The 26 Qualities of a Pure Devotee of God or Krishna, Part 1, by Haripada dasa

 The 26 Qualities of a Pure Devotee of God or Krishna, Part 1, by Haripada dasa I will present this message in three parts: 1- He is always kind to everyone: People suffer from a lack of God or Krishna consciousness; people have forgotten God or Krishna. A devotee of God tries to spread Krishna consciousness to people without discrimination. A devotee of Krishna is even kind to his enemy. When Durvasa Muni offended Maharaja Ambarisa, the king prayed to Krishna for the sage. And when Durvasa Muni prostrated himself at Maharaja Ambarisa's lotus feet, begging forgiveness for his offenses, he said, "Now I have recognized the devotees of God. Even though I offended you, you prayed for my good fortune." 2- He never seeks disputes: Srila Prabhupada bought land in Bombay from Mr. Nair, a very powerful man, president of two newspapers, president of the Supreme Court, etc. Mr. Nair had already defrauded the C. Company, taking their money and land. Now he wanted to do the same to Srila Prabhupada, but his plan backfired. Because of the many offenses he committed against Srila Prabhupada, he soon died. It is said in the Book of Krishna, in relation to Kamsa, that demons, because of their offenses, shorten their lives, lose their luster, etc. Then Mr. Nair's wife threw herself at Srila Prabhupada's lotus feet and begged his forgiveness for all the offenses, and Srila Prabhupada told her, "To me, you are like my daughter; you will never lack anything." 3- His interest lies in the essence of life, which is spiritual: This is what Paramahansa, or the great swan, means. The swan has the quality that, given a mixture of water and milk, it will take the milk and leave the water. Spiritual means in the service of Krishna, or God, and His devotees. Things become spiritualized when used in the service of Krishna. 4- He is equanimous with everyone: This comes from the verse in the Bhagavad gita, "pandita sama darsinaha." The humble sage, by virtue of his true knowledge, sees with the same vision a learned brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and a dog-eater. 5- No one can find fault with him: Srila Prabhupada said many times that materialists criticize devotees out of envy, calling them troublesome people. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura Prabhupada said that one who is always accustomed to criticizing others will never prosper. 6- His mind is magnanimous. Saint Teresa of Ávila of Spain said that the mind is the madwoman of the house. If you are walking down the street and you meet a madman who has escaped from the asylum and starts saying crazy things, what will you do? You will ignore him. In the same way, our mind is always telling us nonsense, and we must ignore it. When our mind is purified, it will tell us devotional things; then we must listen to it. I advise you to read the Mana Siksha or Preaching to the Mind by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura—pure nectar. 7- His mind is always pure. Ceto darpanam marjanam. By chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, we purify the mind of all material contamination. 8- His mind is always clear. When we have a pure mind, we will never forget Srila Prabhupada, Krishna, or God, and everything related to Them. 9. His mind is always free from material obsessions: Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, in his Mana Siksa, says that the root of all undesirable things in our hearts is the desire for respect from others. Srila Prabhupada always said not to demand respect, but to inspire respect. 10. He is a benefactor to all living entities. It was Srila Rupa Gosvami who glorified Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu, saying that he was the greatest benefactor because he was giving Krishna consciousness, or pure love for God, to everyone. And our Srila Prabhupada is the commander-in-chief of the spiritual forces of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Please, let's not see Srila Prabhupada as the guru of a few people; no, that is a great mistake. Let's see Srila Prabhupada as the Jagat-guru, the guru of the universe.