SB 4.9.36
TEXT 36
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TEXT
मैत्रेय उवाच
न वै मुकुन्दस्य पदारविन्दयो रजोजुषस्तात भवादृशा जनाः । वाञ्छन्ति तद्दास्यमृते ऽर्थमात्मनो यदृच्छया लब्धमनःसमृद्धयः ॥ ३६ ॥ maitreya uvaca
na vai mukundasya padaravindayo
rajo-jusas tata bhavadrsa janaḥ
vanchanti tad-dasyam rte 'rtham atmano
yadrcchaya labdha-manaḥ-samrddhayaḥ
maitreyaḥ uvaca-the great sage Maitreya continued; na-never; vai-certainly; mukundasya-of the Lord, who can give liberation; pada-aravindayoḥ-of the lotus feet; rajaḥ-jusaḥ-persons who are eager to taste the dust; tata-my dear Vidura; bhavadrsaḥ-like yourself; janaḥ-persons; vanchanti-desire; tat-His; dasyam-servitorship; rte-without; artham-interest; atmanaḥ-for themselves; yadrcchaya-automatically; labdha-by what is achieved; manaḥ-samrddhayaḥ-considering themselves to be very rich.
TRANSLATION
The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, persons who, like you, are pure devotees of the lotus feet of Mukunda [the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who can offer liberation] and who are always attached to the honey of His lotus feet, are always satisfied in serving at the lotus feet of the Lord. In any condition of life, such persons remain satisfied, and thus they never ask the Lord for material prosperity.
PURPORT
In the Bhagavad-gita the Lord says that He is the supreme enjoyer, the supreme proprietor of everything and anything within this creation, and the supreme friend of everyone. When one knows these things perfectly, he is always satisfied. The pure devotee never hankers after any kind of material prosperity. The karmis, however, or jnanis or yogis, endeavor always for their own personal happiness. Karmis work day and night to improve their economic condition, jnanis undergo severe austerities in order to get liberation, and yogis also undergo severe austerities by practicing the yoga system for attainment of wonderful mystic powers. A devotee, however, is not interested in such activities; he does not want mystic powers or liberation or material prosperity. He is satisfied in any condition of life, as long as he is constantly engaged in the service of the Lord. The Lord's feet are compared to the lotus, wherein there is saffron dust. A devotee is always engaged in drinking the honey from the lotus feet of the Lord. Unless one is freed from all material desires, he cannot actually taste the honey from the Lord's lotus feet. One has to discharge his devotional duties without being disturbed by the coming and going of material circumstances. This desirelessness for material prosperity is called niskama. One should not mistakenly think that niskama means giving up all desires. That is impossible. A living entity is eternally existent, and he cannot give up desires. A living entity must have desires; that is the symptom of life. When there is a recommendation to become desireless, it is to be understood that this means that we should not desire anything for our sense gratification. For a devotee this state of mind, niḥsprha, is the right position. Actually every one of us already has an arrangement for our standard of material comforts. A devotee should always remain satisfied with the standard of comforts offered by the Lord, as stated in the Īsopanisad (tena tyaktena bhunjithaḥ). This saves time for executing Krsna consciousness.
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