Verse 2.1.220-221

Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 2.1.220-221:

যেখানে তোমার নাহি যশের প্রচার যথা নাহি বৈষ্ণব-জনের অবতার যেখানে তোমার যাত্রা-মহোত্সব নাই ইন্দ্রলোক হৈলে ও তাহা নাহি চাই ॥ ২২০-২২১ ॥

येखाने तोमार नाहि यशेर प्रचार यथा नाहि वैष्णव-जनेर अवतार येखाने तोमार यात्रा-महोत्सव नाइ इन्द्रलोक हैले ओ ताहा नाहि चाइ ॥ २२०-२२१ ॥

yekhāne tomāra nāhi yaśera pracāra yathā nāhi vaiṣṇava-janera avatāra yekhāne tomāra yātrā-mahotsava nāi indraloka haile o tāhā nāhi cāi || 220-221 ||

yekhane tomara nahi yasera pracara yatha nahi vaisnava-janera avatara yekhane tomara yatra-mahotsava nai indraloka haile o taha nahi cai (220-221)

English translation:

(220-221) “Any place where Your glories are not heard, where the Vaiṣṇavas do not advent, and where there are no festivals for Your pleasure—I do not wish to live there even if it is the celestial abode of Indra.

Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:

Any place devoid of glorification of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental qualities and filled with improper behavior in the form of glorification of

the conditioned souls’ perishable qualities; any place where no pure devotees from Vaikuṇṭha have advented and glorified the names, forms, qualities, and pastimes of Kṛṣṇa, which are nondifferent from Kṛṣṇa; any place where the prowess of the Supreme Lord is not manifest; and any place where no festivals are celebrated for the pleasure of the Lord—even though such a place avails sense gratification equal to that of Amarāvatī, the abode of Indra, I do not desire it.

The phrase tridaśa-pūr ākāśa-puṣpāyate—“seeing promotion to the heavenly planets as equal to a will-o’-the-wisp” can only be applicable to one who has realized the service of Adhokṣaja, who is beyond sense perception; in other words, it can only be applicable to one who has no propensity to enjoy the external world. Since the materialists have intense desires for sense gratification, they have no possibility for remembering Vaikuṇṭha or Lord Viṣṇu. That is why they disregard Viṣṇu’s devotional service, which is devoid of other desires and which is the shelter of selfless action, and they glorify the heavenly planets, which are ideal for sense gratification.