The sun-god, who controls the affairs of the entire universe, especially in regard to heat, light, seasonal changes and so on, is considered an expansion of Nārāyaṇa. He represents the three Vedas-Ṛg, Yajur and Sāma-and therefore he is known as Trayīmaya, the form of Lord Nārāyaṇa. Sometimes the sun-god is also called Sūrya Nārāyaṇa. The sun-god has expanded himself in twelve divisions, and thus he controls the six seasonal changes and causes winter, summer, rain and so on. Yogīs and karmīs following the varṇāśrama institution, who practice haṭha or aṣṭāṅga-yoga or who perform agnihotra sacrifices, worship Sūrya Nārāyaṇa for their own benefit. The demigod Sūrya is always in touch with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa.
Karmi (SB)
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 1
SB 1.1.17, Purport:
Those who are not conversant with the activities of the Lord and His transcendental realm are sometimes favored by the Lord in His adventures as incarnations wherein He displays the eternal bliss of His association in the transcendental realm. By such activities He attracts the conditioned souls of the material world. Some of these conditioned souls are engaged in the false enjoyment of material senses and others in simply negating their real life in the spiritual world. These less intelligent persons are known as karmīs, or fruitive workers, and jñānīs, or dry mental speculators. But above these two classes of men is the transcendentalist known as sātvata, or the devotee, who is busy neither with rampant material activity nor with material speculation. He is engaged in the positive service of the Lord, and thereby he derives the highest spiritual benefit unknown to the karmīs and jñānīs.
SB 1.2.3, Purport:
There is no point in arguing that a materialistic man can be happy. No materialistic creature—be he the great Brahmā or an insignificant ant—can be happy. Everyone tries to make a permanent plan for happiness, but everyone is baffled by the laws of material nature. Therefore the materialistic world is called the darkest region of God's creation. Yet the unhappy materialists can get out of it simply by desiring to get out. Unfortunately they are so foolish that they do not want to escape. Therefore they are compared to the camel who relishes thorny twigs because he likes the taste of the twigs mixed with blood. He does not realize that it is his own blood and that his tongue is being cut by the thorns. Similarly, to the materialist his own blood is as sweet as honey, and although he is always harassed by his own material creations, he does not wish to escape. Such materialists are called karmīs. Out of hundreds of thousands of karmīs, only a few may feel tired of material engagement and desire to get out of the labyrinth. Such intelligent persons are called jñānīs.
SB 1.2.12, Purport:
The Absolute Truth is realized in full by the process of devotional service to the Lord, Vāsudeva, or the Personality of Godhead, who is the full-fledged Absolute Truth. Brahman is His transcendental bodily effulgence, and Paramātmā is His partial representation. As such, Brahman or Paramātmā realization of the Absolute Truth is but a partial realization. There are four different types of human beings—the karmīs, the jñānīs, the yogīs and the devotees. The karmīs are materialistic, whereas the other three are transcendental.
SB 1.3.8, Purport:
The great Ṛṣi Nārada, who is an empowered incarnation of the Personality of Godhead, propagates devotional service all over the universe. All great devotees of the Lord all over the universe and in different planets and species of life are his disciples. Śrīla Vyāsadeva, the compiler of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, is also one of his disciples. Nārada is the author of Nārada-pañcarātra, which is the exposition of the Vedas particularly for the devotional service of the Lord. This Nārada-pañcarātra trains the karmīs, or the fruitive workers, to achieve liberation from the bondage of fruitive work.
SB 1.5.19, Purport:
A devotee of the Lord automatically becomes uninterested in the enchantment of material existence because he is rasa-graha, or one who has tasted the sweetness of the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa. There are certainly many instances where devotees of the Lord have fallen down due to uncongenial association, just like fruitive workers, who are always prone to degradation. But even though he falls down, a devotee is never to be considered the same as a fallen karmī. A karmī suffers the result of his own fruitive reactions, whereas a devotee is reformed by chastisement directed by the Lord Himself.
SB 1.7.9, Purport:
For the people in general the highest perfection of life is to cease from material activities and be fixed on the path of self-realization. Those who take pleasure in sense enjoyment, or those who are fixed in material bodily welfare work, are called karmīs. Out of thousands and millions of such karmīs, one may become an ātmārāma by self-realization. Ātmā means self, and ārāma means to take pleasure. Everyone is searching after the highest pleasure, but the standard of pleasure of one may be different from the standard of another. Therefore, the standard of pleasure enjoyed by the karmīs is different from that of the ātmārāmas. The ātmārāmas are completely indifferent to material enjoyment in every respect. Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī had already attained that stage, and still he was attracted to undergo the trouble of studying the great Bhāgavatam literature. This means that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is a postgraduate study even for the ātmārāmas, who have surpassed all the studies of Vedic knowledge.
SB Canto 2
SB 2.1.3, Purport:
Because human life is a combination of matter and spirit soul, the whole process of Vedic knowledge is directed at liberating the spirit soul from the contamination of matter. The knowledge concerning this is called ātma-tattva. Those men who are too materialistic are unaware of this knowledge and are more inclined to economic development for material enjoyment. Such materialistic men are called karmīs, or fruitive laborers, and they are allowed regulated economic development or association of woman for sex indulgence. Those who are above the karmīs, that is, the jñānīs, yogīs and devotees, are strictly prohibited from sex indulgence. The karmīs are more or less devoid of ātma-tattva knowledge, and as such, their life is spent without spiritual profit. The human life is not meant for hard labor for economic development, nor is it meant for sex indulgence like that of the dogs and hogs. It is specially meant for making a solution to the problems of material life and the miseries thereof. So the karmīs waste their valuable human life by sleeping and sex indulgence at night, and by laboring hard in the daytime to accumulate wealth, and after doing so, they try to improve the standard of materialistic life. The materialistic way of life is described herein in a nutshell, and how foolishly men waste the boon of human life is described as follows.
SB 2.1.5, Translation and Purport:
O descendant of King Bharata, one who desires to be free from all miseries must hear about, glorify and also remember the Personality of Godhead, who is the Supersoul, the controller and the savior from all miseries.
In the previous verse, Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī has described how the foolish materially attached men are wasting their valuable time in the improvement of the material conditions of life by sleeping, indulging in sex life, developing economic conditions and maintaining a band of relatives who are to be vanquished in the air of oblivion. Being engaged in all these materialistic activities, the living soul entangles himself in the cycle of the law of fruitive actions. This entails the chain of birth and death in the 8,400,000 species of life: the aquatics, the vegetables, the reptiles, the birds, the beasts, the uncivilized man, and then again the human form, which is the chance for getting out of the cycle of fruitive action. Therefore, if one desires freedom from this vicious circle, then one must cease to act as a karmī or enjoyer of the results of one's own work, good or bad. One should not do anything, either good or bad, on his own account, but must execute everything on behalf of the Supreme Lord, the ultimate proprietor of everything that be.
SB 2.1.6, Translation and Purport:
The highest perfection of human life, achieved either by complete knowledge of matter and spirit, by practice of mystic powers, or by perfect discharge of occupational duty, is to remember the Personality of Godhead at the end of life.
Nārāyaṇa is the transcendental Personality of Godhead beyond the material creation. Everything that is created, sustained, and at the end annihilated is within the compass of the mahat-tattva (material principle) and is known as the material world. The existence of Nārāyaṇa, or the Personality of Godhead, is not within the jurisdiction of this mahat-tattva, and as such, the name, form, attributes, etc. of Nārāyaṇa are beyond the jurisdiction of the material world. By the speculation of empiric philosophy, which discerns matter from spirit, or by cultivation of mystic powers, which ultimately helps the performer to reach any planet of the universe or beyond the universe, or by discharge of religious duties, one can achieve the highest perfection, provided one is able to reach the stage of nārāyaṇa-smṛti, or constant remembrance of the Personality of Godhead. This is possible only by the association of a pure devotee, who can give a finishing touch to the transcendental activities of all jñānīs, yogīs, or karmīs, in terms of prescribed duties defined in the scriptures.
SB 2.4.19, Purport:
Those who are on the path of self-realization are generally classified as karmīs, jñānīs, yogīs, or devotees of the Lord. The karmīs, who are much attracted by the fruitive activities of the Vedic rituals, are called bhukti-kāmī, or those who desire material enjoyment.
SB 2.9.1, Purport:
The living entities are illusioned by the will of the Lord because they wanted to become like Him. Like a person who thinks of becoming a king without possessing the necessary qualification, when the living entity desires to become the Lord Himself, he is put in a condition of dreaming that he is a king. Therefore the first sinful will of the living entity is to become the Lord, and the consequent will of the Lord is that the living entity forget his factual life and thus dream of the land of utopia where he may become one like the Lord. The child cries to have the moon from the mother, and the mother gives the child a mirror to satisfy the crying and disturbing child with the reflection of the moon. Similarly, the crying child of the Lord is given over to the reflection, the material world, to lord it over as karmī and to give this up in frustration to become one with the Lord. Both these stages are dreaming illusions only. There is no necessity of tracing out the history of when the living entity desired this. But the fact is that as soon as he desired it, he was put under the control of ātma-māyā by the direction of the Lord. Therefore the living entity in his material condition is dreaming falsely that this is "mine" and this is "I."
SB 2.9.2, Purport:
The different positions of the living entities in the material world under multifarious manifestations of bodies are due to the misconception of "mine" and "I." The karmī thinks of this world as "mine," and the jñānī thinks "I am" everything. The whole material conception of politics, sociology, philanthropy, altruism, etc., conceived by the conditioned souls is on the basis of this misconceived "I" and "mine," which are products of a strong desire to enjoy material life.
SB 2.9.3, Purport:
One should not be misled by misconceptions of "I" and "mine." The karmīs are fond of the conception of "mine," the jñānīs are fond of the conception of "I," and both of them are unqualified to be free from the bondage of the illusory energy. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and, primarily, the Bhagavad-gītā are both meant for delivering a person from the misconception of "I" and "mine," and Śrīla Vyāsadeva transcribed them for the deliverance of the fallen souls.
