In spiritual practice, the growth of devotion is compared to the cultivation of a tender creeper (bhakti-latā). However, as the gardener waters it with the water of hearing and chanting (śravanam-kīrtanam), unwanted creepers—upaśākhās—begin to grow alongside the main stem.
If these weeds and unwanted creepers are not pruned in time, they drain all the vitality from the main creeper, arresting its spiritual growth.
Introduction
In His instructions to Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī at Prayāga, Lord Caitanya explains the process of cultivating the creeper of devotion (bhakti-latā-bīja). To help the practitioner protect their devotional service from deviations and distortions, the Lord analyzes in detail the dangers that await the gardener along this path, describing them in the following verses:sds
Caitanya-caritāmrta, Madhya 19.158
kintu yadi latāra sange uthe ‘upaśākhā’
bhukti-mukti-vāñchā, yata asankhya tāra lekhā
“Sometimes unwanted creepers, such as the creepers of desires for material enjoyment and liberation from the material world, grow along with the creeper of devotional service. The varieties of such unwanted creepers are unlimited.”
Caitanya-caritāmrta, Madhya 19.159
‘nisiddhācāra’, ‘kutīnātī’, ‘jīva-himsana’
‘lābha’, ‘pūjā’, ‘pratisthādi’ yata upaśākhā-gana
“Some unnecessary creepers growing with the bhakti creeper are the creepers of behavior unacceptable for those trying to attain perfection, diplomatic behavior, animal-killing, mundane profiteering, mundane adoration and mundane importance. All these are unwanted creepers.”
Caitanya-caritāmrta, Madhya 19.160
seka-jala pāñā upaśākhā bādi’ yāya
stabdha hañā mūla-śākhā bādite nā pāya
“If one does not distinguish between the bhakti creeper and the other creepers, the sprinkling of water is misused because the other creepers are nourished while the bhakti creeper is curtailed.”
8 Types of Unwanted Creepers (Upaśākhās)
The Ācāryas explain in detail how these obstacles creep into and manifest in the life of a practitioner:
1. Bhukti-vāñchā
The desire for material sense gratification on Earth or on heavenly planets, the longing for physical comfort, wealth, status, and subtle sensory pleasures within the material world.
Root motive: "I am the enjoyer" (the intent to exploit matter).
2. Mukti-vāñchā
The desire for liberation from material suffering (kaivalya, sāyujya), the longing to merge one's individuality into the impersonal effulgence of Brahman, or to extinguish the ego.
Root motive: The desire for peace (escaping suffering for one's own comfort).
3. Nisiddhācāra / Asad-dharmācarana (Niyamāgraha)
Forbidden behavior or formalistic, fanatical adherence to rules and regulations without grasping their true spiritual purpose (also known as niyamāgraha).
How it manifests:
- The devotee strictly and fanatically observes external rituals, rules, and prohibitions, but completely loses what is paramount—love, humility, and the spontaneous desire to serve Krsna.
- The practitioner focuses entirely on the technical accuracy of the ritual, transforming spiritual practice into dry pedantry, or invents unauthorized, self-fabricated rules.
4. Kutīnātī — Duplicity and Intrigue
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains in his purport to Caitanya-caritāmrta (Madhya 19.159):
“Kutīnātī, or diplomatic behavior, cannot satisfy the ātmā, the soul. It cannot even satisfy the body or the mind. The culprit mind is always suspicious; therefore our dealings should always be straightforward and approved by Vedic authorities. If we treat people diplomatically or duplicitously, our spiritual advancement is obstructed.”
In the purport to verse 19.160, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Thākura adds:
“Just to cheat some innocent people, one makes a show of advanced spiritual life and becomes known as a sādhu, mahātmā or religious person. All this means that the so-called devotee has become victimized by all these unwanted creepers and that the real creeper, the bhakti-latā, has been stunted.”
5. Jīva-himsā — Violence Against Living Entities
The word-for-word translation of CC Madhya 19.159 defines it as: “unnecessarily killing animals or the soul.”
Śrīla Prabhupāda illuminates both levels of this obstacle:
“Jīva-himsana refers to the killing of animals or to envy of other living entities. The killing of poor animals is undoubtedly due to envy of those animals...
There are many religious propagandists who do not know how the ultimate problems of life can be solved, and they also try to educate people in a form of sense gratification. This is also jīva-himsana. Real knowledge is not given, and religionists mislead the general populace.”
