Any human being taking initiation with the name and mantra of the Supreme

Lord according to paï ca-saà skä ra from an authorized guru, according to instructions on the highest principles of worship of the Lord, attains steady intelligence and becomes situated in regular worship of the Lord. By this, he becomes fearless. He therefore rejects the daily, periodic and specialized actions for worldly people as taught in the Vedas, Små tis and Purä ë as. As a person overcome by false ego thinks himself the doer, the devotee avoids that danger by avoiding these actions. Mukunda is the only worshipable Person, the one and only object of hearing, chanting, service and prayer. All other worship, being temporary, is useless. Worship of Mukunda alone purifies the heart. The devotee therefore rejects all other actions completely.

Neither within nor outside the universe, is anyone worthy of surrender to, except Mukunda.That person, who from the time of initiation, sells himself to the Lord and makes Him his life and soul, becomes freed from the bondage of the material world by the grace of Mukunda, the giver of liberation. He serves the Lord perfectly, and avoids service to any devatä, devarñ i, maharñ i, rä jarñ i, any moving or non-moving entity. He does not serve wife, daughters, sons, or grandsons, brothers, relatives or any other person. He is not the debtor to any pitå or any secondary devatä.

‘O King Paré kñ it, please hear the meaning of the words 'kiì kara' and 'å ë i'. If a person worships a devatä with tarpaë as etc. he becomes a servant of the devatä. If the person neglects to perform tarpaë as to the å ñ is, if he does not satisfiy all living beings with water and food, if he does not supply proper food to his wife and offspring, if he does not perform the saà skä ras for his family members, if he does not serve unexpected guests, if he does not serve his father while alive and perform his father’s ç rä ddha rites after he dies, he is considered a debtor or 'å ë i'. But if he performs all these actions he becomes their servant, 'kiì kara'.’

Those who worship the devatä s and pitå s go to Svarga and other places, but as these are temporary destinations, they finally return to the earth planet. This is stated in the Bhagavad Gé tä. 9.25:

yä nti deva-vrata devä m

pitå é n yanti pitå -vratä ù

bhü tami yanti bhü tejyä

yanti mad-yä jino’pi mä m

“The worshippers of the devatä s go to the planet of the devatä s. The worshipper of pitå s goes to the planet of pitå s. the worshipper of bhü tas goes to the bhü tas. Those who worship Me come to Me.”

‘Those who have devotion to the demigods like Brahmä and Indra attain their particular plantets by worshipping them, chanting their mantras, doing sacrifices, offering oblations etc. After leaving that body, they return to the earth planet. Such persons who turn their focus away from My devotional service even leave the service of their worshipable demigods. After some time they accept another demigod and ultimately perform hundreds and thousands of condemnable activities. Being bewildered by My external energy, they take birth in 8, 400, 000 species of life again and again, until the devastation of the world. Of this there is no doubt.

My devotees serve their fathers with devotion while they are alive and after their death offer mahä prasä da and caraë ä må ta. They feed the brä hmaë as and especially the Vaiñ ë avas. Others however serve their fathers faithfully while alive, and after death feed everyone situated in varë a and ä ç rama. Being averse to My devotional service, they engage in ç rä ddha and tarpaë a rituals. Such persons are called pitå -vrata, and as a result they attain the Pitå loka, or the planet where the ancestors live. And those who worship the forms of bhü tas, pretas, piç ä cas, vinä yakas, mä tå s, dä kiné s, ç ä kiné s, yoginé s, the protectors of the directions, karabandhas, bhairavas and the inferior devatä s are called the worshippers of bhü tas. They attain the respective places of the bhü tas.

But My devotees who engage in My devotional service taking complete shelter of Me, after leaving their bodies, will attain My eternal abode, where I am always situated in My original form which is the ocean of bliss, like a beautiful dark rain cloud, eternal, imperishable, full of eternity, knowledge and bliss.

The purport is that I am only attainable by those devotees who are completely surrendered unto Me, not by those who have mixed their devotion by worshipping many other demigods. Therefore, My devotees, being My servitors, attain My supreme abode and continue their service unto Me. Of this there is no doubt.’

