Pilgrimage For Crows

The Srimad-Bhagavatam deals with such literatures. In the First Canto, Chapter Five, it is stated, "Those words which do not describe the glories of the Lord, who alone can sanctify the atmosphere of the whole universe, are considered by saintly persons to be like unto a place of pilgrimage for crows. Since the all-perfect persons are inhabitants of the transcendental abode, they do not derive any pleasure there." In his purport to this verse His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada has written: "Crows and swans are not birds of the same feather, because of their different mental attitudes. The fruitive workers or passionate men are compared to the crows, whereas the all-perfect saintly persons are compared to swans. The crows take pleasure in a place where refused remnants of foodstuffs are thrown out, just as the passionate fruitive workers take pleasure in wine, women, and places for gross sense pleasure. The swans do not take pleasure in the places where the crows are assembled for conferences and meetings. They are instead seen in an atmosphere of natural scenic beauty where there are transparent reservoirs of water nicely decorated with stems of lotus flowers in variegated colors of natural beauty. That is the difference between the two classes of birds. Similarly, there are different kinds of literature for different kinds of men. Mostly the market literatures which attract men of the crow's category are literatures containing refused remnants of sensuous topics. They are generally known as mundane talks in relation with the gross body and subtle mind. They are full of subject matter described in decorative language full of mundane similes and metaphorical arrangements. Yet with all that, they are devoid of glorification of the Lord. Such poetry and prose, on any subject matter, is considered decoration of the dead body and the superficial agitated mind. Spiritually advanced men who are compared to the swans do not take pleasure in such dead literatures, which are sources of pleasure for men who are spiritually dead. These literatures in the modes of passion and ignorance are distributed under different labels; but they can hardly help the spiritual urge of the human being, and therefore the swanlike spiritually advanced men have nothing to do with such mundane remnants. Social literary men, scientists, mundane poets, theoretical philosophers and politicians who are completely absorbed in the material advancement of sense pleasure are all dolls of the material energy. They take pleasure in a place where rejected subject matters are thrown. According to Svami Sridhara, this is the pleasure of the prostitute hunters."