Introduction a Introduction

a discrepancy in one’s life. Having taken complete shelter at My lotus feet, however, a

saintly person ultimately renounces such ordinary religious duties and worships Me alone.

He is thus considered to be the best among all living entities.

COMMENTARY

The Supreme Lord says that there are two types of saintly persons. Those who

perform devotional service mixed with karma, or jďäna, and those who engage in

unalloyed devotional service. The first class of saintly persons is described in the first

three verses. The word kĺpälu indicates that one is not able to tolerate others’ distress.

Akĺta-droha indicates that a devotee does not wish misery even for his enemy. Titikńu

means that he tolerates others’ neglect, and forgives the offenses committed against him.

Satya-sära indicates that a devotee is always fixed in the truth. Anavadyätmä means

that a pure devotee is devoid of envy, and never unnecessarily criticizes others. Sama

means that he is equal in both happiness and distress, as well as in honor and dishonor.

Sarvopakäraka means that a devotee is always engaged in acts meant for the welfare



The Symptoms of Conditioned and Liberated Living Entities

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of others. Kämair ahata-dhé indicates that a devotee is not agitated by lusty desires

because, dänta, his senses are completely under control. Mĺdu means that his heart

is gentle, and çuci means that he is pure, and always careful to observe the prescribed

etiquette. The word akiďcana indicates that a devotee doesn’t claim anything as his own

because He knows that everything belongs to the Lord. The word aniha means detached

from all worldly activities. Mitabhuk refers to a person who eats pure and simple food,

and just enough to maintain a healthy condition of the body. Sänta means peaceful

in mind. Sthira means to remain fixed in one’s occupational duties and devotional

activities. Mat-çaraëa indicates that the devotee has taken complete shelter at the lotus

feet of Çré Kĺńëa. Muni refers to a thoughtful man. Apramatta means cautious, and not

mad. Gabhirätmä means he whose nature is unfathomable. Dhĺtimäna means one is not

agitated by the urges of the tongue and genitals. Amäni means devoid of the desire for

respect. Mänada means to give respect to others. Kalya means that the devotee is expert

in preaching to others. Maitra indicates that by his missionary activities, a devotee is

friendly to everyone. Käruëika means that a devotee mercifully tries to bring people

to a sane condition of life. Kavi indicates that a devotee performs all of his activities

expertly. These are the twenty-eight qualities of a pure devotee.

A pure devotee who possesses the above-mentioned qualities is understood to have

attained the perfection of life. He no longer has any desire for liberation by merging

into the existence of the Lord. In the beginning, one cultivates devotional service mixed

with karma, and then one progresses to the practice of devotional service mixed with

jďäna. The stage of perfection, however, is characterized as being devoid of karma and

jďäna. This is the meaning of pure devotional service. One who is thus situated on the

transcendental platform is called ätmäräma, or çänta-bhakta,

In the Bhakti-rasämĺta-sindhu (3.1.34) it is said: “In this Dvärakä-dhäma, I am being

attracted by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kĺńëa, who is personified spiritual

bliss. Simply by seeing Him, I am feeling great happiness. Oh, I have wasted so much

time trying to become self-realized through impersonal cultivation. This is a cause for

lamentation!”

Çréla Sukadeva Gosvämé has said, “Being attracted by the qualities of Çré Hari, I had

heard Çrémad Bhägavatam from my father.”

The cultivation of knowledge is neglected by those engaged in the process of

devotional service. In the Bhakti-rasämĺta-sindhu (1.1.11) it is further stated: “3One

should render transcendental loving service to the Supreme Lord Kĺńëa favorably and

without desire for material profit or gain through fruitive activities or philosophical

speculation. That is called pure devotional service.”

3 anyäbhiläńitä-çünyaŕ jďäna-karmädy-anävĺtam

änukülyena kĺńëänu- çélanaŕ bhaktir uttamä

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UDDHAVA-GÉTÄ

As indicated in verse thirty-two, a pure devotee of the Lord is fully aware of the

pious advantages of executing duties within the varëäçrama system, and he is similarly

aware of the harmful mistake of neglecting such duties. Still, having full faith in the

Supreme Personality of Godhead, a devotee gives up all ordinary social and religious

activities and engages fully in devotional service. He knows that Lord Kĺńëa is the

ultimate source of everything and that all perfection comes from Lord Kĺńëa alone.

Because of his extraordinary faith, the devotee is called sattama, or the best among all

living beings.

In the Çrémad Bhägavatam (5.18.12) it is said:

yasyästi bhaktir bhagavaty akiďcanä sarvair guëais tatra samäsate suräů

haräv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guëä mano-rathenäsati dhävato bahiů
One who has unflinching devotion for the Personality of Godhead has all the

good qualities of the demigods. But one who is not a devotee of the Lord has only

material qualifications that are of little value. This is because he is hovering on

the mental plane and is certain to be attracted by the glaring material energy.
PURPORT

In the first three verses, the twenty-eight qualities of a pure devotee are described.

