242 Sri Caitanya-caritamrta

Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore service performed strictly in conformity
with the revealed scriptures is better than such viddha-bhakti because it is free from
all kinds of material contamination. It is executed in Krsna consciousness, solely to
please the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Those who are spontaneously devoted to the Lord and have no aims for material
gain are called attracted devotees. They are spontaneously attracted to the service of
the Lord, and they follow in the footsteps of self-realized souls. Their pure devotion
(Suddha-bhakti), manifested from pure love of Godhead, surpasses the regulative
principles of the authoritative scriptures. Sometimes loving ecstasy transcends regu-
lative principles; such ecstasy, however, is completely on the spiritual platform
and cannot be imitated. The regulative principles help ordinary devotees rise to the
stage of perfect love of Godhead. Pure love for Krsna is the perfection of pure de-
votion, and pure devotional service is identical with spontaneous devotional service.

Flawless execution of regulative principles is exhibited in the Vaikuntha planets.
By strictly executing these principles one can be elevated to the Vaikuntha planets.
But spontaneous pure loving service is found in Krsnaloka alone.

TEXT 23
ate sfefe WorataySUy FACT |
Faer) PT AASC ACA SASH ARIMA VO
mayi bhaktir hi bhatandm
amrtatvaya kalpate
distyd yad dsin mat-sneho
bhavatinadm mad-dpanah
SYNONYMS

mayi—to Me; bhaktih—devotional service; hi—certainly; bhatdndm—of the living
beings; amytatvdya—the eternal life; ka/pate—brings about; distyad—by good fortune;
yat—which; dsit—was; mat—for Me; snehah—the affection; bhavatindm—of all of
you; mat—of Me; dpanah—the obtaining.

TRANSLATION

“Devotional service rendered to Me by the living beings revives their eternal life.
O My dear damsels of Vraja, your affection for Me is your good fortune, for it is
the only means by which you have obtained My favor.’

PURPORT

Pure devotional service is represented in the activities of the residents of Vraja-
bhumi (Vrndavana). During a solar eclipse, the Lord came from Dvaraka and met
the inhabitants of Vrndavana at Samanta-paficaka. The meeting was intensely
painful for the damsels of VrajabhGmi because Lord Krsna apparently left them to
