— Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣaka Śrīdhara Dev Gosvāmī Mahārāja
When I joined the mission, I wanted to read the books of the mission, including Bhāgavatam, but I did not find any encouragement from the authority. The real thing, the real requirement is to use our energy for the service of the Lord. By that process only may we go up, not by satisfying our intellectual necessities. Jñāna-śūnya-bhakti, an illiterate man may achieve a higher position in the realm of devotion than a literate man.
By the command of the Lord’s agent we may engage in literary culture, even as Mahāprabhu instructed Rūpa and Sanātana Gosvāmīs. Of course, they had acquired their knowledge to utilize it in the service of the sampradāya, the Gauḍīya disciplic succession. He also asked Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa to hear the Bhāgavatam from one who knew its real purport.
Jīva Gosvāmī was the only exception. Mahāprabhu asked him to study independently before he joined the Vṛndāvana party. He left his home and went to Benares, the center of all sorts of learning at that time. He studied different śāstras and then joined the others in Vṛndāvana. There, under the direction of Rūpa and Sanātana, he utilized his previously acquired knowledge in the service of the sampradāya.
When we get inspiration from above to study, that study is devotion. Otherwise a whim to study, to acquire scholarship, may not be bhakti proper, śuddha-bhakti.
The higher agent, the Vaiṣṇava, must utilize my energy. This energy must be spent to satisfy the higher world. Then it will be bhakti, it will be devotion. My mental imagination may bring sukṛti, but it won’t be śuddha-bhakti if I have a mind to help the sampradāya in a scholarly way. At my own risk I must go on with my study. It is accepted that when one is connected with the higher agent, then it will be considered devotion; otherwise it is not. It is an empirical attempt with some sort of good imagination. But this is not pure bhakti, pure devotion. Pure devotion is to carry out the orders descending from above, from the higher agent. The waves are coming; catch them and then act accordingly.
Our Godbrother Niśikānta Sānyāl said that when we are requested by a Vaiṣṇava to write or read any book, then that constitutes devotion. But when of our own accord we read any devotional book, that won’t give us devotion. That will be karma or jñāna. To surrender unconditionally to the instruction coming down to us, that is bhakti. All else is imitation. We find this warning everywhere. This we should understand.
Even reading the scriptures is not devotion unless done on the order of the Vaiṣṇava. Independent reading is only knowledge-seeking. By following the Vaiṣṇava, our bond with the Lord is guaranteed. Sādhu-saṅge Kṛṣṇa-nāma: in the company of the devotees, chanting the Name or whatever service we render is guaranteed to reach Him. And what is the guarantee of that? The reply will be, “His agent is saying so, and I am therefore engaged. I am not my master; I am his servant.” Such consciousness must be genuine, as far as possible. Success depends on this principle.
If we are appointed to preach, to do relief work here, we will execute that duty solely under the appointment of, and in the interest of, that higher plane, without any vanity. We should think, “I must put myself wholly at the disposal of the higher plane, and I shall not be eager to become an ācārya, a spiritual master. Otherwise, there is the danger of committing nāma-aparādha, offense against the Lord’s Name.”
Aśraddadhāne vimukhe ‘py aśṛṇvati, yaś copadeśaḥ śiva-nāmāparādhaḥ. It is an offense to give the Holy Name to the faithless. It betrays the motivation to gain a position in the higher sphere. This is a type of mundane attachment, a spiritual commerce, as is the habit of caste gosvāmīs and other spurious lines. Rather, the healthy attitude should be, “If I am appointed from above, then I shall serve as appointed, and that too, only for the interest of those who have appointed me. I am entering that rank solely for the interest of that higher land.” That is the pure and perfect approach.
Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī, the renowned commentator of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, has stated, sa cārpitā eva satī yadi kriyeta, na tu kṛtā satī paścād arpyeta: “Devotional service must be first offered to the Lord, then performed; not performed and offered afterwards.” We should already be committed when we come to serve. We should not collect capital and later try to utilize it in the service of the Lord. The commitment is to Him, to Kṛṣṇa.
We have come to know about Him for Him, not for our sake or for anyone else. We preach only because of the instruction from above. Only if we receive an instruction from that higher quarter, “Go and preach,” shall we do so. Only then will our preaching be service, and never if it is done for name and fame. We must have engagement from the higher office, and only on their behalf we shall preach; then it will be genuine preaching. Otherwise, it will be trading. Na sa bhṛtyaḥ sa vai vaṇik: Prahlāda Mahārāja has warned us against this trading mentality in the name of spiritual truth.
Devotion is a separate and distinct plane where we live only for the center. We aspire to live and move only as agents of the center, never disconnected from the center. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Reality is for Itself, and we must strictly abide by this rule. He is for Himself, everything is for Him, we are for Him. Whatever we do must also be for Him. We must strictly adhere to this conception, and always examine whether what we are doing is for Him or for any other part, however important we may think it to be.
The Best Service is What Pleases the Master
From the life of Śrīla Rāmānujācārya
Once a Brāhmaṇa came to Śrīla Rāmānujācārya and said, “I wish to purify myself by serving you, for you are the best of devotees. By such service I shall be freed from the influence of material nature.” Yatirāja [Rāmānuja, the best of sannyāsīs] accepted the request, saying, “What you have said is correct, for one can be liberated only by service. If you wish to serve me, then you must stay here and do whatever I ask of you.” The Brāhmaṇa was very pleased by this reply, and said eagerly, “O master, tell me what is your desire. I will do anything you ask of me.” Seeing the man’s sincerity, Rāmānuja then told him, “O Brāhmaṇa, I have resolved to purify myself by taking daily the water which has washed the feet of a pure-hearted Brāhmaṇa. Now, by the grace of the Lord, you have come here. My order is that you stay here, and every day give me the water that has washed your feet. Only if you do this will you be able to render real service to me.” Although a very humble person by nature, the Brāhmaṇa could not refuse this direct order. From that time on, every day when Yatirāja returned from taking his noon bath in the Kāverī, he would take upon his head some of the water that had washed the Brāhmaṇa’s feet. One day, Rāmānuja was invited to take prasāda at the home of one of his householder disciples, and he went there directly after bathing in the river. After they had eaten, all the devotees began to discuss the glories of Lord Nārāyaṇa, putting various questions to Rāmānujācārya and listening intently to the explanations he gave. So sweet were these discussions that the devotees became unaware of the passage of time. Thus, by the time Yatirāja rose to leave the house, it was very late at night. When they arrived back at the āśrama, they found that the only person still awake was the pious Brāhmaṇa. “Why have you waited up so long for me?” asked Yatirāja. “Have you eaten yet?” “How could I think of eating,” replied the Brāhmaṇa, smiling, “when I have not yet rendered my service to you?” At this, Yatirāja smiled broadly and embraced the man, saying, “You are a wonderful devotee, the perfect servant of the Lord. By being absorbed only in thoughts of service, you have attained perfection.” Then he drank the water that had washed the Brāhmaṇa’s feet and offered it to all his other disciples.
— From chapter 8 of The Life of Rāmānujācārya, by Naimiṣāraṇya Dāsa. Rasbihari Lal & Sons. Vṛndāvana. 2005