Impervious to the Material Nature

The pure devotee of the Lord is impervious to the material nature, which means that his consciousness is impenetrable, it cannot be touched or influenced by the material nature. Just as a lotus leaf is superhydrophobic, i.e., impenetrable by water, the influence of the material nature simply bounces off the consciousness of the pure devotee. The prime example of this is Haridas Thakur, who was tempted by a beautiful prostitute in dead of night in the solitary place where he was chanting his daily quota of Hare Krishna mahamantra on his japa beads. Haridas Thakur did not fall down under the charms of this beautiful girl. Rather it was she who succumbed to the influence of Haridas Thakur and the Holy Names and became a pure devotee of Krishna. Accepting Haridas Thakur as her spiritual master she gave up her profession of a prostitute and absorbed the rest of her life in chanting 300,000 names of the Lord every day just as Haridas Thakur was doing.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Haridas Thakur Being Tempted by a Beautiful Prostitute
Haridas Thakur Being Tempted by a Beautiful Prostitute

Answers by Citing the Vedic Version:

Question: Is Initiation Required?


Do you have to be initiated to become a devotee?

Sanjay

Answer: Not in the Beginning.

You can begin the process of being a being devotee without initiation. But to attain the perfectional of devotional service, pure love of God, initiation is required because Krishna says that without being the devotee of His devotee He does not accept you as His devotee.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

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