Madhya19.154

TEXT 154

tabe yāya tad-upari ’goloka-vṛndāvana’

’kṛṣṇa-caraṇa’-kalpa-vṛkṣe kare ārohaṇa

SYNONYMS

tabe—thereafter; yāya—goes; tat-upari—to the top of that (the spiritual sky); goloka-vṛndāvana—to the planet known as Goloka Vṛndāvana where Kṛṣṇa lives; kṛṣṇa-caraṇa—of the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa; kalpa-vṛkṣe—on the desire tree; kare ārohaṇa—climbs.

TRANSLATION

"Being situated in one’s heart and being watered by śravaṇa-kīrtana, the bhakti creeper grows more and more. In this way it attains the shelter of the desire tree of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, who is eternally situated in the planet known as Goloka Vṛndāvana in the topmost region of the spiritual sky.

PURPORT

Madhya19.155

TEXT 155

tāhāṅ vistārita hañā phale prema-phala

ihāṅ mālī sece nitya śravaṇādi jala

SYNONYMS

tāhāṅ—there in the spiritual world (in the Goloka Vṛndāvana planet); vistārita—expanded; hañā—becoming; phale—produces; prema-phala—the fruit known as love of Godhead; ihāṅ—in the material world, where the devotee is still present; mālī—exactly like a gardener; sece—sprinkles; nitya—regularly, without fail; śravaṇa-ādi jala—the water of śravaṇa, kīrtana and so on.

TRANSLATION

"The creeper greatly expands in the Goloka Vṛndāvana planet, and there it produces the fruit of love for Kṛṣṇa. Although remaining in the material world, the gardener regularly sprinkles the creeper with the water of hearing and chanting.

PURPORT

Madhya19.156

TEXT 156

yadi vaiṣṇava-aparādha uṭhe hātī mātā

upāḍe vā chiṇḍe, tāra śukhi’ yāya pātā

SYNONYMS

yadi—if; vaiṣṇava-aparādha—an offense at the feet of a Vaiṣṇava; uṭhe—arises; hātī—an elephant; mātā—mad; upāḍe—uproots; vā—or; chiṇḍe—breaks; tāra—of the creeper; śukhi’-shriveling up; yāya—goes; pātā—the leaf.

TRANSLATION

"If the devotee commits an offense at the feet of a Vaiṣṇava while cultivating the creeper of devotional service in the material world, his offense is compared to a mad elephant that uproots the creeper and breaks it. In this way the leaves of the creeper are dried up.

PURPORT

One’s devotional attitude increases in the association of a Vaiṣṇava.

tāṅdera caraṇa sevi bhakta-sane vāsa
janame janame haya, ei abhilāṣa

By his personal example, Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura stresses that a devotee must always remember to please his predecessor ācārya. The Gosvāmīs are represented by one’s spiritual master. One cannot be an ācārya (spiritual master) without following strictly in the disciplic succession of the ācāryas. One who is actually serious in advancing in devotional service should desire only to satisfy the previous ācāryas. Ei chaya gosāñi yāra, mui tāra dāsa. One should always think of oneself as a servant of the servant of the ācāryas, and thinking this, one should live in the society of Vaiṣṇavas. However, if one thinks that he has become very mature and can live separate from the association of Vaiṣṇavas and thus gives up all the regulative principles due to offending a Vaiṣṇava, one’s position becomes very dangerous. Offenses against the holy name are explained in Ādi-līlā (Chapter Eight, verse 24). Giving up the regulative principles and living according to one’s whims are compared to a mad elephant, which by force uproots the bhakti-latā and breaks it to pieces. In this way the bhakti-latā shrivels up. Such an offense is especially created when one disobeys the instructions of the spiritual master. This is called guru-avajñā. The devotee must therefore be very careful not to commit offenses against the spiritual master. As soon as one is deviated from the spiritual master, the uprooting of the bhakti-latā begins, and gradually all the leaves dry up.

Madhya19.157

TEXT 157

tāte mālī yatna kari’ kare āvaraṇa

aparādha-hastīra yaiche nā haya udgama

SYNONYMS

tāte—therefore; mālī—the gardener devotee; yatna kari’-with great attention; kare—makes; āvaraṇa—protective fencing; aparādha—of offenses; hastīra—of the elephant; yaiche—so that; nā—not; haya—there is; udgama—birth.

