CC Madhya 15.154
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 154
- ei-mata sevakera prīti cāhi prabhu-pāya
- prabhu chāḍāileha, pada chāḍāna nā yāya
SYNONYMS
ei-mata — like this; sevakera — of the servitor; prīti — love; cāhi — is wanted; prabhu-pāya — unto the lotus feet of the Lord; prabhu chāḍāileha — even though the Lord causes separation; pada — the lotus feet of the Lord; chāḍāna nā yāya — cannot be given up.
TRANSLATION
“‘The servitor must have love and affection for the lotus feet of the Lord exactly like this. Even if the Lord wants separation, a devotee cannot abandon the shelter of His lotus feet.
PURPORT
The word prabhu, or master, indicates that the Lord is to be continuously served by His devotee. The original prabhu is the Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Nonetheless, there are many devotees attached to Lord Rāmacandra, and Murāri Gupta is a vivid example of such unalloyed devotion. He never agreed to give up Lord Rāmacandra’s worship, not even upon Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s request. Such is the chastity of devotional service, as stated in the Antya-līlā of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (4.46-47):
- sei bhakta dhanya, ye nā chāḍe prabhura caraṇa
- sei prabhu dhanya, ye nā chāḍe nija-jana
- durdaive sevaka yadi yāya anya sthāne
- sei ṭhākura dhanya tāre cule dhari’ āne
In a firm relationship with the Lord, the devotee does not give up the Lord’s service under any circumstance. As far as the Lord Himself is concerned, if the devotee chooses to leave, the Lord brings him back again, dragging him by the hair.