No Devotion, No Attainment

(written on February 15, 2020)

(References: BG 3.32, 9.12)

Those who don’t engage in devotional service will never attain the goal of human life, love of Godhead or prema. Devotional service needs to be constantly and sincerely performed by the living entity for them to develop love for God as well understand their constitutional position in relationship with Krishna. This is verified by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu himself who explains, “When one is encouraged in devotional service by the association of devotees, one becomes free from all unwanted contamination by following the regulative principles and chanting and hearing.” While describing the transcendence of the 9 stages of elevation in devotional service, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu explains how persevering in one’s devotional service is important for attaining higher stages of love of Godhead. The key takeaway is: devotional service is necessary to attain love and if one doesn’t love Krishna, one is considered as demonic or atheistic and they will not be able to go back to Godhead. Prabhupada clearly explains this is the purport of BG 9.12, “For them [so-called devotees and those who are engaged in fruitive pious activities], the fruit of devotional service – going back to Godhead – will never be tasted… In other words, persons who mock Kṛṣṇa are to be understood to be demonic or atheistic.”

Therefore the conclusion is that one who is serious about transcending in devotional service and most importantly, serious about developing a pure loving relationship with Krishna should know that the only way to attain this is through the means of constant, unalloyed devotional service.