3. Vaç iñ ö ha-saà hitä

Another evidence forbidding worship of pitå s and devatä s is found in the Vaç iñ ö ha Saà hitä:

nityaà naimittikaà kä maà

dä naà saì kalpam eva ca

daivam karma tathä paitraà

na kuryä d vaiñ ë avo gå hé

“A householder Vaiñ ë ava should not perform any fruitive activities prescribed on a daily or periodic basis, those arising from personal desire, charities or vows, that are in connection with either the worship of the demigods or the worship of the ancestors by ç rä ddha and tarpaë a. “

'Daiva karma' means worship of devatä s. 'Paitra' means worship of pitå s through ç rä ddha and tarpaë a. What to speak of brahmacä ris and others, even the gå hasthas, who are initiated by a bona fide spiritual master with Vaiñ ë ava-mantra - being under the complete shelter of the Lord - must never do any rites apart from the worship of Lord Viñ ë u.

4. Rudra Yä mala

(Another quotation forbidding deva and pitå worship.)

As stated in Rudra-Yä mala:

itä reñ ä à ca devä nä à

manasä yadi pü janaà

viñ ë u-bhaktas tu kurute

hy-aparä dhä t pataty-adhaù

“If a devotee of Lord Viñ ë u worships any other demigod even in his mind, he falls down because of this offence. “

The word 'itä reñ ä à ' means other than Lord Viñ ë u, such as Gaë eç a; 'manasa' means simply by mind, without doing ä vä hana, visarjana etc. and the word 'ca' indicates also nitya, naimittika, kä mya actions and honouring the ancestors. What to speak of anything else, even if a devotee of Lord Viñ ë u does the activities, out of illusion, bewilderment or carelessness, he falls down because of commiting sevä parä dha and namä parä dha (offences to the service and holy name of Lord Viñ ë u, the Personalilty of Godhead.) What happens? One who is bound with the ropes of such material activities, sometimes goes to the heavenly planets and sometimes goes down to the lower planets. That is his position.

5. Padma Purä ë a

(A Purä ë ic proof forbidding devatä worship.)

In Padma Purä ë a it is stated:

vaiñ ë avasya na saì kalpo

no dä naà na ca kä manä

prä yaç cittaà ca no yä gaù

sad bhü -devä d-pü janaà

ç uddha-pü taù sadä -kä rñ ë aù

kuç a-dhä raë a-varjitaù

kä ma-saà kalpa-raitaç -

cä ntar-bä hya harir yataù

vaiñ ë avo nä nya vibhudhä n

arcayet taà ç ca no namet

na paç yetä nna gä yec-ca

na né ndenna smaret tathä

teñ ä à no bhakñ ed ucchiñ ö aà

ananyo naiñ ö hiko muniù

na taj janä nä à devarñ e

saì gam kuryä t prayatnataù

“A Vaiñ ë ava is not supposed to do saì kalpa, dä na, keep material desires, perform atonement or sacrifice, but must perform worship of the Vaiñ ë avas and holy brä hmaë as.”

The servant of Kå ñ ë a is always pure, therefore he does not need to wear kuç a grass(rings). He has no material desire because Lord Hari is situated within and without him.

A Vaiñ ë ava should neither worship demigods nor offer them obeisances, observe, blaspheme, remember or sing about them.

O godly sage, Nä rada, one who is fully dependent on the Lord should not eat the remnants of food offered to the demigods and should try to avoid the association of those who serve the demigods.’

Because the Lord is the only worshipable object and the only shelter for a Vaiñ ë ava, the devotee has no desire for material benefits gained by the performance of nitya, naimittika, kä mya karmas, demigod and pitå worship, fasting, sacrifice, vows or charity. The meanings of saì kalpa, dä na and yä ga (sacrifice) are already explained. Atonement (prä yaç citta) which is undergone for the purpose of counteracting the reactions of the four kinds of sinful activities – mahä -pä taka, ati-pä taka, upa-pä taka, anu-pä taka -- is not for the Vaiñ ë avas.

The word 'ca' indicates another kind of atonement for the Vaiñ ë ava. What is that atonement? One should again accept name and mantra from one’s own spiritual master. If the guru is not present (left his body), one should accept from the guru’s wife, son or godbrother or from any other pure devotee having similar qualities. Thus becoming exceedingly pure by having accepted the paï ca-saà skä ras again, he should offer obeisances to and worship Lord Viñ ë u, by fully engaging in hearing, chanting and remembering the name, form, qualities and pastimes of Lord Viñ ë u.

(The following section is a footnote added by Gopä la Bhaö ö a Gosvä mé)

In Nä rada Paï carä tra, Bharadvä ja Saà hitä 3.22.25, the process of atonement for a Vaiñ ë ava is described:

prä yaç cittaà tu paramaà