(Click to enlarge photo of Srila Prabhupada)
"An ācārya does not exploit his followers. Since the ācārya is a confidential servitor of the Lord, his heart is always full of compassion for humanity in its suffering. He knows that all suffering is due to the absence of devotional service to the Lord, and therefore he always tries to find ways to change people’s activities, making them favorable for the attainment of devotion. That is the qualification of an ācārya."
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta Adi 3.98, Purport)
"A Vaiṣṇava is para-duḥkha-duḥkhī; in other words, he has no personal troubles, but he is very unhappy to see others in trouble. Prahlāda Mahārāja said, 'My Lord, I have no personal problems, for I have learned how to glorify Your transcendental qualities and thus enter a trance of ecstasy. I do have a problem, however, for I am simply thinking of these rascals and fools who are busy with māyā-sukha, temporary happiness, without knowledge of devotional service unto You.' This is the problem faced by a Vaiṣṇava. Because a Vaiṣṇava fully takes shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he personally has no problems, but because he is compassionate toward the fallen, conditioned souls, he is always thinking of plans to save them from their hellish life in this body and the next."
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.1.6, Purport)
"Great souls are naturally inclined to do good to others, and a Vaiṣṇava especially is the most compassionate and merciful personality in society. Therefore we offer our respects to a Vaiṣṇava leader as follows:
vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaś ca
kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca
patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo
vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ
[I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaiṣṇava devotees of the Lord. They can fulfill the desires of everyone, just like desire trees, and they are full of compassion for the fallen souls.]
Only a Vaiṣṇava leader can fulfill all the desires of the people (vāñchā-kalpataru), and he is compassionate because he is the contributor of the greatest benefit to human society."
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.21.50, Purport)
"Bhagavad-gītā (5.18) says, paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ: those who are learned see everyone's conditional life equally. 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 everyone may be happy. If a particular part of the body is diseased, the whole attention of the body goes to that part. Similarly, devotees care for any person who is forgetful of Kṛṣṇa and therefore in material consciousness. The equal vision of the devotee is that he works to get all living entities back home, back to Godhead."
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.7.53, Purport)
"The leaders of the government must be very honest and religious because otherwise all the affairs of the state will suffer. Unfortunately, in the name of democracy, rogues and thieves are electing other rogues and thieves to the most important posts in the government. Recently this has been proven in America, where the president had to be condemned and dragged down from his post by the citizens. This is only one case, but there are many others. Because of the importance of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, people should be Kṛṣṇa conscious and should not vote for anyone who is not Kṛṣṇa conscious. Then there will be actual peace and prosperity in the state. 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."
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.2.3, Purport)
"Regarding your question about the various demoniac species of life: the Lord's condemnation, although appearing to be very harsh, is not so. The Lord being Absolute, His condemnation is as good as His blessings. Whenever the Lord or anyone of His pure devotees condemns somebody, it is to be taken as blessing. You know that the great sage Narada condemned the sons of Kuvera to become trees, but as a result of this, they were able to see Lord Krsna which is very difficult even for the great mystic yogis.
You have been a little bit perturbed that the demons are eternally condemned, and I thank you very much that you have been compassionate with the demons. That is the sign of Vaisnavism. The Lord may condemn the demons, but because the Vaisnavas are there, there is ample chance for the demons to become blessed by the devotees of the Lord. The devotees of the Lord are so powerful that each and every one of them has the power of delivering many demons, even condemned by the Lord. The preaching work of Krishna Consciousness Movement is specifically meant for delivering the demons. Therefore, if you remain faithful to the Lord, you shall be able to deliver many such demons.
So there is no cause of being disappointed because of the demons being condemned by the Lord. It is the duty of the devotee to deliver them. And the Lord is so powerful that through His pure devotee anyone can be delivered, never mind how he is fallen or condemned. I think the answer of your question is now clear and you can do the needful."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, March 25, 1970)
"Vaiṣṇavas are generally very compassionate toward the conditioned souls. Without even being invited, a devotee will go from door to door to enlighten people, to bring them out of the darkness of nescience by imparting 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. They are known as authorized spiritual masters, and it is by the mercy of such a spiritual master that a conditioned soul gets the seed of devotional service. The causeless mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is first appreciated when one comes in touch with a bona fide spiritual master, who can enlighten the conditioned soul and bring him to the highest position of devotional life. Therefore Lord Caitanya said that by the mercy of the spiritual master one can achieve the causeless mercy of the Lord and by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead one can attain the mercy of the bona fide spiritual master."
(Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 1)
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