What is a “pure devotee”? The question may seem obvious, but it’s actually a little complicated.

Srila Prabhupada uses the term “pure” with different meanings throughout his teachings. There is actually no direct word for “pure devotee” in Sanskrit, there are different terms like uttama (highest), kevala (unalloyed), and so on. Srila Prabhupada uses the English word “pure” as a translation to different Sanskrit terms in different parts of his teachings.

Sometimes, he uses “pure devotee” in the sense of an Uttama Adhikari, the highest type of Vaishnava, someone who is in or at least close to the stage of Prema. In this sense, he says for example that “by even a moment’s association with a pure devotee, one can attain all success”. This appears to be the most common meaning for the term, but there are others.

“Pure devotee” is sometimes used in the sense of kevala, or “unalloyed”. This meaning is used in passages where Srila Prabhupada emphasizes the position of devotees who are strictly in the Bhakti path, without mixing with karma and jnana. Such devotees just accept the orders of the spiritual master and try to serve Krsna without expecting material results (karma) and without mental speculation (jnana). In this sense, Srila Prabhupada once said that as far as he could see, all devotees in his movement at a certain point were pure devotees. They were not all uttama adhikaris, but they were not mixing their bhakti with karma and jnana. In this sense, one may not be in the uttama platform, or even not free from the influence of the material modes, but for sincerely following the path of bhakti he may be counted as a “pure devotee”.

This term is also used in translations of the works of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura on occasion. In his Jaiva Dharma, for example, it is said “The madhyama adhikari pure devotee”. This is used to clarify the difference between neophytes who are still into fruitive activities, mental speculation, etc., and not to imply that they have Prema.

Srila Prabhupada also uses the term pure devotee in the sense of someone without material desires. In this case, the term is used in the sense of Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam. In this sense he says that “Pure devotee means he has no other desire, no material desire.” or “Pure devotees means without any material desire. Those who are pure devotees, those who are determined to go back to Godhead, to Kṛṣṇa, they are called pure devotees.” In this sense, one may be even a neophyte, but if he decides to abandon all his material aspirations and fix himself on the goal of going back to godhead, without ulterior motives, he fits in the description of a “pure devotee”. Of course, being a neophyte he can easily fall down from this position and go back to material life, but he may be a “pure devotee” at least momentarily.

Can a pure devotee fall down? It depends on which sense the term is used. If used in the sense of an Uttama Adhikari who is in the stage of Prema, then of course not. If used in the sense of an Uttama Adhikari who is in the stage of bhava, it’s quite improbable but possible. If used in the sense of a Madhyama Adhikari who is free from the mixture of karma and jnana then certainly he can fall due to offenses and other factors. Similarly, a “pure devotee” in the sense of someone who is seriously following, aiming for going back to godhead, but who is still a neophyte can easily fall down.

Just as in the case of “pure devotee”, Srila Prabhupada gives different meanings to other terms in his texts. This is not an exclusivity of Srila Prabhupada: Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura and Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura do similarly, in both English and Bengali. The point is that modern languages, and especially English don’t have synonyms for all Sanskrit terms, and therefore often the same English word has to be used to describe different Sanskrit terms, or words with a slightly different meaning have to be used. The word “preaching” (for example) is used as a translation for “prachar”, although prachar is closer to the idea of “broadcasting” than to the idea of forcefully convincing someone.

In this sense, the appearance of the Vedabase and other searching tools was damaging in a sense, because it stimulated devotees to quickly find quotes and use them without properly understanding the context and meaning, instead of going through a detailed study of Srila Prabhupada’s works, which is actually the only way to properly understand them.