TRANSLATION

"The gardener must defend the creeper by fencing it all around so that the powerful elephant of offenses may not enter.

PURPORT

While the bhakti-latā creeper is growing, the devotee must protect it by fencing it all around. The neophyte devotee must be protected by being surrounded by pure devotees. In this way he will not give the maddened elephant a chance to uproot his bhakti-latā creeper. When one associates with nondevotees, the maddened elephant is set loose. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has said: asat-saṅga-tyāga,-ei vaiṣṇava-ācāra. The first business of a Vaiṣṇava is to give up the company of nondevotees. A so-called mature devotee, however, commits a great offense by giving up the company of pure devotees. The living entity is a social animal, and if one gives up the society of pure devotees, he must associate with nondevotees (asat-saṅga). By contacting nondevotees and engaging in nondevotional activities, a so-called mature devotee will fall victim to the mad elephant offense. Whatever growth has taken place is quickly uprooted by such an offense. One should therefore be very careful to defend the creeper by fencing it in-that is, by following the regulative principles and associating with pure devotees.

If one thinks that there are many pseudo devotees or nondevotees in the Kṛṣṇa Consciousness Society, one can keep direct company with the spiritual master, and if there is any doubt, one should consult the spiritual master. However, unless one follows the spiritual master’s instructions and the regulative principles governing chanting and hearing the holy name of the Lord, one cannot become a pure devotee. By one’s mental concoctions, one falls down. By associating with nondevotees, one breaks the regulative principles and is thereby lost. In the Upadeśāmṛta of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, it is said:

atyāhāraḥ prayāsaś ca
prajalpo niyamāgrahaḥ
jana-saṅgaś ca laulyaṁ ca
ṣaḍbhir bhaktir vinaśyati

“One’s devotional service is spoiled when he becomes too entangled in the following six activities: (1) eating more than necessary or collecting more funds than required, (2) overendeavoring for mundane things that are very difficult to attain, (3) talking unnecessarily about mundane subject matters, (4) practicing the scriptural rules and regulations only for the sake of following them and not for the sake of spiritual advancement, or rejecting the rules and regulations of the scriptures and working independently or whimsically, (5) associating with worldly-minded persons who are not interested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and (6) being greedy for mundane achievements.”

Madhya19.158

TEXT 158

kintu yadi latāra saṅge uṭhe ’upaśākhā’

bhukti-mukti-vāñchā, yata asaṅkhya tāra lekhā

SYNONYMS

kintu—but; yadi—if; latāra—the creeper of devotional service; saṅge—with; uṭhe—arise; upaśākhā—unwanted creepers; bhukti—for material enjoyment; mukti—for liberation from the material world; vāñchā—the desires; yata—as many as there are; asaṅkhya—unlimited; tāra—of those unwanted creepers; lekhā—the writing.

TRANSLATION

"Sometimes unwanted creepers, such as the creepers of desires for material enjoyment and liberation from the material world, grow along with the creeper of devotional service. The varieties of such unwanted creepers are unlimited.

Madhya19.159

TEXT 159

’niṣiddhācāra’, ’kuṭīnāṭī’, ’jīva-hiṁsana’

’lābha’, ’pūjā’, ’pratiṣṭhādi’ yata upaśākhā-gaṇa

SYNONYMS

niṣiddha-ācāra—behavior not to be exhibited by a person desiring to become perfect; kuṭīnāṭī—diplomacy; jīva-hiṁsana—unnecessarily killing animals or the soul; lābha—profit according to material calculations; pūjā—adoration achieved by satisfying mundane people; pratiṣṭha-ādi—becoming an important man in material calculations, and so on; yata—all these; upaśākhā-gaṇa—unnecessary creepers.

TRANSLATION

"Some unnecessary creepers growing with the bhakti creeper are the creepers of behavior unacceptable for those trying to attain perfection, diplomatic behavior, animal killing, mundane profiteering, mundane adoration and mundane importance. All these are unwanted creepers.

