Madhya19.154

TEXT 154

tabe yaya tad-upari ’goloka-vrndavana’

’krsna-carana’-kalpa-vrkse kare arohana

SYNONYMS

tabe—thereafter; yaya—goes; tat-upari—to the top of that (the spiritual sky); goloka-vrndavana—to the planet known as Goloka Vrndavana where Krsna lives; krsna-carana—of the lotus feet of Lord Krsna; kalpa-vrkse—on the desire tree; kare arohana—climbs.

TRANSLATION

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

PURPORT

Madhya19.155

TEXT 155

tahan vistarita hana phale prema-phala

ihan mali sece nitya sravanadi jala

SYNONYMS

tahan—there in the spiritual world (in the Goloka Vrndavana planet); vistarita—expanded; hana—becoming; phale—produces; prema-phala—the fruit known as love of Godhead; ihan—in the material world, where the devotee is still present; mali—exactly like a gardener; sece—sprinkles; nitya—regularly, without fail; sravana-adi jala—the water of sravana, kirtana and so on.

TRANSLATION

"The creeper greatly expands in the Goloka Vrndavana planet, and there it produces the fruit of love for Krsna. 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 vaisnava-aparadha uthe hati mata

upade va chinde, tara sukhi’ yaya pata

SYNONYMS

yadi—if; vaisnava-aparadha—an offense at the feet of a Vaisnava; uthe—arises; hati—an elephant; mata—mad; upade—uproots; va—or; chinde—breaks; tara—of the creeper; sukhi’-shriveling up; yaya—goes; pata—the leaf.

TRANSLATION

"If the devotee commits an offense at the feet of a Vaisnava 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 Vaisnava.

tandera carana sevi bhakta-sane vasa
janame janame haya, ei abhilasa

By his personal example, Narottama dasa Thakura stresses that a devotee must always remember to please his predecessor acarya. The Gosvamis are represented by one’s spiritual master. One cannot be an acarya (spiritual master) without following strictly in the disciplic succession of the acaryas. One who is actually serious in advancing in devotional service should desire only to satisfy the previous acaryas. Ei chaya gosani yara, mui tara dasa. One should always think of oneself as a servant of the servant of the acaryas, and thinking this, one should live in the society of Vaisnavas. However, if one thinks that he has become very mature and can live separate from the association of Vaisnavas and thus gives up all the regulative principles due to offending a Vaisnava, one’s position becomes very dangerous. Offenses against the holy name are explained in Adi-lila (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-lata and breaks it to pieces. In this way the bhakti-lata shrivels up. Such an offense is especially created when one disobeys the instructions of the spiritual master. This is called guru-avajna. 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-lata begins, and gradually all the leaves dry up.

Madhya19.157

TEXT 157

tate mali yatna kari’ kare avarana

aparadha-hastira yaiche na haya udgama

SYNONYMS

tate—therefore; mali—the gardener devotee; yatna kari’-with great attention; kare—makes; avarana—protective fencing; aparadha—of offenses; hastira—of the elephant; yaiche—so that; na—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-lata 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-lata creeper. When one associates with nondevotees, the maddened elephant is set loose. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has said: asat-sanga-tyaga,-ei vaisnava-acara. The first business of a Vaisnava 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-sanga). 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 Krsna 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 Upadesamrta of Srila Rupa Gosvami, it is said:

atyaharah prayasas ca
prajalpo niyamagrahah
jana-sangas ca laulyam ca
sadbhir bhaktir vinasyati

“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 Krsna consciousness, and (6) being greedy for mundane achievements.”

Madhya19.158

TEXT 158

kintu yadi latara sange uthe ’upasakha’

bhukti-mukti-vancha, yata asankhya tara lekha

SYNONYMS

kintu—but; yadi—if; latara—the creeper of devotional service; sange—with; uthe—arise; upasakha—unwanted creepers; bhukti—for material enjoyment; mukti—for liberation from the material world; vancha—the desires; yata—as many as there are; asankhya—unlimited; tara—of those unwanted creepers; lekha—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

’nisiddhacara’, ’kutinati’, ’jiva-himsana’

’labha’, ’puja’, ’pratisthadi’ yata upasakha-gana

SYNONYMS

nisiddha-acara—behavior not to be exhibited by a person desiring to become perfect; kutinati—diplomacy; jiva-himsana—unnecessarily killing animals or the soul; labha—profit according to material calculations; puja—adoration achieved by satisfying mundane people; pratistha-adi—becoming an important man in material calculations, and so on; yata—all these; upasakha-gana—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 Krsna 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. Kutinati, or diplomatic behavior, cannot satisfy the atma, 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. Jiva-himsana 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 Krsna consciousness (athato brahma-jijnasa), 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 jiva-himsana. 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-lata-bija. One should be very careful to avoid all these unwanted things. Sometimes these unwanted creepers look exactly like the bhakti-lata creeper. They appear to be of the same size and the same species when they are packed together with the bhakti-lata creeper, but in spite of this, the creepers are called upasakha. A pure devotee can distinguish between the bhakti-lata creeper and a mundane creeper, and he is very alert to distinguish them and keep them separate.

Madhya19.160

TEXT 160

seka-jala pana upasakha badi’ yaya

stabdha hana mula-sakha badite na paya

SYNONYMS

seka-jala—sprinkling water; pana—getting; upasakha—the unwanted creepers; badi’ yaya—grow luxuriantly; stabdha hana—becoming stopped; mula-sakha—the chief creeper; badite—to increase; na paya—is not able.

