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THE PATH OF PERFECTION
“One who is unattached to the fruits of his work and who works as he is obligated is in the renounced order of life, and he is the true mystic, not he who lights no fire and performs no work.”
Sometimes  sannyāsīs  (renunciants) incorrectly think that they have become liberated from all material engagements and therefore no longer have to perform  agni-hotra yajñas , or fire sacrifices. This is a mistake. Certain  yajñas  (sacrifices) have to be performed by everyone for purification. Since  sannyāsīs  are not traditionally required to perform  yajñas , they sometimes think that they can attain liberation by ceasing to perform the ritualistic  yajñas , but actually, unless one comes to the platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there is no question of liberation. Those  sannyāsīs  who cease to perform  yajñas  are in fact acting out of self-interest, because their goal is to become one with the impersonal Brahman. That is the ultimate goal of the impersonalists (Māyāvādīs), who have one major goal or demand: to become one with the supreme impersonal Being. The devotees have no such demands. They are simply satisfied in serving Kṛṣṇa for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa. They do not want anything in return. That is the characteristic of pure devotion.
It was Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu who expressed this devotional attitude so succinctly:
na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ kavitāṁ vā jagadīśa kāmaye mama janmani janmanīśvare bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi
“O Almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor to enjoy beautiful women. Nor do I want any number of followers. What I want is only the causeless mercy of Your devotional service in my life, birth after birth.” ( Śikṣāṣṭaka 4 ) In essence, this is the  bhakti-yoga  system. There are many examples of the pure devotional attitude. Once Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva told Prahlāda Mahārāja, “My dear boy, you have suffered so much for Me. Whatever you want, ask for it.” Being a pure devotee, Prahlāda Mahārāja refused to ask for anything. He said, “My dear Master, I am not carrying
Yoga as Action
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out mercantile business with You. I will not accept any remuneration for my service.” This is the pure devotional attitude.
Yogīs  and  jñānīs  are demanding to become one with the Supreme because they have such bitter experience suffering the material pangs. They want to become one with the Lord because they are suffering in separation. A pure devotee, however, does not experience this. Although separate from the Lord, he fully enjoys the service of the Lord in separation. The desire to become one with the impersonal Brahman, or to merge with God, is certainly greater than any material desire, but this is not without self-interest. Similarly, the mystic  yogī  who practices the  yoga  system with half-open eyes, ceasing all material activities, desires some satisfaction for his personal self. Such  yogīs  are desirous of material power, and that is their conception of the perfection of  yoga . Actually, this is not the perfection of  yoga , but a materialistic process.
If one practices the regulative principles of  yoga , he can attain eight kinds of perfection. He can become lighter than a cotton swab. He can become heavier than a great stone. He can immediately get whatever he likes. Sometimes he can even create a planet. Although rare, such powerful  yogīs  actually exist. Viśvāmitra Yogī wanted to beget a man from a palm tree. He was thinking, “Why should a man have to live so many months within the womb of his mother? Why can’t he be produced just like a fruit?” Thinking like this, Viśvāmitra Yogī produced men like coconuts. Sometimes  yogīs  are so powerful, they can perform such acts, but these are all material powers. Ultimately such  yogīs  are vanquished, because they cannot retain these material powers indefinitely.  Bhakta-yogīs  are not interested in such powers.
The  bhakti-yogī , acting in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, works for the satisfaction of the whole without self-interest. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person does not desire self-satisfaction. Rather, his criterion of success is the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa; therefore he is considered the perfect  sannyāsī  and the perfect  yogī .
A pure devotee does not even want salvation. The salvationists want to be saved from rebirth, and the voidists also want to put an end to all material life. Caitanya Mahāprabhu, however, requested