Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 8.12.6

tavaiva caraṇāmbhojaḿ

śreyas-kāmā nirāśiṣaḥ

visṛjyobhayataḥ sańgaḿ

munayaḥ samupāsate

SYNONYMS

tava — Your; eva — indeed; caraṇa-ambhojam — lotus feet; śreyaḥ-kāmāḥ — persons desiring the ultimate auspiciousness, the ultimate goal of life; nirāśiṣaḥ — without material desire; visṛjya — giving up; ubhayataḥ — in this life and the next; sańgam — attachment; munayaḥ — great sages; samupāsate — worship.

TRANSLATION

Pure devotees or great saintly persons who desire to achieve the highest goal in life and who are completely free from all material desires for sense gratification engage constantly in the transcendental service of Your lotus feet.

PURPORT

One is in the material world when he thinks, "I am this body, and everything with reference to my body is mine." Ato gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittair janasya moho 'yam ahaḿ mameti [SB 5.5.8]. This is the symptom of material life. In the materialistic conception of life, one thinks, "This is my house, this is my land, this is my family, this is my state," and so on. But those who are munayaḥ, saintly persons following in the footsteps of Nārada Muni, simply engage in the transcendental loving service of the Lord without any personal desire for sense gratification. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaḿ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam [Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11]. Either in this life or in the next, the only concern of such saintly devotees is to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus they are also absolute because they have no other desires. Being freed from the dualities of material desire, they are called śreyas-kāmāḥ. In other words, they are not concerned with dharma (religiosity), artha (economic development), or kāma (sense gratification). The only concern of such devotees is mokṣa, liberation. This mokṣa does not refer to becoming one with the Supreme like the Māyāvādī philosophers. Caitanya Mahāprabhu explained that real mokṣa means taking shelter of the lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead. The Lord clearly explained this fact while instructing Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya. Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya wanted to correct the word mukti-pade in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, but Caitanya Mahāprabhu informed him that there is no need to correct any word in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. He explained that mukti-pade refers to the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, who offers mukti and is therefore called Mukunda. A pure devotee is not concerned with material things. He is not concerned with religiosity, economic development or sense gratification. He is interested only in serving the lotus feet of the Lord.

<<< >>>

Copyright © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness