ERROR: Your browser does not support scripts.

atha—thereafter; desan—places; pravaksyami—I shall describe; dharma-adi—religious performances, etc.; sreya—auspiciousness; avahan—which can bring; sah—that; vai—indeed; punya-tamah—the most sacred; desah—place; sat-patram—a Vaisnava; yatra—wherein; labhyate—is available; bimbam—the Deity (in the temple); bhagavatah—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead (who is the support); yatra—where; sarvam etat—of this entire cosmic manifestation; cara-acaram—with all the moving and nonmoving living entities; yatra—wherein; ha—indeed; brahmana-kulam—association with brahmanas; tapah—austerities; vidya—education; daya—mercy; anvitam—endowed with.

Narada Muni continued: Now I shall describe the places where religious performances may be well executed. Any place where a Vaisnava is available is an excellent place for all auspicious activities. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the support of this entire cosmic manifestation, with all its moving and nonmoving living entities, and the temple where the Deity of the Lord is installed is a most sacred place. Furthermore, places where learned brahmanas observe Vedic principles by means of austerity, education and mercy are also most auspicious and sacred.

In this verse it is indicated that a Vaisnava temple where the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is worshiped, and where Vaisnavas are engaged in the service of the Lord, is the best sacred place for performing any religious ceremonies. At the present day, especially in big, big cities, people live in small apartments and are not able to establish a Deity or temple. Under the circumstances, therefore, the centers and temples being established by the expanding Krsna consciousness movement are the best sacred places for performing religious ceremonies. Although people in general are no longer interested in religious ceremonies or Deity worship, the Krsna consciousness movement gives everyone the chance to advance in spiritual life by becoming Krsna conscious.

SB7.14.29

TEXT 29

yatra yatra harer arca

sa desah sreyasam padam

yatra gangadayo nadyah

puranesu ca visrutah

yatra yatra—wherever; hareh—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna; arca—the Deity is worshiped; sah—that; desah—place, country or neighborhood; sreyasam—of all auspiciousness; padam—the place; yatra—wherever; ganga-adayah—like the Ganges, Yamuna, Narmada and Kaveri; nadyah—sacred rivers; puranesu—in the puranas (supplementary Vedic literature); ca—also; visrutah—are celebrated.

Auspicious indeed are the places where there is a temple of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, in which He is duly worshiped, and also the places where there flow the celebrated sacred rivers mentioned in the Puranas, the supplementary Vedic literatures. Anything spiritual done there is certainly very effective.

prabhaso ’tha kusa-sthali

There are many atheists who oppose the worship of the Deity of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the temple. In this verse, however, it is authoritatively stated that any place where the Deity is worshiped is transcendental; it does not belong to the material world. It is also said that the forest is in the mode of goodness, and therefore those who want to cultivate spiritual life are advised to go to the forest (vanam gato yad dharim asrayeta [SB 7.5.5]). But one should not go to the forest simply to live like a monkey. Monkeys and other ferocious animals also live in the forest, but a person who goes to the forest for spiritual culture must accept the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as shelter (vanam gato yad dharim asrayeta [SB 7.5.5]). One should not be satisfied simply to go to the forest; one must take shelter of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this age, therefore, since it is impossible to go to the forest for spiritual culture, one is recommended to live in the temple community as a devotee, regularly worship the Deity, follow the regulative principles and thus make the place like Vaikuntha. The forest may be in goodness, the cities and villages in passion, and the brothels, hotels and restaurants in ignorance, but when one lives in the temple community he lives in Vaikuntha. Therefore it is said here, sreyasam padam: it is the best, most auspicious place.

In many places throughout the world we are constructing communities to give shelter to devotees and worship the Deity in the temple. The Deity cannot be worshiped except by devotees. Temple worshipers who fail to give importance to the devotees are third class. They are kanistha-adhikaris in the lower stage of spiritual life. As it is said in Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.2.47):

arcayam eva haraye
pujam yah sraddhayehate
na tad-bhaktesu canyesu
sa bhaktah prakrtah smrtah

“A person who is very faithfully engaged in the worship of the Deity in the temple but does not know how to behave toward devotees or people in general is called a prakrta-bhakta, or kanistha-adhikari.” Therefore, in the temple there must be the Deity of the Lord, and the Lord should be worshiped by the devotees. This combination of the devotees and the Deity creates a first-class transcendental place.

Aside from this, if a grhastha devotee worships the salagrama-sila, or the form of the Deity at home, his home also becomes a very great place. It was therefore customary for members of the three higher classes—namely the brahmanas, ksatriyas and vaisyas—to worship the salagrama-sila, or a small Deity of Radha-Krsna or Sita-Rama in each and every home. This made everything auspicious. But now they have given up the Deity worship. Men have become modernized and are consequently indulging in all sorts of sinful activities, and therefore they are extremely unhappy.

According to Vedic civilization, therefore, the holy places of pilgrimage are considered most sacred, and still there are hundreds and thousands of holy places like Jagannatha Puri, Vrndavana, Hardwar, Ramesvara, Prayaga and Mathura. India is the place for worshiping or for cultivating spiritual life. The Krsna consciousness movement invites everyone from all over the world, without discrimination as to caste or creed, to come to its centers and cultivate spiritual life perfectly.

SB7.14.30-33

TEXTS 30–33

saramsi puskaradini

ksetrany arhasritany uta

kuruksetram gaya-sirah

prayagah pulahasramah

naimisam phalgunam setuh

varanasi madhu-puri

pampa bindu-saras tatha

harer arcasritas ca ye

etan desan niseveta

sreyas-kamo hy abhiksnasah

dharmo hy atrehitah pumsam

sahasradhi-phalodayah

saramsi—lakes; puskara-adini—such as Puskara; ksetrani—sacred places (like Kuruksetra, Gayaksetra and Jagannatha Puri); arha—for worshipable, saintly persons; asritani—places of shelter; uta—celebrated; kuruksetram—a particular sacred place (dharma-ksetra); gaya-sirah—the place known as Gaya, where Gayasura took shelter of the lotus feet of Lord Visnu; prayagah—Allahabad, at the confluence of the two sacred rivers Ganges and Yamuna; pulaha-asramah—the residence of Pulaha Muni; naimisam—the place known as Naimisaranya (near Lucknow); phalgunam—the place where the Phalgu River flows; setuh—Setubandha, where Lord Ramacandra constructed a bridge between India and Lanka; prabhasah—Prabhasaksetra; atha—as well as; kusa-sthali—Dvaravati, or Dvaraka; varanasi—Benares; madhu-puri—Mathura; pampa—a place where there is a lake called Pampa; bindu-sarah—the place where Bindu-sarovara is situated; tatha—there; narayana-asramah—known as Badarikasrama; nanda—the place where the Nanda River flows; sita-rama—of Lord Ramacandra and mother Sita; asrama-adayah—places of shelter like Citrakuta; sarve—all (such places); kulacalah—hilly tracts of land; rajan—O King; mahendra—known as Mahendra; malaya-adayah—and others, like Malayacala; ete—all of them; punya-tamah—extremely sacred; desah—places; hareh—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; arca-asritah—places where the Deity of Radha-Krsna is worshiped (such as big American cities like New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, and European cities like London and Paris, or wherever there are centers of Krsna consciousness); ca—as well as; ye—those which; etan desan—all these countries; niseveta—should worship or visit; sreyah-kamah—one who desires auspiciousness; hi—indeed; abhiksnasah—again and again; dharmah—religious activities; hi—from which; atra—in these places; ihitah—performed; pumsam—of the persons; sahasra-adhi—more than a thousand times; phala-udayah—effective.

The sacred lakes like Puskara and places where saintly persons live, like Kuruksetra, Gaya, Prayaga, Pulahasrama, Naimisaranya, the banks of the Phalgu River, Setubandha, Prabhasa, Dvaraka, Varanasi, Mathura, Pampa, Bindu-sarovara, Badarikasrama [Narayanasrama], the places where the Nanda River flows, the places where Lord Ramacandra and mother Sita took shelter, such as Citrakuta, and also the hilly tracts of land known as Mahendra and Malaya—all of these are to be considered most pious and sacred. Similarly, places outside India where there are centers of the Krsna consciousness movement and where Radha-Krsna Deities are worshiped must all be visited and worshiped by those who want to be spiritually advanced. One who intends to advance in spiritual life may visit all these places and perform ritualistic ceremonies to get results a thousand times better than the results of the same activities performed in any other place.

