TEXT 155
tahan vistarita hana phale prema-phala
ihan mali sece nitya sravanadi jala
SYNONYMS
tahanthere in the spiritual world (in the Goloka Vrndavana planet); vistaritaexpanded; hanabecoming; phaleproduces; prema-phalathe fruit known as love of Godhead; ihanin the material world, where the devotee is still present; maliexactly like a gardener; secesprinkles; nityaregularly, without fail; sravana-adi jalathe 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
In Goloka Vrndavana the devotees have very intimate relationships with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The devotee engages in the Lord's service in great ecstatic love. Such love was exhibited personally by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in His teachings to the people of the material world. The fruit of the devotional creeper is pure desire to serve and please the senses of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Krsnendriya-priti-iccha dhare 'prema' nama. (Cc. Adi 4.165) In the spiritual world one has no desire other than to please the senses of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The conditioned soul within the material world can neither understand nor appreciate how the devotee in the material world can render confidential service to the Lord out of feelings of ecstatic love and always engage in pleasing the Supreme Lord's senses. Although seen within this material world, the pure devotee always engages in the confidential service of the Lord. An ordinary neophyte devotee cannot realize this; therefore it is said, vaisnavera kriya-mudra vijnaneha na bujhaya. The activities of a pure Vaisnava cannot be understood even by a learned scholar in the material world.
Every living entity is wandering within this universe in different species and on different planetary systems according to his fruitive activities. Out of many millions of living entities, one may be fortunate enough to receive the seed of bhakti-lata, the creeper of devotional service. By the grace of the spiritual master and Krsna, one nourishes the bhakti-lata by regularly sprinkling it with the water of sravana-kirtana, hearing and chanting. In this way the seed of bhakti-lata sprouts and grows up and up through the whole universe until it penetrates the covering of the material universe and reaches the spiritual world. The bhakti-lata continues to grow until it reaches the topmost planetary system, Goloka Vrndavana, where Krsna lives. There the creeper takes shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord, and that is its final destination. At that time the creeper begins to grow the fruits of ecstatic love of God. It is the duty of the devotee who nourishes the creeper to be very careful. It is said that the watering of the creeper must continue: ihan mali sece nitya sravanadi jala. It is not that at a certain stage one can stop chanting and hearing and become a mature devotee. If one stops, one certainly falls down from devotional service. Although one may be very exalted in devotional service, he should not give up the watering process of sravana-kirtana. If one gives up that process, it is due to an offense. This is described in the following verse.

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