(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 24 November 2021, Goloka Dhama, Germany, Srimad Bhagavatam 6.2.40)
Srila Prabhupada stated that -“Learning from the life of Ajamila, we should vow with determination to do what is necessary to follow this path.” So vows are an important means to fix oneself more in the process of devotional service. These vows are interesting because in the vows, we are promising to behave on a level that is higher than what we would naturally do if we would act without any control. In that case, we would act on the lower platform. The vows are therefore tapas – austerity. However, the vows in itself are dealing with following pure transcendental activities which bring taste, so the austerities are only there in the initial stage.
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