arcāyām eva haraye
pūjāṁ yaḥ śraddhayehate
na tad-bhakteṣu cānyeṣu
sa bhaktaḥ prākṛtaḥ smṛtaḥ
Śrīmad Bhāgavata 11.2.47 speaks about the prākṛta-bhakta as the third class devotee. There are different opinions expressed about the meaning of the word 'prākṛta' -
"A devotee who faithfully engages in the worship of the deity in the temple but does not behave properly toward other devotees or people in general is called an unrefined devotee. "
"A devotee who faithfully worships the Deity, but does not properly respect the Vaiṣṇavas or the people in general is called a materialistic devotee, and is considered to be in the lowest position of devotional service."
’A prākṛta, or materialistic devotee does not purposefully study the śāstra and try to understand the actual standard of pure devotional service…..”
However, sa bhaktaḥ prākṛtaḥ smrtaḥ in Śrīmad Bhāgavata 11.2.47 does not mean ‘material platform’. No ācārya translated prākṛtaḥ in this verse as ‘material’. The previous ācāryas all say the word prākṛta in Śrīmad Bhāgavata 11.2.47 means 'a beginner' -
Śrīdhara Swāmī, Sanātan Gosvāmī - prākṛtaḥ prakṛta-prārambhaḥ
Jīva Gosvāmī’s Krama-sandarbha - sa prākṛtaḥ prakṛti-prārabdho’dhunaiva prārabdha-bhaktir ity arthaḥ
Viśvanātha Cakravartī - prākṛtaḥ prakṛtiḥ prārambhaḥ
Actual materialistic devotees are described by Kapila-deva in Śrīmad Bhāgavata, 3rd canto -
|| 3.29.8 ||
abhisandhāya yo hiṁsāṁ
dambhaṁ mātsaryam eva vā
saṁrambhī bhinna-dṛg bhāvaṁ
mayi kuryāt sa tāmasaḥ
"The angry person, devoid of compassion, who worships me with intentions of violence, pride and hatred, is tamasic in his bhakti."
|| 3.29.9 ||
viṣayān abhisandhāya
yaśa aiśvaryam eva vā
arcādāv arcayed yo māṁ
pṛthag-bhāvaḥ sa rājasaḥ
"He who worships me with desire for other objects, with goals of material gain, fame or power has rajasic bhakti. "
|| 3.29.10 ||
karma-nirhāram uddiśya
parasmin vā tad-arpaṇam
yajed yaṣṭavyam iti vā
pṛthag-bhāvaḥ sa sāttvikaḥ
"He who worships me with a desire to destroy karma, making his works an offering the Supreme Lord, or executing the worship as a duty, having a desire for liberation, has sattvic bhakti."
Obviously this is a completely different thing than seeing the Lord only in the deities in the temple........
