Hare Krsna,
One special quality of bhakti-yoga is that hearing ABOUT pure devotees is as powerful as hearing FROM pure devotees.
“Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is full of the transcendental topics of the Personality of Godhead and His pure devotees. In the absolute world there is no difference in quality between the Supreme Lord and His pure devotee. Therefore, hearing the topics of the Lord and hearing of the character and activities of the pure devotee have the same result, namely, the development of devotional service.” (SB 3.13.3)
Why is hearing about the activities of devotees of the Lord so powerful? This is explained beautifully by Srila Prabhupada.
“A pure devotee of the Lord cannot be separated from the lotus feet of the Lord for even a moment. Undoubtedly the Lord is always within the hearts of all living creatures, but they hardly know about it because they are deluded by the illusory material energy. The devotees, however, realize the presence of the Lord, and therefore they can always see the lotus feet of the Lord within their hearts. Such pure devotees of the Lord are as glorious as the Lord; they are, in fact, recommended by the Lord as more worshipable than He Himself. Worship of the devotee is more potent than worship of the Lord. It is therefore the duty of the transcendental students to hear of pure devotees, as explained by similar devotees of the Lord, because one cannot explain about the Lord or His devotee unless one happens to be a pure devotee himself.” (SB 3.13.5 P)
I personally relish hearing and reading about the pure devotees of the Lord. I enjoy reading their biographies, activities, and pastimes. Reading about Srila Prabhupada is a great way to deepen our relationship with him. I found my initiating spiritual master by first hearing about him, and later, hearing from him. Over the years, I have read some wonderful biographies of pure devotees. Some of my favorites are:
- Srila Prabhupada Lilamrta
- Servant of the Servant by HH Tamal Krishna Goswami
- When Good Fortune Arises, the Life and Teachings of Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Maharaja. This book contains many little-known stories about HH Gour Govinda Swami, including his association with Srila Prabhupada.
- Ocean of Mercy by HH Bhakti Charu Swami
- The Journey Home by HH Radhanath Swami
- Six Goswamis of Vrindavana – HG Satyaraja Das
- Life and Teachings of Srila Narottama Das Thakura – HG Sitala Devi Dasi
- And many more
I love to collect various biographies about our acaryas and early disciples of Srila Prabhupada. Reading about them strengthens my faith in bhakti, enriches my soul, gives me deep philosophical understanding, gratitude for their immense contribution to our sampradaya, gives me taste for sravana and kirtanam, and helps me tide over the struggling days as a sadhaka.
Therefore, I enjoy studying Srimad Bhagavatam and Sri Caitanya Caritamrta. These books are full of transcendental descriptions about the pastimes of the Lord and His pure devotees. I realize that simply trying to understand the Supreme Lord but ignoring to understand His pure devotees is neophyte thinking. It is also quite impersonalism.
There are three grades of devotees, as identified in the Nectar of Instruction (Texts 5,6) – the kanishtha adhikari, madhyama adhikari, and uttama adhikari or perfected devotee. The kanistha adhikari or neophyte is one who has developed faith in worshiping Krishna but has not yet developed proper regard for Krishna’s devotees, nor compassion for others. Therefore, unless we develop appreciation for the pure devotees of the Lord, we stay at kanistha level. We must make sincere endeavor to elevate ourselves to madhyama adhikari level.
To set the right example for us, we see that Vidura inquired about the activities of Svayambhuva Manu. He did not directly jump to asking questions about the Supreme Lord. His inquiries gradually moved from the subject of creation to the subject of pure devotees of the Lord. This is the proper way to inquire about the Supreme Lord. Vidura’s line of questioning has a great lesson for us – how to inquire submissively from the bonafide spiritual masters.
If we have not yet developed taste for hearing about the devotees of the Supreme Lord, we must understand that we haven’t made much spiritual progress in bhakti. We must remember that worship of the devotee is more potent than worship of the Lord.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Krsna Katha 