By Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura (Bengali and English Translation)

dushta mana! tumi kiser vaishnava?
pratishthar tare, nirjaner ghare,
tava 'hari nama' kevala 'kaitava'

O wicked mind! What kind of Vaishnava do you think you are? Your pretentious show of chanting Lord Hari's holy name in a solitary place is only for the sake of attaining the false prestige of a worldly reputation-it is nothing but pure hypocrisy.

jader pratishtha, shukarer vishtha,
jano na ki taha 'mayar vaibhava'
kanaka kamini, divasa-yamini,
bhaviya ki kaja, anitya se saba

Such materialistic prestige is as disgusting as the stool of a hog. Do you not know that it is only a mere illusion cast by the potency of Maya? What is the value of contemplating day and night your plans for enjoying wealth and women? All these things are only temporary.

tomar kanaka, bhoger janaka,
kanaker dvare sevaho 'madhava'
kaminir kama, nahe tava dhama,
tahar-malika kevala 'yadava'

When you claim wealth as your own, it creates in you ever-increasing desires for material enjoyment. Your riches should be used for serving Madhava, the Lord of all wealth. Neither is it your proper place to indulge in lust for women, whose only true proprietor is Lord Yadava.

pratishthasha-taru, jada-maya-maru,
na pela 'ravana' yujhiya 'raghava'
vaishnavi pratishtha, tate koro nishtha,
taha na bhajile labhibe raurava

The demon Ravana (lust-incarnate) fought with Lord Ramachandra (love-incarnate) in order to gain the tree of worldly reputation-but that oasis turned out to be but a mirage cast in the desert wasteland of the Lord's illusory material potency. Please cultivate fixed determination to attain only the steady and solid platform whereupon a Vaishnava ever stands. If you neglect worshiping the Lord from this position, then you will ultimately attain a hellish existence.

harijana-dvesha, pratisthasha-klesha,
koro keno tabe tahar gaurava
vaishnaver pache, pratisthasha ache,
ta'te kabhu nahe 'anitya-vaibhava'

Why do you needlessly suffer the torment of blaspheming the devotees of Lord Hari, attempting to achieve their eminence, thereby only proving your own fruitless foolishness? The desire for spiritual eminence is easily fulfilled when one becomes a devotee of the Lord, for eternal fame automatically follows the heels of a Vaishnava. And that fame is never to be considered a temporary worldly opulence.

se hari-sambandha, shunya-maya-gandha,
taha kabhu noy 'jader kaitava'
pratishtha-candali, nirjanata-jali,
ubhaye janiho mayika raurava

The relationship between a devotee and Lord Hari is devoid of even a trace of worldly illusion; it has nothing to do with the materialistic cheating propensity. The prestige of so-called popularity in the material realm is compared to a treacherous dog-eating witch, and the attempt to live in solitude to supposedly engage in unalloyed bhajan is compared to an entangling network of distraction. Please know that anyone striving in either of these ways verily lives in the hell of Maya's illusion.

kirtana chadibo, pratishtha makhibo,
ki kaja dhudiya tadrisha gaurava
madhavendra puri, bhava-ghare curi,
na korilo kabhu sadai janabo

I shall give up chanting the Lord's name publicly in kirtan and retire to solitude, thus smearing myself with worldly honor." Dear mind, what is the good of seeking such so-called glory? I will always remind you that the great soul Madhavendra Puri never deceived himself in that regard by committing theft in his own storehouse of perception the way you do.

tomar pratishtha,-'shukarer vishtha',
tar-saha sama kabhu na manava
matsarata-vashe, tumi jada-rase,
majecho chadiya kirtana-saushtava

Your cheap reputation is equal to the stool of a hog. An ordinary ambitious man like you can never be equated with a devotee of Madhavendra Puri's eminence. Under the sway of envy, you have drowned yourself in the filthy waters of material enjoyment after having abandoned the excellent perfection of congregational kirtan.

tai dushta mana, 'nirjana bhajan,'
pracaricho chale 'kuyogi-vaibhava'
prabhu sanatane, parama jatane,
shiksha dilo yaha, cinto sei saba

Truly, O wicked mind, the glories of so-called solitary worship are propagated only by false yogis using unscrupulous means to deceive others. To save yourself from these pitfalls, please contemplate the instructions that the Supreme Lord Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu kindly gave us while addressing Shrila Sanatana Goswami with the utmost care.

sei du'ti katha, bhulo' na sarvatha,
uccaih-svare koro 'hari-nama-rava'
'phalgu' ar 'yukta,' 'baddha' ar 'mukta,'
kabhu na bhaviho, ekakar saba

Do not forget for a moment the two most valuable concepts that He taught: 1) the principle of dry, apparent renunciation as opposed to real, appropriate renunciation; and 2) the principle of a soul being trapped in the bondage of matter as opposed to a soul who is liberated. Don't ever make the mistake of thinking that these conflicting concepts are on the same level. Please remember this while engaging yourself in chanting the Lord's holy names as loud as you possibly can.

'kanaka-kamini,' 'pratishtha-baghini,'
chadiyache jare, sei to' vaishnava
sei 'anasakta,' sei 'shuddha-bhakta,'
samsar tatha pay parabhava

One is truly a Vaishnava who has given up the habit of falling victim to the ferocious tigress of wealth, beauty, and fame. Such a soul is factually detached from material life, and is known as a pure devotee. Someone with this consciousness of detachment has thereby become victorious over the mundane world of birth and death.

radha-dasye rohi', chadi 'bhoga-ahi,'
'pratishthasha' nahe 'kirtana-gaurava'
'radha-nitya-jana,' taha chadi' mana,
keno va nirjana-bhajana-kaitava

Ever engage yourself in the service of Shri Radha, and keep aloof from the vicious snake of materialistic sense gratification. The glory of participating in the Lord's kirtan is not meant to bolster anyone's ambitions for personal recognition. O mind, why then have you abandoned the identity of being Radha's eternal servant in favor of retiring to a solitary place to practice the cheating process of so-called bhajan?

vraja-vasi-gana, pracaraka-dhana,
pratishtha-bhikshuka ta'ra nahe 'shava'
prana ache ta'r, se-hetu pracar,
pratishthasha-hina-'krishna-gatha' saba

The most valuable treasures amongst the Lord's preachers are the eternal personalities residing in Vraja-dham. They never occupy themselves with begging for worthless material reputation, which is cherished only by the living dead. The Vraja-vasis are truly infused with life, and therefore they preach in order to give life to the walking corpses of the mundane world. All the songs that the Vraja-vasis sing about the glories of Lord Krishna are devoid of any tinge of desire for fame.

shri-dayita-das, kirtanete ash,
koro uccaih-svare 'hari-nama-rava'
kirtana-prabhave, smarana svabhave,
se kale bhajana-nirjana sambhava

This humble servant of Radha and Her beloved Krishna always hopes for kirtan, and he begs all to loudly sing the names of Lord Hari. The transcendental power of congregational chanting automatically awakens remembrance of the Lord and His divine pastimes in relation to one's own eternal spiritual form. Only at that time does it become possible to go off to a solitary place and engage in the confidential worship of Their Lordships.