SB 2.9.18, Purport:
Lord Caitanya also approved of this method of self-realization for men in this age. One should first, with all conviction, believe in the Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and without making efforts to realize Him by speculative philosophy, one should prefer to hear about Him from the Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā and later from the text of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. One should hear such discourses from a person Bhāgavatam and not from the professional man, or from the karmī, jñānī or yogī.
SB Canto 3
SB 3.1.44, Purport:
The activities of the Lord are to be accepted and relished by all living entities. His activities are to attract the ordinary man towards the Lord. The Lord always acts in favor of the devotees, and therefore ordinary men who are fruitive actors or seekers of salvation may be attracted to the Lord when He acts as protector of the devotees. The fruitive actors can attain their goals by devotional service, and the salvationists can also attain their goal in life by devotional service to the Lord. The devotees do not want the fruitive results of their work, nor do they want any kind of salvation. They relish the glorious superhuman activities of the Lord, such as His lifting Govardhana Hill and His killing the demon Pūtanā in infancy. His activities are enacted to attract all kinds of men—karmīs, jñānīs and bhaktas. Because He is transcendental to all laws of karma, there is no possibility of His accepting a form of māyā as is forced on the ordinary living entities who are bound by the actions and reactions of their own deeds.
SB 3.2.15, Translation and Purport:
The Personality of Godhead, the all-compassionate controller of both the spiritual and material creations, is unborn, but when there is friction between His peaceful devotees and persons who are in the material modes of nature, He takes birth just like fire, accompanied by the mahat-tattva.
The devotees of the Lord are by nature peaceful because they have no material hankering. A liberated soul has no hankering, and therefore he has no lamentation. One who wants to possess also laments when he loses his possession. Devotees have no hankerings for material possessions and no hankerings for spiritual salvation. They are situated in the transcendental loving service of the Lord as a matter of duty, and they do not mind where they are or how they have to act. Karmīs, jñānīs and yogīs all hanker to possess some material or spiritual assets. Karmīs want material possessions, jñānīs and yogīs want spiritual possessions, but devotees do not want any material or spiritual assets. They want only to serve the Lord anywhere in the material or spiritual worlds that the Lord desires, and the Lord is always specifically compassionate towards such devotees.
The karmīs, jñānīs and yogīs have their particular mentalities in the modes of nature, and therefore they are called itara or nondevotees. These itaras, including even the yogīs, sometimes harass the devotees of the Lord. Durvāsā Muni, a great yogī, harassed Mahārāja Ambarīṣa because the latter was a great devotee of the Lord. And the great karmī and jñānī Hiraṇyakaśipu even harassed his own Vaiṣṇava son, Prahlāda Mahārāja. There are many instances of such harassment of the peaceful devotees of the Lord by the itaras. When such friction takes place, the Lord, out of His great compassion towards His pure devotees, appears in person, accompanied by His plenary portions controlling the mahat-tattva.
SB 3.2.15, Purport:
Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared, just like electricity, when there was friction between Kaṁsa and Vasudeva and Ugrasena. Vasudeva and Ugrasena were the Lord's devotees, and Kaṁsa, a representative of the karmīs and jñānīs, was a nondevotee. Kṛṣṇa, as He is, is compared to the sun. He first appeared from the ocean of the womb of Devakī, and gradually He satisfied the inhabitants of the places surrounding Mathurā, just as the sun enlivens the lotus flower in the morning. After gradually rising to the meridian of Dvārakā, the Lord set like the sun, placing everything in darkness, as described by Uddhava.
SB 3.5.4, Purport:
The jñānīs, yogīs and karmīs cannot expect this direct cooperation of the Lord. They are not able to satisfy the Lord by transcendental loving service, nor do they believe in such service to the Lord.
SB 3.14.28, Purport:
There are two kinds of devotees of Lord Śiva. One class is the gross materialist seeking only bodily comforts from Lord Śiva, and the other class desires to become one with him. They are mostly impersonalists and prefer to chant śivo'ham, "I am Śiva," or "After liberation I shall become one with Lord Śiva." In other words, the karmīs and jñānīs are generally devotees of Lord Śiva, but they do not properly understand his real purpose in life. Sometimes so-called devotees of Lord Śiva imitate him in using poisonous intoxicants. Lord Śiva once swallowed an ocean of poison, and thus his throat became blue. The imitation Śivas try to follow him by indulging in poisons, and thus they are ruined.
SB 3.16.19, Translation and Purport:
Mystics and transcendentalists, by the mercy of the Lord, cross beyond nescience by ceasing all material desires. It is not possible, therefore, that the Supreme Lord can be favored by others.
Unless one is favored by the Supreme Lord, one cannot cross over the ocean of the nescience of repeated birth and death. Here it is stated that yogīs or mystics cross beyond nescience by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There are many kinds of mystics, such as the karma-yogī, jñāna-yogī, dhyāna-yogī and bhakti-yogī. The karmīs particularly search after the favor of the demigods, the jñānīs want to become one with the Supreme Absolute Truth, and the yogīs are satisfied simply by partial vision of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Paramātmā, and ultimately by oneness with Him. But the bhaktas, the devotees, want to associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead eternally and serve Him. It has already been admitted that the Lord is eternal, and those who want the favor of the Supreme Lord perpetually are also eternal. Therefore yogīs here means devotees. By the mercy of the Lord, devotees can easily pass beyond the nescience of birth and death and attain the eternal abode of the Lord. The Lord is therefore not in need of another's favor because no one is equal to or greater than Him. Actually, everyone needs the favor of the Lord for successful understanding of his human mission.
SB 3.27.23, Purport:
The karmīs try to utilize the resources of material nature and thus become its lord and enjoy sense gratification, and the jñānīs, the salvationists, who have become frustrated in enjoying the material resources, want to become one with the Supreme Personality of Godhead or merge into the impersonal effulgence. These two diseases are due to material contamination. Material contamination can be consumed by devotional service because in devotional service these two diseases, namely the desire to lord it over material nature and the desire to become one with the Supreme Lord, are absent. Therefore the cause of material existence is at once consumed by the careful discharge of devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. A devotee in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness appears superficially to be a great karmī, always working, but the inner significance of the devotee's activities is that they are meant for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord. This is called bhakti, or devotional service.
SB Canto 4
SB 4.8.61, Purport:
There are different stages of perfection according to different persons' objectives. Generally people are karmīs, for they engage in activities of sense gratification. Above the karmīs are the jñānīs, who are trying to become liberated from material entanglement. Yogīs are still more advanced because they meditate on the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And above all these are the devotees, who simply engage in the transcendental loving service of the Lord; they are situated seriously on the topmost platform of ecstasy.
SB 4.9.10, Purport:
The transcendental bliss derived from devotional service, primarily from śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam (SB 7.5.23), hearing and chanting, cannot be compared to the happiness derived by karmīs by elevating themselves to the heavenly planets or by jñānīs or yogīs, who enjoy oneness with the supreme impersonal Brahman. Yogīs generally meditate upon the transcendental form of Viṣṇu, but devotees not only meditate upon Him but actually engage in the direct service of the Lord. In the previous verse we find the phrase bhavāpyaya, which refers to birth and death. The Lord can give relief from the chain of birth and death. It is a misunderstanding to think, as do the monists, that when one gets relief from the process of birth and death he merges into the Supreme Brahman. Here it is clearly said that the transcendental bliss derived from śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam by pure devotees cannot be compared to brahmānanda, or the impersonal conception of transcendental bliss derived by merging into the Absolute.
The position of karmīs is still more degraded. Their aim is to elevate themselves to the higher planetary systems. It is said, yānti deva-vratā devān: persons who worship the demigods are elevated to the heavenly planets (BG 9.25). But elsewhere in Bhagavad-gītā (9.21) we find, kṣīṇe puṇye martya-lokaṁ viśanti: those who are elevated to the higher planetary systems must come down again as soon as the results of their pious activities are exhausted.
SB 4.9.36, Purport:
In the Bhagavad-gītā 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 karmīs, however, or jñānīs or yogīs endeavor always for their own personal happiness. Karmīs work day and night to improve their economic condition, jñānīs undergo severe austerities in order to get liberation, and yogīs 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.
SB 4.11.14, Purport:
Outside of bhakti-yoga, everyone is trying to satisfy himself. No one is trying to satisfy the Lord. Karmīs grossly try to satisfy their senses, but even those who are elevated to the platform of knowledge also try to satisfy themselves, in a subtle form. Karmīs try to satisfy themselves by sense gratification, and jñānīs try to satisfy themselves by subtle activities or mental speculation and thinking themselves to be God. Yogīs also try to satisfy themselves, by thinking that they can achieve different mystic perfections. But only devotees try to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The devotees' process of self-realization is completely different from the processes of the karmīs, jñānīs and yogīs. Everyone else is trying to satisfy himself, whereas the devotee tries only to satisfy the Lord. The devotional process is completely different from the others; by working to please the Lord by engaging his senses in the Lord's loving service, the devotee is immediately situated on the transcendental platform, and he enjoys unlimited blissful life.
SB 4.12.11, Purport:
The ordinary karmīs, who want to enjoy the results of fruitive activities, are concerned only with sacrifices and ritualistic ceremonies as enjoined in the Vedic śāstras.
SB 4.12.26, Purport:
When Dhruva Mahārāja went to perform austerities, he was very determined to achieve a post never dreamed of by his forefathers. His father was Uttānapāda, his grandfather was Manu, and his great-grandfather was Lord Brahmā. So Dhruva wanted a kingdom even greater than Lord Brahmā could achieve, and he requested Nārada Muni to give him facility for achieving it. The associates of Lord Viṣṇu reminded him that not only his forefathers but everyone else before him was unable to attain Viṣṇuloka, the planet where Lord Viṣṇu resides. This is because everyone within this material world is either a karmī, a jñānī or a yogī, but there are hardly any pure devotees. The transcendental planet known as Viṣṇuloka is especially meant for devotees, not for karmīs, jñānīs or yogīs.
