Pavitra Means Purified

Srila Gurudeva: Krsna first of all had to face Putana. What is Putana? ‘Puta-na,’ that is those things, those activities and those things which are not pure. A sadhaka should try to give up all these things. Krsna killed Putana. He did not kill her, but He destroyed her external body. What did He do with her internal body? He made it pure. She was eating the blood and flesh of newborn children. She was so envious. All bad qualities were in her. So Krsna first took all these things. Took means He destroyed them. Took does not mean that Krsna took all these things and that He will have to suffer for that. It is nothing like that.

Someone says that it has been written in Caitanya-bhagavata or Caitanya-caritamrta that Caitanya Mahaprabhu took the offenses and all other things and He became black. But this is for foolish people, those who are ignorant. It is for those who are just now going to be admitted into bhakti. It is only for those people, to give them faith that, “Oh, Caitanya Mahaprabhu took all the sins on Himself.” But we know that He is so powerful. If anyone will chant the name of Krsna, then what will be the result?

Will this name take all the sins on Himself? No. By the influence of chanting the name, by the abhasa, even some semblance of the holy name will burn down all sins. So Caitanya Mahaprabhu has no sins to take on Himself. He showed that He was black only for general people, for those who are so low. Only to give them some faith. But He does not take anything on Himself and suffer for this. So Krsna took all the bad qualities from Putana. Pavitra—pavitra means purified by two ways: the outer body and then the mind. Giving up all these things of the mind, like the first verse of Upadesamrta:

vaco vegam manasah krodha-vegam

jihva-vegam udaropastha-vegam

etan vegan yo visaheta dhirah

sarvam apimam prithivim sa sisyat

Sri Upadesamrta 1

[A wise and self-composed person who can tolerate the impetus to speak, the agitation of the mind, the onset of anger, the vehemence of the tongue, the urge of the belly and the agitation of the genitals can instruct the whole world. In other words, everyone becomes a disciple of such a self-controlled person.]

All these things are to be given up. But we cannot give them up. We have no power to give these things up. How can you give them up? Only by the mercy of Guru and Vaisnava. You’ll have to offer yourself and then we will be purified in two ways, only by the help of a madhyama-adhikari Guru and Vaisnava. We will have to take shelter of madhyama-adhikaris. But what is a madhyama-adhikari? I will clarify this today in the evening.

[Spoken by Srila Gurudeva on April 27th, 1998, France, published as part of the Bhakta Bandhav Anthology, Volume 27]