In these verses and in verse twenty-nine, stress is given to one point: harer arcasritas ca ye or harer arca. In other words, any place where the Deity of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is worshiped by devotees is most significant. The Krsna consciousness movement is giving the population of the entire world a chance to take advantage of Krsna consciousness through the ISKCON centers, where one may perform Deity worship and chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra and in this way obtain results with effectiveness increased a thousand times. This constitutes the best welfare activity for human society. This was Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s mission as it was predicted by Him in the Caitanya-bhagavata (Antya 4.126):

prthivite ache yata nagaradi-grama
sarvatra pracara haibe mora nama

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted the Hare Krsna movement, with installed Deities, to spread to every village and town in the world, so that everyone in the world might take advantage of this movement and become all-auspicious in spiritual life. Without spiritual life, nothing is auspicious. Moghasa mogha-karmano mogha jnana vicetasah (Bg. 9.12). No one can become successful in fruitive activities or speculative knowledge without being Krsna conscious. As recommended in the sastras, everyone should be very eagerly interested in taking part in the Krsna consciousness movement and understanding the value of spiritual life.

SB7.14.34

TEXT 34

patram tv atra niruktam vai

kavibhih patra-vittamaih

harir evaika urvisa

yan-mayam vai caracaram

patram—the true person to whom charity must be given; tu—but; atra—in the world; niruktam—decided; vai—indeed; kavibhih—by learned scholars; patra-vittamaih—who are expert in finding the actual person to whom charity must be given; harih—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; eva—indeed; ekah—only one; urvi-isa—O King of the earth; yat-mayam—in whom everything is resting; vai—from whom everything is coming; cara-acaram—all that is moving or nonmoving within this universe.

O King of the earth, it has been decided by expert, learned scholars that only the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, in whom all that is moving or nonmoving within this universe is resting and from whom everything is coming, is the best person to whom everything must be given.

Whenever we perform some religious act in terms of dharma, artha, kama and moksa, we must perform it according to the time, place and person (kala, desa, patra). Narada Muni has already described the desa (place) and kala (time). The kala has been described in verses twenty through twenty-four, beginning with the words ayane visuve kuryad vyatipate dina-ksaye. And the places for giving charity or performing ritualistic ceremonies have been described in verses thirty through thirty-three, beginning with saramsi puskaradini ksetrany arhasritany uta. Now, to whom everything must be given is decided in this verse. Harir evaika urvisa yan-mayam vai caracaram. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is the root of everything, and therefore He is the best patra, or person, to whom everything must be given. In Bhagavad-gita (5.29) it is said:

bhoktaram yajna-tapasam
sarva-loka-mahesvaram
suhrdam sarva-bhutanam
jnatva mam santim rcchati

If one wants to enjoy real peace and prosperity, he should give everything to Krsna, who is the real enjoyer, real friend and real proprietor. It is therefore said:

yatha taror mula-nisecanena
trpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopasakhah
pranopaharac ca yathendriyanam
tathaiva sarvarhanam acyutejya

(Bhag. 4.31.14)

By worshiping or satisfying Acyuta, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, one can satisfy everyone, just as one can water the branches, leaves and flowers of a tree simply by watering its root or as one satisfies all the senses of the body by giving food to the stomach. Therefore, a devotee simply offers everything to the Supreme Personality of Godhead to receive the best results of charity, religious performances, sense gratification and even liberation (dharma, artha, kama, moksa).

SB7.14.35

TEXT 35

devarsy-arhatsu vai satsu

tatra brahmatmajadisu

rajan yad agra-pujayam

matah patratayacyutah

deva-rsi—among the demigods and great saintly persons, including Narada Muni; arhatsu—the most venerable and worshipable personalities; vai—indeed; satsu—the great devotees; tatra—there (at the Rajasuya-yajna); brahma-atma-jadisu—and the sons of Lord Brahma (such as Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanat and Sanatana); rajan—O King; yat—from whom; agra-pujayam—the first to be worshiped; matah—decision; patrataya—selected as the best person to preside over the Rajasuya-yajna; acyutah—Krsna.

O King Yudhisthira, the demigods, many great sages and saints including even the four sons of Lord Brahma, and I myself were present at your Rajasuya sacrificial ceremony, but when there was a question of who should be the first person worshiped, everyone decided upon Lord Krsna, the Supreme Person.

This is a reference to the Rajasuya sacrifice performed by Maharaja Yudhisthira. In that meeting there was a great turmoil over selecting the best person to be worshiped first. Everyone decided to worship Sri Krsna. The only protest came from Sisupala, and because of his vehement opposition he was killed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

SB7.14.36

TEXT 36

jiva-rasibhir akirna

anda-kosanghripo mahan

tan-mulatvad acyutejya

sarva-jivatma-tarpanam

jiva-rasibhih—by millions and millions of living entities; akirnah—filled up or spread over; anda-kosa—the whole universe; anghripah—like a tree; mahan—very, very great; tat-mulatvat—because of being the root of this tree; acyuta-ijya—worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; sarva—of all; jiva-atma—living entities; tarpanam—satisfaction.

