Further Consideration of Devotional Principles 85

In the Nrsirtha Purana it is stated: ‘“‘Any person who comes before
the Deity of Lord Krsna and begins to chant different prayers is
immediately relieved from all the reactions of sinful activities and be-
comes eligible, without any doubt, to enter into the Vaikuntha-loka.”

Partaking of Prasadam

There is this specific statement in the Padma Purana: “‘A person
who honors the prasadam and regularly eats it, not exactly in front
of the Deity, along with caranamrtam [the water offered to the lotus
feet of the Lord, which is mixed with seeds of the tulasi tree], im-
mediately can achieve the results of pious activities which are ob-
tained through ten thousand performances of sacrificial rites.”

Caranamrtam is obtained in the morning while the Lord is being
washed before dressing. Scented with perfumes and flowers, the
water comes gliding down through His lotus feet and is collected and
mixed with yogurt. In this way this carandmrtam not only becomes
very tastefully flavored, but it also has tremendous spiritual value. It
is described in the Padma Purana that even a person who has never
been able to give in charity, who has never been able to perform a
great sacrifice, who has never been able to study the Vedas, who has
never been able to worship the Lord—or, in other words, even one
who has never done any pious activities—if he simply drinks the
caranamrtam which is kept in the temple, he will become eligible to
enter into the kingdom of God. In the temple it is the custom that
the caranamrtam be kept in a big pot. The devotees who come to visit
and offer respects to the Deity very submissively take three drops of
caranamrtam and feel themselves happy in transcendental bliss.

Smelling the Incense
In the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya there is a statement about the in-

cense which is offered in the temple: “When the devotees smell the
good flavor of the incense which is offered to the Deity, they thus
