Svaniṣṭhas, Pariniṣṭhitas and Nirapekṣas

A sinless person who desires liberation from material existence with loving service to the Lord, while desiring material enjoyment within Vedic dharma while progressing towards liberation from material existence with loving service to the Lord, will take several lifetimes to have his prārabdha-karma nullified. Such a devotee is called a svaniṣṭha devotee of the Lord. Apart from executing his duties of spiritual dharma, he executes his duties of material dharma only to purify his mind from lust, anger and greed. He will attain his cherished goal at the end of several lifetimes.

A sinless person who desires loving service to the Lord with liberation from material existence, without desiring material enjoyment within Vedic dharma while progressing towards loving service to the Lord with liberation from material existence, will take one lifetime to have his prārabdha-karma nullified. Such a devotee is called a pariniṣṭhita devotee of the Lord. Apart from executing his duties of spiritual dharma, he executes his duties of material dharma to inspire others to follow them. He will attain his cherished goal at the end of one lifetime.

A sinless person who does not desire material enjoyment within Vedic dharma or liberation from material existence and who only hankers for loving service unto the Lord will have his prārabdha-karma nullified immediately. Such a devotee is called a nirapekṣa devotee of the Lord. He exclusively executes his duties of spiritual dharma and has neither time nor an attraction for executing any of the duties of material dharma. He will attain his cherished goal immediately—he does not even have to wait until the end of one lifetime.

Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa has elaborately described the characteristics and attainments of each of the above three types of Vaiṣṇavas in his writings, notably in his commentary on Bhagavad-gītā, Govinda-bhāṣya and Siddhānta-ratna. The above description of the three types of Vaiṣṇavas is compiled from these writings of Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣana.