Anya-abhilāṣa chāḍi

The essence of devotional practice is to carefully consider and follow the path revealed by the great devotees. One should not neglect the practice of remembering the Pastimes of the Lord, for devotional service should be performed with the mind as well as the body.

Always give up bad association and avoid singing mundane songs. Keep at a distance from materialistic people as well as those absorbed with mundane knowledge. Associate only with the devotees and merge in the happiness of topics of the loving Pastimes of Krishna in Vṛndāvan.

Please give up the association of the yogīs, sannyāsīs, karmīs, jñānīs, meditators, and the worshippers of the demigods. Also abandon attachment for all varieties of fruitive activities, religious duties, distresses, lamentations and material objects. Just worship Krishna, the lifter of Govardhan Hill.

Travelling to the holy places is only so much hard labour to attain some mental illusion when really the lotus feet of Śrī Govinda are the perfection of one’s life. One should give up pride and envy and with firm determination in the heart, one should always perform unalloyed worship of the Lord.

The best process of devotional service is to hear, chant, worship, glorify and meditate with faith on the Names, Forms, Qualities and Pastimes of Krishna in the association of the devotees of Krishna through the nine forms of bhakti.

Engage the senses in the service of Śrī Govinda and do not worship the various demigods. This principle is in the line of unalloyed devotion. All other activities are simply done through pride and to see them gives great pain to one’s heart.

The six enemies; lust, anger, greed, illusion, pride and envy and the five senses of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch reside in my body but I am unable to control them. Although I hear and understand repeatedly that one should serve Krishna with all his senses, still I cannot accept this fact with firm determination.

I will engage lust, anger, greed, illusion, envy and pride in their proper places. In this way, I will defeat the enemies and with ecstasy in my heart, I will worship Govinda without difficulty.

I will engage my lust in eagerness to serve Krishna and I will use my anger against those who are envious of the devotees. I will be greedy to hear the topics of Hari in the association of the devotees. I will be illusioned if I fail to achieve my worshipable Lord and I will feel proud to chant the glories of Krishna. In this way, I will engage them in their respective duties.

Otherwise, independent lusty desires, which are the source of all unwanted things will always disturb the path of devotional service. What harm can lusty desires and anger do to a practioner of devotional service if they associate with devotees?

Anger spoils everything. Therefore, I will always give up anger, greed and illusion. I will control the six enemies with the help of my mind while remembering Lord Krishna.

All the enemies will run away by hearing the sound vibration of Govinda’s name just as a deer flees upon hearing the roar of a lion. One who performs unalloyed devotional service will feel great happiness and all his dangers will be vanquished.

Therefore my dear mind, do not endeavour for bad association, profit, adoration and distinction, but always remember the lotus feet of Govinda. Please engage in loving devotional service with great happiness and all your dangers will be destroyed.

Please give up all duplicity, illusory activities and the search for bodily happiness. Do not be attached to the worship of various demigods. Mundane love and affection for material relationships attracts everyone to their respective illusions and thus advancement on the path of devotional service is checked.

Be continuously engaged on the path of devotional worship and be attached to glorifying the Pastimes of Śrī Krishna in Vṛndāvan. This process of devotional service is known as steady devotional service. The prime example of this is Hanumān.