SB 01.05.25 ucchista-lepan anumodito dvijaih... cited

Expressions researched:
"evam pravrttasya visuddha-cetasas" |"sakrt sma bhunje tad-apasta-kilbisah" |"tad-dharma evatma-rucih prajayate" |"ucchista-lepan anumodito dvijaih"

BG Chapters 7 - 12

BG 9.2, Purport:

It is said that the execution of devotional service is so perfect that one can perceive the results directly. This direct result is actually perceived, and we have practical experience that any person who is chanting the holy names of Kṛṣṇa (Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare) in course of chanting without offenses feels some transcendental pleasure and very quickly becomes purified of all material contamination. This is actually seen. Furthermore, if one engages not only in hearing but in trying to broadcast the message of devotional activities as well, or if he engages himself in helping the missionary activities of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he gradually feels spiritual progress. This advancement in spiritual life does not depend on any kind of previous education or qualification. The method itself is so pure that by simply engaging in it one becomes pure.

In the Vedānta-sūtra (3.2.26) this is also described in the following words: prakāśaś ca karmaṇy abhyāsāt. "Devotional service is so potent that simply by engaging in the activities of devotional service one becomes enlightened without a doubt." A practical example of this can be seen in the previous life of Nārada, who in that life happened to be the son of a maidservant. He had no education, nor was he born into a high family. But when his mother was engaged in serving great devotees, Nārada also became engaged, and sometimes, in the absence of his mother, he would serve the great devotees himself. Nārada personally says,

ucchiṣṭa-lepān anumodito dvijaiḥ

sakṛt sma bhuñje tad-apāsta-kilbiṣaḥ

evaṁ pravṛttasya viśuddha-cetasas

tad-dharma evātma-ruciḥ prajāyate

In this verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.5.25) Nārada describes his previous life to his disciple Vyāsadeva. He says that while engaged as a boy servant for those purified devotees during the four months of their stay, he was intimately associating with them. Sometimes those sages left remnants of food on their dishes, and the boy, who would wash their dishes, wanted to taste the remnants. So he asked the great devotees for their permission, and when they gave it Nārada ate those remnants and consequently became freed from all sinful reactions. As he went on eating, he gradually became as pure-hearted as the sages. The great devotees relished the taste of unceasing devotional service to the Lord by hearing and chanting, and Nārada gradually developed the same taste. Nārada says further,

tatrānvahaṁ kṛṣṇa-kathāḥ pragāyatām

anugraheṇāśṛṇavaṁ manoharāḥ

tāḥ śraddhayā me 'nupadaṁ viśṛṇvataḥ

priyaśravasy aṅga mamābhavad ruciḥ

By associating with the sages, Nārada got the taste for hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord, and he developed a great desire for devotional service. Therefore, as described in the Vedānta-sūtra, prakāśaś ca karmaṇy abhyāsāt: if one is engaged simply in the acts of devotional service, everything is revealed to him automatically, and he can understand. This is called pratyakṣa, directly perceived.

SB Canto 1

SB 1.5.25, Translation and Purport:

Once only, by their permission, I took the remnants of their food, and by so doing all my sins were at once eradicated. Thus being engaged, I became purified in heart, and at that time the very nature of the transcendentalist became attractive to me.

Pure devotion is as much infectious, in a good sense, as infectious diseases. A pure devotee is cleared from all kinds of sins. The Personality of Godhead is the purest entity, and unless one is equally pure from the infection of material qualities, one cannot become a pure devotee of the Lord. The bhakti-vedāntas as above mentioned were pure devotees, and the boy became infected with their qualities of purity by their association and by eating once the remnants of the foodstuff taken by them. Such remnants may be taken even without permission of the pure devotees. There are sometimes pseudodevotees, and one should be very much cautious about them. There are many things which hinder one from entering devotional service. But by the association of pure devotees all these obstacles are removed. The neophyte devotee becomes practically enriched with the transcendental qualities of the pure devotee, which means attraction for the Personality of Godhead's name, fame, quality, pastimes, etc. Infection of the qualities of the pure devotee means to imbibe the taste of pure devotion always in the transcendental activities of the Personality of Godhead. This transcendental taste at once makes all material things distasteful. Therefore a pure devotee is not at all attracted by material activities. After the elimination of all sins or obstacles on the path of devotional service, one can become attracted, one can have steadiness, one can have perfect taste, one can have transcendental emotions, and at last one can be situated on the plane of loving service of the Lord. All these stages develop by the association of pure devotees, and that is the purport of this stanza.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.5.25 -- Vrndavana, August 6, 1974:

Nitāi: Translation: "Once only, by their permission, I took the remnants of their food, and by so doing, all my sins were at once eradicated. Thus being engaged, I became purified in heart, and at that time the very nature of the transcendentalist became attractive to me."

Prabhupāda:

ucchiṣṭa-lepān anumodito dvijaiḥ

sakṛt sma bhuñje tad-apāsta-kilbiṣaḥ

evaṁ pravṛttasya viśuddha-cetasas

tad-dharma evātma-ruciḥ prajāyate

(SB 1.5.25)

Very simple process of awakening Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This ātma-ruciḥ... Ātma-ruciḥ means attraction for the self, or soul. There are ātmā. Ātmā means sometimes this body. Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke (SB 10.84.13). Gross materialists, they think that "I am this body." That is also ātma-ruciḥ. They are busy to maintain this body, to decorate this body, to feed this body, to satisfy the senses of the body. This is also ātma-ruciḥ, because the body is also called ātmā. So this is another ātma-ruciḥ, materialist. Then ātmā means mind also, mental speculation, very much busy in mental speculation. That is also ātma-ruciḥ. And the, the topmost ātma-ruciḥ, topmost means that is real ātma-ruciḥ, to be attracted by the self or Superself. That is ātma-ruciḥ.

