Adi-lila, Chapter 7 135

or still a child—anyone who simply hears about the Supreme Personality of God-
head and takes prasada is certainly elevated to the transcendental position of devo-
tional service.

TEXT 142

GAe a<cacwa ‘eafecen’ ata |
werSle CSCS SA COTA Besta i sB2 tl

sei sarva-vedera ‘abhidheya’ nama
sadhana-bhakti haite haya premera udgama

SYNONYMS

sei sarva-vedera—that is the essence of all Vedic literature; abhidheya nama—the
process called abhidheya, or devotional activities; sadhana-bhakti—another name of
this process, ‘‘devotional service in practice’; haite—from this; haya—there is;
premera—of love of Godhead; udgama—awakening.

TRANSLATION

“By practicing this regulated devotional service under the direction of the
spiritual master, certainly one awakens his dormant love of Godhead. This process
is called abhidheya.

PURPORT

By the practice of devotional service, beginning with hearing and chanting, the
impure heart of a conditioned soul is purified, and thus he can understand his
eternal relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That eternal relation-
ship is described by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. fivera' ‘svarupa’ haya krsnera nitya-
dasa: the living entity is an eternal servitor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
When one is convinced about this relationship, which is called sambandha, he then
acts accordingly. That is called abhidheya. The next step is prayojana-siddhi, or
fulfillment of the ultimate goal of one’s life. If one can understand his relationship
with the Supreme Personality of Godhead and act accordingly, automatically his
mission in life is fulfilled. The Mayavadi philosophers miss even the first stage in
self-realization because they have no conception of God’s being personal. He is the
master of all, and He is the only person who can accept the service of all living
entities, but since this knowledge is lacking in Mayavada philosophy, Mayavadis do
not have knowledge even of their relationship with God. They wrongly think that
everyone is God or that everyone is equal to God. Therefore, since the real position
of the living entity is not clear to them, how can they advance further? Although
they are very puffed-up at being liberated, Mayavadi philosophers very shortly fall
down again to material activities due to their neglecting the lotus feet of the Lord.
That is called patanty adhah.
