Live Caitanya Caritamrta · CC Madhya 8.294
Unalloyed Devotion Is the Greatest Treasure
“Actually, these conversations are like a great mine where, from a single place, one can extract all kinds of metals — copper, bell metal, silver and gold — and also touchstone, the basis of all metals.”
What the purport teaches
- Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura explains that Rāmānanda Rāya answered five questions of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
- The first four answers are compared to increasingly valuable metals: copper, bell metal, silver and gold.
- The fifth answer is compared to touchstone because it deals with unalloyed devotion, the ultimate goal of devotional life. It also illuminates the preceding four subordinate answers.
Try this today
Write down this reminder today: “Unalloyed devotion is the ultimate goal of devotional life.”
Ask yourself
What does the comparison to touchstone teach me about the value of unalloyed devotion?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport; the practice and question are plain words for trying the verse today.