82
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 2, Ch. 2]
beginning from the feet. One should not try to go upwards artificially without seeing for himself how much he has been released from the sex desire. The smiling face of the Lord is the Tenth Canto of  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam , and there are many upstarts who at once try to begin with the Tenth Canto and especially with the five chapters which delineate the  rāsa-līlā  of the Lord. This is certainly improper. By such improper study or hearing of  Bhāgavatam , the material opportunists have played havoc by indulgence of sex life in the name of  Bhāgavatam . This vilification of  Bhāgavatam  is rendered by the acts of the so-called devotees; one should be free from all kinds of sex desire before he tries to make a show of recital of  Bhāgavatam . Śrī Viśvanātha Cakravartī Thākur clearly defines the import of purification as cessation from sex indulgence. He says “ yathā yathā dhīś ca śudhyati viṣaya-lāmpaṭyam tyajati tathā tathā dhārayed iti citta-śuddha-tāratamyenaiva dhyāna-tāratamyam. ” And as one gets free from the intoxication of sex indulgence by purification of intelligence, one should step forward for the next meditation, or in other words, the progress of meditation on the different limbs of the transcendental body of the Lord should be enhanced in proportion to the progress of purification of the heart. The conclusion is that those who are still entrapped by sex indulgence should never progress to meditation above the feet of the Lord; therefore recital of  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  by them should be restricted within the First and Second Cantos of the great literature. The purificatory process must be completed by assimilating the contents of the first nine cantos. Then one should be admitted into the realm of the Tenth Canto of  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam .
TEXT 13
एकैकशोऽङ्गानि धियानुभावयेत्
पादादि यावद्धसितं गदाभृतः ।
जितं जितं स्थानमपोह्य धारयेत्
परं परं शुद्ध्यति धीर्यथा यथा ॥१३॥
ekaikaśo 'ṅgāni dhiyānubhāvayet
pādādi yāvadd hasitam gadā-bhṛtaḥ
jitam jitam sthānam apohya dhārayet
param param śuddhyati dhīr yathā yathā