How to Increase Attachment for the Lord

This morning I happened to read about Maharaja Ambarisa, a great devotee of the Lord, who was famous as one who offered everything to the Lord.

Mahārāja Ambarīṣa always engaged his mind in meditating upon the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, his words in describing the glories of the Lord, his hands in cleansing the Lord’s temple, and his ears in hearing the words spoken by Kṛṣṇa or about Kṛṣṇa. He engaged his eyes in seeing the Deity of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa’s temples and Kṛṣṇa’s places like Mathurā and Vṛndāvana, he engaged his sense of touch in touching the bodies of the Lord’s devotees, he engaged his sense of smell in smelling the fragrance of tulasī offered to the Lord, and he engaged his tongue in tasting the Lord’s prasāda. He engaged his legs in walking to the holy places and temples of the Lord, his head in bowing down before the Lord, and all his desires in serving the Lord, twenty-four hours a day. Indeed, Mahārāja Ambarīṣa never desired anything for his own sense gratification. He engaged all his senses in devotional service, in various engagements related to the Lord. This is the way to increase attachment for the Lord and be completely free from all material desires.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Ninth Canto, Chapter Four, Texts 18-20

sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayor
vacāṁsi vaikuṇṭha-guṇānuvarṇane
karau harer mandira-mārjanādiṣu
śrutiṁ cakārācyuta-sat-kathodaye

mukunda-liṅgālaya-darśane dṛśau
tad-bhṛtya-gātra-sparśe ’ṅga-saṅgamam
ghrāṇaṁ ca tat-pāda-saroja-saurabhe
śrīmat-tulasyā rasanāṁ tad-arpite

pādau hareḥ kṣetra-padānusarpaṇe
śiro hṛṣīkeśa-padābhivandane
kāmaṁ ca dāsye na tu kāma-kāmyayā
yathottamaśloka-janāśrayā ratiḥ

saḥ—he (Mahārāja Ambarīṣa); vai—indeed; manaḥ—his mind; kṛṣṇa-pada-aravindayoḥ—(fixed) upon the two lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa; vacāṁsi—his words; vaikuṇṭha-guṇa-anuvarṇane—describing the glories of Kṛṣṇa; karau—his two hands; hareḥ mandira-mārjana-ādiṣu—in activities like cleansing the temple of Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; śrutim—his ear; cakāra—engaged; acyuta—of or about Kṛṣṇa, who never falls down; sat-kathā-udaye—in hearing the transcendental narrations; mukunda-liṅga-ālaya-darśane—in seeing the Deity and temples and holy dhāmas of Mukunda; dṛśau—his two eyes; tat-bhṛtya—of the servants of Kṛṣṇa; gātra-sparśe—in touching the bodies; aṅga-saṅgamam—contact of his body; ghrāṇam ca—and his sense of smell; tat-pāda—of His lotus feet; saroja—of the lotus flower; saurabhe—in (smelling) the fragrance; śrīmat-tulasyāḥ—of the tulasī leaves; rasanām—his tongue; tat-arpite—in the prasāda offered to the Lord; pādau—his two legs; hareḥ—of the Personality of Godhead; kṣetra—holy places like the temple or Vṛndāvana and Dvārakā; pada-anusarpaṇe—walking to those places; śiraḥ—the head; hṛṣīkeśa—of Kṛṣṇa, the master of the senses; pada-abhivandane—in offering obeisances to the lotus feet; kāmam ca—and his desires; dāsye—in being engaged as a servant; na—not; tu—indeed; kāma-kāmyayā—with a desire for sense gratification; yathā—as; uttamaśloka-jana-āśrayā—if one takes shelter of a devotee such as Prahlāda; ratiḥ—attachment.

TRANSLATION

PURPORT

In Bhagavad-gītā (7.1) the Lord recommends, mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ. This indicates that one must execute devotional service under the guidance of a devotee or directly under the guidance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is not possible, however, to train oneself without guidance from the spiritual master. Therefore, according to the instructions of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, the first business of a devotee is to accept a bona fide spiritual master who can train him to engage his various senses in rendering transcendental service to the Lord. The Lord also says in Bhagavad-gītā (7.1), asaṁśayaṁ samagraṁ māṁ yathā jñāsyasi tac chṛṇu. In other words, if one wants to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead in completeness, one must follow the prescriptions given by Kṛṣṇa by following in the footsteps of Mahārāja Ambarīṣa. It is said, hṛṣīkeṇa hṛṣīkeśa-sevanaṁ bhaktir ucyate: [Cc. Madhya 19.170] bhakti means to engage the senses in the service of the master of the senses, Kṛṣṇa, who is called Hṛṣīkeśa or Acyuta. These words are used in these verses. Acyuta-sat-kathodaye, hṛṣīkeśa-padābhivandane. The words Acyuta and Hṛṣīkeśa are also used in Bhagavad-gītā. Bhagavad-gītā is kṛṣṇa-kathā spoken directly by Kṛṣṇa, and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is also kṛṣṇa-kathā because everything described in the Bhāgavatam is in relationship with Kṛṣṇa.