SB 4.12.36, Purport:
A Kṛṣṇa conscious being is always engaged in planning how to take all of suffering humanity back home, back to Godhead. Even if one is not successful in reclaiming all the fallen souls back to Godhead, still, because he is Kṛṣṇa conscious, his path to Vaikuṇṭhaloka is open. He personally becomes qualified to enter the Vaikuṇṭhalokas, and if anyone follows such a devotee, he also enters into Vaikuṇṭhaloka. Others, who engage in envious activities, are known as karmīs. Karmīs are envious of one another. Simply for sense gratification, they can kill thousands of innocent animals. Jñānīs are not as sinful as karmīs, but they do not try to reclaim others back to Godhead. They perform austerities for their own liberation.
SB 4.12.37, Translation and Purport:
Persons who are peaceful, equipoised, cleansed and purified, and who know the art of pleasing all other living entities, keep friendship only with devotees of the Lord; they alone can very easily achieve the perfection of going back home, back to Godhead.
The description of this verse fully indicates that only devotees are eligible to enter into the kingdom of Godhead. The first point stated is that devotees are peaceful, for they have no demands for their personal sense gratification. They are simply dedicated to the service of the Lord. Karmīs cannot be peaceful because they have immense demands for sense gratification.
SB 4.12.45, Translation and Purport:
By hearing the narration of Dhruva Mahārāja one can fulfill desires for wealth, reputation and increased duration of life. It is so auspicious that one can even go to a heavenly planet or attain Dhruvaloka, which was achieved by Dhruva Mahārāja, just by hearing about him. The demigods also become pleased because this narration is so glorious, and it is so powerful that it can counteract all the results of one's sinful actions.
There are different types of men in this world, not all of them pure devotees. Some are karmīs, desiring to acquire vast wealth. There are also persons who are only after reputation. Some desire to be elevated to the heavenly planets or to go to Dhruvaloka, and others want to please the demigods to get material profits. Herein it is recommended by Maitreya that every one of them can hear the narration about Dhruva Mahārāja and thus get their desired goal. It is recommended that the devotees (akāma), the karmīs (sarva-kāma) and the jñānīs, who desire to be liberated (mokṣa-kāma), should all worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead to acquire their desired goals of life. Similarly, if anyone hears about the activities of the Lord's devotee, he can achieve the same result. There is no difference between the activities and character of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and those of His pure devotees.
SB 4.12.48, Purport:
In every center of this Society—not only in the morning, evening or noon, but practically twenty-four hours a day—there is continuous devotional service going on. Anyone who comes in contact with the Society automatically becomes a devotee. We have actual experience that many karmīs and others come to the Society and find a very pleasing and peaceful atmosphere in the temples of ISKCON.
SB 4.13.34, Purport:
The fruitive actor enjoys only the fruits of his own activities, but a devotee, being under the guidance of the Supreme Lord, simply advances in devotional service to achieve the ultimate goal of life—to go back home, back to Godhead. The significant word in this verse is kāmān, which means "sense gratificatory desires." A devotee is devoid of all kāmān. He is anyābhilāṣitā-śūnya: a devotee is always devoid of all desires for sense gratification. His only aim is to satisfy or gratify the senses of the Lord. That is the difference between a karmī and a devotee.
SB 4.13.37, Translation and Purport:
The King was very liberal, and after taking permission from the priests, he took the preparation in his joined palms, and after smelling it he offered a portion to his wife.
The word udāra-dhīḥ is significant in this connection. The wife of the King, Sunīthā, was not fit to accept this benediction, yet the King was so liberal that without hesitation he offered to his wife the boiled rice in milk prasāda received from the yajña-puruṣa. Of course, everything is designed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As will be explained in later verses, this incident was not very favorable for the King. Since the King was very liberal, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in order to increase his detachment from this material world, willed that a cruel son be born of the Queen so that the King would have to leave home. As stated above, Lord Viṣṇu fulfills the desires of the karmīs as they desire, but the Lord fulfills the desire of a devotee in a different way so that the devotee may gradually come to Him. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ yena mām upayānti te). The Lord gives the devotee the opportunity to make progress further and further so that he may come back home, back to Godhead.
SB 4.14.7, Purport:
Ordinary karmīs are busy acquiring money for sense gratification, and ordinary jñānīs are socially aloof when they speculate on liberation, but actual devotees and saintly persons are always anxious to see how the people can be made happy both materially and spiritually.
SB 4.19.35, Purport:
There are many competitors in ordinary business affairs, and the karma-kāṇḍa chapters of the Vedas sometimes cause competition and envy amongst karmīs. A karmī must be envious because he wishes to enjoy material pleasures to their fullest extent. That is the material disease. Consequently there is always competition amongst karmīs, either in ordinary business affairs or in the performance of yajña.
SB 4.20.12, Purport:
Karmīs, jñānīs and yogīs cannot be bound in devotional service. Karmīs fully engage in the activities of the body. Their aim of life is to give comfort to the body only.
SB 4.20.23, Purport:
There are different kinds of benedictions according to a person's demands. For karmīs the best benediction is promotion to the higher planetary systems, where the duration of life is very long and the standard of living and happiness is very high. There are others, namely jñānīs and yogīs, who want the benediction of merging into the existence of the Lord. This is called kaivalya. The Lord is therefore addressed as kaivalya-pati, the master or Lord of the benediction known as kaivalya. But devotees receive a different type of benediction from the Lord. Devotees are anxious neither for the heavenly planets nor for merging into the existence of the Lord. According to devotees, kaivalya, or merging into the existence of the Lord, is considered as good as hell. The word naraka means "hell." Similarly, everyone who exists in this material world is called nāraka because this material existence itself is known as a hellish condition of life. Pṛthu Mahārāja, however, expressed that he was interested neither in the benediction desired by the karmīs nor that desired by the jñānīs and yogīs. Śrīla Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī Prabhu, a great devotee of Lord Caitanya, described that kaivalya is no better than a hellish condition of life, and as for the delights of the heavenly planets, they are factually will-o'-the-wisps, or phantasmagoria. They are not wanted by devotees. Devotees do not even care for the positions held by Lord Brahmā or Lord Śiva, nor does a devotee desire to become equal with Lord Viṣṇu. As a pure devotee of the Lord, Pṛthu Mahārāja made his position very clear.
SB 4.20.29, Purport:
The karmīs are generally engaged in fruitive activities for material bodily comforts.
SB 4.21.34, Purport:
Everyone-whether akāma (a devotee), sarva-kāma (a karmī) or mokṣa-kāma (a jñānī or yogī)—is encouraged to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead by the direct method of devotional service. In this way one can get both material and spiritual profit simultaneously.
SB 4.22.16, Purport:
Everyone is trying to elevate himself to the highest position according to his mentality. The karmīs, who have a bodily concept of life, try to enjoy sense gratification to the utmost.
SB 4.22.19, Purport:
Generally there are two classes of men, the materialist and the transcendentalist. By hearing discussions between devotees, both the materialist and transcendentalist are benefited. The materialist is benefited by association with devotees because his life then becomes regulated so that his chance of becoming a devotee or making the present life successful for understanding the real position of the living entity is increased. When one takes advantage of this opportunity, he is assured of a human form of life in the next birth, or he may be liberated completely and go back home, back to Godhead. The conclusion is that if one participates in a discussion of devotees, he is both materially and spiritually benefited. The speaker and the audience are both benefited, and the karmīs and jñānīs are benefited. The discussion of spiritual matters amongst devotees is beneficial for everyone, without exception.
SB 4.22.27, Purport:
When one is completely fixed in the service of the Lord, he is a liberated person in any condition of life. He is called jīvan-muktaḥ, liberated even within this body. In such a liberated condition, there is no distinction between actions for sense gratification and actions for liberation. When one is liberated from the desires of sense gratification, he has no longer to suffer the reactions of lamentation or illusion. Activities performed by the karmīs and jñānīs are subject to lamentation and illusion, but a self-realized liberated person acting only for the Supreme Personality of Godhead experiences none.
SB 4.23.8, Purport:
King Pṛthu's activities took place in Satya-yuga, and in this age this practice of yoga is misunderstood by fallen souls who are not capable of practicing anything. Consequently the śāstras enjoin: kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā. The conclusion is that unless the karmīs, jñānīs and yogīs come to the point of devotional service to Lord Kṛṣṇa, their so-called austerities and yoga have no value.
SB 4.23.11, Purport:
In the Nārada-pañcarātra, devotional service to the Lord is likened unto a queen. When a queen gives an audience, many maidservants follow her. The maidservants of devotional service are material opulence, liberation and mystic powers. The karmīs are very much attached to material enjoyment, the jñānīs are very anxious to become freed from material clutches, and the yogīs are very fond of attaining the eight kinds of mystic perfection.
SB 4.23.27, Purport:
Even if one is promoted to the impersonal brahmajyoti, he runs every chance of falling down into this material world. If it is possible to fall down from the brahmajyoti, which is beyond the higher planetary systems in this material world, then what can be said of the ordinary yogīs and karmīs who can only be elevated to the higher material planets? Thus the wives of the denizens of the higher planetary systems did not very much appreciate the results of karma, jñāna and yoga.
SB 4.23.28, Translation and Purport:
Any person who engages himself within this material world in performing activities that necessitate great struggle, and who, after obtaining a human form of life—which is a chance to attain liberation from miseries—undertakes the difficult tasks of fruitive activities, must be considered to be cheated and envious of his own self.
