Text 161
prathamei upaśākhāra karaye chedana
tabe mūla-śākhā bāḍi’ yāya vṛndāvana
prathamei — from the very beginning; upaśākhāra — of the unwanted creepers; karaye — does; chedana — the cutting away; tabe — then only; mūla-śākhā — the chief creeper; bāḍi’ — growing; yāya — goes; vṛndāvana — to the lotus feet of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana.
“As soon as an intelligent devotee sees an unwanted creeper growing beside the original creeper, he must cut it down instantly. Then the real creeper, the bhakti-latā, grows nicely, returns home, back to Godhead, and seeks shelter under the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa.
If one is misled by unwanted creepers and is victimized, he cannot make progress back to Godhead. Rather, he remains within the material world and engages in activities having nothing to do with pure devotional service. Such a person may be elevated to the higher planetary systems, but because he remains within the material world, he is subjected to the threefold material miseries.