Text 29] The Activities of the Pracetas 1523
many unalloyed servants. By nature, the Lord is very compassionate;
therefore the service of neophyte devotees is accepted by the Lord. As
confirmed in Bhagavad-gita:
patram puspam phalam toyam
yo me bhaktya prayacchati
tad aham bhakty-upahrtam
asnami prayatatmanah
“If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I
will accept it.” (Bg. 9.26)

The devotee offers eatables in the form of vegetables, fruits, leaves and
water to the arcd-vigraha. The Lord, being bhakta-vatsala, compassionate
upon His devotees, accepts these offerings. Atheists may think that the
devotees are engaged in idol worship, but the fact is different. Janardana,
the Supreme Lord, accepts bhava, the attitude of service. The neophyte
devotee engaged in the worship of the Lord may not understand the value
of such worship, but the Supreme Lord, being bhakta-vatsala, accepts His
devotee and in due course of time takes him home.

In this connection there is a story about a brahmana who was offering
sweet rice to the Lord within his mind. The brahmana had no money nor
any means of worshiping the Deity, but within his mind he arranged every-
thing nicely. He had gold pots to bring water from the sacred rivers to
wash the Deity, and he offered the Deity very sumptuous food, including
sweet rice. Once, before he offered the sweet rice, he thought that it was
too hot, and he thought, “Oh, let me test it. My, it is very hot.” When he
put his finger in the sweet rice to test it, his finger was burned and his
meditation broken. Although he was offering food to the Lord within
his mind, the Lord accepted it nonetheless. Consequently the Lord in
Vaikuntha immediately sent a chariot to bring the brahmana back home,
back to Godhead. Thus it is the duty of every sincere devotee to accept
the arca-vigraha at home or in the temple and worship the form of the
Lord as advised in authorized scriptures and directed by the spiritual
master.

TEXT 29
aria | TEAAPTATT |
AAAS STM FE APT URI
yenopasantir bhittanam
ksullakandém apihatam
