340 Sri Caitanya-caritamrta [Madhya-lila, Ch. 19
tate mali yatna kari’ kare avarana
aparadha-hastira yaiche na haya udgama
SYNONYMS

tate—therefore; mali—the gardener devotee; yatna kari’—with great atten-
tion; kare—makes; dvarana—protective fencing; aparddha—of offenses;
hastira—of the elephant; yaiche—so that; nd—not; haya—there is; udgama—
birth.

TRANSLATION

“The gardener must defend the creeper by fencing it all around so that the

powerful elephant of offenses may not enter.
PURPORT

While the bhakti-lata creeper is growing, the devotee must protect it by fenc-
ing it all around. The neophyte devotee must be protected by being surrounded
by pure devotees. In this way he will not give the maddened elephant a chance to
uproot his bhakti-lata creeper. When one associates with nondevotees, the mad-
dened elephant is set loose. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has said: asat-sanga-
tyaga, —ei vaisnava-dcara. The first business of a Vaisnava is to give up the com-
pany of nondevotees. A so-called mature devotee, however, commits a great
offense by giving up the company of pure devotees. The living entity is a social
animal, and if one gives up the society of pure devotees, he must associate with
nondevotees (asat-sariga). By contacting nondevotees and engaging in nondevo-
tional activities, a so-called mature devotee will fall victim to the mad elephant
offense. Whatever growth has taken place is quickly uprooted by such an offense.
One should therefore be very careful to defend the creeper by fencing it in—that
is, by following the regulative principles and associating with pure devotees.

If one thinks that there are many pseudo devotees or nondevotees in the Krsna
Consciousness Society, one can keep direct company with the spiritual master,
and if there is any doubt, one should consult the spiritual master. However, unless
one follows the spiritual master’s instructions and the regulative principles
governing chanting and hearing the holy name of the Lord, one cannot become a
pure devotee. By one’s mental concoctions, one falls down. By associating with
nondevotees, one breaks the regulative principles and is thereby lost. In the
Upadesamrta of Srila Ripa Gosvami, it is said:

atyahdrah praydsas ca
prajalpo niyamdagrahah

jana-sangas ca laulyam ca
sadbhir bhaktir vinasyati
