Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Narada Bhakti Sutra 47

yo vivikta-sthanam sevate yo loka-bandham unmulayati nistraigunyo bhavati yo yoga-ksemam tyajati

SYNONYMS

yah -- who; vivikta -- secluded; sthanam -- a place; sevate -- serves; yah -- who; loka -- of mundane society; bandham -- the bondage; unmulayati -- uproots; nistrai-gunyah -- free from the influence of the three modes of material nature; bhavati -- becomes; yah -- who; yoga -- (desire for) gain; ksemam -- and security; tyajati -- gives up.

TRANSLATION

[Who can cross beyond illusion?] That person who stays in a secluded place, cuts off at the root his attachment to mundane society, becomes free from the influence of the three modes of nature, and gives up hankering for material gain and security.

PURPORT

Narada is giving more ways to cross beyond maya. The first is solitude (vivikta-sthanam sevate). Several times in the Bhagavad-gita Lord Krsna advises that one practice spiritual life alone. Solitude is particularly stressed in meditative yoga, which requires that one live alone in a secluded place (rahasi sthitah ekaki) (Bg. 6.10). And in the Thirteenth Chapter, when listing the items of knowledge, Lord Krsna includes vivikta-desa-sevitvam, "aspiring to live in a solitary place" (Bg. 13.11). Again, in the Eighteenth Chapter, when describing a person who has been elevated to the position of self-realization, Lord Krsna says that he "lives in a solitary place" (vivikta-sevi) (Bg. 18.52).

Neophyte devotees, however, are not advised to live alone. Although solitary bhajana was practiced by Namacarya Haridasa Thakura, and sometimes by Lord Caitanya, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura criticized devotees who prematurely wanted to chant in a solitary place. He wrote, "My dear mind, why are you so proud of being a Vaisnava? Your solitary worship and chanting of the holy name of the Lord are based on a desire for cheap popularity, and therefore your chanting of the holy name is only a pretension" (quoted in Krsna, p. 882).

A sacred and solitary place, as mentioned in the Gita, also refers to a place of pilgrimage. Srila Prabhupada writes, "In India the yogis -- the transcendentalists or the devotees -- all leave home and reside in sacred places such as Prayaga, Mathura, Vrndavana, Hrsikesa, and Hardwar and in solitude practice yoga where the sacred rivers like the Yamuna and Ganges flow" (Bg. 6.11-12, purport). For devotees of Krsna, the most sacred place of pilgrimage is Mathura-mandala, the district that includes Mathura and Vrndavana. Rupa Gosvami recommends living in Mathura-mandala as one of the five main principles of bhakti-yoga, and Srila Prabhupada praises Mathura-mandala as follows in his summary study of Rupa Gosvami's Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu:

A pure devotee of Lord Krsna resides in the district of Mathura or Vrndavana and visits all the places where Krsna's pastimes were performed.... Actually, if someone goes to Vrndavana, he will immediately feel separation from Krsna, who performed such nice activities when He was present there. [The Nectar of Devotion, p. 139]

Srila Prabhupada worked hard for many years to establish temples in Vrndavana and in Mayapura, the birthplace of Lord Caitanya, so that Westerners could come and be purified by living in the dhama. Of Vrndavana Srila Prabhupada states, "The places in the eighty-four-square-mile district of Mathura are so beautifully situated on the banks of the river Yamuna that anyone who goes there will never want to return to this material world.... Transcendental feelings are aroused immediately without fail after one arrives in Mathura or Vrndavana" (The Nectar of Devotion, p. 111). The essential benefit of a solitary place is that it provides freedom from worldly people and passions. For devotees, this can best be attained in the dhama, in the association of like-minded souls.

Narada also says that one who wants to overcome maya must break the bonds of material attachment and live above the modes of nature. These are some of the natural results of Krsna conscious life. In the Fourteenth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita Lord Krsna describes how the three modes of nature -- goodness, passion, and ignorance -- bind the living entity in samsara. To become free of the modes, one has to hear the truth from the spiritual master. Then one will gradually understand his original spiritual nature and how one is entrapped by the modes. If one lives in the association of transcendentalists and serves Lord Krsna along with them, one will not be controlled by the modes of goodness, passion, and ignorance. The acaryas tell us that living in the forest is in the mode of goodness, living in a town is in the mode of passion, and living in a brothel is in the mode of ignorance -- but to live in a temple of Visnu, in the society of devotees, is Vaikuntha. Indeed, another meaning of "secluded and sacred place" is the temple of the Lord. Srila Prabhupada writes, "In this bhakti-yoga system, the temple is considered the sacred place. The temple is nirguna, transcendental" (The Path of Perfection, p. 38).

Narada also recommends renouncing anxieties for acquisition and maintenance: yoga-ksemam tyajati. Lord Krsna also mentions yoga-ksema in the Bhagavad-gita (9.22):

ananyas cintayanto mam ye janah paryupasate

tesam nityabhiyuktanam yoga-ksemam vahamy aham

"But those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form -- to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have."

Dependence on the Lord for maintenance is an advanced stage of spiritual life, but it is not based on imagination. The principle is that one should not want more than what is absolutely necessary. Wanting anything beyond that will simply cause anxiety. In any case, whether one is a poor brahmana, a mendicant sannyasi, a businessman, or an administrator in a religious institution, he or she should realize that the Supreme Lord is the actual maintainer. If we live simply, engaging in Krsna's service and not creating unnecessary demands, we will be able to reduce concerns for maintenance and enter the spirit of yoga-ksemam tyajati, as recommended by Narada Muni.

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Copyright (c) The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami
Gopiparanadhana dasa Adhikari