In this material world people are engaged in different activities simply to achieve a little success in sense gratification. The karmīs are engaged in performing very difficult activities, and thus they open gigantic factories, build huge cities, make big scientific discoveries, etc. In other words, they are engaged in performing very costly sacrifices in order to be promoted to the higher planetary systems. Similarly, yogīs are engaged in achieving a similar goal by accepting the tedious practices of mystic yoga. Jñānīs are engaged in philosophical speculation in order to gain release from the clutches of material nature. In these ways everyone is engaged in performing very difficult tasks simply for the gratification of the senses. All of these are considered to be engaged in sense gratificatory activities (or viṣaya) because they all demand some facility for material existence. Actually the results of such activities are temporary. As Kṛṣṇa Himself proclaims in Bhagavad-gītā (7.23), antavat tu phalaṁ teṣām: "The fruits (of those who worship the demigods) are limited and temporary." Thus the fruits of the activities of the yogīs, karmīs and jñānīs are ephemeral. Moreover, Kṛṣṇa says, tad bhavaty alpa-medhasām: "They are simply meant for men of small intelligence." The word viṣaya denotes sense gratification. The karmīs flatly state that they want sense gratification. The yogīs also want sense gratification, but they want it to a higher degree. It is their desire to show some miraculous results through the practice of yoga. Thus they strive very hard to achieve success in becoming smaller than the smallest or greater than the greatest, or in creating a planet like earth or, as scientists, by inventing so many wonderful machines. Similarly, the jñānīs are also engaged in sense gratification, for they are simply interested in becoming one with the Supreme. Thus the aim of all these activities is sense gratification to a higher or a lower degree. The bhaktas, however, are not interested in sense gratificatory practices; they are simply satisfied to get an opportunity to serve the Lord. Although they are satisfied in any condition, there is nothing they cannot obtain, because they are purely engaged in the service of the Lord.
SB 4.24.20, Purport:
A devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa is always peaceful because he has no desire, whereas the yogīs, karmīs and jñānīs have so many desires to fulfill.
SB 4.24.28, Purport:
There are many so-called devotees, but actually they are only karmīs and jñānīs, for they are not directly devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa. The karmīs sometimes offer the results of their activities to Lord Vāsudeva, and this offering is called karmārpaṇam. These are considered to be fruitive activities, for the karmīs consider Lord Viṣṇu to be one of the demigods like Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā. Because they consider Lord Viṣṇu to be on the same level with the demigods, they contend that surrendering to the demigods is as good as surrendering unto Vāsudeva.
SB 4.24.40, Purport:
Those who are engaged in fruitive activities (karmīs) attain the higher planetary systems as a result of their past activities, and the jñānīs, who seek unification or a monistic merging with the effulgence of the Supreme Lord, also attain their desired end, but in the ultimate issue, the devotees, who desire to personally associate with the Lord, are promoted to the Vaikuṇṭhalokas or Goloka Vṛndāvana.
SB 4.24.41, Purport:
The Supreme Personality of Godhead causes the asuras to forget Him and the devotees to remember Him. One's disinclinations are due to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. According to Bhagavad-gītā (16.7), pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca janā na vidur āsurāḥ: the asuras do not know which way one should be inclined to act and which way one should not be inclined to act. Although the asuras oppose devotional service, it is to be understood that they are inclined that way due to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because the asuras do not like to engage in the Lord's devotional service, the Lord within gives them the intelligence to forget. Ordinary karmīs desire promotion to Pitṛloka, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (9.25). Yānti deva-vratā devān pitṟn yānti pitṛ-vratāḥ: "Those who worship the demigods will take birth among the demigods, and those who worship ancestors go to the ancestors."
SB 4.24.44, Purport:
The impersonalists and the voidists also have to see the form of the Absolute. In Buddhist temples there are forms of Lord Buddha in meditation, but these are not worshiped like the forms of the Lord in Vaiṣṇava temples (forms like Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, Sītā-Rāma or Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa). Amongst the different sampradāyas (Vaiṣṇava sects) either Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa or Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa is worshiped. Lord Śiva wants to see that form perfectly, just as the devotees want to see it. I he words rūpaṁ priyatamaṁ svānām are specifically mentioned here, indicating that Lord Śiva wants to see that form which is very dear to the devotees. The word svānām is especially significant because only the devotees are very, very dear to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The jñānīs, yogīs and karmīs are not particularly dear, for the karmīs simply want to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead as their order supplier. The jñānīs want to see Him to become one with Him, and the yogīs want to see Him partially represented within their heart as Paramātmā, but the bhaktas, or the devotees, want to see Him in His complete perfection.
SB 4.24.54, Purport:
Generally, karmīs desire elevation to heavenly planets, but King Indra desires to become perfect in bhakti-yoga. Those who identify themselves as ahaṁ brahmāsmi ("I am the Supreme Brahman, one with the Absolute Truth") also ultimately desire to attain perfect liberation in the Vaikuṇṭha planets or Goloka Vṛndāvana.
SB 4.24.56, Purport:
All the activities of the karmīs and jñānīs, which have no touch of devotional service, are spoiled in due course of time. The material success of the karmīs is destined to be destroyed; similarly, the impersonal realization attained by the jñānīs is also destroyed in the course of time.
- āruhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ
- patanty adho 'nādṛta-yuṣmad-aṅghrayaḥ
- (SB 10.2.32)
To say nothing of the karmīs, the jñānīs undergo severe austerities to attain the impersonal brahmajyoti, but because they do not find the lotus feet of the Lord, they fall down again into this material existence. Unless one is fully situated in unalloyed devotional service, there is no guarantee of liberation, even if one is elevated to the heavenly planets or to the impersonal Brahman effulgence. A devotee's achievement, however, is never lost by the influence of time. Even if a devotee cannot completely execute devotional service, in his next life he begins from the point where he left off. Such an opportunity is not given to the karmīs and jñānīs, whose achievements are destroyed.
SB 4.24.57, Translation and Purport:
If one by chance associates with a devotee, even for a fraction of a moment, he no longer is subject to attraction by the results of karma or jñāna. What interest then can he have in the benedictions of the demigods, who are subject to the laws of birth and death?
Out of three kinds of men—the karmīs, jñānīs and bhaktas—the bhakta is described herein as the most exalted.
SB 4.24.62, Purport:
The devotees, the jñānīs, who are known as mokṣa-kāma, and the karmīs, who are known as sarva-kāma, are all aspiring to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu. Even when one performs yajñas, as stated here (kriyā-kalāpaiḥ), he should always remember that the demigods are but agents of the Supreme Lord. Actually the worshipful Lord is Viṣṇu, Yajñeśvara. Thus even when different demigods are worshiped in the Vedic and Tantric sacrifices, the actual goal of sacrifice is Lord Viṣṇu. Therefore in Bhagavad-gītā (9.23) it is said:
- ye 'py anya-devatā-bhaktā
- yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ
- te 'pi mām eva kaunteya
- yajanty avidhi-pūrvakam
"Whatever a man may sacrifice to other gods, O son of Kuntī, is really meant for Me alone, but is offered without true understanding."
Thus the worshipers of various demigods also worship the Supreme Lord, but they do so against the regulative principles. The purpose of the regulative principles is to satisfy Lord Viṣṇu. In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (3.8.9) the very same thing is confirmed:
- varṇāśramācāravatā
- puruṣeṇa paraḥ pumān
- viṣṇur ārādhyate panthā
- nānyat tat-toṣa-kāraṇam
- (CC Madhya 8.58)
Here it is clearly mentioned that the karmī, jñānī or yogī—in fact, everyone—worships Lord Viṣṇu if he is actually expert in knowledge of the Vedas and Tantras.
SB 4.25.3, Translation and Purport:
While the princes were undergoing severe austerities in the water, their father was performing different types of fruitive activities. At this time the great saint Nārada, master and teacher of all spiritual life, became very compassionate upon the King and decided to instruct him about spiritual life.
As pointed out by Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, a great devotee of Lord Caitanya, kaivalya, or merging into the Brahman effulgence, is just like going to hell. He similarly states that elevation to the upper planetary systems for the enjoyment of heavenly life is just so much phantasmagoria. This means that a devotee does not give any importance to the ultimate goal of the karmīs and jñānīs. The ultimate goal of the karmīs is promotion to the heavenly kingdom, and the ultimate goal of the jñānīs is merging into the Brahman effulgence. Of course, the jñānīs are superior to the karmīs, as confirmed by Lord Caitanya. Koṭi-karmaniṣṭha-madhye eka 'jñānī' śreṣṭha: "one jñānī, or impersonalist, is better than many thousands of fruitive actors." (CC Madhya 19.147) Therefore a devotee never enters upon the path of karma, or elevation by fruitive activities. Nārada Muni took compassion upon King Prācīnabarhiṣat when he saw the King engaged in fruitive activity. In comparison to mundane workers, those who are trying to be elevated to the higher planetary systems by performing yajñas are undoubtedly superior. In pure devotional service, however, both karma and jñāna are considered bewildering features of the illusory energy.
SB 4.25.4, Purport:
Even if one attains a heavenly planet, he cannot avoid the distresses of birth, old age, disease and death. Someone may argue that even devotees have to undergo many distresses in executing austerities and penances connected with devotional service. Of course, for the neophytes the routine of devotional service may be very painful, but at least they have the hope that they will ultimately be able to avoid all kinds of distresses and achieve the highest perfectional stage of happiness. For the common karmīs, there is no such hope because even if they are promoted to the higher planetary systems, they are not guaranteed freedom from the miseries of birth, old age, disease and death. Even Lord Brahmā, who is situated in the highest planetary system (Brahmaloka), has to die. Lord Brahmā's birth and death may be different from an ordinary man's, but within this material world he cannot avoid the distresses of birth, old age, disease and death. If one is at all serious about attaining liberation from these miseries, he must take to devotional service.
SB 4.25.7, Purport:
Karmīs are generally engaged in sense gratification, and for this end they are prepared to commit so many sinful activities.
SB 4.25.24, Purport:
Being impelled by lust, an ordinary worker will work hard day and night; similarly a devotee can work hard day and night to satisfy Kṛṣṇa. Just as karmīs are working hard to satisfy kāma-krodha, a devotee should work in the same way to satisfy Kṛṣṇa.
