The story of Ajamila continues Lord Kṛṣṇas Transcendental Pastimes It is important to understand the difference between activities of bhakti and ordinary pious activities. Cultivation of knowledge and pious activities is on the material platform. Piety does not amount to liberation. A pious man is situated on the platform of goodness, but he remains a conditioned soul, bound up by good reactions. One may even become a brāhmaṇa, a very pious man, but that does not mean he has become a devotee. And sometimes a devotee appears to act against the rules of mundane piety. Arjuna, for example, was an exalted devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa, but he killed his relatives. Ignorant people may say, Arjuna is not a good man. Look, he killed his grandfather, his teacher, and his nephews, devastating the entire family. But in the Bhagavad-gītā (4.3) Kṛṣṇa says to Arjuna, bhakto si me: You are My very dear friend. In the estimation of the material world Arjuna may not be a good man, but because he is a soul surrendered to the desire of the Supreme Lord, he must be accepted as a devotee. While it is true that Arjuna killed his own kinsmen, in the eyes of Kṛṣṇa he remained a dear friend and devotee. That is the difference between a devotee and a good man of this world: A good man of this world tries to always act piously, for he knows that if he acts badly he will suffer sinful reactions; but a devotee, although naturally a very good man, can act like a bad man on Kṛṣṇas order and still not fall down: he remains a pure devotee and is very dear to the Lord.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 09:58:55 +0000
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