PURPORT

There is a certain pattern of behavior prescribed for those actually trying to become perfect. In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement we advise our students not to eat meat, not to gamble, not to engage in illicit sex and not to indulge in intoxication. People who indulge in these activities can never become perfect; therefore these regulative principles are for those interested in becoming perfect and going back to Godhead. Kuṭīnāṭī, or diplomatic behavior, cannot satisfy the ātmā, the soul. It cannot even satisfy the body or the mind. The culprit mind is always suspicious; therefore our dealings should always be straightforward and approved by Vedic authorities. If we treat people diplomatically or duplicitously, our spiritual advancement is obstructed. Jīva-hiṁsana refers to the killing of animals or to envy of other living entities. The killing of poor animals is undoubtedly due to envy of those animals. The human form is meant for the understanding of Kṛṣṇa consciousness (athāto brahma-jijñāsā), for inquiring about the Supreme Brahman. In the human form, everyone has a chance to understand the Supreme Brahman. The so-called leaders of human society do not know the real aim of human life and are therefore busy with economic development. This is misleading. Every state and every society is busy trying to improve the quality of eating, sleeping, mating and defending. This human form of life is meant for more than these four animal principles. Eating, sleeping, mating and defending are problems found in the animal kingdom, and the animals have solved their problems without difficulty. Why should human society be so busy trying to solve these problems? The difficulty is that people are not educated to understand this simple philosophy. They think that advancement of civilization means increasing sense gratification.

There are many religious propagandists who do not know how the ultimate problems of life can be solved, and they also try to educate people in a form of sense gratification. This is also jīva-hiṁsana. Real knowledge is not given, and religionists mislead the general populace. As far as material profits are concerned, one should know that whatever material profit one has must be abandoned at the time of death. Unfortunately people do not know that there is life after death; therefore mundane people waste their time amassing material profit which has to be left behind at the time of death. Such profit has no eternal benefit. Similarly, adoration by mundane people is valueless because after death one has to accept another body. Material adoration and title are decorations that cannot be carried over to the next body. In the next life, everything is forgotten.

All these obstructions have been described in this verse as unwanted creepers. They simply present obstacles for the real creeper, bhakti-latā-bīja. One should be very careful to avoid all these unwanted things. Sometimes these unwanted creepers look exactly like the bhakti-latā creeper. They appear to be of the same size and the same species when they are packed together with the bhakti-latā creeper, but in spite of this, the creepers are called upaśākhā. A pure devotee can distinguish between the bhakti-latā creeper and a mundane creeper, and he is very alert to distinguish them and keep them separate.

Madhya19.160

TEXT 160

seka-jala pāñā upaśākhā bāḍi’ yāya

stabdha hañā mūla-śākhā bāḍite nā pāya

SYNONYMS

seka-jala—sprinkling water; pāñā—getting; upaśākhā—the unwanted creepers; bāḍi’ yāya—grow luxuriantly; stabdha hañā—becoming stopped; mūla-śākhā—the chief creeper; bāḍite—to increase; nā pāya—is not able.

TRANSLATION

"If one does not distinguish between the bhakti-latā creeper and the other creepers, the sprinkling of water is misused because the other creepers are nourished while the bhakti-latā creeper is curtailed.

PURPORT

If one chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra while committing offenses, these unwanted creepers will grow. One should not take advantage of chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra for some material profit. As mentioned in verse 159:

’niṣiddhācāra’, ’kuṭīnāṭī’, jīva-hiṁsana’
’lābha’, ’pūjā’, ’pratiṣṭhādi’ yata upaśākhā-gaṇa

The unwanted creepers have been described by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. He states that if one hears and chants without trying to give up offenses, one becomes materially attached to sense gratification. One may also desire freedom from material bondage like the Māyāvādīs, or one may become attached to the yoga-siddhis and desire wonderful yogic powers. If one is attached to wonderful material activities, one is called siddhi-lobhī, greedy for material perfection. One may also be victimized by diplomatic or crooked behavior, or one may associate with women for illicit sex. Others may make a show of devotional service like the prākṛta-sahajiyās, or one may try to support his philosophy by joining some caste or identifying himself with a certain dynasty, claiming a monopoly on spiritual advancement. Thus with the support of family tradition, one may become a pseudo guru or so-called spiritual master. One may become attached to the four sinful activities-illicit sex, intoxication, gambling and meat eating, or one may consider a Vaiṣṇava to belong to a mundane caste or creed. One may think, “This is a Hindu Vaiṣṇava, and this is a European Vaiṣṇava. A European Vaiṣṇava is not allowed to enter the temples.” In other words, one may consider Vaiṣṇavas in terms of birth, thinking one a brāhmaṇa Vaiṣṇava, a śūdra Vaiṣṇava, a mleccha Vaiṣṇava and so on. One may also try to carry out a professional business while chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra or reading Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, or one may try to increase his monetary strength by illegal means. One may also try to be a cheap Vaiṣṇava by chanting in a secluded place for material adoration, or one may desire mundane reputation by making compromises with nondevotees, compromising one’s philosophy or spiritual life, or one may become a supporter of a hereditary caste system. All these are pitfalls of personal sense gratification. Just to cheat some innocent people, one makes a show of advanced spiritual life and becomes known as a sādhu, mahātmā or religious person. All this means that the so-called devotee has become victimized by all these unwanted creepers and that the real creeper of bhakti-latā-bīja has been stunted.

