SB 2.3.23
TEXT 23
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TEXT
जीवञ्छवो भागवताङ्घ्रिरेणुं न जातु मर्त्यो ऽभिलभेत यस्तु ।
श्रीविष्णुपद्या मनुजस्तुलस्याः श्वसञ्छवो यस्तु न वेद गन्धम् ॥ २३ ॥ jivanchavo bhagavatahghri-renum
na jatu martyo 'bhilabheta yas tu
sri-visnu-padya manu-jas tulasyaḥ
svasan chavo yas tu na veda gandham
jivan-while living; savaḥ-a dead body; bhagavata-ahghri-renum-dust of the feet of a pure devotee; na-never; jatu-at any time; martyaḥ-mortal; abhilabheta-particularly received; yaḥ-a person; tu-but; sri-with opulence; visnu-padyaḥ-of the lotus feet of Visnu; manu-jaḥ-a descendant of Manu (a man); tulasyaḥ-leaves of the tulasi tree; svasan-while breathing; savaḥ-still a dead body; yaḥ-who; tu-but; na veda-never experienced; gandham-the flavor.
TRANSLATION
The person who has not at any time received the dust of the feet of a pure devotee of the Lord upon his head certainly is a dead body. And the person who has never experienced the flavor of the tulasi leaves from the lotus feet of the Lord is also a dead body, although breathing.
According to Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur, the breathing dead body is a ghost. When a man dies, he is called dead, but when he again appears in a subtle form not visible to the present vision and yet acts, such a dead body is called a ghost. Ghosts are always very bad elements, always creating a fearful situation for others. Similarly, the ghost-like nondevotees who have no respect for the pure devotees, nor for the Visnu Deity in the temples, create a fearful situation for the devotees at all times. The Lord never accepts any offering by such impure ghosts. There is a common saying that one should first love the dog of the beloved before one shows any loving sentiments for the beloved. The stage of a pure devotee is attained by sincerely serving a pure devotee of the Lord. The first condition of devotional service of the Lord is therefore to be a servant of a pure devotee, and this condition is fulfilled by the statement "reception of the dust of the lotus feet of a pure devotee who also served another pure devotee." That is the way of pure disciplic succession, or devotional parampara.
Maharaja Rahūgana inquired from the great saint Jaḍbharata as to how he attained such a liberated stage of a paramahamsa, and in answer the great saint replied as follows:
rahūganaitat tapasa na yati
na cejyaya nirvapanad grhad va na cchandasa naiva jalagni-sūryair vina mahat-pada-rajo-'bhisekam "O King Rahūgana, the perfectional stage of devotional service or the paramahamsa stage of life cannot be attained without being blessed by the dust of the feet of great devotees. It is never attained by tapasya (austerity), the Vedic worshiping process, acceptance of renounced order of life, the discharge of the duties of household life, the chanting of the Vedic hymns, or the performance of penances in the hot sun, within cold water or before the blazing fire."
In other words, Lord Sri Krsna is the property of His pure unconditional devotees, and as such only the devotees can deliver Krsna to another devotee; Krsna is never obtainable directly. Lord Caitanya therefore designated Himself as the "gopi-bhartur dasa-dasa dasanudasa," or "the most obedient servant of the servants of the Lord who maintains the gopi damsels at Vrndavana." A pure devotee therefore never approaches the Lord directly, but tries to please the Lord's servant of servants, and thus the Lord becomes pleased, and the devotee then only can relish the taste of the tulasi leaves stuck to His lotus feet. In the Brahma-samhita it is said that the Lord is never to be found by becoming a great scholar of the Vedic literatures, but He is very easily approachable through His pure devotee. In Vrndavana all the pure devotees pray for the mercy of Srimati Radharani, the pleasure potency of Lord Krsna. Srimati Radharani is a tender-hearted feminine counterpart of the supreme whole, resembling the perfectional stage of the worldly feminine nature. Therefore, the mercy of Radharani is available very readily by the sincere devotees, and once She recommends such a devotee to Lord Krsna, the Lord at once accepts the devotee's admittance in His association. The conclusion is, therefore, that one should be more serious about seeking the mercy of the devotee than that of the Lord directly, and by doing so (by the good will of the devotee) the natural attraction for the service of the Lord will be revived.
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