A Devotee is Desireless (Sajjana-Akāma)

Continuing Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura’s teachings on the twenty-six qualities of a devotee, this article – originally published in Sajjana Toṣaṇī (Vol. 12, Issue 4, 1918) – explains that only a pure devotee is truly free from all desire. Those whose devotion is mixed remain filled with various aspirations and can never properly be described as akāma (desireless).

Articles in This Series:

Series Index

A Devotee is Merciful (Sajjana – Kṛpālu) A Devotee Does Not Engage in Violence (Sajjana – Akṛta-droha) A Devotee is the Epitome of Truth (Sajjana – Satya-sāra) A Devotee is Impartial (Sajjana – Sama) A Devotee is Without Fault (Sajjana – Nirdoṣa) A Devotee is Magnanimous (Sajjana – Vadanya) A Devotee is Gentle (Sajjana – Mṛdu) A Devotee is Pure (Sajjana – Śuci) A Devotee is Devoid of Possessiveness (Sajjana – Akiñcana) A Devotee is the Benefactor of All (Sajjana Sarvopakāraka) A Devotee is Peaceful (Sajjana Śānta) A Devotee Takes Exclusive Shelter of Kṛṣṇa (Sajjana – Kṛṣṇaika-śaraṇa) A Devotee is Desireless (Sajjana-Akāma)

When the jīva is unable to understand his own true nature, then, being overpowered by a sense of deficiency, he develops various kinds of desires. When desire is devoid of both dharma and adharma, it is called yathecchāra (whimsical desire). Desire directed toward piety is called sat-karma (virtuous action), and the renunciation of desire is called mokṣa–kāma (the desire for liberation). A jīva possessing desire seeks tri-varga (the threefold aims of life – dharma, artha and kāma), whereas a jīva who is free from desire strives for his own apa-varga (liberation, or mokṣa). Both the seeker of tri-varga and the pursuer of the fourth goal, mokṣa, are servants of the cravings to fulfil their own desires. Since desire is present in both these categories, they cannot be truly *sajjana *(noble) nor akāma (free from desire). Only a devotee is truly akāma.

A devotee desires nothing of this world. He abandons all varṇas and āśramas and surrenders exclusively to Kṛṣṇa. In the fourteen worlds, there is no object that is so alluring that a devotee will become enchanted by external greatness or tempted by greed. Śrī Kṛṣṇa alone is the only desirable object for a devotee, and in the desire for Śrī Kṛṣṇa, all his hankerings are fulfilled. A devotee can have no desire for the pleasures of the senses. All the senses of a devotee are constantly engaged in the service of Kṛṣṇa; therefore, there is no scope for desiring any object other than Kṛṣṇa.

kṛṣṇa-bhakta niṣkāma ataeva śānta* bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kāmī sakali aśānta*

A devotee of Kṛṣṇa has no desires, thus he is tranquil. Those that desire sense-enjoyment, liberation and mystical powers are always agitated. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 19.149)

Even if one desires to be externally identified as a Vaiṣṇava, if it is false, he is still a kāma-dāsa (a servant of desire). A mixed devotee, being covered by karma or jñāna, cannot be free from the desire to indulge in whimsical cravings. Hired devotees, mendicants who are vāntāśīs (‘vomit-eaters,’ or those renunciates who have returned to married life), and false devotees who are not actually Vaiṣṇavas are all full of material desires. A mixed devotee believes that even a devotee has desires, but a mixed devotee and a true Vaiṣṇava are not in the same category. A mixed devotee is never akāma – he desires to worship the Devas and the Pitṛs (forefathers), he is committed to serving matter with a miserly heart, he is envious of the Vaiṣṇavas, he is desirous of accumulating piety, and is proud of his seminal birth. One who attempts to equate a devotee with a non-devotee cannot understand the nature of a niṣkāma-bhakta (desireless devotee) whose desires are transcendental.

(Translated by Swami Bhaktivijñāna Giri)

Related Articles & Books

📚 Twenty-six Qualities of a Devotee Series by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Vaiṣṇava Nindā by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura The Country’s Misfortune by Śrīla B.R. Śrīdhara Mahārāja Śiva-tattva & the Position of Lord Śiva by Śrīla B.R. Śrīdhara Mahārāja Oh Bābā! Bolacche-re! by Śrīla B.R. Śrīdhara Mahārāja Problems and Solutions by Śrīla B.R. Śrīdhara Mahārāja The Highest Attainment and Present Adjustment by Śrīla B.R. Śrīdhara Mahārāja Āgun Jvālbe (Light the Fire!) by Śrīla B.R. Śrīdhara Mahārāja Dharma and the Modern World by Śrīla A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swami Prabhupāda Faith Confirms the Absolute by Śrīla B.G. Narasiṅgha Mahārāja Go Deeper! by Śrīla B.G. Narasiṅgha Mahārāja To Be a Servant by Śrīla B.G. Narasiṅgha Mahārāja Harmony – Real and Apparent by Swami B.V. Giri The Definition of Faith by Gaura Gopāla Dāsa Ātma Samīkṣā – The Value of Introspection by Kalki Dāsa Frogs in the Well of Prejudice by Kalki Dāsa

Further Reading from the Bhaktivinoda Institute

Śraddhā (Faith) – Quotes by Bhaktivinoda Thakura Śraddhā and Śaraṇāgati by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura The Association of Sādhus by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura Epilogue to Śrī Kṛṣṇa Karṇāmṛta by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura Prīti (Love) by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura A Dispute Concerning Mahāprasāda by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura Śraddhā by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura Materialistic Association by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura Dispelling Doubts by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura The Enemy by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura A Critique of the book ‘Vanamālā’ by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura Kali by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura Offences Against Bhakti by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura Kārttika-vrata by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura Violence and Mercy by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura Abandoning Bad Association by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura Sad-guṇa and Bhakti by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura The Process of Initiation by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura Dainya (Humility) by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura Vaiṣṇava Nindā (Offences to Devotees) by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura