Key Points

  • In the second verse of Upadesamrita, Rupa Goswami prescribes the six vices that cause a devotee to stumble, stagnate, or fall from the path of bhakti. These are the anarthas — the “unwanted things” — that choke the bhakti-lata like weeds choking a garden
  • They are not exotic sins — they are the ordinary habits of material life that one must recognize and gradually uproot. Vigilance is essential; complacency is the devotee’s enemy
  • Atyahara — Over-eating or over-collecting: Eating more than the body needs, or accumulating more material possessions than necessary for one’s service. When the belly is too full, the mind becomes dull and the tongue becomes uncontrolled. A devotee should eat moderately, accepting prasadam only as much as needed to maintain the body in Krishna’s service. Prabhupada would say: “Eat to live, not live to eat”
  • Prayasa — Over-endeavoring for material things: Expending excessive energy in acquiring, maintaining, or expanding material comforts. The materialist works frantically for comfort, but ends up with anxiety. A devotee should work simply, trust in Krishna’s arrangement, and not strain beyond what is required for one’s prescribed duties
  • Prajalpa — Useless talk: Gossip, worldly conversation, criticism of others, discussion of politics and sports, talking against scriptures or devotees — all of this wastes the precious energy of the tongue, which should be reserved for chanting the holy name, reading scripture, and speaking about Krishna. The tongue is the most difficult sense to control; prajalpa is its primary disease
  • Niyamagraha — Fanatical rule-following or neglect of rules: This word has a double meaning. “Niyama” means rules; “agraha” can mean either “grasping too tightly” (fanaticism — following rules mechanically for show, without devotion) or “not grasping” (neglect — ignoring the regulative principles altogether). Both are dangerous: the fanatic becomes proud and dry; the negligent becomes degraded. The middle path is sincere, loving adherence to the regulative principles as an expression of devotion
  • Jana-sanga — Association with worldly-minded people: Spending time with those who have no interest in God — whose conversation is always about money, sex, politics, and entertainment. Such association is like poison injected slowly into the devotee’s heart. It does not kill immediately, but over time it destroys spiritual taste. This does not mean one becomes antisocial, but one must be vigilant about which associations become intimate and frequent
  • Laulyam — Greed or restless attraction to worldly pleasures: The mind’s restless jumping toward sense gratification — new tastes, new experiences, new accumulations. The greedy mind is never satisfied; it always wants more. This greed can also manifest as a desire for name, fame, and followers — which is even more dangerous because it masquerades as spirituality
  • These six together form a kind of “anti-bhakti formula.” A devotee who is unaware of them is like a patient who does not know what is making him sick. The first step of treatment is diagnosis
  • The antidote is not harsh suppression but replacement: fill the time with kirtana, the belly with prasadam in proper measure, the tongue with Hari-katha, the associations with devotees, and the mind with Krishna’s lotus feet

Sanskrit Terms

  • Anartha — unwanted things; obstacles in the heart that obstruct devotional service
  • Atyahara — excessive eating or collecting beyond one’s needs
  • Prayasa — excessive, anxious material endeavor
  • Prajalpa — idle, useless, or spiritually harmful speech
  • Niyamagraha — either fanatical adherence to rules (without devotion) or laxity in following them
  • Jana-sanga — association with worldly-minded, materialistic people
  • Laulyam — greed; restless, uncontrolled desire for material enjoyment or adoration
  • Bhakti-lata — the creeper of devotion that grows in the heart
  • Sadhu-sanga — protective association with saintly devotees, the primary antidote to these six vices
  • Hari-katha — topics about the Lord; spiritual conversation that purifies the mind

Scriptural References

  • Upadesamrita (Nectar of Instruction) verse 2 — “atyaharah prayasash ca prajalpo niyamagrahah, jana-sangash ca laulyam ca shadbhir bhaktir vinashyati” — “One’s devotional service is spoiled when he becomes too entangled in the following six activities: (1) eating more than necessary or collecting more than necessary, (2) over-endeavoring for mundane things, (3) talking unnecessarily about mundane subjects, (4) practicing the scriptural rules and regulations only for the sake of following them and not for the sake of spiritual advancement, or rejecting the rules and regulations of the scriptures and working independently or whimsically, (5) associating with worldly-minded persons who are not interested in Krishna consciousness, and (6) being greedy for mundane achievements”
  • Bhagavad-gita 3.37 — “It is lust only, Arjuna, which is born of contact with the material mode of passion and later transformed into wrath, and which is the all-devouring sinful enemy of this world” — laulyam and atyahara are expressions of this fundamental disease of lust
  • Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.15 — scripture recommends giving up useless activities (anartha) as a prerequisite for firmly fixing the mind on Vasudeva

References

Practical Takeaway

This week, honestly examine your daily routine: How much time goes to prajalpa — phone scrolling, gossip, aimless talk? How much to jana-sanga — environments that drain your spiritual energy? Identify your most prominent anartha and bring it to your morning prayer. Awareness is the beginning of freedom.