witches

By these symptoms alone one can be understood to be elevated to the topmost position of devotional service. And it is with such transcendental loving service alone that one can surpass the influence of Maya, and can relish pure love of Godhead. So long as one has the desire for material benefit, or for liberation, which are called the two witches of allurement, one cannot relish the taste of transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord.    (More...)

However, the perfect spiritual concept of life is complete knowledge of one's constitutional position, and thus one knows enough to dovetail himself in the transcendental loving service to the Lord. One must know that he is finite and that the Lord is infinite. Thus it is not possible to actually become one with the Lord even if one aspires for this. It is simply not possible. Therefore, anyone who has any desire or aspiration for satisfying his senses by becoming more and more important, either in the material sense or in the spiritual sense, cannot actually relish the really sweet taste of devotional service. Srila Rupa Gosvami has therefore compared possessing these bhukti (material) and mukti (liberation) desires with being influenced by the black art of a witch: in both cases one is in trouble. Bhukti means material enjoyment, and mukti means to become freed from material anxiety and to become one with the Lord. These desires are compared to being haunted by ghosts and witches, because while these aspirations for material enjoyment or spiritual oneness with the supreme remain, no one can relish the actual transcendental taste of devotional service.    (More...)