By: Mahanidhi Swami
The following list of obstacles to Vraja-bhajana comes from Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s ‘Caitanya Siksastakam’. The demons manifesting in Vraja Gokula on earth have symbolic significance. They are not found in the spiritual world. There they appear only as rumors or impressions.
By reading the namittika (occasional) lilas of killing the twenty demons mentioned in the tenth canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, the sadhaka purifies his heart of all the impediments, obstacles, anarthas and aparadhas. Then one becomes eligible to read, reflect upon and taste the asta-kaliya lilas of Radha Krsna.
Until one reaches the platform of bhava-bhakti, it is necessary to cultivate devotion by meditating on both the naimittika and asta-kaliya lilas. By reading and remembering the asta-kaliya lilas (Bhavanasara Sangraha, Krsnahnika Kaumudi), one gets a taste of madhura-rasa. By understanding and appreciating the naimittika lilas, a devotee will destroy all the obstacles to tasting the bhakti rasa within Radha Krsna’s eternal pastimes. With a sincere desire to become purified of all material contaminations, one should read all the above pastimes from the tenth canto of Srimad Bhagavatam. With all humility, one should pray to Krsna and Balarama to remove the impurities personified by the demons whom they had killed.
The demons killed by Krsna in the tenth canto of Srimad Bhagavatam represent anarthas (impurities or obstacles) preventing a devotee from attaining pure love for Radha and Krsna. These undesirable impurities and demoniac qualities must be completely uprooted from the core of one’s heart. Only cent percent pure devotees of Krsna can live eternally in Vrndavana blissfully serving the Divine Couple.
If a devotee cries out humbly and sincerely to Lord Sri Krsna to remove these demoniac qualities which are represented by the demons killed by Lord Krsna, then Sri Krsna Himself will remove those evils. But the devotees must personally work to drive out the anarthas represented by the demons killed by Lord Balarama. This is a mystery of Vraja-bhajana. The aspirant must personally remove these strong impediments with his best care and efforts and by obtaining the mercy of Krsna. If the devotee’s humility- becomes very deep and intense, Krsna will be merciful. In that case, the feeling of Lord Baladeva will arise in his mind and quickly destroy these demoniac qualities. Then one will gradually improve his cultivation of bhajana.
| anarthas | Remedy – Tenth Canto Chapter | ||
| Aisvarya— | Attachment to awe and reverence instead of Krsna’s sweetness | Brahma-vimohana Lila – Ch.13 | |
| Argument— | Attachment to false arguments | Trnavarta – Ch.7 | |
| Argument— | Accepting arguments as your guru | Putana – Ch.6 | |
| Argument— | Pointless | Forest fire – Ch.17 & 19 | |
| Arrogance— | Due to wealth and high birth | Liberation of yamala-arjuna trees – Ch. 10 | |
| Association— | With atheists believing in chemical evolution | Trnavarta – Ch.7 | |
| Association— | With proud people | Trnavarta – Ch.7 | |
| Association— | With dry logicians | Trnavarta – Ch.7 | |
| Association— | Giving up association of false, deceitful devotees | Vyoma – Ch.37 | |
| Attachment— | To enjoyment and salvation | Putana – Ch.6 | |
| Battles & Conflicts— | Fighting mental enemies or looking for fight with others due to ego | Forest fire – Ch. 17&19 | |
| Buddhist philosophy— | Trapped in the whirlwind of | Trnavarta – Ch.7 | |
| Cheating propensity— | Tendency to disobey the instructions of guru & Krsna due to material attachment | Bakasura – Ch.11 | |
| Compassion— | Lack of, for others | Aghasura –Ch.12 | |
| Crookedness— | Illegal, dishonest, bent out of shape | Kaliya – Ch.16 | |
| Cruelty— | In any form by the actions of one’s body, mind or words | Liberation of yarnala-arjuna trees – Ch.10 | |
| Cruelty & unkindness— | Due to envy of other living entities | Kaliya – Ch.16 | |
| Cunningness— | Skilled at deceiving people | Bakasura – Ch.11 | |
| Debauchery— | Indulging in sex, alcohol and drugs | Liberation of yamala-arjuna trees – Ch.10 | |
| Addiction— | To drinking alcohol | Liberation of yamala-arjuna trees – Ch.10 | |
| Demigods— | Attachment to worshipping different demigods for fruits even after initiation | Stopping Indra-puja – Ch.24& 25 | |
| Doubts— | Illusions about Absolute Truth and position of Krsna | Brahma-vimohana lila – Ch.13 | |
| Fame— | Destroying the desire for name and fame | Sankhachuda – Ch.34 | |
| Falsity— | Leaving vaidhi-bhakti to practice raganuga-bhakti; but if one doesn’t attain spiritual attachment to Krsna, he then cultivates perverted material attachments; becoming a show-bottle devotee. | Vyoma – Ch.37 | |
