CC Madhya 2.31 (1975)
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Below is the 1996 edition text, ready to be substituted with the 1975 one using the compile form.
TEXT 31
- kṛṣṇera madhura vāṇī, amṛtera taraṅgiṇī,
- tāra praveśa nāhi ye śravaṇe
- kāṇākaḍi-chidra sama, jāniha se śravaṇa,
- tāra janma haila akāraṇe
SYNONYMS
kṛṣṇera—of Lord Kṛṣṇa; madhura—sweet; vāṇī—words; amṛtera—of nectar; taraṅgiṇī—waves; tāra—of those; praveśa—entrance; nāhi—there is not; ye—which; śravaṇe—in the ear; kāṇākaḍi—of a damaged conchshell; chidra—the hole; sama—like; jāniha—please know; se—that; śravaṇa—ear; tāra—his; janma—birth; haila—was; akāraṇe—without purpose.
TRANSLATION
“Topics about Kṛṣṇa are like waves of nectar. If such nectar does not enter one’s ear, the ear is no better than the hole of a damaged conchshell. Such an ear is created for no purpose.
PURPORT
In this connection, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura quotes the following verses from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.3.17-24):
- āyur harati vai puṁsām
- udyann astaṁ ca yann asau
- tasyarte yat-kṣaṇo nīta
- uttama-śloka-vārtayā
- taravaḥ kiṁ na jīvanti
- bhastrāḥ kiṁ na śvasanty uta
- na khādanti na mehanti
- kiṁ grāme paśavo ’pare
- śva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra-kharaiḥ
- saṁstutaḥ puruṣaḥ paśuḥ
- na yat-karṇa-pathopeto
- jātu nāma gadāgrajaḥ
- bile batorukrama-vikramān ye
- na śṛṇvataḥ karṇa-puṭe narasya
- jihvāsatī dārdurikeva sūta
- na copagāyaty urugāya-gāthāḥ
- bhāraḥ paraṁ paṭṭa-kirīṭa-juṣṭam
- apy uttamāṅgaṁ na namen mukundam
- śāvau karau no kurute saparyāṁ
- harer lasat-kāñcana-kaṅkaṇau vā
- barhāyite te nayane narāṇāṁ
- liṅgāni viṣṇor na nirīkṣato ye
- pādau nṛṇāṁ tau druma-janma-bhājau
- kṣetrāṇi nānuvrajato harer yau
- jīvañ-chavo bhāgavatāṅghri-reṇuṁ
- na jātu martyo ’bhilabheta yas tu
- śrī-viṣṇu-padyā manujas tulasyāḥ
- śvasañ-chavo yas tu na veda gandham
- tad aśma-sāraṁ hṛdayaṁ batedaṁ
- yad gṛhyamāṇair hari-nāmadheyaiḥ
- na vikriyetātha yadā vikāro
- netre jalaṁ gātra-ruheṣu harṣaḥ
“Both by rising and setting, the sun decreases the duration of life of everyone except one who utilizes the time by discussing topics of the all-good Personality of Godhead. Do the trees not live? Do the bellows of the blacksmith not breathe? All around us, do the beasts not eat and discharge semen? Men who are like dogs, hogs, camels and asses praise those men who never listen to the transcendental pastimes of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the deliverer from evils. One who has not listened to the messages about the prowess and marvelous acts of the Personality of Godhead and has not sung or chanted loudly the worthy songs about the Lord should be considered to possess ears like the holes of snakes and a tongue like that of a frog. The upper portion of the body, though crowned with a silk turban, is only a heavy burden if not bowed down before the Personality of Godhead, who can award mukti [freedom]. And the hands, though decorated with glittering bangles, are like those of a dead man if not engaged in the service of the Personality of Godhead Hari. The eyes which do not look at the symbolic representations of the Personality of Godhead Viṣṇu [His forms, names, qualities, etc.] are like those printed on the plumes of a peacock, and the legs which do not move to the holy places [where the Lord is remembered] are considered to be like tree trunks. The person who has not at any time received upon his head the dust from the feet of a pure devotee of the Lord is certainly a dead body. And the person who has never experienced the flavor of the tulasī leaves from the lotus feet of the Lord is also a dead body, although breathing. Certainly that heart is steel-framed which, in spite of one’s chanting the holy name of the Lord with concentration, does not change and feel ecstasy, at which time tears fill the eyes and the hairs stand on end.”