Madhya19.161

TEXT 161

prathamei upaśākhāra karaye chedana

tabe mūla-śākhā bāḍi’ yāya vṛndāvana

SYNONYMS

prathamei—from the very beginning; upaśākhāra—of the unwanted creepers; karaye—does; chedana—the cutting away; tabe—then only; mūla-śākhā—the chief creeper; bāḍi’-increasing; yāya—goes; vṛndāvana—to the lotus feet of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana.

TRANSLATION

"As soon as an intelligent devotee sees an unwanted creeper growing beside the original creeper, he must cut it down instantly. Then the real creeper of bhakti-latā-bīja grows nicely, returns home, back to Godhead, and seeks shelter under the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa.

PURPORT

If one is misled by unwanted creepers and is victimized, he cannot make progress back to Godhead. Rather, he remains within the material world and engages in activities having nothing to do with pure devotional service. Such a person may be elevated to the higher planetary systems, but because he remains within the material world, he is subjected to the threefold material miseries.

Madhya19.162

TEXT 162

’prema-phala’ pāki’ paḍe, mālī āsvādaya

latā avalambi’ mālī ’kalpa-vṛkṣa’ pāya

SYNONYMS

prema-phala—the fruit of love of God; pāki’-becoming mature; paḍe—falls down; mālī—the gardener; āsvādaya—tastes; latā avalambi’-taking advantage of the growing bhakti-latā; mālī—the gardener; kalpa-vṛkṣa pāya—reaches the desire tree in Goloka Vṛndāvana.

TRANSLATION

"When the fruit of devotional service becomes ripe and falls down, the gardener tastes the fruit and thus takes advantage of the creeper and reaches the desire tree of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa in Goloka Vṛndāvana.

Madhya19.163

TEXT 163

tāhāṅ sei kalpa-vṛkṣera karaye sevana

sukhe prema-phala-rasa kare āsvādana

SYNONYMS

tāhāṅ—there (in Goloka Vṛndāvana); sei kalpa-vṛkṣera—of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, which are compared to a desire tree; karaye sevana—engages in the service; sukhe—in transcendental bliss; prema-phala-rasa—the juice of the fruit of devotional service; kare—does; āsvādana—tasting.

TRANSLATION

"There the devotee serves the lotus feet of the Lord, which are compared to a wish-fulfilling tree. With great bliss he tastes the juice of the fruit of love and becomes eternally happy.

PURPORT

The word tāhāṅ indicates that in the spiritual world one can taste the juice of the fruit of devotional service and thus become blissful.

Madhya19.164

TEXT 164

eita parama-phala ’parama-puruṣārtha’

yāṅra āge tṛṇa-tulya cāri puruṣārtha

SYNONYMS

eita—this; parama-phala—the supreme goal of life; parama—supreme; puruṣa-artha—interest of the living being; yāṅra āge—in the presence of which; tṛṇa-tulya—very insignificant; cāri—four; puruṣa-artha—the different types of human interests.

TRANSLATION

"To taste the fruit of devotional service at Goloka Vṛndāvana is the highest perfection of life, and in the presence of such perfection, the four material perfections-religion, economic development, sense gratification and liberation-are very insignificant achievements.

PURPORT

The highest achievement attained by the jñānīs or impersonalists is becoming one with the Supreme, generally known as mokṣa, liberation. The highest achievements of the yogīs are the eight material perfections such as aṇimā, laghimā and prāpti. Yet these are nothing compared to the eternal bliss of the devotee who returns back to Godhead and tastes the fruit of devotional service to the lotus feet of the Lord. The material perfections up to the point of liberation are very insignificant in comparison; therefore the pure devotee is never interested in such things. His only interest is in perfecting his devotional service to the Lord. The pleasure of the impersonalist monist philosophers is condemned in the following verse, which is also found in Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s Lalita-mādhava.

