When we want to go to the spiritual world is our devotion motivated or unmotivated?

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
So, we may ask devotees, are we motivated because we also want to go to the spiritual world which is free from misery and which is filled with happiness? There are different levels of motivation. And, for us as devotees, the operating principle is given by Rupa Goswami, somehow or the other, fix the mind on Krishna.
That is the first thing. But then, what is the difference between say, the pious people who also fix their mind on Krishna and devotees who fix their mind on Krishna? The pious people are not following any sadhana for developing their attraction towards Krishna. Devotees follow a systematic spiritual discipline.
Chanting, studying, worshipping the deities, associating with devotees, going to holy places. These are the five potent forms of devotional service. And by these, bhakti-schena-naula-rakshna, kriyeta-bhagavatyadha, these actually increase our attraction towards Krishna.
So, right now, while we are practicing bhakti, we may not be so much motivated by simply the desire to love Krishna for Krishna’s sake. But, right now, we are actually progressing towards that. And, the test of our seriousness or the purity of our devotion will be when we face difficulties.
If we are practicing bhakti simply for getting relief from difficulties, then, if within bhakti difficulties come, what do we do? We just give up bhakti. But, if we keep practicing bhakti, even when there are difficulties, then that means we are practicing bhakti for some higher purpose. At the sadhaka stage, it is, Prabhupada, a disciple told Prabhupada that Prabhupada, I want to serve you life after life.
Prabhupada says, don’t make me come back life after life to accept your service. So, what Prabhupada meant is that at our stage, it’s good to aspire to get out of this world. But, at the same time, there is the understanding that there is a devotee, why do devotees want to go back to the spiritual world? It is not just so that we will be free from misery.
Rather, in the spiritual world, we can do better service. In this world, the body falls sick, body grows old, the material world is filled with limited resources. So, even when we want to serve Krishna, we can’t serve him as well as we would like to in this world.
So, for a devotee, whether it is in this world or the spiritual world, the purpose of the relationship is loving service. And, that love will develop more and more. If we think that by going to the spiritual world, I will enjoy over there.
Many of these, you see in the Abrahamic religions, the Christians often talk about books which describe pictures of heaven. But in heaven, they have only men, women and children. It’s like a perpetual family reunion.
But, there is no God over there. And, if you consider Islam, many of these Jihadis, they believe that if they kill themselves or they kill others as suicide bombers, they will go to heaven. And, if they will go to Jannat, and they will enjoy 73 virgins over there.
So, you know, where is Allah over there? Only they are there and their virgins are there with them. They are all nuns. So, if our conception is not that I want to go there and I will enjoy, if our understanding is that in the spiritual world, you want to serve and there I will be able to serve better, then that is not, that is not materially motivated, that is not selfishly motivated.
The Bhagavatam also talks about how Krishna is our ultimate self-interest. So, we have an enlightened self-interest that is Krishna. So, there is, for a devotee, there can be the desire for doing, for getting something, which can be the purpose of love and which can also be the result of love.
See, when we have a material understanding of Bhakti also, the purpose of Bhakti is to go to the spiritual world. But for a devotee, actually, Bhakti is the essence, service is the essence, and going to the spiritual world is a result which will enable us to do better service. So, that is why we have prayers where the devotees say that, Very Lord, if I am to serve you, I am ready to serve you in this world, life after life also.
The important thing is service. And because the spiritual world offers us better facilities, so we aspire to go to the spiritual world. Did I answer your question? Did I add something? Okay, thank you.