Atraiva Vraja Bhavanam

Here it has been fully explained that the sentiments of Vraja are supreme; the sentiments of Mathura and Dvaraka are considered only to nourish and support them.

For the ultimate welfare of the soul, the sentiment of Vraja is examined in detail; the soul who attains that sentiment becomes fit for immortality.

This is now examined by me through positive and negative concomitance; by the positive method, the relationships beginning with santa, neutrality, and dasya, servitude, follow in sequence.

Some devotees are eternally servants of the king of Vraja; others, rich in the mood of friendship, are headed by Sridama and Subala.

Yashoda, Rohini, and Nanda are established in the mood of parental affection; Radha and the others exist in the mood of conjugal love within the circle of rasa.

Without Vrindavana there is no place where these pure relationships and sentiments can be tasted; therefore the pure souls' attachment is fixed on the beautiful Vrindavana.

There, the superiority of the conjugal mood is confirmed by scripture; this is held to be the eternal function of the soul -- to be an object of the Lord's own enjoyment.

There, no obstruction whatsoever exists between the soul and Krishna; unbroken supreme bliss forever exists there, taking the very form of love.

Even separation is approved, for the sake of nourishing the happiness of union; and remembrance of Mathura and Dvaraka serves only to increase the sentiment of Vraja.

For souls bound by the material world, formerly the shelter was regulated religious duty; but now, upon attaining Krishna, the shelter is the mellow of paramour love.

Taking shelter of the mood of the gopis, one then engages in the service of a manjari; from that comes the company of the sakhis, and from that, shelter at the feet of Radha.

There indeed, from the great abundance of that sentiment, maha-bhava certainly arises; and there indeed lies union with Krishna, the giver of all bliss.

In the attainment of this sentiment of Vraja, there exist eighteen kinds of obstacles -- enemies that spoil love for Krishna.

First is the acquisition of a wicked spiritual guide, symbolized by Putana who offered poisoned milk; the whirlwind-shaped false logic is called Trinavarta.

Third is the burden-bearing mentality, the cart of Sakatasura, which crushes right understanding; fourth are the very faults of the neophyte, taking the form of the calf-demon Vatsasura.

Fifth is hypocrisy in religion, in the form of offense to the holy name -- the great cheat in the form of the crane-demon Bakasura, an opponent of the Vaishnavas.

There too, among sects that show excessive regard for outward signs, the love of such hypocrites for Krishna, the resident of Vraja, never truly exists.

Cruelty and violent harshness take the form of the demon Aghasura; this constitutes the sixth kind of offense, an obstacle to pure devotion.

The bewilderment that arises among the pious from excessive debate over many scriptures -- this indeed is seen as the seventh, symbolized by the bewildering of Brahma.

Dull-witted grossness is Dhenuka, the donkey-demon who blocks the palm forest; this is seen as the eighth great fault existing even within the community of the pious.

Some, abandoning the auspicious regulative principles, indulge only their senses -- symbolized as the ninth, the bull-demon; yet even they are destroyed by Krishna's own power.

Wickedness is seen as the tenth, in the form of the serpent Kaliya; the discord and rivalry among rival sects is regarded as the forest fire that Krishna also swallows.

The twelfth is Pralamba -- the theft of one's own self by impersonalist philosophers, who, having entered even into the service of Krishna, remain thieves stealing from the Vaishnavas.

Looking to the fruit of one's actions, the worship of demigods headed by Indra constitutes the thirteenth fault, to be very carefully avoided.

The fault composed of theft and falsehood takes the form of the demon Vyomasura; it obstructs people from attaining the fullness of love for Sri Krishna.

The attainment of Varuna's abode, which intoxicated the mind of Nanda Maharaja, is always to be avoided by the saintly, since from it comes forgetfulness of one's own true self.

Devotion to fame and reputation, a desire for enjoyment disguised as devotional service, is called Shankhachuda -- the sixteenth obstacle.

The desire for merging, sayujya-mukti, which appears in the heart as though it would increase one's happiness, is the serpent that would devour Nanda; from it, the true Vaishnava is freed.

A person who, through the abundance of his devotional prowess, considers himself superior to others, may sometimes, through such wicked intelligence, disrespect even the killer of Keshi.

These, then, are the eighteen faults that are enemies within the hearts of devotees; they must be subdued with great effort by one who serves and relishes the bliss of Krishna.

Mathura represents a fault for the impersonalist philosophers, and the celestial city one for fruitive workers, both always to be avoided; but for devotees, it is these eighteen obstacles that spoil the mood of Vraja.