creeper of devotion (bhakti lata bija)
|
Imported quote 13578 Prthu Maharaja has explained in the previous verse the importance of devotional service for both the rulers and the citizens of the state. Now he explains how one can be steadily fixed in devotional service. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, while instructing Srila Rūpa Gosvami, has compared the devotional service of the Lord with a creeper. A creeper has a feeble stem and requires the support of another tree to grow, and while growing, it requires sufficient protection so that it may not be lost. While describing the system of protection for the creeper of devotional service, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has especially stressed protection from offenses unto the lotus feet of Vaisnavas. This is called vaisnavaparadha. Aparadha means offense. If one commits vaisnavaparadha, all of his progress in devotional service will be checked. Even though one is very much advanced in devotional service, if he commits offenses at the feet of a Vaisnava, his advancement is all spoiled. In the sastras it is found that a very great yogi, Durvasa Muni, committed a vaisnavaparadha, and thus for one full year had to travel all over the universe, even to Vaikunthaloka, to defend himself from the offense. At last, even when he approached the Supreme Personality of Godhead in Vaikuntha, he was refused protection. Therefore one should be very careful about committing offenses at the feet of a Vaisnava. The most grievous type of vaisnavaparadha is called gurv-aparadha, which refers to offenses at the lotus feet of the spiritual master. In the chanting of the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, this gurv-aparadha is considered the most grievous offense. Guror avajna sruti-sastra-nindanam (Padma Purana). Among the ten offenses committed against the chanting of the holy name, the first offenses are disobedience of the spiritual master and blasphemy of the Vedic literature.
(More...) Imported quote 13679 Simple negation, or giving up the company of materialistic persons, will not do. We must have engagements. Sometimes it is found that a person interested in spiritual advancement gives up the company of material society and goes to a secluded place as recommended for the yogis especially, but that will also not help a person in spiritual advancement, for in many instances such yogis also fall down. As far as jnanis are concerned, generally they fall down without taking shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord. The impersonalists or the voidists can simply avoid the positive material association; they cannot remain fixed in transcendence without being engaged in devotional service. The beginning of devotional service is to hear about the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is recommended in this verse: vina harer guna-piyūsa-panat. One must drink the nectar of the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and this means that one must be always engaged in hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord. It is the prime method for advancing in spiritual life. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu also recommends this in the Caitanya-caritamrta. If one wants to make advancement in spiritual life, by great fortune he may meet a bona fide spiritual master and from him learn about Krsna. By serving both the spiritual master and Krsna he gets the seed of devotional service (bhakti-lata-bija), and if he sows the seed within his heart and waters it by hearing and chanting, it grows into a luxuriant bhakti-lata or bhakti creeper. The creeper is so strong that it penetrates the covering of the universe and reaches the spiritual world and continues to grow on and on until it reaches and takes shelter of the lotus feet of Krsna. An ordinary creeper also grows on and on until it takes a solid shelter on a roof; then it very steadily grows and produces the required fruit. The real cause of the growing of such fruit, which is here called nectar, is hearing and chanting the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The purport is that one cannot live outside the society of devotees; one must live in the association of devotees, where there is constant chanting and hearing of the glories of the Lord. The Krsna consciousness movement is started for this purpose, and there are hundreds of ISKCON centers to give opportunity to all people to hear and chant and to accept the spiritual master. By not associating with persons who are materially interested, one can make solid advancement in going back home, back to Godhead.
(More...) Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/?qg=1549
|