66 Sri Caitanya-caritamrta [Madhya-lila, Ch. 12
teracted by another karma, or fruitive activity. This is certainly a mistaken concep-
tion. If one is deluded by such a conception, he is cheated by his own activity.
Such activities have been compared to an elephant’s bathing. An elephant may
bathe very thoroughly, but as soon as it comes out of the river, it immediately
takes some sand from the land and throws it all over its body. If one suffers due to
his past fruitive activities, he cannot counteract his suffering by performing
auspicious activities. The sufferings of human society cannot be counteracted by
material plans. The only way suffering can be mitigated is by Krsna consciousness.
When one takes to Krsna consciousness and engages himself in the devotional
service of the Lord—beginning with chanting and hearing the glories of the
Lord—the cleansing of the heart begins.

Impersonal speculation, monism (merging into the existence of the Supreme),
speculative knowledge, mystical yoga and meditation are all compared to grains
of sand. They simply cause irritation to the heart. No one can satisfy the Supreme
Personality of Godhead by such activities, nor do we give the Lord a chance to sit
in our hearts peacefully. Rather, the Lord is simply disturbed by them. Sometimes
yogis and jAdnis in the beginning take to the chanting of the Hare Krsna mahda-
mantra as a way to begin their various practices. However, when they falsely think
that they have attained release from the bondage of material existence, they give
up chanting. They do not consider that the ultimate goal is the form of the Lord or
the name of the Lord. Such unfortunate creatures are never favored by the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, for they do not know what devotional service
is. They are described in Bhagavad-gita in this way:

tan aham dvisatah krdran
samsaresu naradhaman
ksipamy ajasram asubhan
dasurisv eva yonisu
“Those who are envious and mischievous, who are the lowest among men, are
cast by Me into the ocean of material existence, into various demoniac species of
life.” (Bg. 16.19)

The demons are always envious of the Lord and are therefore most
mischievous. By His practical example, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has shown us
that all the grains of sand must be picked up thoroughly and thrown outside. Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu also cleansed the outside of the temple, fearing that the
grains of sand would again come within.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura explains that even though one may be-
come free from the desire for fruitive activity, sometimes the subtle desire for frui-
tive activity comes into being within the heart. One often thinks of conducting
business to improve devotional activity. However, the contamination is so strong
that it may later develop into misunderstanding, described as kuti-nati (faultfind-