So our business is to awaken that Supreme ātma-ruciḥ. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Supreme ātma-ruciḥ, supreme ātmā. Kṛṣṇa says, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat (BG 7.7). You can take in different platform different kinds of attraction, but when our attraction is in Kṛṣṇa, that is supreme. So... Just like for bodily comforts, there are so many scientists, physiologists, biologists. They are trying to understand the constitution of the body. They are busy. And similarly, mental speculators, philosophers, they are also busy. Similarly, the ultimate ātma-ruciḥ if we want to know, then we should be busy with such persons who are engaged in that type of ātma-ruciḥ. That is called sādhu-saṅga (CC Madhya 22.83). Saṅgāt sañjāyate kāmaḥ. As you associate, so your desires become, I mean to say, attached.

So here it is said that dvijaiḥ..., ucchiṣṭa-lepān anumodito dvijaiḥ. Dvijaiḥ, the brāhmaṇa... And the supreme brāhmaṇa is the devotee, kṛṣṇaika-śaraṇa. So Nārada Muni, in his previous birth, he was engaged in washing the dishes, eating the foodstuffs left by the dvijaiḥ, by the brāhmaṇas. In this way he infected their disease. As in ordinary material sense if you eat the remnants of foodstuff of a diseased fellow, then you infect that disease. Therefore sometimes when there is a patient suffering from tuberculosis, it is strictly separated from the family to another room or another house so that... It is very infectious. Cholera is very infectious. Smallpox is very much infectious. There are many infectious disease. So as you infect this material disease by eating the foodstuff left by a diseased fellow, similarly, if you eat the remnants of foodstuff left by a Vaiṣṇava you become Vaiṣṇava. This is infection. So we should voluntarily accept this infection. The other infection we should avoid, but this infection we shall welcome. But the process is the same. Paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate (BG 2.59). You can refrain from the lower class of infection simply by infecting yourself with the higher class, or transcendental class of infection.

So Nārada Muni, he was a small boy. It was not possible for him to study Vedānta or philosophy. He was not even educated. But still, simply by eating the remnants of foodstuff left by the devotees, dvijaiḥ, he became so exalted. The explanation is given there that evaṁ pravṛttasya viśuddha-cetasaḥ. "Because I was engaged in this service, gradually my heart became cleansed." Viśuddha-cetasaḥ. Cetasaḥ means heart. So actually, Kṛṣṇa consciousness is there. As it is stated in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-bhakti. Because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa... Just like father and son. However there may be misunderstanding, but if the father and son come together and their affectionate dealing is begun, immediately original relationship is revived. It does not take much time. Similarly, we are already related with Kṛṣṇa because Kṛṣṇa says, mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ: (BG 15.7) "All living entities, they are My part and parcel." Ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā: (BG 14.4) "I am the seed-giving father." So how this relation can be broken? That is not possible. That is already there eternally.

Therefore it is said in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-bhakti. Nitya-siddha means eternally perfect. It is not that we are artificially acquiring this kṛṣṇa-bhakti. No, it is not artificial. It is natural. This is actual fact. So we are simply... Because our present, in the present material condition, our heart is covered with so much garbage of different types of body... Just like all of a sudden something comes to your mind. It has no connection. Just like a bubble, comes out. Because so many dirty things are reserved on account of our material conditional life for millions and millions of years. Anādi karama-phale paḍi' bhavārṇava-jale. Anādi, we cannot... Anādi means... Ādi means the creation. So before this creation. Bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate (BG 8.19). We are in this material contamination not that in this millennium-before that. Just like millennium after millennium. Nārada Muni was speaking his life before this millennium. So anādi. Anādi means creation. But not only one creation, several creations, we are forgotten, or we are in this material world. Kṛṣṇa-bahirmukha hañā bhoga vāñchā... We are searching after material comfort, material comfort, sense gratification, in so many ways. So anādi karama-phale paḍi' bhavārṇava-jale, taribāre nā dekhi upāya. In this way we are going.

Lecture on SB 1.5.25 -- Vrndavana, August 6, 1974:

Simply chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. That is the only way. There is no other method. There are methods, but you cannot perform it. You are so condemned. "You" means we also, everyone. We are so condemned and the age is so condemned that it is very, very difficult. It is not possible. And another process is this, as Nārada Muni says, ucchiṣṭa-lepān anumodito dvijaiḥ. To serve the devotees, a pure devotee. If you serve some way or other, you contaminate his quality. Tad-dharma. Sakṛt bhuñje. One side is apāsta-kilbiṣaḥ. Kilbiṣaḥ means the sinful reaction of life. To reduce the reaction of sinful life. Because unless we are sinful, we cannot remain within this... A prisoner means a criminal. As soon as you find a person in the prisonhouse you should understand that he's a criminal. That criminality may be of different degrees, that is another thing, but he's a criminal. Similarly, anyone, beginning from Brahmā down to the germ in the stool, they're all sinful. All sinful. People will be surprised that "Brahmā is also sinful?" Yes. Brahmā has also desired that "I shall be the supreme creature within this brahmāṇḍa, whole universe." A little or more.