Text 22

Śrī Manaḥ-śikṣa (6) states:

अरे चेतः प्रोद्यत्-कपट-कुटिनाटी-भर-खरक्षरन्-मूत्रे स्नात्वा दहसि कथम् आत्मानम् अपि माम्
सदा त्वं गान्धर्वा-गिरिधर-पद-प्रेम-विलसत् सुधाम्भोधौ स्नात्वा स्वम् अपि नितरां मां च सुखय

are cetaḥ prodyat-kapaṭa-kuṭināṭī-bhara-kharakṣaran-mūtre snātvā dahasi katham ātmānam api mām
sadā tvaṃ gāndharvā-giridhara-pada-prema-vilasat sudhāmbhodhau snātvā svam api nitarāṃ māṃ ca sukhaya

[In spite of having subdued the enemies of lust and anger, one may not have conquered the great enemy of deceit. This verse instructs us how to gain victory over this powerful enemy.] O wicked mind, although you adopt the path of sādhana, you imagine yourself purified by bathing in the trickling urine of the great donkey of fullblown deceit and hypocrisy. By doing so, you are simultaneously burning yourself and scorching me, a tiny jīva. Stop this! Delight yourself and me by eternally bathing in the nectarean ocean of pure love for the lotus feet of the Divine Couple, Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa.

प्रतिष्ठाशा कुटीनाटी यत्ने कर दूर
ताहा हैले नामे रति पाइबे प्रचुर

pratiṣṭhāśā kuṭīnāṭī yatne kara dūra
tāhā haile nāme rati pāibe pracura

Commentary: Bhajana-rahasya-vṛtti:

The abundance of deceit and hypocrisy that are clearly evident in a sādhaka, even though he has adopted the path of sādhana, are compared to the urine of a donkey. Considering oneself intently engaged in bhajana while remaining devious and hypoc ritical is like considering oneself pure after bathing in the filthy, burning urine of a donkey. The duty of a sādhaka is to carefully abandon these bad qualities.

There are three kinds of bhakti-sādhakas: svaniṣṭha, pariniṣṭhita and nirapekṣa. The hypocrisy that can be demonstrated by each is described below.

The svaniṣṭha-sādhaka is a householder devotee who serves Śrī Hari and completely abandons the rules and prohibitions prescribed within varṇāśrama. The deceits of such sādhakas are to indulge in sense enjoyment on the pretext of sādhana-bhakti; to serve wealthy and inf luential materialists instead of unpretentious devotees; to accumulate more wealth than necessary; to be enthusiastic for futile, temporary enterprises; to indulge in false doctrines; and to adopt the dress of a renunciant in order to obtain material prestige.

The pariniṣṭhita-sādhaka is a householder devotee who serves and worships the Supreme Lord according to rules and regulations. His deceit is that externally he makes a show of strict adherence to rules and regulations (pariniṣṭhita ), but inwardly he remains attached to material objects. He also prefers the association of jñānīs, yogīs, philanthropists and materialists to that of resolute, loving devotees.

The deceit of the nirapekṣa-sādhaka (the renunciant) is that he maintains pride by thinking himself to be the topmost Vaiṣṇava; he adopts the dress of a renunciant and due to false ego regards other sādhakas as inferior; he collects wealth and other material assets; he associates with women and materialistic people;he collects wealth in the name of bhajana; he is overly attached to the external dress and rules of the renounced order and thereby weakens his affection for Śrī Kṛṣṇa; and so forth.

A person should give up all this deceit and immerse himself in the nectarean ocean of pure transcendental pastimes that is born of prema for the lotus feet of the Divine Couple. The prayers expressed in the writings of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and others in our disciplic succession (guru-varga) point the sādhaka in the proper direction. One should take guidance from these prayers and perform sādhana while remembering within the heart the Divine Couple’s eternal eightfold daily pastimes (aṣṭa-kālīya-līlā).