Verse 2.1.235

Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 2.1.235:

অন্যথা না ভজে কৃষ্ণ, দুষ্ট-সঙ্গ করে পুনঃ সেই-মত মাযা-পাপে ডুবি’ মরে ॥ ২৩৫ ॥

अन्यथा ना भजे कृष्ण, दुष्ट-सङ्ग करे पुनः सेइ-मत माया-पापे डुबि’ मरे ॥ २३५ ॥

anyathā nā bhaje kṛṣṇa, duṣṭa-saṅga kare punaḥ sei-mata māyā-pāpe ḍubi’ mare || 235 ||

anyatha na bhaje krsna, dusta-sanga kare punah sei-mata maya-pape dubi’ mare (235)

English translation:

(235) “But if he does not worship Kṛṣṇa and takes to bad association, then he again sinks into the depths of sinful activities and delusion.

Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:

The word anyathā means “on the other hand,” “apart from this,” or “on the contrary.”

The phrase māyā-pāpe refers to either forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa due to the influence of māyā or the ocean of sin accumulated through aversion to Kṛṣṇa.

The wicked propensity of dishonest nondevotees is to give up the service of Kṛṣṇa and endeavor for extraneous desires, karma, or jñāna. They consider spiritual objects to be limited and insignificant, and while measuring them with their sensual knowledge they become materialistic. Those living entities who are extremely unfortunate and devoid of taste for the service of Kṛṣṇa meet death by drowning in the ocean of material existence created by māyā. The attempt to measure everything through material senses is simply aversion to and forgetfulness of the Lord.

Material knowledge carries away such conditioned souls in the waves of piety and impiety and ultimately compels them to suffer the pangs of birth and death by drowning them in the deep waters of material

existence.

In the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (11.26.3) Lord Kṛṣṇa speaks to Uddhava as follows:

saṅgaṃ na kuryād asatāṃ śiśnodara-tṛpāṃ kvacit tasyānugas tamasy andhe pataty andhānugāndha-vat

bellies. By following them one falls into the deepest pit of darkness, just like a blind man who follows another blind man.”