prathamei upaÅ›ÄkhÄra karaye chedana
tabe mÅ«la-Å›ÄkhÄ bÄá¸i' yÄya vá¹›ndÄvana
prathamei - from the very beginning; upaÅ›ÄkhÄra - of the unwanted creepers; karaye - does; chedana - the cutting away; tabe - then only; mÅ«la-Å›ÄkhÄ - the chief creeper; bÄá¸i' - growing; yÄya - goes; vá¹›ndÄvana - to the lotus feet of Lord ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa in Vá¹›ndÄvana.
“As soon as an intelligent devotee sees an unwanted creeper growing beside the original creeper, he must cut it down instantly. Then the real creeper, the bhakti-latÄ, grows nicely, returns home, back to Godhead, and seeks shelter under the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa.
If one is misled by unwanted creepers and is victimized, he cannot make progress back to Godhead. Rather, he remains within the material world and engages in activities having nothing to do with pure devotional service. Such a person may be elevated to the higher planetary systems, but because he remains within the material world, he is subjected to the threefold material miseries.
