12 The Neciar of Devotion

him, because this human form of life is meant for getting out of the
material contamination. By the advancement of material knowledge,
people are becoming more and more entangled in material existence.
They have no hope of being liberated from this catastrophe.

In the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya it is stated that Prahlada Maharaj, a
great devotee of the Lord, prayed to Nrsimhadeva (the half-lion half-
man incarnation), as follows: “My dear Lord, I repeatedly pray unto
Your lotus feet that I may simply be stronger in devotional service. I
simply pray that my Krsna consciousness may be more strong and
steady, because happiness derived out of Krsna consciousness and
devotional service is so powerful that with it one can have all the
other perfections of religiousness, economic development, sense
gratification and even the attainment of liberation from material

existence.”
Actually, a pure devotee does not aspire after any of these per-

fections because the happiness derived from devotional service in
Krsna consciousness is so transcendental and so unlimited that no
other happiness can be compared with it. It is said that even one drop
of happiness in Krsna consciousness stands beyond comparison with
an ocean of happiness derived from any other activity. Thus, any
person who has developed even a little quantity of pure devotional
service can very easily kick out all the other kinds of happiness de-
rived from religiousness, economic development, sense gratification
and liberation.

There was a great devotee of Lord Caitanya known as Kholaveca
Sridhara, who was a very poor man. He was doing a small business
selling cups made from the leaves of plantain trees, and his income
was almost nothing. Still, he was spending fifty percent of his small
income on the worship of the Ganges, and with the other fifty per-
cent he was somehow living. Lord Caitanya once revealed Himself to
this confidential devotee, Kholaveca Sridhara, and offered him any
opulence that he liked. But Sridhara informed the Lord that he did
not want any material opulence. He was quite happy in his present
position and wanted only to gain unflinching faith and devotion unto
the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya. That is the position of the pure de-