SB 4.25.38, Purport:
There is no sex life except in the gṛhastha, or householder, āśrama. The brahmacārī is not allowed any sex, a vānaprastha voluntarily refrains from sex, and the sannyāsī is completely renounced. The karmīs do not practice brahmacarya, vānaprastha or sannyāsa life, for they are very much interested in gṛhastha life. In other words, a human being is very much materially inclined. Indeed, all living entities are materially inclined. They prefer gṛhastha life because there is a concession for sex. The karmīs think the other statuses of life are worse than animal life, for animals also have sex, whereas the brahmacārī, vānaprastha and sannyāsī completely give up sex. The karmīs, therefore, abhor these orders of spiritual life.
SB 4.26.17, Purport:
When a person is devoid of devotional service, or viṣṇu-bhakti, he takes to many sinful activities. King Purañjana left home, neglected his own wife and engaged himself in killing animals. This is the position of all materialistic men. They do not care for a married chaste wife. They take the wife only as an instrument for sense enjoyment, not as a means for devotional service. To have unrestricted sex life, the karmīs work very hard. They have concluded that the best course is to have sex with any woman and simply pay the price for her, as though she were a mercantile commodity. Thus they engage their energy in working very hard for such material acquisitions. Such materialistic people have lost their good intelligence. They must search out their intelligence within the heart. A person who does not have a chaste wife accepted by religious principles always has a bewildered intelligence.
SB 4.26.26, Purport:
The actual happiness of the karmīs is sex life. They work very hard outside the home, and to satiate their hard labor, they come home to enjoy sex life. King Purañjana went to the forest to hunt, and after his hard labor he returned home to enjoy sex life. If a man lives outside the home and spends a week in a city or somewhere else, at the end of the week he becomes very anxious to return home and enjoy sex with his wife. This is confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham (SB 7.9.45). Karmīs work very hard simply to enjoy sex. Modern human society has improved the materialistic way of life simply by inducing unrestricted sex life in many different ways. This is most prominently visible in the Western world.
SB 4.27.10, Translation and Purport:
These sons and grandsons were virtually plunderers of King Purañjana's riches, including his home, treasury, servants, secretaries and all other paraphernalia. Purañjana's attachment for these things was very deep-rooted.
In this verse the word riktha-hāreṣu, meaning "plunderers of wealth," is very significant. One's sons, grandsons and other descendants are ultimately plunderers of one's accumulated wealth. There are many celebrated businessmen and industrialists who produce great wealth and are highly praised by the public, but all their money is ultimately plundered by their sons and grandsons. In India we have actually seen one industrialist who, like King Purañjana, was very much sexually inclined and had a half dozen wives. Each of these wives had a separate establishment that necessitated the expenditure of several thousands of rupees. When I was engaged in talking with him, I saw that he was very busy trying to secure money so that all his sons and daughters would get at least five hundred thousand rupees each. Thus such industrialists, businessmen or karmīs are called mūḍhas in the śāstras. They work very hard, accumulate money, and are satisfied to see that this money is plundered by their sons and grandsons. Such people do not want to return their wealth to its actual owner.
SB 4.27.11, Purport:
Generally the karmīs, who are attached to increasing descendants, have to perform so many sacrifices and worship so many demigods for future generations, as well as to satisfy so many leaders, politicians, philosophers and scientists to make things go on properly for future generations.
SB 4.27.11, Purport:
"Those who are on the spiritual path are resolute in purpose, and their aim is one. O beloved child of the Kurus, the intelligence of those who are irresolute is many-branched."
Actually, those who are in knowledge of everything are determined to execute Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but those who are rascals (mūḍhāḥ), sinners (duṣkṛtinaḥ) and the lowest of mankind (narādhamāḥ), who are bereft of all intelligence (māyayāpahṛta jñānāḥ) and who take shelter of the demoniac way of life (āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ), are disinterested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. As such they become implicated and take on so many activities. Most of these activities center around the killing of animals. Modern civilization is centered around animal-killing. Karmīs are advertising that without eating meat, their vitamin value or vitality will be reduced; so to keep oneself fit to work hard, one must eat meat, and to digest meat, one must drink liquor, and to keep the balance of drinking wine and eating meat, one must have sufficient sexual intercourse to keep fit to work very hard like an ass.
SB 4.27.23, Purport:
Being the most perfect Vaiṣṇava, Śrī Nārada Muni is always willing to do good to others, even to one who curses him. Although Kālakanyā, the daughter of Time, was refused by Nārada Muni, she was given a shelter. Of course no one could give her shelter, but a Vaiṣṇava gives shelter somewhere to such an unfortunate girl. When jarā, or old age, attacks, everyone dwindles and deteriorates. In one stroke Nārada Muni gave shelter to Kālakanyā and counterattacked the ordinary karmīs. If one accepts the instructions of Nārada Muni, the ocean of fear (bhaya) can be very quickly removed by the grace of that great Vaiṣṇava.
SB 4.27.29, Purport:
Those without knowledge of the spirit soul are mad after materialistic activities, and they perform all kinds of sinful activities simply for sense gratification. According to Ṛṣabhadeva, such activities are inauspicious because they force one to accept an abominable body in the next life. Everyone can experience that although we try to keep the body in a comfortable position, it is always giving pain and is subjected to the threefold miseries. Otherwise, why are there so many hospitals, welfare boards and insurance establishments? Actually, in this world there is no happiness. People are simply engaged trying to counteract unhappiness. Foolish people accept unhappiness as happiness; therefore the King of the Yavanas decided to attack such foolish people imperceptibly by old age, disease, and ultimately death. Of course, after death there must be birth; therefore Yavana-rāja thought it wise to kill all the karmīs through the agency of Kālakanyā and thus try to make them aware that materialistic advancement is not actually advancement. Every living entity is a spiritual being, and consequently without spiritual advancement the human form of life is ruined.
SB 4.28.10, Purport:
This movement is giving human society information about the kingdom of God. There is God, there is Kṛṣṇa, and everyone can return to God and live eternally in bliss and knowledge. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person is not afraid of giving up the body because his position is always eternal. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person engages in the transcendental loving service of the Lord eternally; therefore as long as he lives within the body, he is happy to engage in the loving service of the Lord, and when he gives up the body, he is also permanently situated in the service of the Lord. The saintly devotees are always free and liberated, whereas the karmīs, who have no knowledge of spiritual life or the transcendental loving service of the Lord, are very much afraid of giving up the rotten material body.
SB 4.28.31, Purport:
The word bhokṣyate is very important in this verse. Just as a king gives protection to his citizens, these devotees, following the principles of devotional service, will give protection to all the people of the world. The people of the world are very much harassed by so-called religious-principled svāmīs, yogīs, karmīs and jñānīs, but none of these can show the right way to become elevated to the spiritual platform. There are primarily four parties spreading devotional service all over the universe. These are the Rāmānuja-sampradāya, the Madhva-sampradāya, the Viṣṇu Svāmī-sampradāya and the Nimbārka-sampradāya. The Madhva-Gauḍīya-sampradāya in particular comes from Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. All these devotees are spreading this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement very widely and giving protection to innocent people who are being so much embarrassed by pseudo-avatāras, -svāmīs, -yogīs and others.
SB 4.29.3, Purport:
Ordinary persons engaged in pious and impious activities cannot understand the form, name and activities of the Lord. The devotee, however, can know the Personality of Godhead in many respects. He can understand that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, that His address is Goloka Vṛndāvana and that His activities are all spiritual. Because the Lord's form and activities cannot be understood by materialistic people, He is described by the śāstras as nirākāra, that is, one whose form cannot be ascertained by a materialistic person. This does not mean that the Supreme Personality of Godhead has no form; it means that it is not understood by the karmīs, or fruitive actors. His form is described in Brahma-saṁhitā as sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1).
SB 4.29.3, Purport:
Since the name, form, qualities and activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, cannot be understood by the material senses, He is also called adhokṣaja, meaning "beyond sense perception." When the senses are purified by devotional activity, the devotee understands everything about the Lord by the Lord's grace. In this verse the words pumbhir nāmabhir vā kriyā-guṇaiḥ are especially significant because God, Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has many names, activities and qualities, although none of them are material. Despite the fact that all these names, activities and pastimes are mentioned in the śāstras and understood by the devotees, the karmīs (fruitive laborers) cannot understand them. Nor can the jñānīs (mental speculators) understand them. Although there are thousands of names of Lord Viṣṇu, the karmīs and jñānīs intermingle the names of the Supreme Godhead with the names of demigods and human beings. Because they cannot understand the actual name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they take for granted that any name can be accepted. They believe that since the Absolute Truth is impersonal, they can call Him by any name. Otherwise, they maintain, He has no name. This is not a fact. Here it is clearly stated: nāmabhir vā kriyā-guṇaiḥ. The Lord has specific names such as Rāma, Kṛṣṇa, Govinda, Nārāyaṇa, Viṣṇu and Adhokṣaja. There are indeed many names, but the conditioned soul cannot understand them.
SB 4.29.28, Purport:
Those who utilize the energies of the worker are called capitalists, and those who actually perform the work are called laborers. In actuality they are both capitalists, and the workers are in the modes of passion and ignorance. The result is that there is always a distressful situation. In contrast to these men are those influenced by the mode of goodness—the karmīs and jñānīs. The karmīs, under the direction of Vedic instructions, try to elevate themselves to higher planetary systems. The jñānīs try to merge into the existence of Brahman, the impersonal feature of the Lord. In this way all classes of living entities in various species of life are existing within this material world. This explains superior and inferior life—forms within the material world.
