Verse 1.7.173

Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 1.7.173:

প্রভু বোলে,—“মাতা, তুমি বড শিশু-মতি! অপবিত্র স্থানে কভু মোর নহে স্থিতি ॥ ১৭৩ ॥

प्रभु बोले,—“माता, तुमि बड शिशु-मति! अपवित्र स्थाने कभु मोर नहे स्थिति ॥ १७३ ॥

prabhu bole,—“mātā, tumi baḍa śiśu-mati! apavitra sthāne kabhu mora nahe sthiti || 173 ||

prabhu bole,—“mata, tumi bada sisu-mati! apavitra sthane kabhu mora nahe sthiti (173)

English translation:

(173) The Lord replied, “My dear mother, you are very childish. I am never in an impure place.

Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:

It is stated in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Antya 4.176):

‘dvaite’ bhadrābhadra-jñāna, saba—’manodharma’ ‘ei bhāla, ei manda’,—ei saba ‘bhrama’

“In the material world, conceptions of good and bad are all mental speculations. Therefore, saying, ‘This is good, and this is bad,’ is all a

mistake.” And in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (11.28.4) it is said:

kiṃ bhadraṃ kim abhadraṃ vā dvaitasyāvastunaḥ kiyat vācoditaṃ tad anṛtaṃ manasā dhyātam eva ca

“Anything not conceived in relationship to Kṛṣṇa should be understood to be illusion [māyā]. None of the illusions uttered by words or conceived in the mind are factual. Because illusion is not factual, there is no distinction between what we think is good and what we think is bad.

When we speak of the Absolute Truth, such speculations do not apply.” The considerations of purity and impurity accepted by attached householders who follow the doctrine of the nondevotional materialistic smārtas are not accepted by the Vaiṣṇava smṛtis. According to Vaiṣṇava smṛtis, the service and ingredients of service offered for the pleasure of the Lord can never be considered unpalatable, perverted, or impure. This pure consideration found in the Vaiṣṇava smṛtis and propounded by Śrī Gaurasundara has created havoc in the material rules and regulations of the smārtas who are maddened by mundane sensual knowledge.

In the Padma Purāṇa it is stated:

naivedyaṃ jagadīśasya anna-pānādikaṃ ca yat brahmavan-nirvikāram hi yathā viṣṇus tathaiva tat

“Those foodstuffs and beverages that are offered to Kṛṣṇa are transcendental, incorruptible, and nondifferent from Viṣṇu.” Foodstuffs that are offerable to Viṣṇu are called naivedya. Abominable items can never be viṣṇu-naivedya. According to Vaiṣṇava smṛti a Vaiṣṇava should never discriminate between mundane purity and impurity, rather he should see everything in relation to Viṣṇu. Pure Vaiṣṇavas are naturally inclined towards the spiritual principles of liberated personalities and do not have ordinary mundane vision. The following statements of the scriptures may be discussed in this regard.

surarṣe vihitā śāstre harim uddiśya yā kriyā saiva bhaktir iti proktā yayā bhaktiḥ parā bhavet

“My dear Nārada, O sage among the demigods, those activities prescribed in the revealed scriptures for satisfying the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Hari, are called the regulative principles of bhakti, (sādhana-bhakti), by practicing which one may attain the highest bhakti (prema).”

laukikī vaidikī vāpi yā kriyā kriyate mune hari-sevānukūlaiva sa kāryā bhaktim icchatā

“One should perform only those activities—either worldly or prescribed by Vedic rules and regulations—which are favorable for the cultivation of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.”

ihā yasya harer dāsye karmaṇā manasā girā nikhilāsv apy avasthāsu jīvan-muktaḥ sa ucyate

“A person who acts in the service of Kṛṣṇa with his body, mind, intelligence, and words is a liberated person, even within the material world.”

The consideration of purity and impurity found in Vaiṣṇava literature is different from that of the smārtas. A person’s purity and superiority depends on his inclination towards the service of the Supreme Absolute Truth after giving up material considerations. (This is the purport for verses 173-179.)