One should completely refrain from practices which are detrimental to the interest of self-realization.
The Lord taught the Gosvami about devotional service, comparing it to a creeper, and advised him to protect the bhakti creeper most carefully against the mad elephant offense against the pure devotees. In addition, the creeper has to be protected from the desires of sense enjoyment, monistic liberation and perfection of the hatha-yoga system. They are all detrimental on the path of devotional service. Similarly, violence against living beings, and desire for worldly gain, worldly reception and worldly fame are all detrimental to the progress of bhakti, or Bhagavata-dharma.
Pure devotional service must be freed from all desires for sense gratification, fruitive aspirations and culture of monistic knowledge. One must be freed from all kinds of designations, and when one is thus converted to transcendental purity, one can then serve the Lord by purified senses.
As long as there is the desire to enjoy sensually or to become one with the Supreme or to possess the mystic powers, there is no question of attaining the stage of pure devotional service.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => SB Introduction
The below Qualities helps in Spiritual Progress.
- Humility;
- pridelessness;
- nonviolence;
- tolerance;
- simplicity;
- approaching a bona fide spiritual master;
- cleanliness; s
- teadiness;
- self-control;
- renunciation of the objects of sense gratification;
- absence of false ego;
- the perception of the evil of birth, death, old age and disease;
- detachment;
- freedom from entanglement with children, wife,
- home and the rest;
- even-mindedness amid pleasant and unpleasant events;
- constant and unalloyed devotion to Me;
- aspiring to live in a solitary place;
- detachment from the general mass of people;
- accepting the importance of self-realization;
- and philosophical search for the Absolute Truth
-- all these I declare to be knowledge, and besides this whatever there may be is ignorance.
Steadiness means that one should be very determined to make progress in spiritual life. Without such determination, one cannot make tangible progress. And self-control means that one should not accept anything which is detrimental to the path of spiritual progress. One should become accustomed to this and reject anything which is against the path of spiritual progress. This is real renunciation. The senses are so strong that they are always anxious to have sense gratification. One should not cater to these demands, which are not necessary. The senses should only be gratified to keep the body fit so that one can discharge his duty in advancing in spiritual life.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Bg 13.8, Bg 13.9, Bg 13.10, Bg 13.11, Bg 13.12, Bg 13.8-12
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