Among them, the seventeenth quality, kĺńëaika çaraëa is the most important, and the

other twenty-seven are secondary.

1. Kĺpälu. A devotee cannot tolerate seeing the world merged in ignorance and

suffering the whiplashes of Maya. Therefore he busily engages in distributing Kĺńëa

consciousness and is called kĺpälu, or merciful.

2. Akĺta-droha. Even if someone tries to harm a devotee, he does not try to retaliate.

Indeed, he never tries to harm any living entity. The Mäyävädés, on the other hand,

are most envious and thus try to kill God, as well as the individuality of the living

entities. Thus, the impersonalists are their own worst enemies, and they are certainly

the enemies of their unfortunate followers. Fruitive workers are also envious of their

self because they purposely absorb themselves in material affairs so that they do not

have the chance to understand their eternal existence. In this world of survival of the

fittest, everyone is engaged in exploiting others. It is only the devotees of the Lord

who uses his body, mind, and words, not only for his own benefit, but for the welfare

of others.

3. Titikńu. A devotee tolerates the offenses of others. He is detached from the

material body, which is composed of skin, bones, blood, pus, urine, and so on, and so he

The Symptoms of Conditioned and Liberated Living Entities

177

forgives the obnoxious behavior of those who cannot appreciate the value of a devotee

of the Lord.

4. Satyanińöha. A devotee always remains fixed in the truth. He knows very well

that he is the eternal servant of the Lord and thus does not waste his time by engaging

in useless, material activities.

5. Asüyä. A devotee is never envious. He knows that this world is a kind of

phantasmagoria and so he never envies someone in any material condition. Therefore,

he never unnecessarily criticizes others or causes any kind of disturbance.

6. Samadarçé. A devotee has equal vision. His goal is to attain the eternal Supreme

Personality of Godhead and so he is not elated or disturbed by the temporary happy or

miserable conditions of this world. For him, all temporary material conditions are the

same.

7. Sarvopokäraka. The devotee is a benefactor of all living entities. Neglecting one’s

own interest and working for the satisfaction of others is called paropakära, whereas

causing trouble to others for one’s personal gratification is called paräpakära. A devotee

always works for the satisfaction of Lord Kĺńëa, who is the maintainer of all living

entities, and so his activities are ultimately pleasing to everyone. Devotional service to

Lord Kĺńëa is the perfectional stage of welfare work because Lord Kĺńëa is the supreme

controller of everyone’s happiness and distress. Foolish persons, under the influence of

false egotism, considering themselves to be the benefactors of others, perform materialistic

welfare work rather than attending to the eternal happiness of others. Because a devotee

remains pure and engages in missionary activities, he is everyone’s best friend.

8. Väsanä-varjita-vicäraparäyaëa. A devotee has no material desires. Those who

have given up the service of Kĺńëa maintain a desire to become the master of all they

survey. Thus, the conditioned soul is busily engaged in trying to lord it over material

nature, although the Lord Himself is the actual enjoyer. Ordinary persons see all

material things as objects for their personal gratification and thus try to acquire or

control them. Ultimately a man wants to possess a woman and enjoy sex gratification

with her. The Supreme Lord supplies the desired fuel that causes the fire of lust to burn

painfully in one’s heart, but the Lord does not give self-realization to such a misguided

person. A liberated devotee, who is fully surrendered to Lord Kĺńëa, enjoys a blissful

life of devotional service and never becomes tempted by the seductions of the external

world. The devotee does not follow the example of the foolish deer, who is attracted by

the hunter’s sweet music and then killed. He does not become attached to sumptuous

eating, nor does he spend the whole day making arrangements for bodily comfort. A fully

surrendered soul, who is devoted to the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead,

who is the only enjoyer, never sacrifices his auspicious position of steady intelligence,

even in the face of so-called material opportunity.

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UDDHAVA-GÉTÄ

9. Dänta. A devotee is naturally repelled by sinful activities and controls his senses

by dedicating all his acts to Kĺńëa.

10. Mrdu. A devotee is gentle. Conditioned souls invariably consider others as friends

or enemies, and they justify cruel behavior meted out to their opponents. A devotee

never considers others as his enemies and so never indulges in the tendency to take

pleasure in the suffering of others.

11. Çuci. A devotee is pure, both internally and externally because impurity and

abomination cannot touch him. Simply by remembering such a pure devotee, one is

freed from the tendency to sin. Because of his perfect behavior, a devotee is called çuci,

or pure.

12. Akiďcana. A devotee is free from possessiveness. He is not eager to enjoy or

renounce anything because he considers everything to be Lord Kĺńëa’s property. One

who is akiďcana has no desire for religiosity, economic development, sense gratification,

or liberation because he has no hankering for material enjoyment or renunciation.