Madhya19.165

TEXT 165

ṛddhā siddhi-vraja-vijayitā satya-dharmā samādhir

brahmānando gurur api camatkārayaty eva tāvat

yāvat premṇāṁ madhu-ripu-vaśīkāra-siddhauṣadhīnāṁ

gandho ’py antaḥ-karaṇa-saraṇī-pānthatāṁ na prayāti

SYNONYMS

ṛddhā—excellent; siddhi-vraja—of the groups of material perfections of the yogīs (aṇimā, laghimā, prāpti and so on); vijayitā—the victory; satya-dharmā—the religious principles of perfection (satya, śama, titikṣā and so on); samādhiḥ—the yogic perfection of meditation; brahma-ānandaḥ—the spiritually blissful life of the monist; guruḥ—very high in material considerations; api—although; camatkārayati—they appear very important; eva—only; tāvat—that long; yāvat—as long as; premṇām—of love of Kṛṣṇa; madhu-ripu—of Kṛṣṇa, the enemy of the Madhu demon; vaśīkāra—in the controlling; siddha-auṣadhīnām—which is like perfect herbs that can control snakes; gandhaḥ—a light fragrance; api—even; antaḥ-karaṇa-saraṇī-pānthatām—a traveler on the path of the heart; na prayāti—does not become.

TRANSLATION

"As long as there is not the slightest fragrance of pure love of Kṛṣṇa, which is the perfected medicinal herb for controlling Lord Kṛṣṇa within the heart, the opulences of material perfection-known as the siddhis, the brahminical perfections [satya, śama, titikṣā and so on], the trance of the yogīs and the monistic bliss of Brahman-all seem wonderful for men.

PURPORT

There are different types of material perfection known as siddhi-vraja, brahminical qualifications, yogic trance and merging into the Supreme. All these are certainly very attractive for a mundane person, but their brilliance exists only as long as one does not take to devotional service. Devotional service can control the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the supreme controller of all universal affairs. The five rasas (mellows) in the transcendental world are practiced by the inhabitants of Goloka Vṛndāvana in neutrality, servitorship, friendship, paternal affection and conjugal love. All these please the Lord so much that He is controlled by the devotees. For instance, mother Yaśodā was so advanced in devotional service that Kṛṣṇa agreed to be controlled by her stick. In other words, the five principal mellows are so great and glorious that they are able to control the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the material world, however, the so-called siddhis, or perfections, manifest their brightness only as long as one is not interested in devotional service. In other words, the perfection of the karmīs, jñānīs, yogīs and others remains attractive only as long as one does not come to the point of devotional service, which is so great and significant that it can control the supreme controller, Kṛṣṇa.

Madhya19.166

TEXT 166

’śuddha-bhakti’ haite haya ’premā’ utpanna

ataeva śuddha-bhaktira kahiye ’lakṣaṇa’

SYNONYMS

śuddha-bhakti—pure devotional service without material contaminations; haite—from; haya—is; premā—love of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; utpanna—produced; ataeva—therefore; śuddha-bhaktira—of pure devotional service; kahiye—let me explain; lakṣaṇa—the symptoms.

TRANSLATION

"When one is situated in pure devotional service, he develops love of Godhead; therefore let me describe some of the symptoms of pure devotional service.

PURPORT

Madhya19.167

TEXT 167

anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ

jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam

ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānu-

śīlanaṁ bhaktir uttamā

SYNONYMS

Madhya19.168

TEXT 168

anya-vāñchā, anya-pūjā chāḍi’ jñāna’, ’karma’

ānukūlye sarvendriye kṛṣṇānuśīlana

SYNONYMS

anya-vāñchā—other desires; anya-pūjā—other types of worship; chāḍi’-giving up; jñāna—material knowledge; karma—material activities; ānukūlye—favorably; sarva-indriye—with all the senses; kṛṣṇa-anuśīlana—cultivation of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

TRANSLATION

"A pure devotee must not cherish any other desire than to serve Kṛṣṇa. He should not offer worship to the demigods or to mundane personalities. He should not cultivate artificial knowledge, which is devoid of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and he should not engage himself in anything other than Kṛṣṇa conscious activities. One must engage all one’s purified senses in the service of the Lord. This is the favorable execution of Kṛṣṇa conscious activities.

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