118 The Nectar of Devotion

tentionally practicing to be vegetarians or to become nonviolent may
have good qualifications by a material estimation, but these qualifica-
tions are not sufficient to make them devotees. A vegetarian is not
necessarily a devotee, nor is a nonviolent person. But a devotee is
automatically both vegetarian and nonviolent. We must conclude,
therefore, that vegetarianism or nonviolence is not the cause of devo-
tion.

In this connection, there is a story in the Sanda Purana about a
hunter who was converted into a great devotee under the instruction
of Narada Muni. When the hunter became a perfect devotee, he was
not prepared even to kill an ant. Parvata Muni, a friend of Narada’s,
saw the wonderful transformation of the hunter by devotional ser-
vice, and remarked: “My dear hunter, your unwillingness to kill even
an ant is not very astonishing. Any person who develops the devo-
tional attitude has all the good qualities automatically manifested in
his person. A devotee is never a cause of distress to anyone.”

Sri Rupa Gosvami affirms herein that purification of consciousness,
purification of bodily activities, austerities, peace of mind, etc., all
become automatically manifest in the person who is engaged in devo-
tional service.

Sri Ripa Gosvami affirms herein that there are nine different kinds
of devotional service, which are listed as hearing, chanting, remem-
bering, serving, worshiping the Deity in the temple, praying, carrying
out orders, serving Him as a friend and sacrificing everything for Him.
Each and every one of these processes is so powerful that if anyone
follows even one single one of them, he can achieve the desired per-
fection without fail. For example, if one is attached simply to hearing
about the Lord, and another is attached to chanting the glories of the
name, both will achieve their desired goal in devotional service. In the
Caitanya-caritamrta this has been explained. One may execute one,
two, three or all the different processes of devotional service, and at
the ultimate end he will achieve the desired goal of being established
in devotional service.

There are concrete examples of how a devotee discharged one of
these services and achieved perfection. King Pariksit achieved the
desired goal of life simply by hearing Srimad-Bhdgavatam. Sukadeva
