Understanding Srimad Bhagavatam 1.5.19

[Paramananda das]

dear devotees

Please accept my humble obaisences

All glories to Srila Prabhupada

 

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.5.19

na vai jano jātu kathañcanāvrajen

mukunda-sevy anyavad ańga saḿsṛtim

smaran mukundāńghry-upagūhanaḿ punar

vihātum icchen na rasa-graho janaḥ

SYNONYMS

na — never; vai — certainly; janaḥ — a person; jātu — at any time; kathañcana — somehow or other; āvrajet — does not undergo; mukunda-sevī — the devotee of the Lord; anyavat — like others; ańga — O my dear; saḿsṛtim — material existence; smaran — remembering; mukunda-ańghri — the lotus feet of the Lord; upagūhanam — embracing; punaḥ — again; vihātum — willing to give up; icchet — desire; na — never; rasa-grahaḥ — one who has relished the mellow; janaḥ — person.

TRANSLATION

My dear Vyāsa, even though a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa sometimes falls down somehow or other, he certainly does not undergo material existence like others [fruitive workers, etc.] because a person who has once relished the taste of the lotus feet of the Lord can do nothing but remember that ecstasy again and again.

PURPORT

A devotee of the Lord automatically becomes uninterested in the enchantment of material existence because he is rasa-graha, or one who has tasted the sweetness of the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa. There are certainly many instances where devotees of the Lord have fallen down due to uncongenial association, just like fruitive workers, who are always prone to degradation. But even though he falls down, a devotee is never to be considered the same as a fallen karmī. A karmī suffers the result of his own fruitive reactions, whereas a devotee is reformed by chastisement directed by the Lord Himself. The sufferings of an orphan and the sufferings of a beloved child of a king are not one and the same. An orphan is really poor because he has no one to take care of him, but a beloved son of a rich man, although he appears to be on the same level as the orphan, is always under the vigilance of his capable father. A devotee of the Lord, due to wrong association, sometimes imitates the fruitive workers. The fruitive workers want to lord it over the material world. Similarly, a neophyte devotee foolishly thinks of accumulating some material power in exchange for devotional service. Such foolish devotees are sometimes put into difficulty by the Lord Himself. As a special favor, He may remove all material paraphernalia. By such action, the bewildered devotee is forsaken by all friends and relatives, and so he comes to his senses again by the mercy of the Lord and is set right to execute his devotional service.

In the Bhagavad-gītā it is also said that such fallen devotees are given a chance to take birth in a family of highly qualified brāhmaṇas or in a rich mercantile family. A devotee in such a position is not as fortunate as one who is chastised by the Lord and put into a position seemingly of helplessness. The devotee who becomes helpless by the will of the Lord is more fortunate than those who are born in good families. The fallen devotees born in a good family may forget the lotus feet of the Lord because they are less fortunate, but the devotee who is put into a forlorn condition is more fortunate because he swiftly returns to the lotus feet of the Lord, thinking himself helpless all around.

Pure devotional service is so spiritually relishable that a devotee becomes automatically uninterested in material enjoyment. That is the sign of perfection in progressive devotional service. A pure devotee continuously remembers the lotus feet of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and does not forget Him even for a moment, not even in exchange for all the opulence of the three worlds.

 

Comment :Srila Prabhupada did not give lecture on this sloka but 1.5.18 http://www.prabhupadavani.org/main/Bhagavatam/096.html

At the Ratha Yatra in Baltimore , one devotee started defending his sannyasa Guru slip into illicit sex, and stated ISKCON is pure and all Gurus are acaryas even if they fall into illicit sex like his own Guru.And he quoted Api ced sudaracaro....and stated only ISKCON is pure ,this is a very typical blind following...

 

Obviously an acarya does not engage in illicit sex life ,nor is there any excuses for illicit sex in the sannyasa asrama.We see here from this purport that such a devotee will take birth again to complete his KC.To maintain material desires is the 10th offence to Sri Nama Prabhu.Krsna consciouness is not sectarian. Sadly such persons as this neophyte fellow thinks that only ISKCON can give Krsna consciouness.This is sectarian and very dangerous .

 

My Gurudeva Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja was not part of ISKCON but a pure vaisnava that always only wanted ISKCON's wellfare, he never engaged in any improper act and strictly followed sannysa life for 60 years  daily he would chant not less than 64 rounds and avoid all the 10 offences to Sri Nama Prabhu.

Anyhow lets loook at Api ced sudaracaro in Bhagavad Gita:

 

api cet su-durācāro

bhajate mām ananya-bhāk

sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ

samyag vyavasito hi saḥ

SYNONYMS

api — even; cet — if; su-durācāraḥ — one committing the most abominable actions; bhajate — is engaged in devotional service; mām — unto Me; ananya-bhāk — without deviation; sādhuḥ — a saint; eva — certainly; saḥ — he; mantavyaḥ — is to be considered; samyak — completely; vyavasitaḥ — situated in determination; hi — certainly; saḥ — he.

TRANSLATION

Even if one commits the most abominable action, if he is engaged in devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated in his determination.