The entire universe, which is full of living entities, is like a tree whose root is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Acyuta [Krsna]. Therefore simply by worshiping Lord Krsna one can worship all living entities.

In Bhagavad-gita (10.8) the Lord says:

aham sarvasya prabhavo
mattah sarvam pravartate
iti matva bhajante mam
budha bhava-samanvitah

“I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.” People are very much anxious to give service to other living entities, especially to the poor, but although they have manufactured many ways to give such help, actually they are expert in killing the poor living entities. This sort of service or mercy is not recommended in the Vedic wisdom. As stated in a previous verse, it has been decided (niruktam) by expert saintly persons that Krsna is the root of everything and that worshiping Krsna is worshiping everyone, just as supplying water to the root of a tree means satisfying all of its branches and twigs.

Another point is that this universe is full of living entities from top to bottom, on every planet (jiva-rasibhir akirnah). Modern scientists and so-called scholars think that there are no living entities on planets other than this one. Recently they have said that they have gone to the moon but did not find any living entities there. But Srimad-Bhagavatam and the other Vedic literatures do not agree with this foolish conception. There are living entities everywhere, not only one or two but jiva-rasibhih—many millions of living entities. Even on the sun there are living entities, although it is a fiery planet. The chief living entity on the sun is called Vivasvan (imam vivasvate yogam proktavan aham avyayam [Bg. 4.1]). All the different planets are filled with different types of living entities according to different living conditions. To suggest that only this planet is filled with living entities and that others are vacant is foolish. This betrays a lack of real knowledge.

SB7.14.37

TEXT 37

purany anena srstani

nr-tiryag-rsi-devatah

sete jivena rupena

puresu puruso hy asau

purani—residential places or bodies; anena—by Him (the Supreme Personality of Godhead); srstani—among those creations; nr—man; tiryak—other than human beings (animals, birds, etc); rsi—saintly persons; devatah—and demigods; sete—lies down; jivena—with the living entities; rupena—in the form of Paramatma; puresu—within these residential places or bodies; purusah—the Supreme Lord; hi—indeed; asau—He (the Personality of Godhead).

The Supreme Personality of Godhead has created many residential places like the bodies of human beings, animals, birds, saints and demigods. In all of these innumerable bodily forms, the Lord resides with the living being as Paramatma. Thus He is known as the purusavatara.

In Bhagavad-gita (18.61) it is said:

isvarah sarva-bhutanam
hrd-dese ’rjuna tisthati
bhramayan sarva-bhutani
yantrarudhani mayaya

“The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy.” The living entity, who is part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, exists on the mercy of the Lord, who is always with him in any form of body. The living entity desires a particular type of material enjoyment, and thus the Lord supplies him with a body, which is like a machine. Just to keep him alive in that body, the Lord remains with him as the purusa (Ksirodakasayi Visnu). This is also confirmed in Brahma-samhita (5.35):

eko ’py asau racayitum jagad-anda-kotim
yac-chaktir asti jagad-anda-caya yad-antah
andantara-stha-paramanu-cayantara-stham
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

“I worship the Personality of Godhead, Govinda, who enters the existence of every universe and every atom by one of His plenary portions and thus manifests His infinite energy throughout the material creation.” The living entity, being part and parcel of the Lord, is known as jiva. The Supreme Lord purusa remains with the jiva to enable him to enjoy material facilities.

SB7.14.38

TEXT 38

tesv eva bhagavan rajams

taratamyena vartate

tasmat patram hi puruso

yavan atma yatheyate

tesu—among the different types of bodies (demigod, human, animal, bird, etc.); eva—indeed; bhagavan—the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His Paramatma feature; rajan—O King; taratamyena—comparatively, more or less; vartate—is situated; tasmat—therefore; patram—the Supreme Person; hi—indeed; purusah—Paramatma; yavan—as far as; atma—the degree of understanding; yatha—development of austerity and penance; iyate—is manifest.

O King Yudhisthira, the Supersoul in every body gives intelligence to the individual soul according to his capacity for understanding. Therefore the Supersoul is the chief within the body. The Supersoul is manifested to the individual soul according to the individual’s comparative development of knowledge, austerity, penance and so on.

