The Art of Awakening souls!

Vai??ava philosophers not only know in detail about the Supreme Personality of Godhead but also know how to approach Him directly. The method for this is described by ?rī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as nine kinds of devotional service, beginning with hearing:

?rava?a? kīrtana? vi??o? smara?a? pāda-sevanam

arcana? vandana? dāsya? sakhyam ātma-nivedanam

(SB 7.5.23 )

The nine kinds of devotional service are hearing about K???a, chanting about Him, remembering Him, offering service to His lotus feet, offering Him worship in the temple, offering prayers to Him, working as His servant, making friendship with Him and unreservedly surrendering to Him. One can directly approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead simply by executing these nine kinds of devotional service, of which hearing about the Lord is the most important (?rava?ādi). ?rī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has very favorably stressed the importance of this process of hearing. According to His method, if people are simply given a chance to hear about K???a, certainly they will gradually develop their dormant awareness, or love of Godhead.??rava?ādi-?uddha-citte karaye udaya?(CC Madhya 22.107 ). Love of God is dormant in everyone, and if one is given a chance to hear about the Lord, certainly that love develops. Our K???a consciousness movement acts on this principle. We simply give people the chance to hear about the Supreme Personality of Godhead and give them prasādam to eat, and the actual result is that all over the world people are responding to this process and becoming pure devotees of Lord K???a. We have opened hundreds of centers all over the world just to give people in general a chance to hear about K???a and accept K???a's prasādam. These two processes can be accepted by anyone, even a child. It doesn’t matter whether one is poor or rich, learned or foolish, black or white, old or still a child—anyone who simply hears about the Supreme Personality of Godhead and takes prasādam is certainly elevated to the transcendental position of devotional service.

CC Adi 17.266, Purport :?Thus the so-called caste brāhma?as should not object to offering them respectful obeisances. By offering such obeisances, as recommended by ?rī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, they will diminish their offenses and automatically awaken to their natural position of devotional service. As it is said,?nitya-siddha k???a-prema sādhya kabhu naya: (Cc. madhya 22.107) k???a-prema can be awakened in a purified heart. The more we offer obeisances to sannyāsīs, especially Vai??ava sannyāsīs, the more we diminish our offenses and purify our hearts. Only in a purified heart can k???a-prema awaken. This is the process of ?rī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's cult, the K???a consciousness movement.

It is often said that a man is known by his company, and if an ordinary man associates with devotees, he will certainly develop his dormant K???a consciousness. The understanding of K???a consciousness is innate in every living entity, and it is already developed to some extent when the living entity takes a human body.

And surrender is the only means to attain this state; no artificial method can be applied. The awakening of pure K???a consciousness, which is the perfection of the living entity, is obtained only by surrendering to the Lord, the propensity for which is eternally inherent in the jīva.

Unless it was eternal, how you Western peoples could be devotee of K???a? Artificially you cannot be a devotee of K???a. The relationship is there eternally. Nitya-siddha k???a-bhakti. By the process it is now awakened.??rava?ādi-?uddha-citte karaye udaya. It is awakened. Love between young man and young woman, it is not artificial. It is there. But by certain circumstantially, environment, the love becomes manifest. Similarly, our love for K???a, relationship with K???a, is eternal. Jīvera svarūpa haya nitya k???a-dāsa (Cc. Madhya 20.108-109). But we have to create such situation—that eternal relation should be awakened. That is the art.

Udaya means it is awakened. Everyone has got love for K???a within the heart. That is natural. But that love is distributed in different ways. How? Yasyātmā-buddhi? kunape tri-dhātuke sva-dhi? kalatradisu bhauma idya-dhi? (SB 10.84.13 ).

Some mantras for daily recitation from ?rīmad-Bhāgavatam,

???vatā? sva-kathā? k???a?

pu?ya-?rava?a-kīrtana?

h?dy anta? stho hy abhadrā?i

vidhunoti suh?t satām

(SB 1.2.17 )

na??a-prāye?v abhadre?u

nitya? bhāgavata-sevayā

bhagavaty nai??hikī bhakti

uttama-?loke bhavati nai??hikī.

(SB 1.2.18 )

tadā rajas-tamo-bhāvā?

kāma-lobhādaya? ca ye

ceta etair anāviddha?

sthita? sattve prasīdati

(SB 1.2.19 )

Reference:

1. https://vaniquotes.org/wiki/CC_madhya-lila_22.107_nitya-siddha_krsna-prema_%27sadhya%27_kabhu_naya..._cited