242 Sri Caitanya-caritamrta [Madhya-lila, Ch. 8

TEXT 246

MPSatel-aCe BCAA CHUA AG APS
‘Syoe afera tara SA Wile w’ raw n

‘kirti-gana-madhye jivera kon bada kirti?’
‘krsna-bhakta baliyd yanhara haya khyati’

SYNONYMS
kirti-gana-madhye—among glorious activities; jivera—of the living entity;
kon—which; bada—greatest; kirti—glory; krsna-bhakta—a devotee of Lord
Krsna; baliya—as; yanhara—of whom; haya—there is; khyati—the reputation.

TRANSLATION

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then asked Ramananda Raya, ‘Out of all glorious
activities, which is the most glorious?” Ramananda Raya replied, ‘That per-
son who is reputed to be a devotee of Lord Krsna’s enjoys the utmost fame and
glory.”

PURPORT

The greatest reputation a living being can have is to be a devotee of Krsna’s and
to act in Krsna consciousness. In the material world everyone is trying to be
famous by accumulating a large bank balance or material opulence. There is a
steady competition among karmis attempting to advance in a wealthy society.
The whole world is turning in accordance with that competitive mood. However,
this kind of name and fame is temporary, for it lasts only as long as the temporary
material body exists. One may become famous as a brahma-jfdni, an imper-
sonalist scholar, or one may become a materially opulent person. In either case,
such reputations are inferior to the reputation of Krsna’s devotee. In the Garuda
Purana it is said:

kalau bhagavatarh nama
durlabham naiva labhyate

brahma-rudra-padotkrstam
gurunda kathitarn mama

“In this age of Kali, the fame of one who is known as a great devotee is very rare.
However, such a position is superior to that of the great demigods like Brahma and
Mahadeva. This is the opinion of all spiritual masters.”

In the /tihadsa-samuccaya, Narada tells Pundarika:
