If there is no humility, then pride is coming – and that kills the life of bhajan. He who is proud cannot have bhakti. He is in samsara. The identification with the body is coming from so many lifetimes. Sanatana Goswami is saying that we should do our bhajan without pride.

Even somebody who has left everything may still have pratistha. It is very difficult to renounce pratistha. Because of sadhana we may get pratistha. “I am jnani, I am pandit, my bhajan is so strong, my behavior is perfect.” These are different aspects and types of pride.
It all destroys the sadhana and the bhakti. Even fully renounced people who have conquered other anarthas, pride and pratistha may stay with them. So even if you left everything, it doesn’t mean that you left pratistha.

Out of all the anarthas, the most dangerous one is this pratistha. It is a very subtle anartha. It is very difficult to see this anartha and very difficult to remove it.
There are different types of thieves. Pratistha steals all the bhakti. It is the biggest thief, so we must be very careful. It is the most dangerous enemy for a life of sadhana.

Raghunatha Das Goswamipada is saying, “This is poison.”

The Goswamis suffer so much. They are saying, “Oh, I have pratistha, I have greed.” This is humility. It is not the humility of the sadhaka, but it is a much deeper. Mahaprabhu gave the right instruction, “trinad api sunicena” to kill this big enemy of the sadhaka. He gave this “trinadi api sunicena” verse. Be humbler than a blade of grass. Do not excpect respect, but offer respect to everyone. Do not be jealous of vaishnavas. Do not wait for anything like fame. Be like the tree, which gives fruits and shadow, and even if somebody cuts the tree it tolerates. Or like the grass – if somebody sits or walk on it, or even cut it, it is still growing.
If we will have this mood of “trinad api sunicena”, then this pratistha anartha will not touch us.
Mahaprabhu is saying, “Listen all to this very important instruction!”
Krishna das Kaviraja is telling us, “Please be careful!” In our sadhana we should increase this “trinad api sunicena”.

We should increase this mood and get rid of that pratistha. We also need association with sadhus – devotees, who will help us clear our hearts from anarthas. When we will do sadhana, we will go into the rati stage and then there will be natural humility – a very deep humility. There is also hope.
Sripad is hoping to have darshan of Bhagavan. When the bhava becomes ripe – when prema is coming, this humility becomes even stronger and more deep. Then this prema will reach sneha, man, pranaya, up to mahabhava.

When a devotee will be near Krishna, then the humility will be even more strong.

The humility of the sadhaka is different. He has to develop this. But one who has rati, there is natural humility.

All sastras are saying, ”The fruit of sadhana is prema.”
Somebody may say – “Humility is the fruit of sadhana.”
To this the acaryas are saying in return, “Prema is non-different from humility. The stronger the prema, the stronger the humility.“

Prema and humility go together. They are inter-connected.
When the humility comes from prema, it is very powerful and very sincere.

Who has the highest humility? It is the gopis – when they are in separation from Krishna. They have the strongest prema, so they are the most humble. Mahabhava is the highest point of prema – and that’s why their humility is the highest.

– Srila Ananta das Babaji