na tathÄ hy aghavÄn rÄjan
pĹŤyeta tapa-ÄdibhiḼ
yathÄ kášášŁášÄrpita-prÄášas
tat-puruᚣa-niᚣevayÄ
na - not; tathÄ - so much; hi - certainly; agha-vÄn - a man full of sinful activities; rÄjan - O King; pĹŤyeta - can become purified; tapaḼ-ÄdibhiḼ - by executing the principles of austerity, penance, brahmacarya and other purifying processes; yathÄ - as much as; kášášŁáša-arpita-prÄášaḼ - the devotee whose life is fully KášášŁáša conscious; tat-puruᚣa-niᚣevayÄ - by engaging his life in the service of KášášŁáša's representative.
Tat-puruᚣa refers to a preacher of KášášŁáša consciousness, such as the spiritual master. ĹrÄŤla Narottama dÄsa ᚏhÄkura has said, chÄá¸iyÄ vaiᚣášava-sevÄ nistÄra pÄyeche kebÄ: âWithout serving a bona fide spiritual master, an ideal Vaiᚣášava, who can be delivered from the clutches of mÄyÄ?â This idea is also expressed in many other places. ĹrÄŤmad-BhÄgavatam (5.5.2) says, mahat-sevÄáš dvÄram Ähur vimukteḼ: if one desires liberation from the clutches of mÄyÄ, one must associate with a pure devotee mahÄtmÄ. A mahÄtmÄ is one who engages twenty-four hours daily in the loving service of the Lord. As KášášŁáša says in Bhagavad-gÄŤtÄ (9.13):
mahÄtmÄnas tu mÄáš pÄrtha
daivÄŤáš prakáštim ÄĹritÄḼ
bhajanty ananya-manaso
jĂąÄtvÄ bhĹŤtÄdim avyayam
âO son of PášthÄ, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible.â Thus the symptom of a mahÄtmÄ is that he has no engagement other than service to KášášŁáša. One must render service to a Vaiᚣášava in order to get freed from sinful reactions, revive oneâs original KášášŁáša consciousness and be trained in how to love KášášŁáša. This is the result of mahÄtma-sevÄ. Of course, if one engages in the service of a pure devotee, the reactions of oneâs sinful life are vanquished automatically. Devotional service is necessary not to drive away an insignificant stock of sins, but to awaken our dormant love for KášášŁáša. As fog is vanquished at the first glimpse of sunlight, oneâs sinful reactions are automatically vanquished as soon as one begins serving a pure devotee; no separate endeavor is required.
The word kášášŁáša-arpita-prÄášaḼ refers to a devotee who dedicates his life to serving KášášŁáša, not to being saved from the path to hellish life. A devotee is nÄrÄyaáša-parÄyaáša, or vÄsudeva-parÄyaáša, which means that the path of VÄsudeva, or the devotional path, is his life and soul. NÄrÄyaáša-parÄḼ sarve na kutaĹcana bibhyati (BhÄg. 6.17.28): such a devotee is not afraid of going anywhere. There is a path toward liberation in the higher planetary systems and a path toward the hellish planets, but a nÄrÄyaáša-para devotee is unafraid wherever he is sent; he simply wants to remember KášášŁáša, wherever he may be. Such a devotee is unconcerned with hell and heaven; he is simply attached to rendering service to KášášŁáša. When a devotee is put into hellish conditions, he accepts them as KášášŁášaâs mercy: tat te ânukampÄáš susamÄŤkᚣamÄášaḼ (BhÄg. 10.14.8). He does not protest, âOh, I am such a great devotee of KášášŁáša. Why have I been put into this misery?â Instead he thinks, âThis is KášášŁášaâs mercy.â Such an attitude is possible for a devotee who engages in the service of KášášŁášaâs representative. This is the secret of success.