In Bhagavad-gita (15.15) it is said, mattah smrtir jnanam apohanam ca: the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His localized aspect gives intelligence to the individual soul as far as he is able to grasp it. Therefore we find the individual soul in different high and low positions. A living entity with the body of a bird or beast cannot take instructions from the Supreme Soul as adequately as an advanced human being. Thus there are gradations of bodily forms. In human society, the perfect brahmana is supposed to be the most advanced in spiritual consciousness, and further advanced than the brahmana is the Vaisnava. Therefore the best persons are the Vaisnavas and Visnu. When charity is to be given, one should take instruction from Bhagavad-gita (17.20):

datavyam iti yad danam
diyate ’nupakarine
dese kale ca patre ca
tad danam sattvikam smrtam

“That gift which is given out of duty, at the proper time and place, to a worthy person, and without expectation of return, is considered to be charity in the mode of goodness.” One should give charity to the brahmanas and Vaisnavas, for thus the Supreme Personality of Godhead will be worshiped. In this connection, Srila Madhvacarya comments:

brahmadi-sthavarantesu
na viseso hareh kvacit
vyakti-matra-visesena
taratamyam vadanti ca

Beginning from Brahma down to the ant, everyone is conducted by the Supersoul (isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese ’rjuna tisthati [Bg. 18.61]). But because of a particular person’s advancement in spiritual consciousness, he is considered to be important. Therefore, the brahmana Vaisnava is important, and, above all, the Supersoul, the Personality of Godhead, is the most important personality.

SB7.14.39

TEXT 39

drstva tesam mitho nrnam

avajnanatmatam nrpa

tretadisu harer arca

kriyayai kavibhih krta

drstva—after practically seeing; tesam—among the brahmanas and Vaisnavas; mithah—mutually; nrnam—of human society; avajnana-atmatam—the mutually disrespectful behavior; nrpa—O King; treta-adisu—beginning from Treta-yuga; hareh—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; arca—the Deity worship (in the temple); kriyayai—for the purpose of introducing the method of worship; kavibhih—by learned persons; krta—has been done.

My dear King, when great sages and saintly persons saw mutually disrespectful dealings at the beginning of Treta-yuga, Deity worship in the temple was introduced with all paraphernalia.

As it is said in Srimad-Bhagavatam (12.3.52):

krte yad dhyayato visnum
tretayam yajato makhaih
dvapare paricaryayam
kalau tad dhari-kirtanat

“Whatever result one obtained in Satya-yuga by meditating on Visnu, in Treta-yuga by performing sacrifices and in Dvapara-yuga by serving the Lord’s lotus feet one can also obtain in Kali-yuga simply by chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra.” In Satya-yuga, every person was spiritually advanced, and there was no envy between great personalities. Gradually, however, because of material contamination with the advance of the ages, disrespectful dealings appeared even among brahmanas and Vaisnavas. Actually, an advanced Vaisnava is to be respected more than Visnu. As stated in the Padma Purana, aradhananam sarvesam visnor aradhanam param: of all kinds of worship, worship of Lord Visnu is the best. Tasmat parataram devi tadiyanam samarcanam: and recommended more than worship of Visnu is worship of the Vaisnava.

Formerly, all activities were performed in connection with Visnu, but after Satya-yuga there were symptoms of disrespectful dealings among Vaisnavas. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has said that a Vaisnava is he who has helped others become Vaisnavas. An example of one who has converted many others into Vaisnavas is Narada Muni. A powerful Vaisnava who has converted others into Vaisnavas is to be worshiped, but because of material contamination, sometimes such an exalted Vaisnava is disrespected by other, minor Vaisnavas. When great saintly persons saw this contamination, they introduced worship of the Deity in the temple. This began in Treta-yuga and was especially prominent in Dvapara-yuga (dvapare paricaryayam). But in Kali-yuga, worship of the Deity is being neglected. Therefore chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra is more powerful than Deity worship. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu set a practical example in that He did not establish any temples or Deities, but He profusely introduced the sankirtana movement. Therefore Krsna consciousness preachers should give more stress to the sankirtana movement, especially by distributing transcendental literature more and more. This helps the sankirtana movement. Whenever there is a possibility to worship the Deity, we may establish many centers, but generally we should give more stress to the distribution of transcendental literature, for this will be more effective in converting people to Krsna consciousness.