| Fighting— | Against the opinions of others | Forest fire-Ch.17& 19 | |
| Greed— | For position, worship and money | Pralambasura – Ch 18 | |
| Greed— | Performing bad activities due to greed | Vatsasura – Ch.11 | |
| Habits— | Bad – Old & new; load bearing down on bhakti | Sakatasura – Ch.7 | |
| Hatred— | Towards others; tendency to harass them | Aghasura – Ch.12 | |
| Hatred— | Towards others because of pride in one’s birth and money | Liberation of yamala-arjuna trees – Ch.10 |
| Hatred — | Inner hatred towards other communities and groups | Forest fire – Ch.l7&19 | |
| Honour— | Desire for honour | Pralarnbasura – Ch.18 | |
| Holy Name— | Ignorance about the oneness of Krsna, the person and His Holy Name | Dhenukasura – Ch.15 | |
| Hypocrisy— | In behaviour—Pretending to have higher standards | Bakasura – Ch.11 | |
| Ignorance— | About one’s relationship with Krsna (sarnbandha-jnana) | Dhenukasura – Ch.15 | |
| Illicit Sex— | Removing the desire for illicit sex and attachment to it | Pralambasura – Ch.18 | |
| Illusion— | Freedom from the illusion of thinking, “I am a great devotee and acarya” | Kesi – Ch. 37 | |
| Intolerance— | Inability to tolerate ideas or behaviour different from yours | Aghasura – Ch.12 | |
| Intoxication— | Destroying the idea — “I can increase my bliss by intoxication” | Releasing Nanda Maharaja from Varuna – Ch. 28 | |
| Knowledge— | Loss of knowledge concerning one’s spiritual identity | Dhenukasura – Ch.15 | |
| Karma -kanda— | Becoming indifferent to bhakti due to absorption in karma-kandiya activities | Yajnic brahmanas – Ch. 23 | |
| Laziness— | Due to bad habits or attachment to the mode of ignorance | Sakatasura – Ch.7 | |
| Lies— | Tendency to speak | Vyoma – Ch.37 | |
| Logic— | Attachment to material logic (nyaya) | Trnavarta – Ch.7 | |
| Lust— | An external show of devotion while maintaining lust for opposite sex | Pralambasura – Ch.18 | |
| Mayavada philosophy— | Letting the truth of bhakti be swallowed by Mayavada philosophy | Vidyadhara liberated – Ch.34 | |
| Mentality— | Ass-like neophyte mentality which can’t appreciate books of previous acaryas and forbids others to read them | Dhenukasura – Ch.15 | |
| Mind— | Immature; performing sinful activities due to an immature mind | Vatsasura – Ch.11 | |
| Misconception— | Carrying the load of misconceptions and bad philosophies | Sakatasura – Ch.7 | |
| Neophyte— | Strong spirit to enjoy and tendency to perform illicit activities | Vatsasura – Ch.11 & read Krsna
sporting lila with the cowhered boys |
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| Offenses— | Due to pride, one thinks that he is a great devotee and therefore offensively lords over others. | Kesi – Ch.37 | |
| Philosophies— | Other than bhakti, which try to diminish or destroy bhakti | Vidyadhara liberated – Ch.34 | |
| Pride— | Pride in scholarship and material learning | Trnavarta – Ch.7 | |
| Pride— | Pride caused by money and worldly attachments. | Kesi – Ch.37 | |
| Pride— | Thinking you are more expert in bhakti than other devotees | Vyoma – Ch.37 | |
| Religious practices— | Disregard for religious practices of others | Forest fire – Ch.17 & 19 | |
| Religious principles— | Not understanding the purpose of religious principles; merely carrying the burden of following them due to attachment | Sakatasura – Ch.7 | |
| Sampradayas— | Disagreement with other sampradayas and mathas | Forest fire – Ch.17 & 19 | |
| Sectarianism— | Due to sectarianism, you can’t accept anyone outside your group as a vaisnava | Forest fire – Ch.17 & 19 | |
| Scepticism— | Doubts regarding the path of bhakti | Brahma-vimohana lila – Ch.13 | |
| Shameful behaviour— | Breaking of four religious principles | Liberation of yamala-arjuna trees – Ch.10 | |
| Speech— | Loose speech; speaking offensively due to one’s birth or money | Liberation of yamala-arjuna trees – Ch.10 | |
| Sense gratification— | Desiring to attain sense gratification via bhakti | Sankhachuda – Ch.34 | |
| Suddha bhakti— | Negligence or disregard for | Aristasura – Ch.36 | |
| Stealing— | Others’ property | Vyoma – Ch.37 | |
| Varnasrama— | Due to pride and attachment to varnasrama, one neglects Krsna bhakti | Yajnic brahmanas – Ch.23 | |
| Vanity— | Pride in one’s own appearance or achievements | Sakatasura – Ch.7
Kaliya – Ch.16 |
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| Violence— | Tendency of the mind to commit violence to others | Aghasura – Ch.12 | |
| Women — | Destroying the desire to associate with women | Sankhachuda – Ch.34 | |
| Yajna— | Attachment to vedic homas and yajnas, and therefore becoming indifferent to bhakti. | Yajnic brahmanas – Ch.23 |
Om Tat Sat!
Jai Jai Sri Radhe!!