensity for selfless loving service to the Lord, which gives the fruit of k\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a-prema<\/em>, love of Godhead.\u201d (SB 11.26.29 P)<\/p>\n A devotee or a bona fide guru speaks k\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a-katha<\/em> in the mood of the servant and doesn\u2019t think oneself to be a great scholar or independent deliverer of people. A humble speaker of k\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a-kath\u0101<\/em> becomes appreciative and grateful to the enthusiastic hearers, because of whom the speaker gets an opportunity to glorify K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a and thus be K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a conscious. We see such mood in several speakers of \u015ar\u012bmad Bh\u0101gavatam<\/em> including Maitreya \u1e5a\u1e63i, S\u016bta Gosv\u0101m\u012b, N\u0101rada Muni, and so on. For instance, Maitreya rejoices to praise Vidura in this way, \u201cO Vidura, you have prayed for my association. But according to me, getting your association is most rare. Just by serving persons associated with you, k\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a-bhakti<\/em> will arise! All the descendants of your family are devoted to the Supreme Lord. Just by your eagerness to hear k\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a-kath\u0101<\/em>, you make the garland of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s glories (k\u012brti-m\u0101l\u0101m<\/em>) newer and newer at every moment (abh\u012bk\u1e63\u1e47am<\/em>), in every word, in every verse and every chapter (pade pade<\/em>). You string together this garland just by the thread of your taste. Placing this garland within the casket of your ears and mind which have condensed attraction, you make it eternally fresh.\u201d (SB 3.8.1)<\/p>\n Thus, proper consciousness of a hearer and speaker of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a-kath\u0101<\/em> makes the whole process enlivening and positively transformative to all who access it.<\/p>\n paraspar\u0101nukathana\u1e41 p\u0101vana\u1e41 bhagavad-ya\u015ba\u1e25<\/em> \u201cOne should learn how to associate with the devotees of the Lord by gathering with them to chant the glories of the Lord. This process is most purifying. As devotees thus develop their loving friendship, they feel mutual happiness and satisfaction. And by thus encouraging one another they can give up material sense gratification, which is the cause of all suffering.\u201d (SB 11.3.30)<\/p>\n Sincere hearing purifies one\u2019s heart and thus one achieves bhakti. After achieving bhakti, what more remains to be accomplished for such a perfect devotee? (bhakti\u1e41 labdhavata\u1e25 s\u0101dho\u1e25 kim anyad ava\u015bi\u1e63yate<\/em>, SB 11.26.30). Devotional service to Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is so pleasing that a pure devotee cannot desire anything except service to the Lord. K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a told the gop\u012bs that they would have to accept their service as the ultimate reward of their devotion to Him since nothing awards as much happiness and knowledge as devotional service itself.<\/p>\n In the association of pure devotees, one not only gets the opportunity to hear about K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a but also an opportunity to serve the devotees who are very dear to K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. By sincerely serving pure devotees, one\u2019s theoretical understanding of spiritual philosophy becomes a practical realization.<\/p>\n After learning about the j\u012bva and the Supreme Lord from Maitreya, Vidura spoke to him, \u201cI understood the science of soul from you and have become convinced by these conclusions coming from your mouth. But I haven\u2019t realized these facts. I am confident that will destroy my lack of realization only by service to your lotus feet.\u201d<\/p>\n By serving the devotees (s\u0101dh\u016bn sa\u1e41sevatas), one\u2019s dullness, fear, and ignorance are destroyed, just as cold, fear, and darkness are eradicated for one who has approached the sacrificial fire.<\/p>\n The peaceful devotees fixed in spiritual knowledge, are the ultimate shelter giving a strong boat that rescues those who are repeatedly rising and falling and drowning within the fierce ocean of material life (SB 11.26.32).