Text 31] Maharaja Prthu’s Going Back Home 1015

TRANSLATION

Any person who describes the great characteristics of King Prthu with
faith and determination—whether he reads or hears of them himself or
helps others to hear of them—is certain to attain the very planet which-
Maharaja Prthu attained. In other words, such a person also returns home
to the Vaikuntha planets, back to Godhead.

PURPORT

In the execution of devotional service, sravanam kirtanarm visnoh is
especially stressed. This means that bhakti, or devotional service, begins
by hearing and chanting about Visnu. When we speak of Visnu, we also
refer to that which relates to Visnu. In the Siva Purana, Lord Siva recom-
mends Visnu worship to be the topmost worship, and better than Visnu
worship is worship of the Vaisnava or anything that is related to Visnu. The
fact is explained herein that hearing and chanting about a Vaisnava is as
good as hearing and chanting about Visnu, for Maitreya has explained that
anyone who hears about Prthu Maharaja with attention also attains the
planet which Maharaja Prthu attained. There is no duality between Visnu
and the Vaisnava, and this is called advaya-jrana. A Vaisnava is as important
as Visnu, and therefore Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura wrote in his
Gurv-astaka:

saksad-dharitvena samasta-sdastrair
uktas tatha bhavyata eva sadbhih

kintu prabhor yah priya eva tasya
vande guroh Sri-carandravindam

“The spiritual master is honored as much as the Supreme Lord because
he is the most confidential servitor of the Lord. This is acknowledged in all
revealed scriptures and is followed by all authorities. Therefore I offer my
respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master, who is a
bona fide representative of Sri Hari.”

The supreme Vaisnava is the spiritual master, and he is nondifferent
from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is said that sometimes Lord
Caitanya Mahaprabhu used to chant the names of the gopis. Some of the
Lord’s students tried to advise Him to chant the name of Krsna instead,
but upon hearing this Caitanya Mahaprabhu became very angry with His
students. The controversy on this subject reached such a point that after
this incident Caitanya Mahaprabhu decided to take sannydsa because He
was not taken very seriously in His grhastha-dsrama. The point is that
since Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu chanted the names of the gopis, worship
of the gopis or the devotees of the Lord is as good as devotional service