13. Anéha. A devotee is indifferent to material acquisitions because he sees everything

in relation to the Lord.

14. Mitabhuk. A devotee eats only as much as is required to maintain his health.

Indeed, he accepts all types of material enjoyment only as much as is required. He is

not feverishly attached to sense gratification, like the materialists. When necessary, a

devotee can give up anything for Lord Kĺńëa’s service, but he does not accept or reject

anything for his personal prestige.

15. Çänta. A devotee is peaceful because he abstains from material enjoyment, which

is full of disturbances. He is indifferent to material enjoyment because he is constantly

engaged in the Lord’s service. Peaceful does not mean inactive. Because a devotee is

active in service to the Lord, material enjoyers may wrongly consider him to be restless,

just like themselves.

16. Sthira. A devotee is fixed in his determination, and is not restless. He is not

situated on the platform of fearfulness because of material absorption.

17. Çaraëägata. A devotee is fully surrendered to the Lord. A devotee does not take

pleasure in anything except serving Lord Kĺńëa, and so he is always attentive while

executing his duties in devotional service.

18. Muni. A devotee is thoughtful and intelligent, and so he is not distracted from

his path of spiritual advancement.

19. Apramatta. A devotee is without inebriation. Conditioned souls are more or less

crazy but the devotee is sane, due to his being situated in his natural, or constitutional

position.

20. Gambhérätmä. A devotee is grave. Being absorbed in the Absolute Truth, his

mentality cannot be understood by gross materialists.

The Symptoms of Conditioned and Liberated Living Entities

179

21. Dhĺtimän. A devotee is firm and steady in his determination because he has

fully controlled his tongue and genitals. In other words, he fully possesses the power of

discrimination and does not irrationally change his position.

22. Jita-ńaň-guëa. A devotee has conquered the six material qualities-hunger, thirst,

illusion, death, fear, and lamentation.

23. Amäné. A devotee is not proud. Even if he is famous, he does not take it very

seriously.

24. Mänada. A devotee is not one to brag about himself, under the influence of

passion and ignorance. Rather, he offers all respects to others, since everyone is part and

parcel of Lord Kĺńëa.

25. Kalya, or dakńa. A devotee is expert in making people understand the truth of

Kĺńëa consciousness.

26. Maitra. A devotee is a kind friend to everyone because he preaches Kĺńëa

consciousness, and never encourages them on the bodily platform.

27. Käruëika. A devotee is most merciful because he tries to bring everyone to the

platform of sanity, or Kĺńëa consciousness.

28. Kavi. A devotee is poetic and very learned. He is expert in studying the

transcendental qualities of Lord Kĺńëa and is able to show the harmony and compatibility

of the Lord’s apparently contradictory qualities. This is possible through expert knowledge

of the absolute nature of the Lord.

One who fully engages in the unalloyed devotional service of the Lord is expected

to develop all of these transcendental qualities. In the beginning, the devotee should

cultivate the limbs of devotional service while continuing to perform the duties of his

occupation according to the rules prescribed in the scriptures. As the devotee becomes

fixed in devotional service and freed from material desires, he can give up these

regulations so that he can intensify his engagement on the spiritual platform. Thus he

will gradually become a genuinely saintly person. Kĺńëa consciousness has nothing to do

with material enjoyment and renunciation. The conceptions that, “I am the enjoyer,” and

“I have renounced something,” only apply to those who are in the bodily conception of

life. The devotee thinks, “Nothing is mine because everything is owned and controlled

by the Lord.”

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UDDHAVA-GÉTÄ

TEXT 33

jaTvajaTvaQaYaevEMaa&YaavaNYaęaiSMaYaad*Xa> )

>aJaNTYaNaNYa>aaveNaTaeMae>a˘-TaMaaMaTaa> ))33))

jďätväjďätvätha ye vai mäŕ yävän yaç cäsmi yädĺçaů

bhajanty ananya-bhävena te me bhaktatamä matäů

My devotees may or may not understand Me in truth, how I am situated beyond the

cosmic manifestation, but if they possess unalloyed devotion for Me, I consider them to

be great personalities.
COMMENTARY

In this verse, the word yävän is used to indicate that Lord Kĺńëa is unlimited,

beyond the jurisdiction of material existence. Still, He is captivated by the love of His

pure devotees. it is said that Lord Kĺńëa never leaves Vĺndävana, because of the love

of the cowherd men and women. The word yaů is used to indicate that the Absolute

Truth appears as the son of Vasudeva. Yädĺça indicates that the Lord is completely self-

satisfied, and äpta-käma means, “one who has nothing to gain from anyone else.” Still,

being captivated by the love of His devotees, the Lord sometimes appears to be dependent

on them, needing them to fulfill His desires. Actually, the Supreme Personality of

Godhead is always independent, but He reciprocates the love of His devotees and thus

seems to be dependent upon them. For example, Lord Kĺńëa appeared to be completely

dependent upon Nanda Mahäräja and mother Yaçodä as a child in Vĺndävana. The

word ajďätvä means “ignorant” and it indicates that sometimes a devotee may seem to

be philosophically naive and bereft of a proper understanding of the Lord.