SB 4.29.45, Purport:
The thunderbolt itself is controlled by Indra. Similarly, other demigods—Agni, Varuṇa, Candra, Sūrya—have particular powers. All these demigods are worshiped in the Vedic hymns through a symbolic weapon. Therefore it is said here: mantra-liṅgair vyavacchinnam. By such worship, karmīs may obtain the benediction of material opulence in the form of animals, riches, beautiful wives, many followers, and so on. By such material opulence, however, one cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
SB 4.29.46, Translation and Purport:
When a person is fully engaged in devotional service, he is favored by the Lord, who bestows His causeless mercy. At such a time, the awakened devotee gives up all material activities and ritualistic performances mentioned in the Vedas.
In the previous verse, those who are in knowledge have been described as unable to appreciate the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Similarly, this verse indicates that those who are followers of the Vedic rituals, as well as those who are followers of fruitive activities, are unable to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In these two verses both the karmīs and jñānīs are described as unfit to understand Him. As described by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, only when one is completely free from mental speculation and fruitive activity (anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam (CC Madhya 19.167)) can one engage in pure devotional service without being polluted by material desires.
SB 4.30.34, Translation and Purport:
Even a moment's association with a pure devotee cannot be compared to being transferred to heavenly planets or even merging into the Brahman effulgence in complete liberation. For living entities who are destined to give up the body and die, association with pure devotees is the highest benediction.
The great saint Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī, a devotee of Lord Caitanya, has stated: kaivalyaṁ narakāyate tridaśa-pūr ākāśa-puṣpāyate. For a pure devotee, kaivalya, merging into the existence of Brahman, the Brahman effulgence, is no better than living in hell. Similarly, he considers promotion to heavenly planets (tridaśa-pūr) just another kind of phantasmagoria. In other words, a pure devotee does not place much value in the destination of the karmīs (the heavenly planets) or in the destination of the jñānīs (merging into the Brahman effulgence).
SB Canto 5
SB 5.1.1, Purport:
The words bhāgavata ātmārāmaḥ are very significant in this verse. If one is self-satisfied as is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is called bhāgavata ātmārāmaḥ. There are different types of satisfaction. Karmīs are satisfied in their fruitive activities, jñānīs are satisfied to merge into the effulgence of Brahman, and devotees are satisfied to engage in the Lord's service. The Lord is self-satisfied because He is fully opulent, and one who is satisfied by serving Him is called bhāgavata ātmārāmaḥ. Manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu: (BG 7.3) out of many thousands of persons, one may endeavor for liberation, and of many thousands of persons attempting to become liberated, one may achieve liberation from the anxieties of material existence and become self-satisfied. Even that satisfaction, however, is not the ultimate satisfaction. The jñānīs and the karmīs have desires, as do the yogīs, but devotees have no desires. Satisfaction in the service of the Lord is called akāma, freedom from desire, and this is the ultimate satisfaction. Therefore Mahārāja Parīkṣit inquired, "How could one who was fully satisfied on the highest platform be satisfied with family life?"
SB 5.1.16, Purport:
The difference between a liberated and conditioned soul is that the conditioned soul is under the concept of bodily life, whereas a liberated person knows that he is not the body but a spirit, different from the body. Priyavrata might have thought that although a conditioned soul is forced to act according to the laws of nature, why should he, who was far advanced in spiritual understanding, accept the same kind of bondage and impediments to spiritual advancement? To answer this doubt, Lord Brahmā informed him that even those who are liberated do not resent accepting, in the present body, the results of their past activities. While sleeping, one dreams many unreal things, but when he awakens he disregards them and makes progress in factual life. Similarly, a liberated person—one who has completely understood that he is not the body but a spirit soul—disregards past activities performed in ignorance and performs his present activities in such a way that they produce no reactions. This is described in Bhagavad-gītā (3.9). Yajñārthāt karmaṇo 'nyatra loko 'yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ: if one performs activities for the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality, the yajña-puruṣa, his work does not produce reactions, whereas karmīs, who act for themselves, are bound by the reactions of their work.
SB 5.1.19, Purport:
There are three kinds of men within this material world. Those who are trying to enjoy the senses to the utmost are called karmīs, above them are the jñānīs, who try to conquer the urges of the senses, and above them are the yogīs, who have already conquered the senses. None of them, however, are situated in a transcendental position. Only devotees. who belong to none of the above-mentioned groups, are transcendental.
SB 5.1.19, Purport:
A devotee sometimes appears to be in a very opulent position, but he accepts that position to follow the orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore a devotee is never affected by material influences. The devotees in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement are preaching all over the world in accordance with the order of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. They have to meet many karmīs, but by the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, they are unaffected by material influences.
SB 5.1.29, Purport:
In this verse iva has twice been used to indicate that Mahārāja Priyavrata acted exactly like a henpecked husband and thereby seemed to have lost his sense of human responsibility. Actually, however, he was fully conscious of his position as a spirit soul, although he seemingly behaved like an acquiescent karmī husband. Mahārāja Priyavrata thus ruled the universe for eleven arbudas of years. One arbuda consists of 100,000,000 years, and Mahārāja Priyavrata ruled the universe for eleven such arbudas.
SB 5.2.7, Purport:
"They are rotting in material activities for transient material pleasure and spoiling their lives toiling all day and night simply for sense gratification, with no attachment for love of Godhead. I am simply lamenting for them and devising various plans to deliver them from the clutches of māyā." (SB 7.9.43) Karmīs who act very seriously for sense gratification are always referred to in the śāstras by such terms as pramatta, vimukha and vimūḍha. They are killed by māyā. However, one who is apramatta, a sane, sober person, a dhīra, knows very well that a human being's primary duty is to render service to the Supreme Person. Māyā is always ready to kill those who are pramatta with her invisible bows and arrows. Āgnīdhra questioned Pūrvacitti about this.
SB 5.5.5, Purport:
As long as one is interested in karma and jñāna, he continues enduring the miseries of material life—birth, old age, disease and death. Karmīs certainly take on one body after another. As far as jñānīs are concerned, unless they are promoted to the topmost understanding, they must return to the material world. As explained in Bhagavad-gītā (7.19): bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate. The point is to know Kṛṣṇa, Vāsudeva, as everything and surrender unto Him. Karmīs do not know this, but a devotee who is one hundred percent engaged in the devotional service of the Lord knows fully what is karma and jñāna; therefore a pure devotee is no longer interested in karma or jñāna. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jñāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam (CC Madhya 19.167). The real bhakta is untouched by any tinge of karma and jñāna. His only purpose in life is to serve the Lord.
SB 5.5.21-22, Purport:
Among those who accept the Vedic principles generally known as varṇāśrama (presently known as the Hindu system), few actually follow these principles. Of those who actually follow the Vedic principles, most perform fruitive activity or pious activity for elevation to a high position. Manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye: (BG 7.3) out of many attached to fruitive activity, one may be a jñānī—that is, one philosophically inclined and superior to the karmīs. Yatatām api siddhānāṁ kaścin māṁ vetti tattvataḥ: (BG 7.3) out of many jñānīs, one may be liberated from material bondage, and out of many millions of liberated jñānīs, one may become a devotee of Kṛṣṇa.
SB 5.5.35, Purport:
In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (CC Madhya 19.149) it is said:
- kṛṣṇa-bhakta—niṣkāma, ataeva 'śānta'
- bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kāmī—sakali 'aśānta'
The word śānta means completely peaceful. Unless all one's desires are fulfilled, one cannot be peaceful. Everyone is trying to fulfill his aspirations and desires, be they material or spiritual. Those in the material world are aśānta (without peace) because they have so many desires to fulfill. The pure devotee, however, is without desire. Anyābhilāṣitā-śūnya: a pure devotee is completely free from all kinds of material desire. Karmīs, on the other hand, are simply full of desires because they try to enjoy sense gratification. They are not peaceful in this life, nor the next, during the past, present or future.
SB 5.7.6, Purport:
The Supreme Personality of Godhead says that as long as one does not develop the pure devotional service of śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam (SB 7.5.23), hearing and chanting, one must carry out his prescribed duties. Since Bharata Mahārāja was a great devotee, one may ask why he performed so many sacrifices that are actually meant for karmīs. The fact is that he was simply following the orders of Vāsudeva. As Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā, sarva dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja: "Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me." (BG 18.66) Whatever we do, we should constantly remember Vāsudeva.
SB 5.7.6, Purport:
Pure devotees simply act for the pleasure of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; therefore the results of their activities are spiritual, or permanent. They are not like those of the karmīs, which are nonpermanent.
SB 5.11.3, Purport:
If a person does not come to the conclusion that he has nothing to do with any kind of material happiness, he cannot come to the platform of understanding the Absolute Truth, or tattva jñāna. Karmīs, jñānīs and yogīs are after some material elevation. The karmīs work hard day and night for some bodily comfort, and the jñānīs simply speculate about how to get out of the entanglement of karma and merge into the Brahman effulgence. The yogīs are very much addicted to the acquisition of material perfection and magical powers. All of them are trying to be materially perfect, but a devotee very easily comes to the platform of nirguṇa in devotional service, and consequently for the devotee the results of karma, jñāna and yoga become very insignificant. Therefore only the devotee is on the platform of tattva jñāna, not the others. Of course the jñānī's position is better than that of the karmī but that position is also insufficient. The jñānī must actually become liberated, and after liberation he may be situated in devotional service (mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām (BG 18.54)).
SB 5.13.3, Purport:
The material household is actually a hole of fruitive activity. To earn a livelihood one engages in different industries and trades, and sometimes one performs great sacrifices to go to higher planetary systems. Apart from this, at least everyone is engaged in earning a livelihood in some profession or occupation. In these dealings, one has to meet many undesirable people, and their behavior is compared to the biting of mosquitoes. This creates very undesirable conditions. Even in the midst of these disturbances, one imagines that he is going to construct a grand house and live there permanently, although he knows that he cannot. Gold is compared to a quickly fleeting fiend, which appears like a meteor in the sky. It displays itself for a moment and is then gone. Generally karmīs are attracted to gold or money, but these are compared herein to ghosts and witches.