It is said in Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.2.47):

arcayam eva haraye
pujam yah sraddhayehate
na tad-bhaktesu canyesu
sa bhaktah prakrtah smrtah

“A person who is very faithfully engaged in the worship of the Deity in the temple but does not know how to behave toward devotees or people in general is called a prakrta-bhakta, or kanistha-adhikari.” A prakrta devotee, or neophyte devotee, is still on the material platform. He certainly engages in worshiping the Deity, but he cannot appreciate the activities of a pure devotee. It has actually been seen that even an authorized devotee who is engaged in the service of the Lord by preaching the mission of Krsna consciousness is sometimes criticized by neophyte devotees. Such neophytes are described by Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura: sarva-prani-sammananasamarthanam avajna spardhadimatam tu bhagavat-pratimaiva patram ity aha. For those who cannot properly appreciate the activities of authorized devotees, Deity worship is the only way for spiritual advancement. In the Caitanya-caritamrta (Antya 7.11) it is clearly said, krsna-sakti vina nahe tara pravartana: without being authorized by Krsna, one cannot preach the holy name of the Lord throughout the entire world. Nevertheless, a devotee who does so is criticized by neophyte devotees, kanistha-adhikaris, who are on the lower stages of devotional service. For them, Deity worship is strongly recommended.

SB7.14.40

TEXT 40

tato ’rcayam harim kecit

samsraddhaya saparyaya

upasata upastapi

narthada purusa-dvisam

tatah—thereafter; arcayam—the Deity; harim—who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead (the form of the Lord being identical with the Lord); kecit—someone; samsraddhaya—with great faith; saparyaya—and with the required paraphernalia; upasate—worships; upasta api—although worshiping the Deity (with faith and regularity); na—not; artha-da—beneficial; purusa-dvisam—for those who are envious of Lord Visnu and His devotees.

Sometimes a neophyte devotee offers all the paraphernalia for worshiping the Lord, and he factually worships the Lord as the Deity, but because he is envious of the authorized devotees of Lord Visnu, the Lord is never satisfied with his devotional service.

Deity worship is especially meant for purifying the neophyte devotees. Actually, however, preaching is more important. In Bhagavad-gita (18.69) it is said, na ca tasman manusyesu kascin me priya-krttamah: if one wants to be recognized by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he must preach the glories of the Lord. One who worships the Deity must therefore be extremely respectful to preachers; otherwise simply worshiping the Deity will keep one in the lower stage of devotion.

SB7.14.41

TEXT 41

purusesv api rajendra

supatram brahmanam viduh

tapasa vidyaya tustya

dhatte vedam hares tanum

purusesu—among persons; api—indeed; raja-indra—O best of kings; su-patram—the best person; brahmanam—the qualified brahmana; viduh—one should know; tapasa—due to austerity; vidyaya—education; tustya—and satisfaction; dhatte—he assumes; vedam—the transcendental knowledge known as Veda; hareh—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; tanum—body, or representation.

My dear King, of all persons a qualified brahmana must be accepted as the best within this material world because such a brahmana, by practicing austerity, Vedic studies and satisfaction, becomes the counterpart body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

From the Vedas we learn that the Personality of Godhead is the Supreme Person. Every living entity is an individual person, and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is the Supreme Person. A brahmana who is well versed in Vedic knowledge and fully conversant with transcendental matters becomes a representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore one should worship such a brahmana or Vaisnava. A Vaisnava is superior to a brahmana because whereas a brahmana knows that he is Brahman, not matter, a Vaisnava knows that he is not only Brahman but also an eternal servant of the Supreme Brahman. Therefore, worship of a Vaisnava is superior to worship of the Deity in the temple. Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura says, saksad dharitvena samasta-sastraih: in all the scriptures the spiritual master, who is the best of the brahmanas, the best of the Vaisnavas, is considered to be as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This does not mean, however, that the Vaisnava thinks himself God, for this is blasphemous. Although a brahmana or Vaisnava is worshiped as being as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, such a devotee always remains a faithful servant of the Lord and never tries to enjoy the prestige that might accrue to him from being the Supreme Lord’s representative.

SB7.14.42

TEXT 42

nanv asya brahmana rajan

krsnasya jagad-atmanah

punantah pada-rajasa

tri-lokim daivatam mahat

nanu—but; asya—by Him; brahmanah—the qualified brahmanas; rajan—O King; krsnasya—by Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; jagat-atmanah—who is the life and soul of the whole creation; punantah—sanctifying; pada-rajasa—by the dust of their lotus feet; tri-lokim—the three worlds; daivatam—worshipable; mahat—most exalted.

My dear King Yudhisthira, the brahmanas, especially those engaged in preaching the glories of the Lord throughout the entire world, are recognized and worshiped by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the heart and soul of all creation. The brahmanas, by their preaching, sanctify the three worlds with the dust of their lotus feet, and thus they are worshipable even for Krsna.