Demon and devotee

8 years, 7 months ago by pnd in Special Category A

Hare Krishna Dear Guru Maharaja,
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

I would like to ask you if you can clarify me following questions which are unfortunately somehow due to my bad nature relevant to me.

When somebody gets purified by bhakti yoga proccess do unfriendly qualities get transformed/destroyed? Or when soul purify and fully self-realize he still need to behave in body like it is programed by modes of nature, similarly as actor who plays bad character?

We can sometimes see devotees which are close friends of Krishna, His devotees, same time they may have some kind of interesting (non-traditional for vaisnava) nature (e.g. drinking blood of enemies, anger). Similarly Krishna didn't allow Arjuna to go to forrest as his nature will not allow him to properly stay there as yogi. So may we understand that 'varna' or human nature cannot be avoided even when after we will become purified devotees? 

Whatever understanding of myself/my psychology is purely based on body/mind/inteligence. At least theoretically I understand that I am not that, but can I realize what are the emotions, logic, behavior of the real me, the soul? When soul is purified and is back in Krishna's pastimes he has own personality. While in material body, does this personality, characteristics get manifested over out material conditioning or we simply live inner live, while outsite be still same bad character?

Your servant Prahlad-nrsmha das

 
HpS - ASA - AGTSP.  Paoho.    Wonderful question, but first, in the name of so many people, thank you so, so much for this Blog and Vedabase.com.

As far as I know, the answer to your question is in NOI 5-6. There we see that we avoid association with third class devotees unless the WANT to take instructions from the example and preaching of a pure devotee (like Srila Prabhupada) or the scriptures. The second class devotee still has material connection and yes, there is still sometimes accidental falldown to his material conditioning, but he is trying to avoid that by intelligence.

First class devotee is described in Text Six, no?  He still may have bad complexion and Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati says that he may also have rough character in his Anuvrrti. It is like bubble, foam and mud in the Ganges. So, he completely connects all his resources to Krsna's service unless Krsna wants something else. Draupadi didn't know why all this weird stuff was happening to her, but she never lost faith that Krsna had a plan, although she certainly made requests to understand what they were.

Internally he knows that Krsna is in control, but he may not know why he is acting in certain ways.   That is somtimes Krsna makes him act wrongly, like Arjuna, so that Krsna can use him.

O.K?  Read those Texts.   Sometimes Krsna wants him to control his Karma and gives him power and sometimes Krsna wants to use his Karma and doesn't give him power to control it, but deep within himself he knows that this is Krsna's plan.