SB 3.28.34

The unfortunate yogī who has developed love for the Lord, full of all sweet qualities, whose heart is somewhat soft because of devotion, whose body hairs stand on end in ecstasy, who is constantly overcome with intense tears of joy, gradually withdraws his hook-like mind from the Lord’s form. The foolish yogī, who, receiving great mercy and experiencing the sweetness of meditation on the Lord’s pastimes, rejects it because he is not fixed in that taste, is considered low class among yogīs, even though he is steady in yoga. He is cheated of bhakti-rasa. By bhakti alone, he attains liberation with realization of pratyag-ātmā (individual soul) while destroying twenty-one types of suffering. But he does not attain liberation with realization of Paramātmā. [Note: The commentary has the word Brahman here, but Paramātmā seems more suitable, as will be explained later.] That is explained starting in this verse and until the end of the chapter. This yogī has attained bhāva for the Supreme Lord , Bhagavān, full of the nectar of all sweetness and powers, since the Lord is most attractive (harau), possessing the six bhagas (bhagavati). Pratilabdha besides meaning “to attain” suggests that he receives, but does not response appropriately. The word api later in the verse applies to all the previous words. Thus the meaning is “Though he received bhāva for the sweet form of the Lord, though his heart melted, though his hairs stood on end, and though he was constantly afflicted with streams of tears caused by longing, he withdraws the hook of his mind from that form (tad api).” It is said that one should give up jṣāna to attain liberation (jṣānaṣ ca mayi sannyaset, SB 11.19.1), but there is no rule to give up bhakti to attain liberation. On the contrary, it is forbidden to give up bhakti, for it has just been said in the previous verse “One should not desire to see anything except the Viṣṇu who is present in one’s heart with a mind steeped in mature devotion.” Therefore, the yogī gives up that sweet form only by his own foolish decision. He does so without following rules. Because his heart is like a hook, he gives up that sweet form. This means that the heart which was inundated with the sweetness of the Lord then begins to negate that eagerness for sweetness of the Lord, in order to distance itself from eagerness for rasa for material objects. He does so gradually, because it is difficult to withdraw, since the heart has directly experienced that sweetness. Even if he has no direct experience of the sweetness, he can only withdraw his mind by repeated effort, two times, three times, four times, five times, seven or eight times. The hook is made of iron. It does not melt like gold, silver or butter. It softens a little by applying great heat, but immediately becomes hard again. Thus the verse states that his heart is in the process of melting (dravat), rather than being fully fluid. The hook, though always bathed in the waters of the sacred Gaṅgā, remains permanently crooked, without appreciation of rasa. It is also a cheater, because it covers its point with bits of sweet food for attracting greedy fish. The yogī’s heart is thus condemned by this analogy. Though purified by the holy place, it remains hard and crooked, and makes a show, covering its nature with devotional meditation to attract the Lord. In commenting on dharamaḥ projjhita-kaitavaḥ (SB 1.1.2), Śrīdhara Svāmī says that the word pra indicates that even the desire for liberation, the desire for merging in the Lord, is rejected as cheating, for in that liberation, even Bhakti-devī, the highest object of meditation, worshipped as a mere aṅga of yoga, is finally rejected. The touch of that hook of the yogī’s heart is uncomfortable for the Lord as well. Thus, after the withdrawal from the Lord, the Lord gives liberation with realization of pratyagātmā while destroying twenty-one type o f suffering to the fisherman yogī with his withdrawn hook-like heart. He does not give liberation with realization of Paramātmā. The relishers of the Bhāgavatam say that the yogī described in the Gītā does not reject meditation on the Lord, and thus the Lord awards him liberation with realization of the form of Paramātmā, since that yogī never desires to withdraw from the sweet form of the Lord, the object of his meditation. Parīkṣit says: dhautātmā puruṣaḥ kṛṣṇa-pāda-mūlaṁ na muṣcati mukta-sarva-parikleśaḥ pānthaḥ sva-śaraṇaṁ yathā A pure devotee of the Lord whose heart has once been cleansed by the process of devotional service never relinquishes the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa, for they fully satisfy him, as a traveler is satisfied at home after a troubled journey. SB 2.8.6 Uddhava says: taṁ tvākhilātma-dayiteśvaram āśritānāṁ sarvārtha-daṁ sva-kṛta-vid visṛjeta ko nu ko vā bhajet kim api vismṛtaye 'nu bhūtyai kiṁ vā bhaven na tava pāda-rajo-juṣāṁ naḥ What person who knows the mercy you show to your devotees could reject you, the most dear among all souls, the Supreme Lord of all, who give all possible perfections to the devotees who take shelter of you? Who would reject you and accept something for the sake of material enjoyment or liberation, which simply leads to forgetfulness of you? And what lack is there for us who are engaged in the service of the dust of your lotus feet? SB 11.29.5 Nārada says: na vai jano jātu kathaṣcanāvrajen mukunda-sevy anyavad aṅga saṁsṛtim smaran mukundāṅghry-upagūhanaṁ punar vihātum icchen na rasa-graho janaḥ Oh! The person who serves Mukunda will never under any condition return to the material world, unlike practitioners of other processes. Remembering the embrace of the Lord’s lotus feet, eager for that taste he has experienced, he will not desire to give up those feet again. SB 1.5.19 Even among the yogīs, Śukadeva and others were pleased with hearing about the Lord. They were rasa-graha, enjoyers of the taste of the Lord. In the previous verse also it was said that yogī whose mind is offered up with bhakti should not see anything accept the Lord. If the yogī offers his mind to the Lord, the mind belongs only to the Lord. If that is so, how can that mind reject the Lord? And how can he, once giving the mind, take it back? Such a person can only be condemned! And the Lord resides only in the hearts of the devotees, not in the hearts of the yogīs. Brahmā says: ye tu tvadīya-caraṇāmbuja-kośa-gandhaṁ jighranti karṇa-vivaraiḥ śruti-vāta-nītam bhaktyā gṛhīta-caraṇaḥ parayā ca teṣāṁ nāpaiṣi nātha hṛdayāmburuhāt sva-puṁsām O my Lord, persons who smell the aroma of your lotus feet, carried by the air of Vedic sound through the holes of the ears, accept your devotional service. For them you are never separated from the lotus of their hearts. SB 3.9.5 Āvirhotra says: visṛjati hṛdayaṁ na yasya sākṣād dharir avaśābhihito 'py aghaugha-nāśaḥ praṇaya-rasanayā dhṛtāṅghri-padmaḥ sa bhavati bhāgavata-pradhāna uktaḥ He who binds the lotus feet of the Lord by ropes of love, and whose heart the Lord, destroyer of heaps of sin, called even unconsciously, does not leave, is called the best of devotees. SB 11.2.55