Further Consideration of Devotional Principles 87
A pure devotee has no more doubts about the supremacy of the Per-
sonality of Godhead, and thus he engages himself in Krsna conscious-
ness and devotional service.” A similar statement is in the Agastya-
samhita: Just to purify the impurities of our nostrils, we should try
to smell the remnants of flowers offered to Krsna in the temple.
Touching the Deity

In the Visnu-dharmottara there is a statement about touching the
lotus feet of the Lord. It is said: “Only a person who is initiated as a
Vaisnava and is executing devotional service in Krsna consciousness
has the right to touch the body of the Deity.” In India there was
agitation during Gandhi’s political movement because the lowborn
classes of men like street-sweepers and candalas are prohibited, ac-
cording to the Vedic system, from entering the temple. Due to their
unclean habits they are prohibited, but at the same time they are
given other facilities so they may be elevated to the highest grade of
devotional service by association with pure devotees. A man born in
any family is not barred, but he must be cleansed. That cleansing pro-
cess must be adopted. Gandhi wanted to make them clean simply by
stamping them with a fictitious name, Hari-jana (children of God),
and so there was a great tug of war between the temple owners and
Gandhi’s followers.

But anyway, the present law is the law of all scripture—that if
anyone is purified he can enter into the temple. Actually, that is the
position. Only one who is properly initiated, who is properly follow-
ing the rules and regulations, can enter and touch the Deity—not all.
And one who touches the body of the Deity, following such regula-
tive principles, is immediately delivered from the contamination of
material sins, and all of his desires become fulfilled without delay.

In the Varaha Purana, also, there is a statement praising the touching
of the Deity of Sri Krsna in the temple. A devotee says there: “My dear
Vasundhara, any person who goes to Vrndavana and sees the Deity of
Govindadeva is free from the courthouse of Yamaraj and is allowed
to enter into the highest planetary system, in which reside the demi-
