Text 211] Rapa Gosvami’s Meeting with the Lord 119

TEXT 211

Gat ecea,— aif fege al atfa
AIS THI Fala, CHS BR aH v9 1

sri-rpa kahena,—dmi kichui nd jani
yei mahdprabhu kahdna, sei kahi vani

SYNONYMS
$ri-rpa kahena—Srila Ripa Gosvami replies; ami—l; kichui—anything; na
jani—do not know; yei—whatever; mahdprabhu kahdna—Sri_ Caitanya
Mahaprabhu makes me say or write; sei—that; kahi—l speak; vani—transcen-
dental words.

TRANSLATION

Sri Ripa Gosvami said, ‘I do not know anything. The only transcendental
words | can utter are those which Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu makes me speak.

PURPORT

The poet or writer dealing with transcendental subject matters is not an ordi-
nary writer or translator. Because he is empowered by the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, whatever he writes becomes very effective. The principle of being em-
powered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead is essential. A materialistic poet
who describes in his poetry the material activities of man and woman cannot de-
scribe the transcendental pastimes of the Lord or the transcendental conclusions
of devotional service. Srila Sanatana Gosvam! has therefore warned all neophyte
devotees that one should not hear from the mouth of a non-Vaisnava.

avaisnava-mukhodgirnam
putam hari-kathamrtam
Sravanam naiva kartavyam
sarpocchistam yathd payah (Padma Purana)

Unless one is a fully unalloyed devotee of the Lord, one should not try to describe
the pastimes of Krsna in poetry, for it will be only mundane. There are many de-
scriptions of Krsna’s Bhagavad-gita written by persons whose consciousness is
mundane and who are not qualified by pure devotion. Although they attempted
to write transcendental literature, they could not fully engage even a single devo-
tee in Krsna’s service. Such literature is mundane, and therefore, as warned by Sri
Sanatana Gosvami, one should not touch it.
