146 Teachings of Lord Chaitanva

The Lord said that Atma also means “this body.” The yogis who practice
bodily exercises, considering the body as the self, also are elevated to the trans-
cendental service of the Lord if they are associated with pure devotees. There
are many persons who have the concept of this body being the self: They are
engaged in many kinds of fruitive activities, including bathing rituals and ordi-
nary worldly activities. But when they come in contact with a pure devotee,
they also engage themselves in the transcendental service of the Lord.

In the Srimad Bhagwatam, First Canto, Eighteenth Chapter, it is stated:
“O my dear Suta Goswami, you have given us the nectar of Krishna’s Lotus
Feet, although we have become darkened by the sacrificial smoke of these
fruitive activities.” The Srimad Bhagwatam, Fourth Canto, Twenty-first Chap-
ter, states: “The Ganges water is flowing from the tip of the Lotus Feet of Kri-
shna, and by bathing in that Ganges water, everyone—including the fruitive
actors and all the sages—is washing the dirty things from within the mind.”

Those who are in the concept of the body as the self, or those who are full
of material desires, are also called, in a sense, Atmarama. When they are associ-
ated with the pure devotees of the Lord, they give up their material desires
and become perfect in the service of the Lord. The best example of this is found
in the Hari Bhakti Sudhodaya, in connection with the character of Druva. In the
Seventh Chapter, 28th verse, it is stated by Maharaj Druva: “My dear Lord,
I came to worship You desirous of having some land on this Earth; but, for-
tunately, I have You, Who are beyond the perception of great sages and saint-
ly persons. I came to search out some particles of colored glass, but I’ve found
instead a very valuable gem like You. I am satisfied. I have no desire to ask
You anything.”

There is another meaning to the word Nirgrantha—‘foolish hunter,” or
“wretched poor man.” Such a hunter also got salvation and engaged himself
in the devotional service of the Lord by association of the pure devotee Narada.
The following story is about this hunter’s meeting with Narada:

There was a hunter in the forest of Prayag, who was fortunate enough
to meet Narada while he was coming back from Vaikuntha after visiting Lord
Narayan. Narada came to Prayag to bathe in the confluence of the Ganges and the
Yamuna. While passing through the forest, he saw a bird lying on the ground,
half-killed, and pierced by an arrow. It was chirping piteously. At another
place he saw a deer flapping in agony. In another place he saw that a boar
was suffering and, in another place, he saw a rabbit flapping in pain. All this
made him very compassionate, and he bagan to think, “Who is the foolish
man that has committed such sinful activities?” A devotee of the Lord is gener-