6. Lābha — Desire for Material Gain
Purport to CC Madhya 19.159:
“As far as material profits are concerned, one should know that whatever material profit one has must be abandoned at the time of death. Unfortunately people do not know that there is life after death; therefore mundane people waste their time amassing material profit which has to be left behind at the time of death. Such profit has no eternal benefit.”
Furthermore, the purport to verse 19.160 underscores the prohibition of exploitation in devotional life:
“One may also try to carry out a professional business by means of chanting the Hare Krsna mantra or reading Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, or one may try to increase his monetary strength by illegal means.”
7. Pūjā — Desire for Mundane Adoration and Worship
Synonyms to CC Madhya 19.159:
pūjā — “adoration achieved by satisfying mundane people.”
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Thākura observes in the purport to verse 19.160:
“One may desire mundane reputation by making compromises with nondevotees concerning one's philosophy or spiritual life... One may make a show of devotional service like the prākrta-sahajiyās... Also, one may become a cheap Vaisnava by trying to chant in a secluded place for material adoration.”
8. Pratisthā — Thirst for Mundane Distinction and Status
Synonyms to CC Madhya 19.159:
pratistha-ādi — “becoming an important man in material calculations, and so on.”
Purport to CC Madhya 19.159:
“Similarly, adoration by mundane people is valueless because after death one has to accept another body. Material adoration and titles are decorations that cannot be carried over to the next body. In the next life, everything is forgotten.”
In Hari-bhakti-vilāsa and his celebrated song “Vaisnava Ke?”, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Thākura warns:
kanaka-kāminī, pratisthā-bāghinī, chādiyāche yāre, sei ta’ vaisnava
“He is a true Vaisnava who has given up wealth (kanaka), women (kāminī), and the tigress of desire for fame and distinction (pratisthā-bāghinī).”
The Hazard of Upaśākhā Weeds
According to Śrī Caitanya-caritāmrta (Madhya-līlā, 19.160), the nourishing water (seka-jala) with which the devotee waters the bhakti creeper through hearing and chanting also feeds the unwanted creepers.
If the devotee-gardener fails to identify and uproot these weeds in time:
- They proliferate and consume all the vital spiritual energy of the practice.
- The main stem of the creeper (mūla-śākhā) becomes stunted and dries up (stabdha).
- The creeper loses its ability to pierce through the boundary of the material universe and reach the spiritual realm—Goloka Vrndāvana.
The goal of everyone seeking unalloyed devotion is to conduct a continuous "inventory" of their heart. By systematically uprooting the weeds of pride, thirst for prestige, and hollow ritualism, the devotee directs all fruits and momentum of practice toward a singular objective—cultivating pure, unmotivated love for the Supreme Lord.
"Prākrta-rasa-śata-dūsanī" (Verses 75–78)
In the concluding verses of his work, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Thākura demonstrates where unrectified anarthas and ulterior motives inevitably lead:
Verse 75. Due to our offenses (aparādhas), we cannot relish the stream of pure spiritual rasa. Aparādhas obscure the pristine purity of the Lord's Holy Name from our sight.
Verse 76. As long as the heart remains polluted by material impurities, no matter how much one glorifies the Lord's activities, the fire of lust will not be extinguished. Covered by layers of mundane dirt, one cannot perceive their eternal spiritual body (siddha-deha).
Verse 77. One cannot engage in pure devotional service to the Lord without thoroughly studying all the subtleties of spiritual science handed down through the disciplic succession. If one is enticed by the glitter and tinsel of worldly life, one has no qualification to hear about the Lord's transcendental pastimes.
Verse 78. One who is immersed in heartfelt, dedicated devotional service naturally shuns idle mundane gossip. But so long as a person remains attached to worldly hustle and bustle, it is premature for them to hear topics regarding the conscious spiritual realm of the Supreme Lord.
Conclusion
The concluding verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (12.13.23) declares:
nāma-sankīrtanam yasya sarva-pāpa pranāśanam
pranāmo duhkha-śamanas tam namāmi harim param
“I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Lord, Hari, the congregational chanting of whose holy names destroys all sinful reactions, and the offering of obeisances unto whom relieves all material suffering.”
In this age of Kali, chanting the Name of Krsna is the highest gift and the sole direct path capable of rescuing one from all anarthas and illusions.
Therefore, one must chant the Holy Names with deep faith, meticulously avoiding all offenses. By that spiritual potency, all obstacles on the path of a sincere devotee will be completely dispelled.
We must not treat this sacred practice casually, nor should we continue committing offenses while foolishly hoping for eventual purification.