TRANSLATION

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

PURPORT

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

’nisiddhacara’, ’kutinati’, jiva-himsana’
’labha’, ’puja’, ’pratisthadi’ yata upasakha-gana

The unwanted creepers have been described by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. 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 Mayavadis, 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-lobhi, 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 prakrta-sahajiyas, 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 Vaisnava to belong to a mundane caste or creed. One may think, “This is a Hindu Vaisnava, and this is a European Vaisnava. A European Vaisnava is not allowed to enter the temples.” In other words, one may consider Vaisnavas in terms of birth, thinking one a brahmana Vaisnava, a sudra Vaisnava, a mleccha Vaisnava and so on. One may also try to carry out a professional business while chanting the Hare Krsna mantra or reading Srimad-Bhagavatam, or one may try to increase his monetary strength by illegal means. One may also try to be a cheap Vaisnava 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 sadhu, mahatma 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-lata-bija has been stunted.

Madhya19.161

TEXT 161

prathamei upasakhara karaye chedana

tabe mula-sakha badi’ yaya vrndavana

SYNONYMS

prathamei—from the very beginning; upasakhara—of the unwanted creepers; karaye—does; chedana—the cutting away; tabe—then only; mula-sakha—the chief creeper; badi’-increasing; yaya—goes; vrndavana—to the lotus feet of Lord Sri Krsna in Vrndavana.

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-lata-bija grows nicely, returns home, back to Godhead, and seeks shelter under the lotus feet of Krsna.

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’ paki’ pade, mali asvadaya

lata avalambi’ mali ’kalpa-vrksa’ paya

SYNONYMS

prema-phala—the fruit of love of God; paki’-becoming mature; pade—falls down; mali—the gardener; asvadaya—tastes; lata avalambi’-taking advantage of the growing bhakti-lata; mali—the gardener; kalpa-vrksa paya—reaches the desire tree in Goloka Vrndavana.

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 Krsna in Goloka Vrndavana.

Madhya19.163

TEXT 163

tahan sei kalpa-vrksera karaye sevana

sukhe prema-phala-rasa kare asvadana

SYNONYMS

tahan—there (in Goloka Vrndavana); sei kalpa-vrksera—of the lotus feet of Krsna, 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; asvadana—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 tahan 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-purusartha’

yanra age trna-tulya cari purusartha

SYNONYMS

eita—this; parama-phala—the supreme goal of life; parama—supreme; purusa-artha—interest of the living being; yanra age—in the presence of which; trna-tulya—very insignificant; cari—four; purusa-artha—the different types of human interests.

TRANSLATION

"To taste the fruit of devotional service at Goloka Vrndavana 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 jnanis or impersonalists is becoming one with the Supreme, generally known as moksa, liberation. The highest achievements of the yogis are the eight material perfections such as anima, laghima and prapti. 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 Srila Rupa Gosvami’s Lalita-madhava.

Madhya19.165

TEXT 165

rddha siddhi-vraja-vijayita satya-dharma samadhir

brahmanando gurur api camatkarayaty eva tavat

yavat premnam madhu-ripu-vasikara-siddhausadhinam

gandho ’py antah-karana-sarani-panthatam na prayati

SYNONYMS

rddha—excellent; siddhi-vraja—of the groups of material perfections of the yogis (anima, laghima, prapti and so on); vijayita—the victory; satya-dharma—the religious principles of perfection (satya, sama, titiksa and so on); samadhih—the yogic perfection of meditation; brahma-anandah—the spiritually blissful life of the monist; guruh—very high in material considerations; api—although; camatkarayati—they appear very important; eva—only; tavat—that long; yavat—as long as; premnam—of love of Krsna; madhu-ripu—of Krsna, the enemy of the Madhu demon; vasikara—in the controlling; siddha-ausadhinam—which is like perfect herbs that can control snakes; gandhah—a light fragrance; api—even; antah-karana-sarani-panthatam—a traveler on the path of the heart; na prayati—does not become.

TRANSLATION

"As long as there is not the slightest fragrance of pure love of Krsna, which is the perfected medicinal herb for controlling Lord Krsna within the heart, the opulences of material perfection-known as the siddhis, the brahminical perfections [satya, sama, titiksa and so on], the trance of the yogis 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 Vrndavana 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 Yasoda was so advanced in devotional service that Krsna 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 karmis, jnanis, yogis 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, Krsna.

Madhya19.166

TEXT 166

’suddha-bhakti’ haite haya ’prema’ utpanna

ataeva suddha-bhaktira kahiye ’laksana’

SYNONYMS

suddha-bhakti—pure devotional service without material contaminations; haite—from; haya—is; prema—love of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; utpanna—produced; ataeva—therefore; suddha-bhaktira—of pure devotional service; kahiye—let me explain; laksana—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

anyabhilasita-sunyam

jnana-karmady-anavrtam

anukulyena krsnanu-

silanam bhaktir uttama

SYNONYMS

Madhya19.168

TEXT 168

anya-vancha, anya-puja chadi’ jnana’, ’karma’

anukulye sarvendriye krsnanusilana

SYNONYMS

anya-vancha—other desires; anya-puja—other types of worship; chadi’-giving up; jnana—material knowledge; karma—material activities; anukulye—favorably; sarva-indriye—with all the senses; krsna-anusilana—cultivation of Krsna consciousness.

TRANSLATION

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