# Preaching Is Based on Compassion *Impelled by compassion for the suffering conditioned souls, the devotee goes forth to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness.* ← Back to [[wiki/compile/preaching-is-the-essence|Preaching Is the Essence]] --- ## The Preacher's Compassion ### The preacher's mood of compassion ![[cc/antya/3/51#purport|One who identifies himself as a follower of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu should feel like Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who said, ihā-sabāra kon mate ha-ibe nistāra: "How will all these yavanas be delivered?" Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was always anxious to deliver the fallen souls because their fallen condition gave Him great unhappiness. That is the platform on which one can propagate the mission of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu]] —Cc. [[cc/antya/3/51|Antya 3.51]] Purport --- ### Impelled by knowledge and compassion, the devotee preaches ![[sb/4/7/53#purport|Devotees are compassionate to every conditioned soul, and therefore they are known as apārakya-buddhi. Because devotees are learned and know that every living entity is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, they preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness to everyone so that they may be happy...The equal vision of the devotee is that he works to get all living entities back home, back to Godhead]] —SB [[sb/4/7/53|4.7.53]] Purport --- ### Out of compassion for living entities, the sādhu preaches ![[sb/3/25/21#purport|A sādhu, as described above, is a devotee of the Lord. His concern, therefore, is to enlighten people in devotional service to the Lord. That is his mercy. He knows that without devotional service to the Lord, human life is spoiled...He is not satisfied with his own liberation. He always thinks about others. He is the most compassionate personality towards all the fallen souls]] —SB [[sb/3/25/21|3.25.21]] Purport --- ### A Vaiṣṇava shows compassion toward sinful, suffering entities ![[sb/4/21/47#purport|Prahlāda Mahārāja is the topmost example of a Vaiṣṇava who is always compassionate toward sinful persons suffering a hellish life within this material world...Like Prahlāda Mahārāja, all pure devotees of the Lord come to this material world with full compassion to deliver the sinful...The chief concern of a Vaiṣṇava is to deliver the fallen souls]] —SB [[sb/4/21/47|4.21.47]] Purport --- ### A bona fide devotee is aggrieved to see the fallen condition of the world ![[cc/adi/13/67#purport|A bona fide devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa is always pained to see the fallen condition of the whole world. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura used to say, "There is no scarcity of anything within this world. The only scarcity is of Kṛṣṇa consciousness." That is the vision of all pure devotees. Because of this lack of Kṛṣṇa consciousness in human society, people are suffering terribly]] —Cc. [[cc/adi/13/67|Ādi 13.67]] Purport --- ## Compassion Leads to Preaching ### A devotee is not satisfied with his own salvation; out of compassion, he preaches ![[sb/6/2/36#purport|A Kṛṣṇa conscious person should free himself from the clutches of māyā, and he should also be compassionate to all others suffering in those clutches...This is the perfection of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. One who is interested in his own salvation is not as advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness as one who feels compassion for others and who therefore propagates the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Such an advanced devotee will never fall down, for Kṛṣṇa will give him special protection]] —SB [[sb/6/2/36|6.2.36-37]] Purport --- ### A devotee feels compassion for the fallen souls ![[sb/3/29/3#purport|Lord Kapila was very satisfied by the request of His glorious mother because she was thinking not only in terms of her personal salvation but in terms of all the fallen conditioned souls]] —SB [[sb/3/29/3|3.29.3-6]] Purport --- ### Feeling compassion for conditioned souls, the devotee preaches ![[sb/3/9/8#purport|A pure devotee of the Lord like Brahmā and persons in his disciplic succession are always unhappy to see the perplexities of the conditioned souls...Not knowing adequate measures for relieving such difficulties, suffering persons sometimes pose themselves as leaders of the people, and the unfortunate followers are put into further disadvantages under such so-called leadership...Unless the devotees of the Lord take pity on them and teach them the right path, their lives are hopeless failures]] —SB [[sb/3/9/8|3.9.8]] Purport --- ### Out of compassion, saintly people preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness ![[sb/4/14/9#purport|Saintly people preach God consciousness or Kṛṣṇa consciousness because they are anxious to save the general populace from the dangers of animalistic life]] —SB [[sb/4/14/9|4.14.9]] Purport --- ### The Lord is satisfied with a preacher who is tolerant and merciful ![[sb/4/11/13#purport|A preacher-devotee is meant to show mercy to innocent persons whom he can elevate to devotional service. Everyone, by constitutional position, is an eternal servant of God. Therefore, a devotee's business is to awaken everyone's Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is his mercy]] —SB [[sb/4/11/13|4.11.13]] Purport --- ### Devotees, out of compassion, are kind to the ignorant mass