Shloka : 39
धर्मेण रहिता कृष्णभक्ति: कार्या न सर्वथा ।
अज्ञनिन्दाभयान्नैव त्याज्यं श्रीकृष्णसेवनम् ॥ 39 ॥
અને શ્રીકૃષ્ણભગવાનની જે ભક્તિ તે ધર્મે રહિત એવી કોઈ પ્રકારે ન કરવી અને અજ્ઞાની એવાં જે મનુષ્ય તેમની નિંદાના ભય થકી શ્રીકૃષ્ણભગવાનની સેવાનો ત્યાગ કરવો જ નહિ. ॥ 39 ॥
And one should worship Shri Krishna Bhagwan alongwith proper code of conduct and one should not give up serving Shri Krishna Bhagwan due to fear of censure (criticism) of ignorant people. || 39 ||
Commentary
'Krishna' means Shri Swaminarayan Bhagwan Himself who is full of divine bliss, cause of all the causes, whom even Mahakaal, Mahamaya, Mahapurush etc. who are considered to be the masters of this infinite Universe, also cannot disobey. There are nine types of His worship e.g. worship through listening etc. 'As per religious code' means one should follow the code of conduct taught by Shreeji Maharaj and explained by the saints like Shri Shatanand, Shri Muktanand etc. in their scriptures. One should worship by following the code of conduct. The people, who defy the code of conduct through intellect and take support of devotion and knowledge, get distracted from the path and definitely experience descent. Besides, such people are the enemies of Shri Hari, because His appearance in this world is for establishment of the religion. Therefore, the seekers should accept only those devotees of Shriji Maharaj as Guru who staunchly follow the code of conduct. And such saints can lead towards salvation, therefore they should be trusted and worshipped. Now, there are some other people who are not saintly. If a person trusts, worships and accepts such people as Guru, believing that they would lead him towards salvation, then he is as ignorant as an animal. 'Ignorant' means he who does not know the Supreme God Shri Swaminarayan, His devotees, Bhagwat Dharma taught by Him and His greatness. Such ignorant people have confused state of mind due to ego and jealousy; they are suffering in their hearts due to greed, strong desires and anger and they have evil characteristics. Therefore, such ignorant people criticize God and His devotees. Due to their fear, one should never give up serving Shriji Maharaj in the form of devotion with proper code of conduct, because it is the nature of the miscreants to obstruct. The devotees, who tolerate the troubles and criticism of others, are protected by Shri Hari Himself. Also one should not forget God due to worries about food, clothes etc., because Shri Hari nurtures the whole Universe. So, He would definitely nurture His own devotees. Besides, Shri Hari has asked for the sufferings of all His devotees, from Shri Ramanand Swami.
And a person, who is ashamed of the devotion towards God, is as good as a dead man. A staunch devotee of Shri Sahajanand Swami Mahaprabhu sings the flawless glory of the Lord blissfully and loudly, without feeling embarassed of the onlookers and attains the blessings of Shri Hari by following the code of conduct with clear heart. This code of conduct has been prescribed by God Himself.