176
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 7, Ch. 14]
country or neighborhood;  śreyasām —of all auspiciousness;  padam —the place;  yatra —wherever;  gaṅgā-ādayaḥ —like the Ganges, Yamunā, Narmadā and Kāverī;  nadyaḥ —sacred rivers;  purāṇeṣu —in the  Purāṇas  (supplementary Vedic literature);  ca —also;  viśrutāḥ —are celebrated.
TRANSLATION
Auspicious indeed are the places where there is a temple of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, in which He is duly worshiped, and also the places where there flow the celebrated sacred rivers mentioned in the  Purāṇas , the supplementary Vedic literatures. Anything spiritual done there is certainly very effective.
PURPORT
There are many atheists who oppose the worship of the Deity of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the temple. In this verse, however, it is authoritatively stated that any place where the Deity is worshiped is transcendental; it does not belong to the material world. It is also said that the forest is in the mode of goodness, and therefore those who want to cultivate spiritual life are advised to go to the forest ( vanaṁ gato yad dharim āśrayeta ). But one should not go to the forest simply to live like a monkey. Monkeys and other ferocious animals also live in the forest, but a person who goes to the forest for spiritual culture must accept the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as shelter ( vanaṁ gato yad dharim āśrayeta ). One should not be satisfied simply to go to the forest; one must take shelter of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this age, therefore, since it is impossible to go to the forest for spiritual culture, one is recommended to live in the temple community as a devotee, regularly worship the Deity, follow the regulative principles and thus make the place like Vaikuṇṭha. The forest may be in goodness, the cities and villages in passion, and the brothels, hotels and restaurants in ignorance, but when one lives in the temple community he lives in Vaikuṇṭha. Therefore it is said here,  śreyasāṁ padam : it is the best, most auspicious place.
In many places throughout the world we are constructing communities to give shelter to devotees and worship the Deity in the temple. The Deity cannot be worshiped except by devotees. Temple worshipers who