Also:

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Chapter Seven, Text 1

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

mayy āsakta-manāḥ pārtha
yogaṁ yuñjan mad-āśrayaḥ
asaṁśayaṁ samagraṁ māṁ
yathā jñāsyasi tac chṛṇu

śrī bhagavān uvāca—the Supreme Lord said; mayi—unto Me; āsakta-manāḥ—mind attached; pārtha—O son of Pṛthā; yogam—self-realization; yuñjan—so practicing; mat-āśrayaḥ—in consciousness of Me (Kṛṣṇa consciousness); asaṁśayam—without doubt; samagram—completely; mām—unto Me; yathā—as much as; jñāsyasi—you can know; tat—that; śṛṇu—try to hear.

TRANSLATION

Now hear, O son of Pṛthā [Arjuna], how by practicing yoga in full consciousness of Me, with mind attached to Me, you can know Me in full, free from doubt.

PURPORT

In this Seventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā, the nature of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is fully described. Kṛṣṇa is full in all opulences, and how He manifests such opulences is described herein. Also, four kinds of fortunate people who become attached to Kṛṣṇa, and four kinds of unfortunate people who never take to Kṛṣṇa are described in this chapter.

In the first six chapters of Bhagavad-gītā, the living entity has been described as nonmaterial spirit soul which is capable of elevating himself to self-realization by different types of yogas. At the end of the Sixth Chapter, it has been clearly stated that the steady concentration of the mind upon Kṛṣṇa, or in other words Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is the highest form of all yoga. By concentrating one’s mind upon Kṛṣṇa, one is able to know the Absolute Truth completely, but not otherwise. Impersonal brahmajyoti or localized Paramātmā realization is not perfect knowledge of the Absolute Truth because it is partial. Full and scientific knowledge is Kṛṣṇa, and everything is revealed to the person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In complete Kṛṣṇa consciousness one knows that Kṛṣṇa is ultimate knowledge beyond any doubts. Different types of yoga are only steppingstones on the path of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. One who takes directly to Kṛṣṇa consciousness automatically knows about brahmajyoti and Paramātmā in full. By practice of Kṛṣṇa consciousness yoga, one can know everything in full—namely the Absolute Truth, the living entities, the material nature, and their manifestations with paraphernalia.

One should therefore begin yoga practice as directed in the last verse of the Sixth Chapter. Concentration of the mind upon Kṛṣṇa the Supreme is made possible by prescribed devotional service in nine different forms, of which śravaṇam is the first and most important. The Lord therefore says to Arjuna, “tat śṛṇu,” or “Hear from Me.” No one can be a greater authority than Kṛṣṇa, and therefore by hearing from Him one receives the greatest opportunity for progress in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. One has therefore to learn from Kṛṣṇa directly or from a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa—and not from a nondevotee upstart, puffed up with academic education.

In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam this process of understanding Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth, is described in the Second Chapter of the First Canto as follows:

śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāṁ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ
hṛdyantaḥstho hy abhadrāṇi vidbunoti suhṛt satām.

naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā
bhagavaty uttama-śloke bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭhikī.

tadā rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ kāma-lobhadayaś ca ye
ceta etair anāviddhaṁ sthitaṁ sattve prasīdati.

evam prasanna-manaso bhagavad-bhakti-yogataḥ
bhagavat-tattva-vijñānaṁ mukta-saṅgasya jāyate.

bhidyate hṛdaya-granthiś chidyante sarva-saṁśayāḥ
kṣīyante cāsya karmāṇi dṛṣṭa evātmanīśvare

“To hear about Kṛṣṇa from Vedic literatures, or to hear from Him directly through the Bhagavad-gītā, is itself righteous activity. And for one who hears about Kṛṣṇa, Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is dwelling in everyone’s heart, acts as a best-wishing friend and purifies the devotee who constantly engages in hearing of Him. In this way, a devotee naturally develops his dormant transcendental knowledge. As he hears more about Kṛṣṇa from the Bhāgavatam and from the devotees, he becomes fixed in the devotional service of the Lord. By development of devotional service one becomes freed from the modes of passion and ignorance, and thus material lusts and avarice are diminished. When these impurities are wiped away, the candidate remains steady in his position of pure goodness, becomes enlivened by devotional service and understands the science of God perfectly. Thus bhakti-yoga severs the hard knot of material affection and enables one to come at once to the stage of ‘asaṁśayaṁ samagram,’ understanding of the Supreme Absolute Truth Personality of Godhead.” (Bhāg. 1.2.17–21)

Therefore only by hearing from Kṛṣṇa or from His devotee in Kṛṣṇa consciousness can one understand the science of Kṛṣṇa.

Text pasted from; Causeless Mercy