Hare Krsna,
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is as sentient as we are. The Lord is satisfied if someone offers a nice prayer, and similarly, He is dissatisfied if someone decries His existence or calls Him ill names. The Lord is situated at the core of everyone’s hearts; he knows our motives and intentions. To those who are sincere in their purpose, the Lord guides them from within as Paramatma and externally as the spiritual masters. As Lord Krsna tells Arjuna in BG 10.10: To those who constantly devoted to serving me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.
Sincere devotees always engage in sincerely chanting the Holy Name of the Lord, and hearing about His pastimes and activities. They do not discriminate between the boar incarnation of the Lord and the two-handed beautiful form of the Lord. They do not directly jump to the 10th Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam while ignoring the previous Cantos. Therefore, we are studying SB systematically in this sadhusangaonline forum beginning from the first canto exactly as per the instructions of Srila Prabhupada.
What caught my attention in this lesson is that one must serve the Lord faithfully and sincerely. “If one serves faithfully, there is no possibility of frustration because the Lord Himself takes charge of the devotee’s advancement. The Lord is seated in everyone’s heart, and He knows the devotee’s motive and arranges everything achievable. In other words, the pseudo devotee, who is anxious to achieve material gains, cannot attain the highest perfectional stage because the Lord is in knowledge of his motive. One merely has to become sincere in his purpose, and then the Lord is there to help in every way.” (SB 3.13.48-49 P)
As clearly stated by the Lord Himself in BG 9.3, “Those who are not faithful on the path of devotional service cannot attain Me, O conqueror of foes, but return to birth and death in this material world.” It is also said in the Bhagavad-Gita that a person who is engaged in devotional service with love and faith is guided from within by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord Himself as Paramātmā, or the spiritual master sitting within one’s heart, gives the devotee exact directions by which he can gradually go back to Godhead.
In one of his lectures, Srila Prabhupada requested the devotees to continue in devotional service faithfully. “So my request is that you continue your devotional service very faithfully and rigidly, then in this life you will be able to see Kṛṣṇa face to face. That is a fact.” (Departure Lecture — Caracas, February 25, 1975)
Faith is developed through good association. In BG 12.20, it is explained that through good association, one develops attachment for pure devotional service and thereby accepts a bona fide spiritual master and from him begins to hear and chant and observe the regulative principles of devotional service with faith, attachment and devotion and thus becomes engaged in the transcendental service of the Lord.
SB 3.13.48-49: If one hears and describes in a devotional service attitude this auspicious narration of Lord Boar, which is worthy of description, the Lord, who is within the heart of everyone, is very pleased. Nothing remains unachieved when the Supreme Personality of Godhead is pleased with someone. By transcendental achievement one understands everything else to be insignificant. One who engages in transcendental loving service is elevated to the highest perfectional stage by the Lord Himself, who is seated in everyone’s heart.
Therefore, devotees of the Lord are naturally enthusiastic to perform service which pleases the Lord.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Krsna Katha 