CC Madhya 4.147 (1975)
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 147
- pratiṣṭhāra bhaye purī gelā palāñā
- kṛṣṇa-preme pratiṣṭhā cale saṅge gaḍāñā
SYNONYMS
pratiṣṭhāra bhaye—in fear of reputation; purī—Mādhavendra Purī; gelā—went away; palāñā—fleeing; kṛṣṇa-preme—in love of Kṛṣṇa; pratiṣṭhā—reputation; cale—goes; saṅge—simultaneously; gaḍāñā—gliding down.
TRANSLATION
Being afraid of his reputation [pratiṣṭhā], Mādhavendra Purī fled from Remuṇā. But the reputation brought by love of Godhead is so sublime that it goes along with the devotee, as if following him.
PURPORT
Almost all the conditioned souls within the material world are envious. Jealous people generally turn against one who automatically attains some reputation. This is natural for jealous people. Consequently, when a devotee is fit to receive worldly reputation, he is envied by many people. This is quite natural. When a person, out of humility, does not desire fame, people generally think him quite humble and consequently give him all kinds of fame. Actually a Vaiṣṇava does not hanker after fame or a great reputation. Mādhavendra Purī, the king of Vaiṣṇavas, bore his reputation, but he wanted to keep himself outside of the vision of the general populace. He wanted to cover his real identity as a great devotee of the Lord, but when people saw him overwhelmed in the ecstasy of love of Godhead, they naturally gave credit to him. Actually a first-class reputation is due Mādhavendra Purī because he was a most confidential devotee of the Lord. Sometimes a sahajiyā presents himself as being void of desires for reputation (pratiṣṭhā) in order to become famous as a humble man. Such people cannot actually attain the platform of celebrated Vaiṣṇavas.