<\/p>\n nimajjyonmajjat\u0101\u1e41 ghore bhav\u0101bdhau param\u0101ya\u1e47am<\/em> Just as food is the life of all creatures, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s devotees are the only refuge of persons fearful of falling into a miserable condition of life (SB 11.26.33). The shelter of pure devotees saves one from being dragged down by material lust and anger because they engage one safely in K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s loving service.<\/p>\n The sun allows us only to see external objects, and that too only when he rises in the sky. But Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s devotees bestow divine eyes, i.e., spiritual vision to see objects and events in life from a mature perspective. Thus the devotees, who Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a considers nondifferent from Him, are one\u2019s real worshipable deities and real family members. (SB 11.26.34)<\/p>\n santo di\u015banti cak\u1e63\u016b\u1e41si bahir arka\u1e25 samutthita\u1e25<\/em> Foolishness is the wealth of the impious, who place great value on their treasure and firmly make up their minds to remain in the darkness of ignorance. Saintly devotees of the Lord are just like the sun. By the light of their words, the living entities\u2019 eyes of knowledge are opened and the darkness of ignorance is destroyed. ,Therefore, the saintly devotees are one\u2019s real friends, and relatives. They are the proper recipients of service\u2014not the gross material body, which merely clamors for sense gratification.<\/p>\n This Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a enlightens Uddhava about the glory of s\u0101dhu-sa\u1e45ga. So let us eagerly take this opportunity to associate with the saintly devotees of Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a and serve them to the best of our capacity and come closer to K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a consciousness, our ultimate aspiration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The company that we keep plays a significant role in our lives. Our desires, habits, and goals are often dependent on the association that we are in (sa\u1e45g\u0101t sanj\u0101yate k\u0101ma\u1e25, BG 2.62). Associating with cultured people helps us develop good habits, and associating with corrupt people makes us corrupt generally. The holy scriptures therefore repeatedly recommend that we avoid bad association and keep good association. Here is Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s direct description on the glory of saintly association, in the Uddhava-g\u012bta, the philosophical song that He sang to enlighten His dear devotee Uddhava. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-92528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=92528"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92528\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92529,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92528\/revisions\/92529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=92528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=92528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=92528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Destruction of material attachment<\/strong><\/h4>\n
santa ev\u0101sya chindanti mano-vy\u0101sa\u1e45gam uktibhi\u1e25<\/em><\/p>\nVaisnava Behavior: Eight qualities of a Devotee<\/strong><\/h4>\n
nirmam\u0101 niraha\u1e45k\u0101r\u0101 nirdvandv\u0101 ni\u1e63parigrah\u0101\u1e25<\/em><\/p>\nK\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a-kath\u0101 that purifies sins<\/strong><\/h4>\n
bhavanti h\u1e5bt-kar\u1e47a-ras\u0101yan\u0101\u1e25 kath\u0101\u1e25<\/em>
taj-jo\u1e63a\u1e47\u0101d \u0101\u015bv apavarga-vartmani<\/em>
\u015braddh\u0101 ratir bhaktir anukrami\u1e63yati<\/em><\/p>\n
mat-par\u0101\u1e25 \u015braddadh\u0101n\u0101\u015b ca bhakti\u1e41 vindanti te mayi<\/em><\/p>\n
mitho ratir mithas tu\u1e63\u1e6dir niv\u1e5bttir mitha \u0101tmana\u1e25<\/em><\/p>\nService to pure devotees<\/strong><\/h4>\n
The safe boat of devotees\u2019 association<\/strong><\/h4>\n
santo brahma-vida\u1e25 \u015b\u0101nt\u0101 naur d\u1e5b\u1e0dhev\u0101psu majjat\u0101m<\/em><\/p>\nAssociation bestows a spiritual vision<\/strong><\/h4>\n
devat\u0101 b\u0101ndhav\u0101\u1e25 santa\u1e25 santa \u0101tm\u0101ham eva ca<\/em><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/QAeFJ8G.jpg)
By Gauranga Darshan Das<\/strong><\/p>\n