Maharaj Bharat had attained the stage of Bhava and had retired in the forest to attain the perfection of life- love for Krsna.However he got distracted by his compassion towards a deer calf.He got extremely attached to the deer and while caring for it , he negelected his own sadhana and feel to the position of a deer in his next birth.
One can fall even from the stage of bhava (albiet temporarily) if one neglects one's spiritual practices.Spiritual life is like a razor's edge. If we dont practice right we will lose all our spiritual credits and fall down. One small distraction can pull our mind away. The distraction maybe seemingly justified , however if it is taking us away from Krishna it is material.
Importance of association and sadhana:
Practicing great caution is absolutely necessary and sadhana should not be compromised at any cost.Maya came in the form of a deer to distract Bharat Maharaj- it may manifest in different forms for us. Unless we follow rigid sadhana and remain in association we will not be able to make the right judgement.
Material compassion:
Bharat Maharaj felt responsible towards the deer and took great care of it - to the extent that he thought it ok to compromise his spiritual practices to take care of the motherless deer. The compassion transformed to attachment and an eventual fall down from his position.
He states thus:
SB 5.8.10: Even though one is in the renounced order, one who is advanced certainly feels compassion for suffering living entities. One should certainly neglect his own personal interests, although they may be very important, to protect one who has surrendered.
This is how the mind can trick us. The mind can win when sadhana is compromised.
Srila Prabhupada states in this regard:
"by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, we may raise a person to spiritual consciousness if we ourselves follow the rules and regulations. If we give up our own spiritual activities and simply become concerned with the bodily comforts of others, we will fall into a dangerous position."
So many times in the name of preaching or cultivating someone we may find ourself in a situation similar to Bharat Maharaj. We may feel that the person is dependent only on us for their spiritual life and we need to go the extra mile to help them in their practice and personal problems. However we must realize that our time in the material world is at a premium - for services and our own upliftment .
If we have difficulty following SP's statement above then we need to examine our consciousness : Do we really desire to help this devotee ?How much time is needed here?
I cannot sustain myself if I dont do my sadhana right - I will not be able to help anyone.
Am I doing this on the platform of service or is it giving pleasure to my false ego?Am I really helping the devotee take shelter of Krishna- Am I right the person- Maybe I can connect them with a higher authority?
If we help the new devotee take shelter of Krishna through His Holy Names, take shelter of SP books and lectures we would be doing great service. Also if such attachment is cultivated the number of times the new devotee will need our help will reduce.
However we can encourage someone to cultivate such attachment only if we ourselves are similarly attached. This again goes back to SP's statement in bold above.
We should endeavor to raise people to Krishna Consciousness - thats is real compassion. This is possible by raising ourselves.
SP's powerful quotes in this pastime:
"Spiritual salvation and liberation from material bondage must be worked out with great caution, otherwise a little discrepancy will cause one to fall down again into material existence. ......... We should be compassionate by raising one from the material platform to the spiritual platform; otherwise at any moment our spiritual advancement may be spoiled, and we may fall down onto the material platform. Maharaj Bharat's compassion for the deer was the beginning of his falldown into the material world." SB 5.8.7
"we have to be very cautious in executing our spiritual duties by observing the rules and regulations and regularly chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. If we neglect doing this, we will eventually fall down. We must rise early in the morning. bathe, attend mańgala-ārati, worship the Deities, chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, study the Vedic literatures and follow all the rules prescribed by the ācāryas and the spiritual master. If we deviate from this process, we may fall down, even though we may be very highly advanced." SB 5.8.8
Sympathy towards bodily condition:
"if one does not know of the material sufferings of fallen souls and becomes sympathetic because of bodily comforts, as in the case of Bharat Maharaj, such sympathy or compassion is the cause of one's downfall. If one is actually sympathetic to fallen, suffering humanity, he should try to elevate people from material consciousness to spiritual consciousness." SB 5.8.9
Lastly:
"We should be very careful not to be misled by so-called welfare activities conducted in bodily, terms. One should not give up his interest in attaining the favor of Lord Viṣṇu at any cost. Generally people do not know this, or they forget it. " SB 5.8.10
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