62 Sri Caitanya-caritamrta {Madhya-lila, Ch. 20

tachment. The only remedy is to revert to the service of the Lord and thus be
saved from material nature’s unwanted harassment.

TEXT 120

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sadhu-sastra-krpaya yadi krsnonmukha haya
sei fiva nistare, maya tahdre chadaya

SYNONYMS

sadhu—of saintly persons; sastra—of scriptures; krpdya—by the mercy; yadi—
if; krsna-unmukha haya—one becomes Krsna conscious; sei—that; jiva—living
entity; nistare—becomes liberated; mayd—the illusory energy; tahare—him;
chadaya—gives up.

TRANSLATION

“If the conditioned soul becomes Krsna conscious by the mercy of saintly
persons who voluntarily preach scriptural injunctions and help him to become
Krsna conscious, the conditioned soul is liberated from the clutches of maya,
who gives him up.

PURPORT

A conditioned soul is one who has forgotten Krsna as his eternal master.
Thinking that he is enjoying the material world, the conditioned soul suffers the
threefold miseries of material existence. Saintly persons (sddhus), Vaisnava devo-
tees of the Lord, preach Krsna consciousness on the basis of Vedic literature. It is
only by their mercy that the conditioned soul is awakened to Krsna conscious-
ness. When awakened, he is no longer eager to enjoy the materialistic way of life.
Instead, he devotes himself to the loving transcendental service of the Lord.
When one engages in the Lord’s devotional service, he becomes detached from
material enjoyment.

bhaktih paresdnubhavo viraktir
anyatra Caisa trika eka-kdlah
(Bhag. 11.2.42)

This is the test by which one can tell whether he is advancing in devotional ser-
vice. One must be detached from material enjoyment. Such detachment means
