So we have to transcend the material goodness also. Then, when we get stability of goodness, that is spiritual life. When it is disturbed by passion and ignorance, that means it is not yet perfect. Therefore, sometimes we find a student is doing everything nice, goodness, but he is attacked by passion and ignorance, and he becomes entangled.
So real goodness means without being attacked by the other modes, passion and ignorance. That goodness is in God. Hareḥ sattva-nidheḥ. When you go to the spiritual platform, sattvaṁ viśuddham . . . that spiritual platform is called goodness unaffected by other qualities. Sattvaṁ viśuddham. Viśuddham means complete pure. No adulteration. So long we are in the material platform, the goodness is liable to be adulterated. Just like we purchase milk from the market, or anything, there is adulteration. Although there are so many laws by the government, "You cannot adulterate, you cannot do this, you cannot . . ." but people, propensity is to adulterate.
So you cannot get pure thing. The whole atmosphere is so polluted. Therefore here the so-called goodness also is the cause of bondage. "Now I have become a Vaiṣṇava. I have become now learned." And God is so clever that "Now you fight with this passion and ignorance, if you are so good." And he fails, falls a victim. You see? So by pure devotional service only, you can remain in pure goodness. Otherwise it will be adulterated. Pure devotional service.
What is that pure devotional service? Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Brs. 1.1.11). No material desire. Because desire is the cause. If I think . . . I am brahmacārī, but I am thinking of always sex or woman . . . they have been described in the Bhagavad-gītā as cheater. Therefore we have to think of Kṛṣṇa always. Otherwise, as soon as there is little loophole, māyā will enter immediately and make your goodness adulterated. Māṁ ca 'vyabhicāreṇa bhakti-yogena yaḥ sevate. Avyabhicāreṇa bhakti-yogena. Without any adulteration. Anyone who is engaged in devotional service without any adulteration:
- māṁ ca 'vyabhicāreṇa
- bhakti-yogena yaḥ sevate
- sa guṇān samatītyaitān . . .
- (BG 14.26)
Guṇān, plural number. Guṇān means this material world: goodness, passion and ignorance, three kinds of qualities. He can surpass these three qualities of material. Sa guṇāṇ samatītya etān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate. At that time he becomes completely spiritualized. He is spirit soul.
Every one of us, we are spirit soul, part and parcel of God, but we have been now covered by the material qualities. So the example is given . . . I think I have several times recited this example: When the spirit soul is separated from God, just like a small sparks is separated from the whole fire, falls down . . . (knocking sound) What is that sound?
So the sparks falls down on the ground. So there are three possibilities. If the sparks falls on dry grass, then immediately there is little fire, because grass is dry. And if it falls down on the green vegetation, then it is not immediately extinguished; there is little heat. But if the sparks falls down in the water, then immediately extinguished.