vÄco vegaá¹ manasaḥ krodha-vegaá¹
jihvÄ-vegam udaropastha-vegam
etÄn vegÄn yo viá¹£aheta dhÄ«raḥ
sarvÄm apÄ«mÄá¹ pá¹›thivÄ«á¹ sa Å›iá¹£yÄt

 vÄcaḥ - of speech; vegam - urge; manasaḥ - of the mind; krodha - of anger; vegam - urge; jihvÄ - of the tongue; vegam - urge; udara-upastha - of the belly and genitals; vegam - urge; etÄn - these; vegÄn - urges; yaḥ - whoever; viá¹£aheta - can tolerate; dhÄ«raḥ - sober; sarvÄm - all; api - certainly; imÄm - this; pá¹›thivÄ«m - world; saḥ - that personality; Å›iá¹£yÄt - can make disciples.


Text

Preface

Purport
The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is conducted under the supervision of ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ«. The Gauá¸Ä«ya Vaiṣṇavas, or Bengali Vaiṣṇavas, are mostly followers of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, of whom the Six GosvÄmÄ«s of Vá¹›ndÄvana are direct disciples. Therefore ÅšrÄ«la Narottama dÄsa ṬhÄkura has sung:
rÅ«pa-raghunÄtha-pade ha-ibe Äkuti
kabe hÄma bujhaba se yugala-pÄ«riti
“When I am eager to understand the literature given by the GosvÄmÄ«s, then I shall be able to understand the transcendental loving affairs of RÄdhÄ and Kṛṣṇa.†ŚrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu appeared in order to bestow upon human society the benediction of the science of Kṛṣṇa. The most exalted of all the activities of Lord Kṛṣṇa are His pastimes of conjugal love with the gopÄ«s. ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu appeared in the mood of ÅšrÄ«matÄ« RÄdhÄrÄṇī, the best of the gopÄ«s. Therefore, to understand the mission of Lord ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu and follow in His footsteps, one must very seriously follow in the footsteps of the Six GosvÄmÄ«s - ÅšrÄ« RÅ«pa, SanÄtana, Bhaá¹­á¹­a RaghunÄtha, ÅšrÄ« JÄ«va, GopÄla Bhaá¹­á¹­a and DÄsa RaghunÄtha.ÅšrÄ« RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« was the leader of all the GosvÄmÄ«s, and to guide our activities he gave us this UpadeÅ›Ämá¹›ta (The Nectar of Instruction) to follow. As ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu left behind Him the eight verses known as Åšiká¹£Äṣṭaka, RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« gave us UpadeÅ›Ämá¹›ta so that we may become pure Vaiṣṇavas.In all spiritual affairs, one’s ï¬rst duty is to control his mind and senses. Unless one controls his mind and senses, one cannot make any advancement in spiritual life. Everyone within this material world is engrossed in the modes of passion and ignorance. One must promote himself to the platform of goodness, sattva-guṇa, by following the instructions of RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ«, and then everything concerning how to make further progress will be revealed.Advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness depends on the attitude of the follower. A follower of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement should become a perfect gosvÄmÄ«. Vaiṣṇavas are generally known as gosvÄmÄ«s. In Vá¹›ndÄvana, this is the title by which the director of each temple is known. One who wants to become a perfect devotee of Kṛṣṇa must become a gosvÄmÄ«. Go means “the senses,†and svÄmÄ« means “the master.†Unless one controls his senses and mind, one cannot become a gosvÄmÄ«. To achieve the highest success in life by becoming a gosvÄmÄ« and then a pure devotee of the Lord, one must follow the instructions known as UpadeÅ›Ämá¹›ta, which have been given by ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ«. ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« has given many other books, such as Bhakti-rasÄmá¹›ta-sindhu, Vidagdha-mÄdhava and Lalita-mÄdhava, but UpadeÅ›Ämá¹›ta constitutes the ï¬rst instructions for neophyte devotees. One should follow these instructions very strictly. Then it will be easier to make one’s life successful. Hare Kṛṣṇa.A. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiSeptember 20, 1975, ViÅ›varÅ«pa-mahotsavaKṛṣṇa-BalarÄma MandiraRamaṇa-reti, Vá¹›ndÄvana, India