PURPORT

The word su-durācāraḥ used in this verse is very significant, and we should understand it properly. When a living entity is conditioned, he has two kinds of activities: one is conditional, and the other is constitutional. As for protecting the body or abiding by the rules of society and state, certainly there are different activities, even for the devotees, in connection with the conditional life, and such activities are called conditional. Besides these, the living entity who is fully conscious of his spiritual nature and is engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, or the devotional service of the Lord, has activities which are called transcendental. Such activities are performed in his constitutional position, and they are technically called devotional service. Now, in the conditioned state, sometimes devotional service and the conditional service in relation to the body will parallel one another. But then again, sometimes these activities become opposed to one another. As far as possible, a devotee is very cautious so that he does not do anything that could disrupt his wholesome condition. He knows that perfection in his activities depends on his progressive realization of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Sometimes, however, it may be seen that a person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness commits some act which may be taken as most abominable socially or politically. But such a temporary falldown does not disqualify him. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is stated that if a person falls down but is wholeheartedly engaged in the transcendental service of the Supreme Lord, the Lord, being situated within his heart, purifies him and excuses him from that abomination. The material contamination is so strong that even a yogī fully engaged in the service of the Lord sometimes becomes ensnared; but Kṛṣṇa consciousness is so strong that such an occasional falldown is at once rectified. Therefore the process of devotional service is always a success. No one should deride a devotee for some accidental falldown from the ideal path, for, as explained in the next verse, such occasional falldowns will be stopped in due course, as soon as a devotee is completely situated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Therefore a person who is situated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and is engaged with determination in the process of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare should be considered to be in the transcendental position, even if by chance or accident he is found to have fallen. The words sādhur eva, "he is saintly," are very emphatic. They are a warning to the nondevotees that because of an accidental falldown a devotee should not be derided; he should still be considered saintly even if he has accidentally fallen down. And the word mantavyaḥ is still more emphatic. If one does not follow this rule, and derides a devotee for his accidental falldown, then one is disobeying the order of the Supreme Lord. The only qualification of a devotee is to be unflinchingly and exclusively engaged in devotional service.

In the Nṛsiḿha Purāṇa the following statement is given:

bhagavati ca harāv ananya-cetā

bhṛśa-malino 'pi virājate manuṣyaḥ

na hi śaśa-kaluṣa-cchabiḥ kadācit

timira-parābhavatām upaiti candraḥ

The meaning is that even if one fully engaged in the devotional service of the Lord is sometimes found engaged in abominable activities, these activities should be considered to be like the spots that resemble the mark of a rabbit on the moon. Such spots do not become an impediment to the diffusion of moonlight. Similarly, the accidental falldown of a devotee from the path of saintly character does not make him abominable.

On the other hand, one should not misunderstand that a devotee in transcendental devotional service can act in all kinds of abominable ways; this verse only refers to an accident due to the strong power of material connections. Devotional service is more or less a declaration of war against the illusory energy. As long as one is not strong enough to fight the illusory energy, there may be accidental falldowns. But when one is strong enough, he is no longer subjected to such falldowns, as previously explained. No one should take advantage of this verse and commit nonsense and think that he is still a devotee. If he does not improve in his character by devotional service, then it is to be understood that he is not a high devotee.

 

I remember when I returned to ISKCON Denmark in 1986 , and devotees where asking me about Kirtananda , and I explained to them of his falldowns and implication in Sulocanas murder, one devotee  refered to this vers from Narasimha Purana, spots on the moon. However obviously killing another devotee for exposing that Kirtananda was both gay and pedofile had nothing to do with being a devotee.What to speak of having someone killed.One 12 year old boy who  contacted Radhanath Swami and told him that Kirtananda had wanted to have oral sex with him ,but Radhanath Swami stated this could not be true.( This account has been told by several devotees that used to serve in New Vrindavana)

 Both this sectarian and impious behavior is described by Krsna in Bhagavad Gita:

 

aśraddadhānāḥ puruṣā

dharmasyāsya parantapa

aprāpya māḿ nivartante

mṛtyu-saḿsāra-vartmani

BG 9.3: Those who are not faithful in this devotional service cannot attain Me, O conqueror of enemies. Therefore they return to the path of birth and death in this material world.

 

Those who can not recongnise that there is bonafide vaisnavas outside of ISKCON will surely displease Lord Krsna and again they will return to the material world, Krsna will not allow such vaisnava aparadha.

 

Surely all those who where affiliated with Kirtananda should be very humble and try to reform themselves, because accepting such a demoniac person as an acarya will surely lead to repeated birth and death. It is a bogus argument that only pure KC is found in ISKCON, and in Gaudiya math there is also many sectarian persons, this sectarian spirit is an anartha. We have to see all as spirit souls.Faithfullness to Srila Prabhupada does not mean one should become sectarian .

And yes many worship Radhanath Swami as an acarya , and though he is doing nice preaching ,I certainly would never accept him as an acarya.I just want to point out once more that this sectarian spirit is not pleasing to Krsna.Srila Prabhupada warned against some of his godbrothers that was jealous of his accomplishments, however this never included

Kesavaji Gaudiya math and disciples of Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Maharaja , nor that of Bhakti Pramod Puri Maharaja and Bhaktivaibhava Puri Maharaja.Srila Prabhupada was also close to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupadas most favorite sannyasis , Sridhara Swami ,Srila Prabhupadas godbrother.Still some made offences to Sridhara Swami and even burnt his books ,and all fell down.Similar some made very serious offences to Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja they also have left KC.

 Vaisnava aparadha is a serious matter, I pray that the Hati Mata will never trample my bhakti latta, or impede my KC.

your servant

Paramananda das