Householders who perform acts of devotion while spending all time in discussing topics about me are not bound by household life.
gṛheṣv āviśatāṁ cāpi
puṁsāṁ kuśala-karmaṇām
mad-vārtā-yāta-yāmānāṁ
na bandhāya gṛhā matāḥ
Householders who perform acts of devotion while spending all time in discussing topics about me are not bound by household life.
“You have told them to enjoy the earthly pleasures. Since this pleasure is equivalent to hell and unfavorable for bhakti to you, why do you force it on us?” Kuṣalam karmaṇām means “those who serve me.” They pass their hours (yāmānām) talking about me as a necessity of life. The meaning is this. That enjoyment which produces karma is a cause of bondage and is equivalent to hell. It is unfavorable for bhakti. It does not arise from my mercy. You should enjoy the earth. This is my mercy. Other types of enjoyment of the world restrict bhakti, but enjoyment ordered by me increases bhakti. Thus it should be understood that this is enjoyment arising from my mercy and does not cause bondage. This is also seen in the cases of Pṛthu, Prahlāda, Dhruva and Manu. My mercy towards persons who have not burned up material impurities is to take away their enjoyment. Thus it is said:
yasyāham anugṛhṇāmi hariṣye tad-dhanaṁ śanaiḥ
tato 'dhanaṁ tyajanty asya svajanā duḥkha-duḥkhitam
If I especially favor someone, I gradually deprive him of his wealth. Then the relatives and friends of such a poverty-stricken man abandon him. In this way he suffers one distress after another. SB 10.88.8
|| 4.30.20 ||
navyavad dhṛd aye yaj jño
brahmaitad brahma-vādibhiḥ
na muhyanti na śocanti
na hṛṣyanti yato gatāḥ
Those who have attained my form which is known as Brahman by the followers of Brahman are not bewildered. They do not lament and do not rejoice, since I, full of knowledge, have entered their fresh lotus hearts.
Where is the suffering of bondage for these devotees? I reside eternally in their hearts to give them joy. My svarūpa (etat) is called Brahman by those attached to Brahman. Those who have attained that form (yatra gatāḥ) are not bewildered. They do not have illusion, lamentation or material joy, since I, with full knowledge, go into (or know) the always fresh lotus hearts of those householder devotees. Jīva Gosvāmī says the phrase means “I reside ever-fresh in their hearts.”
|| 4.30.21 ||
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