kathaá¹ vinÄ roma-hará¹£aá¹
dravatÄ cetasÄ vinÄ
vinÄnandÄÅ›ru-kalayÄ
Å›udhyed bhaktyÄ vinÄÅ›ayaḥ
katham - how; vinÄ - without; roma-hará¹£am - standing of the hairs on end; dravatÄ - melted; cetasÄ - heart; vinÄ - without; vinÄ - without; Änanda - of bliss; aÅ›ru-kalayÄ - the flowing of tears; Å›udhyet - can be purified; bhaktyÄ - loving service; vinÄ - without; ÄÅ›ayaḥ - the consciousness.
Loving service to the Lord is the only process that can completely purify one’s consciousness; such service produces waves of ecstatic love that completely cleanse the soul. As mentioned earlier by Lord Kṛṣṇa to ÅšrÄ« Uddhava, other processes such as self-control, pious activities, mystic yoga, penances, etc., certainly purify the mind, as stated in many authorized literatures. Such processes, however, do not completely remove the desire to perform forbidden activities. But pure devotional service rendered in love of Godhead is so powerful that it burns to ashes any obstacle encountered on the path of progress. The Lord has stated in this chapter that loving service to Him is a blazing fire that burns to ashes all impediments. In contrast, the small fires of mental speculation or mystic yoga can be extinguished by sinful desires at any moment. Thus, by hearing ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam one should ignite the blazing fire of loving service to the Lord and burn to ashes the network of material illusion.