PURPORT

Although a materialist or impersonalist may appear to be very highly qualified,

without Kĺńëa consciousness, such a person will never attain the success of life. One

must understand the personal feature of the Absolute Truth and surrender unto Him.

Even if one is not very intelligent, if he simply accepts that he is the eternal servant of

the Lord, he will certainly attain perfection. The residents of Vĺndävana had no idea or

didn’t understand that Kĺńëa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They simply loved

Kĺńëa as their most beloved and it is for this reason that they are considered perfect.

The Symptoms of Conditioned and Liberated Living Entities


TEXTS 34-41

Maiç®Ma٢-JaNadXaRNaSPaXaRNaacRNaMa( )

PaircYaaRSTauiTa>Pa[űGau

MaTk-Qaaé[v

SavRl/a>aaePahr

MaÂNMak-MaRk-QaNa&MaMaPavaRNauMaaedNaMa( )

GaqTaTaa<@vvaid}aGaaeďqi>aMaRÓ*haeTSav> ))36))

Yaa}aabil/ivDaaNa&cSavRvaizRk-PavRSau )

vEidk-ITaaiN}ak-Idq+aaMadqYav]TaDaar

MaMaacaRSQaaPaNaeé[ÖaSvTa>Sa&hTYacaeŰMa> )

oŰaNaaePavNaa§-I@PaurMaiNdrk-MaRi
SaMMaaJaRNaaePale/Paa>Yaa&Saek-Ma<@l/vTaRNaE> )

Ga*hXaué[Uz

AMaaiNaTvMadiM>aTv&k*-TaSYaaPairk-ITaRNaMa( )

AiPadqPaavl/aek&-MaeNaaePaYau&j(Na( iNaveidTaMa( ))40))

YaŰidíTaMa&l/aeke-YaŔaiTaiPa[YaMaaTMaNa> )

TataNa( iNavedYaeNMaů&TadaNaNTYaaYak-LPaTae ))41))

mal-liěga-mad-bhakta-jana-darçana-sparçanärcanam

paricaryä stutiů prahva-guëa-karmänukértanam
mat-kathä-çravaëe çraddhä mad-anudhyänam uddhava

sarva-läbhopaharaëaŕ däsyenätma-nivedanam
maj-janma-karma-kathanaŕ mama parvänumodanam

géta-täëňava-väditra- gońöhébhir mad-gĺhotsavaů
yäträ bali-vidhänaŕ ca sarva-värńika-parvasu

vaidiké täntriké dékńä madéya-vrata-dhäraëam
mamärcä-sthäpane çraddhä svataů saŕhatya codyamaů

udyänopavanäkréňa- pura-mandira-karmaëi

181



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UDDHAVA-GÉTÄ

sammärjanopalepäbhyäŕ seka-maëňala-vartanaiů

gĺha-çuçrüńaëaŕ mahyaŕ däsa-vad yad amäyayä
amänitvam adambhitvaŕ kĺtasyäparikértanam

api dépävalokaŕ me nopayuďjyän niveditam
yad yad ińöatamaŕ loke yac cäti-priyam ätmanaů

tat tan nivedayen mahyaŕ tad änantyäya kalpate

My dear Uddhava, one will be able to give up false pride by cultivating these limbs of

devotional service. One should purify himself by seeing, touching, worshiping, serving,

and offering prayers of glorification and obeisances to My form as the Deity, as well

as to My pure devotees. One should hear My glories in the association of devotees and

meditate upon Me. One should offer whatever he happens to possess to Me, considering

himself to be My eternal servant. In this way, one should surrender unto Me. One

should make arrangements for the celebration of festivals in relation to Me. These

festivals should be celebrated in the temple with singing and dancing in ecstasy. One

should, in the association of devotees, visit the holy places of pilgrimage that are related

to Me and observe the vows meant for devotees, such as Ekädaçé. One should receive

initiation from a bona fide spiritual master and if able to do so, give donations for the

construction of My temples. Most importantly, one should always consider himself

to be My humble servant, and thus engage for My satisfaction without duplicity. As

a menial servant, one should sweep the floor of the temple and then cleanse it with

water and cow dung. When the floor is dry, one should sprinkle scented water over it

and then draw auspicious mandalas. A devotee should not become proud, advertising

himself as an exalted soul. If one offers to Me that which is most dear to him, that will