SB 5.13.4, Purport:
It is said that household attraction resides in the wife because sex is the center of household life: yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham (SB 7.9.45). A materialistic person, making his wife the center of attraction, works very hard day and night. His only enjoyment in material life is sexual intercourse. Therefore karmīs are attracted to women as friends or wives. Indeed, they cannot work without sex.
SB 5.14.23, Purport:
Not knowing the value of life, karmīs create situations whereby they suffer in this life and the next. Unfortunately, karmīs are very attached to material sense gratification, and they cannot appreciate the miserable condition of material life, neither in this life nor in the next. Therefore the Vedas enjoin that one should awaken to spiritual consciousness and utilize all his activities to attain the favor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
SB 5.17.3, Purport:
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has perfectly enunciated and broadcast the process of bhakti-yoga. Consequently, for one who has taken shelter at the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the highest perfection of the Māyāvādīs, kaivalya, or becoming one with the Supreme, is considered hellish, to say nothing of the karmīs' aspiration to be promoted to the heavenly planets.
SB 5.17.11, Purport:
Among all the living entities wandering throughout the universe, one who is most fortunate comes in contact with a representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and thus gets the opportunity to execute devotional service. Those who are sincerely seeking the favor of Kṛṣṇa come in contact with a guru, a bona fide representative of Kṛṣṇa. The Māyāvādīs indulging in mental speculation and the karmīs desiring the results of their actions cannot become gurus. A guru must be a direct representative of Kṛṣṇa who distributes the instructions of Kṛṣṇa without any change.
SB 5.24.20, Translation:
If one who is embarrassed by hunger or who falls down or stumbles chants the holy name of the Lord even once, willingly or unwillingly, he is immediately freed from the reactions of his past deeds. Karmīs entangled in material activities face many difficulties in the practice of mystic yoga and other endeavors to achieve that same freedom.
SB Canto 6
SB 6.1.11, Purport:
The guru, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, has examined Parīkṣit Mahārāja, and it appears that the King has passed one phase of the examination by rejecting the process of atonement because it involves fruitive activities. Now Śukadeva Gosvāmī is suggesting the platform of speculative knowledge. Progressing from karma-kāṇḍa to jñāna-kāṇḍa, he is proposing, prāyaścittaṁ vimarśanam: "Real atonement is full knowledge." Vimarśana refers to the cultivation of speculative knowledge. In Bhagavad-gītā, karmīs, who are lacking in knowledge, are compared to asses. Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (7.15):
- na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ
- prapadyante narādhamāḥ
- māyayāpahṛta-jñānā
- āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ
"Those miscreants who are grossly foolish, lowest among mankind, whose knowledge is stolen by illusion, and who partake of the atheistic nature of demons, do not surrender unto Me." Thus karmīs who engage in sinful acts and who do not know the true objective of life are called mūḍhas, asses.
SB 6.1.39, Translation:
What is the process of punishing others? Who are the actual candidates for punishment? Are all karmīs engaged in fruitive activities punishable, or only some of them?
SB 6.1.44, Translation:
O inhabitants of Vaikuṇṭha, you are sinless, but those within this material world are all karmīs, whether acting piously or impiously. Both kinds of action are possible for them because they are contaminated by the three modes of nature and must act accordingly. One who has accepted a material body cannot be inactive, and sinful action is inevitable for one acting under the modes of material nature. Therefore all the living entities within this material world are punishable.
SB 6.2.46, Purport:
It has actually been seen that even after achieving so-called perfection, many karmīs, jñānīs and yogīs become attached to material activities again. Many so-called svāmīs and yogīs give up material activities as false (jagan mithyā), but after some time they nevertheless resume material activities by opening hospitals and schools or performing other activities for the benefit of the public. Sometimes they participate in politics, although still falsely declaring themselves sannyāsīs, members of the renounced order.
SB 6.3.6, Translation:
The Yamadūtas continued: Since there are many different karmīs, or workers, there may be different judges or rulers to give them justice, but just as one central emperor controls different departmental rulers, there must be one supreme controller to guide all the judges.
SB 6.5 Summary:
Influenced by the external energy of Lord Viṣṇu, Prajāpati Dakṣa begot ten thousand sons in the womb of his wife, Pāñcajanī. These sons, who were all of the same character and mentality, were known as the Haryaśvas. Ordered by their father to create more and more population, the Haryaśvas went west to the place where the River Sindhu (now the Indus) meets the Arabian Sea. In those days this was the site of a holy lake named Nārāyaṇa-saras, where there were many saintly persons. The Haryaśvas began practicing austerities, penances and meditation, which are the engagements of the highly exalted renounced order of life. However, when Śrīla Nārada Muni saw these boys engaged in such commendable austerities simply for material creation, he thought it better to release them from this tendency. Nārada Muni described to the boys their ultimate goal of life and advised them not to become ordinary karmīs to beget children. Thus all the sons of Dakṣa became enlightened and left, never to return.
SB 6.5.14, Purport:
Karmīs change their professions at any moment, but a Kṛṣṇa conscious person does not change his profession, for his only profession is to attract the attention of Kṛṣṇa by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and living a very simple life, without following daily changes of fashion.
SB 6.5.21, Purport:
After hearing the instructions of Nārada Muni, the Haryaśvas, the sons of Prajāpati Dakṣa, decided not to be entangled in materialistic life by begetting hundreds of children and having to take care of them. This would have been unnecessarily entangling. The Haryaśvas did not consider pious and impious activities. Their materialistic father had instructed them to increase the population, but because of the words of Nārada Muni, they could not heed that instruction. Nārada Muni, as their spiritual master, gave them the śāstric instructions that they should give up this material world, and as bona fide disciples they followed his instructions. One should not endeavor to wander to different planetary systems within this universe, for even if one goes to the topmost planetary system, Brahmaloka, one must return again (kṣīṇe puṇye martya-lokaṁ viśanti (BG 9.21)). The endeavors of karmīs are a useless waste of time. One should endeavor to return home, back to Godhead. This is the perfection of life.
SB 6.5.38, Purport:
This mentality of Prajāpati Dakṣa still continues even today. When young boys join the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, their fathers and so-called guardians are very angry at the propounder of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement because they think that their sons have been unnecessarily induced to deprive themselves of the material enjoyments of eating, drinking and merrymaking. Karmīs, fruitive workers, think that one should fully enjoy his present life in this material world and also perform some pious activities to be promoted to higher planetary systems for further enjoyment in the next life. A yogī, however, especially a bhakti-yogī, is callous to the opinions of this material world. He is not interested in traveling to the higher planetary systems of the demigods to enjoy a long life in an advanced materialistic civilization. As stated by Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī, kaivalyaṁ narakāyate tridaśa-pūr ākāśa-puṣpāyate: for a devotee, merging into the Brahman existence is hellish, and life in the higher planetary systems of the demigods is a will-o'-the-wisp, a phantasmagoria with no real existence at all. A pure devotee is not interested in yogic perfection, travel to higher planetary systems, or oneness with Brahman. He is interested only in rendering service to the Personality of Godhead. Since Prajāpati Dakṣa was a karmī, he could not appreciate the great service Nārada Muni had rendered his eleven thousand sons. Instead, he accused Nārada Muni of being sinful and charged that because Nārada Muni was associated with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Lord would also be defamed. Thus Dakṣa criticized that Nārada Muni was an offender to the Lord although he was known as an associate of the Lord.
SB 6.11.22, Purport:
A devotee sometimes needs some material possessions for preaching, but the possessions of a preacher are not like those of a karmī. A karmī's possessions are achieved as a result of karma, but those of a devotee are arranged by the Supreme Personality of Godhead just to facilitate his devotional activities. Because a devotee never uses material possessions for any purpose other than the service of the Lord, the possessions of a devotee are not to be compared to those of a karmī.
SB 6.14.4, Purport:
There are four classes of men, namely karmīs, jñānīs, yogīs and bhaktas. This statement pertains especially to karmīs and jñānīs. A karmī tries to he happy within this material world by changing from one body to another. His objective is bodily comfort, either in this planet or in another. When such a person becomes a jñānī, however, be aspires for liberation from material bondage. Among many such persons who aspire for liberation, one may actually be liberated during his life. Such a person gives up his attachment for society, friendship, love, country, family, wife and children. Among many such persons, who are in the vānaprastha stage, one may understand the value of becoming a sannyāsī, completely accepting the renounced order of life.
SB 6.14.5, Purport:
Jñānīs, yogīs and karmīs devoid of devotional service are called offenders. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, māyāvādī kṛṣṇe aparādhī: one who thinks that everything is māyā instead of thinking that everything is Kṛṣṇa is called an aparādhī, or offender. Although the Māyāvādīs, impersonalists, are offenders at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, they may nonetheless be counted among the siddhas, those who have realized the self. They may be considered nearer to spiritual perfection because at least they have realized what spiritual life is. If such a person becomes nārāyaṇa-parāyaṇa, a devotee of Lord Nārāyaṇa, he is better than a jīvan-mukta, one who is liberated or perfect. This requires higher intelligence.
SB 6.14.56, Purport:
According to the Vedic injunctions, one must accept a wife just to beget a son who can deliver one from the clutches of Yamarāja. Unless one has a son to offer oblations to the pitās, or forefathers, one must suffer in Yamarāja's kingdom. King Citraketu was very much aggrieved. thinking that because his son was going away with Yamarāja he himself would again suffer. The subtle laws exist for the karmīs; if one becomes a devotee, he has no more obligations to the laws of karma.
SB 6.16.18-19, Purport:
Because the Lord's body is full of knowledge, He always enjoys transcendental bliss. Indeed, His very form is paramānanda. This is confirmed in the Vedānta-sūtra: ānandamayo'bhyāsāt. By nature the Lord is ānandamaya. Whenever we see Kṛṣṇa, He is always full of ānanda in all circumstances. No one can make Him morose. Ātmārāmāya: He does not need to search for external enjoyment, because He is self-sufficient. Śāntāya: He has no anxiety. One who has to seek pleasure from other sources is always full of anxiety. Karmīs, jñānīs and yogīs are full of anxiety because they want something, but a devotee does not want anything; he is simply satisfied in the service of the Lord, who is fully blissful.