of people ![[sb/4/12/51#purport|Pure devotees, out of compassion for the fallen souls, are kṛpālu, very kind to people in general; they distribute this Bhāgavata knowledge all over the world. A kindhearted devotee is called dīna-nātha, protector of the poor, ignorant mass of people]] —SB [[sb/4/12/51|4.12.51]] Purport --- ### Out of compassion for materialists, devotees preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness ![[sb/7/5/55#purport|As Kṛṣṇa is always compassionate to the fallen souls, His servants, the devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa, are also interested in educating the entire populace in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The mistake of materialistic life is understood by devotees, and therefore they smile upon it, considering it insignificant. Out of compassion, however, such devotees preach the gospel of Bhagavad-gītā all over the world]] —SB [[sb/7/5/55|7.5.55]] Purport --- ## Prahlāda Mahārāja's Compassion ### Prahlāda's prayer for delivering all conditioned souls ![[sb/7/9/43|O best of the great personalities, I am not at all afraid of material existence, for wherever I stay I am fully absorbed in thoughts of Your glories and activities. My concern is only for the fools and rascals who are making elaborate plans for material happiness and maintaining their families, societies and countries. I am simply concerned with love for them]] —SB [[sb/7/9/43|7.9.43-44]] --- ## Great Devotees Travel and Preach Out of Compassion ### Out of compassion great devotees travel and preach ![[sb/3/5/3#purport|Great unalloyed devotees of the Lord are compassionate towards the fallen, and therefore they travel all over the world with the mission of bringing souls back to Godhead, back to home. Such pure devotees of the Lord carry the message of Godhead in order to deliver the fallen souls]] —SB [[sb/3/5/3|3.5.3]] Purport --- ### Preaching is based on compassion ![[sb/3/9/7#purport|The Lord's pure devotees...take compassion upon such unfortunate persons and, in a missionary spirit, try to persuade them into the line of devotional service. Only by the grace of pure devotees can such unfortunate men be elevated to the position of transcendental service]] —SB [[sb/3/9/7|3.9.7]] Purport --- ### Vāsudeva Datta's prayer—exemplifying Vaiṣṇava compassion > Vāsudeva Datta told Caitanya Mahāprabhu, "My dear Lord, You incarnate just to deliver all conditioned souls. I have now one petition, which I wish You would accept.... My Lord, my heart breaks to see the sufferings of all conditioned souls; therefore I request You to transfer the karma of their sinful lives upon my head. My dear Lord, let me suffer perpetually in a hellish condition, accepting all the sinful reactions of all living entities. Please finish their diseased material life." > > A Vaiṣṇava is so liberal that he is prepared to risk everything to rescue conditioned souls from material existence.... He was a Vaiṣṇava—*para-duḥkha-duḥkhī*—very much aggrieved to see others suffer.... One who executes Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission must be considered to be eternally liberated.... Such a personality factually represents Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu because his heart is always filled with compassion for conditioned souls. —Cc. Madhya 15.160, 162-164 Purport --- ### Impelled by compassion, the devotee preaches ![[sb/6/2/3#purport|When a Vaiṣṇava sees mismanagement in the government, he feels great compassion in his heart and tries his best to purify the situation by spreading the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement]] —SB [[sb/6/2/3|6.2.3]] Purport --- ### Out of compassion, the devotee preaches > Vaiṣṇavas, or devotees, are usually very compassionate upon conditioned souls. Without even being invited, a devotee will go from door to door to enlighten people and to bring them out of the darkness of nescience by injecting knowledge of the living entity's constitutional position as a servant of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Such devotees are empowered by the Lord to distribute devotional consciousness, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, to the people in general. —Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 1 --- ### By the compassion and mercy of a devotee, the Lord delivers a conditioned soul > Gopīnātha Ācārya then began to thank the Lord: "It is by Your grace only that Bhaṭṭācārya has been transformed from his stonelike position into such a devotee." Lord Caitanya then replied to Gopīnātha Ācārya that it was due to a devotee's favor that a stonelike man could be transformed into a mild, flowerlike devotee. Actually Gopīnātha Ācārya had sincerely wished that his brother-in-law, Bhaṭṭācārya, would become a devotee of the Lord. In other words, a devotee of the Lord is more merciful than the Lord Himself. —Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 26 --- ### Advanced devotees are compassionate and try to preach ![[sb/5/8/9#purport|When a person is advanced in spiritual consciousness or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he naturally becomes very sympathetic toward all living entities suffering in the material world. Naturally such an advanced person thinks of the suffering of the people in general...If one is actually sympathetic to fallen, suffering humanity, he should try to elevate people from material consciousness to spiritual consciousness]] —SB [[sb/5/8/9|5.8.9]] Purport