86 The Nectar of Devotion

become cured of the poisonous effects of material contamination, as
much as one becomes cured of a snake bite by smelling the prescribed
medicinal herbs.” The explanation of this verse is that there is an
herb which is found in the jungles which expert persons know how
to use to revive the consciousness of one who is bitten by a snake.
Simply by smelling that herb one becomes immediately relieved of
the poisonous effects of the snake bite. The same example is appli-
cable: when a person comes to visit the temple and smells the in-
cense offered to the Deity, he is cured at that time from all his ma-
terial contamination.

Any devotee coming into the temple should always offer some-
thing to the Deity—fruit, flowers, incense, etc. If one cannot offer
anything in cash, something else must be offered. In India the system
is that all the ladies and gentlemen who come in the morning to
visit the temple bring so many things. Even one morsel of rice or one
morsel of flour can be offered. It is a regulative principle that one
should not go to see a saintly person or the Deity in the temple
without any offering. The offering may be very humble, or it may be
priceless. Even a flower, a little fruit, a little water—whatever is pos-
sible—must be offered. So when a devotee comes to offer something
to the Deity in the morning, he is sure to smell the good flavor of the
incense, and then at once he will become cleansed of the poisonous
effect of material existence.

It is stated in the Tantra-sastra: “If the smell of the garland which
was offered to the Deity in the temple enters into the nostril of a
person, immediately his bondage to sinful activities becomes cleared.
And even if one has no sinful activities, still, by smelling such rem-
nants of flowers, one can advance from mdydavadi (impersonalist) to
devotee.” There ‘are several instances of this, a prime one being the
advancement of the four Kumaras. They were impersonalist mayavadis,
but after smelling the remnants of flowers and incense in the temple,
they turned to become devotees. From the above verse it appears
that the mdydvadis or impersonalists are more or less contaminated.
They are not pure.

It is confirmed in the Srimad-Bhagavatam: “One who has not
washed off all reactions of sinful activities cannot be a pure devotee.