SB 6.16.29, Purport:
A karmī's material opulence and a devotee's material opulence are not on the same level. Śrīla Madhvācārya comments in this way:
- anyāntaryāmiṇaṁ viṣṇum
- upāsyānya-samīpagaḥ
- bhaved yogyatayā tasya
- padaṁ vā prāpnuyān naraḥ
By worshiping Lord Viṣṇu one can get whatever he desires, but a pure devotee never asks Lord Viṣṇu for any material profit. Instead he serves Lord Viṣṇu without material desires and is therefore ultimately transferred to the spiritual kingdom. In this regard, Śrīla Vīrarāghava Ācārya comments, yatheṣṭa-gatir ity arthaḥ: by worshiping Viṣṇu, a devotee can get whatever he likes. Mahārāja Citraketu wanted only to return home, back to Godhead, and therefore he achieved success in that way.
SB 6.18.74, Purport:
"A person who has broader intelligence, whether he is full of material desires, free from material desires, or desiring liberation, must by all means worship the supreme whole, the Personality of Godhead." (SB 2.3.10) One should engage in full devotional service. Then, even though he has no desires, whatever desires he previously had can all be fulfilled simply by his worship of the Lord. The actual devotee does not desire even liberation (anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyam (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.11)). The Lord, however, fulfills the desire of the devotee by awarding him opulence that will never be destroyed. A karmī's opulence is destroyed, but the opulence of a devotee is never destroyed. A devotee becomes more and more opulent as he increases his devotional service to the Lord.
SB Canto 7
SB 7.1.26, Purport:
Anything done by those who have taken the attitude of enemies will be baffled (moghāśāḥ). If these enemies try to be liberated or to merge into the existence of Brahman, if they desire to be elevated to the higher planetary systems as karmīs, or even if they desire to return home, back to Godhead, they will certainly be baffled.
SB 7.4.29, Purport:
"Whether one desires everything or nothing, or whether he desires to merge into the existence of the Lord, he is intelligent only if he worships Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by rendering transcendental loving service." Whether one is a karmī, jñānī or yogī, if one wants a particular benediction fulfilled, even if it be material, one should approach the Supreme Lord and pray to Him, for then it will be fulfilled. There is no need to approach any demigod separately for the fulfillment of any desire.
SB 7.5.7, Purport:
In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, the tactic of dressing oneself like an ordinary karmī is necessary because everyone in the demoniac kingdom is against the Vaiṣṇava teachings. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not at all to the liking of the demons of the present age. As soon as they see a Vaiṣṇava dressed in saffron garments with beads on his neck and tilaka on his forehead, they are immediately irritated. They criticize the Vaiṣṇavas by sarcastically saying Hare Kṛṣṇa, and some people also chant Hare Kṛṣṇa sincerely. In either case, since Hare Kṛṣṇa is absolute, whether one chants it jokingly or sincerely, it will have its effect.
SB 7.5.23-24, Purport:
One's sincere endeavor to perform these nine processes of devotional service is technically called bhakti. The word addhā means "directly" One should not be like the karmīs, who perform pious activities and then formally offer the results to Kṛṣṇa. That is karma-kāṇḍa. One should not aspire for the results of his pious activities, but should dedicate oneself fully and then act piously. In other words, one should act for the satisfaction of Lord Viṣṇu, not for the satisfaction of his own senses. That is the meaning of the word addhā, "directly."
SB 7.6.25, Purport:
Karmīs desire material happiness, and jñānīs desire liberation, but a devotee does not desire anything; he is simply satisfied by rendering transcendental loving service at the lotus feet of the Lord and glorifying Him everywhere by preaching, which is his life and soul.
SB 7.9.27, Purport:
"Whether one is without desire (the condition of the devotees), or is desirous of all fruitive results, or is after liberation, one should with all efforts try to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead for complete perfection, culminating in Kṛṣṇa consciousness." (SB 2.3.10) According to one's position, whether as a devotee, a karmī or a jñānī, whatever one wants one can get if one fully engages in the service of the Lord.
SB 7.9.44, Purport:
For a devotee, being situated in the heavenly planets and being in the hellish planets are equal, for a devotee lives neither in heaven nor in hell but with Kṛṣṇa in the spiritual world. The secret of success for the devotee is not understood by the karmīs and jñānīs. Karmīs therefore try to be happy by material adjustment, and jñānīs want to be happy by becoming one with the Supreme.
SB 7.13.31, Purport:
According to the materialistic way of life, if a poor man, after laboring very, very hard, gets some material profit at the end of his life, he is considered a success, even though he again dies while suffering the threefold miseries—adhyātmika, adhidaivika and adhibhautika. No one can escape the threefold miseries of materialistic life, namely miseries pertaining to the body and mind, miseries pertaining to the difficulties imposed by society, community, nation and other living entities, and miseries inflicted upon us by natural disturbances from earthquakes, famines, droughts, floods, epidemics, and so on. If one works very hard, suffering the threefold miseries, and then is successful in getting some small benefit, what is the value of this benefit? Besides that, even if a karmī is successful in accumulating some material wealth, he still cannot enjoy it, for he must die in bereavement.
SB 7.13.43, Translation and Purport:
The mental concoction of discrimination between good and bad should be accepted as one unit and then invested in the mind, which should then be invested in the false ego. The false ego should be invested in the total material energy. This is the process of fighting false discrimination.
This verse describes how a yogī can become free from material affection. Because of material attraction, a karmī cannot see himself. Jñānīs can discriminate between matter and spirit, but the yogīs, the best of whom are the bhakti-yogīs, want to return home, back to Godhead. The karmīs are completely in illusion, the jñānīs are neither in illusion nor in positive knowledge, but the yogīs, especially the bhakti-yogīs, are completely on the spiritual platform.
SB Canto 8
SB 8.3.15, Purport:
"Whether one desires everything or nothing or desires to merge into the existence of the Lord, he is intelligent only if he worships Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by rendering transcendental loving service." (SB 2.3.10) Paraṁ brahma, the Supreme Lord, and paraṁ dhāma, the supreme repose, is Kṛṣṇa. Therefore anyone who desires anything—whether he be a karmī, a jñānī or a yogī—should try to perceive the Supreme Personality of Godhead very seriously, and all of his desires will be fulfilled. The Lord says, ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham: (BG 4.11) "As the living entities surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly." Even the karmī who wants everything for his enjoyment can get it from Kṛṣṇa. For Kṛṣṇa, supplying what he wants is not at all difficult. Actually, however, one should worship Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for the sake of getting liberation.
SB 8.5.47, Translation and Purport:
Karmīs are always anxious to accumulate wealth for their sense gratification, but for that purpose they must work very hard. Yet even though they work hard, the results are not satisfying. Indeed, sometimes their work results only in frustration. But devotees who have dedicated their lives to the service of the Lord can achieve substantial results without working very hard. These results exceed the devotee's expectations.
We can practically see how the devotees who have dedicated their lives for the service of the Lord in the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement are getting immense opportunities for the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead without working very hard. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement actually started with only forty rupees, but now it has more than forty crores worth of property, and all this opulence has been achieved within eight or ten years. No karmī can expect to improve his business so swiftly, and besides that, whatever a karmī acquires is temporary and sometimes frustrating. In Kṛṣṇa consciousness, however, everything is encouraging and improving. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is not very popular with the karmīs because this movement recommends that one refrain from illicit sex, meat-eating, gambling and intoxication. These are restrictions that karmīs very much dislike. Nonetheless, in the presence of so many enemies, this movement is progressing, going forward without impediments. If the devotees continue to spread this movement, dedicating life and soul to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, no one will be able to check it. The movement will go forward without limits. Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa!
SB 8.8.25, Purport:
According to the desire of Lakṣmīdevī, the goddess of fortune, the Supreme Personality of Godhead made His bosom her residence so that by her glance she could favor everyone, including the demigods and ordinary human beings. In other words, since the goddess of fortune stays on the bosom of Nārāyaṇa, she naturally sees any devotee who worships Nārāyaṇa. When the goddess of fortune understands that a devotee is in favor of devotional service to Nārāyaṇa, she is naturally inclined to bless the devotee with all opulences. The karmīs try to receive the favor and mercy of Lakṣmī, but because they are not devotees of Nārāyaṇa, their opulence is flickering. The opulence of devotees who are attached to the service of Nārāyaṇa is not like the opulence of karmīs. The opulence of devotees is as permanent as the opulence of Nārāyaṇa Himself.
SB 8.9.28, Purport:
In Bhagavad-gītā (4.11) it is said, ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham: the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the supreme judge who rewards or punishes different persons according to their surrender unto His lotus feet. Therefore it can actually be seen that although karmīs and bhaktas may work in the same place, at the same time, with the same energy and with the same ambition, they achieve different results. The karmīs transmigrate through different bodies in the cycle of birth and death, sometimes going upward and sometimes downward, thus suffering the results of their actions in the karma-cakra, the cycle of birth and death. The devotees, however, because of fully surrendering at the lotus feet of the Lord, are never baffled in their attempts. Although externally they work almost like the karmīs, the devotees go back home, back to Godhead, and achieve success in every effort. The demons or atheists have faith in their own endeavors, but although they work very hard day and night, they cannot get any more than their destiny. The devotees, however, can surpass the reactions of karma and achieve wonderful results, even without effort. It is also said, phalena paricīyate: one's success or defeat in any activity is understood by its result.
SB 8.9.28, Purport:
There are many karmīs in the dress of devotees, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead can detect their purpose. The karmīs want to use the property of the Lord for their selfish sense gratification, but a devotee endeavors to use the Lord's property for God's service. Therefore a devotee is always distinct from the karmīs, although the karmīs may dress like devotees. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (3.9), yajñārthāt karmaṇo 'nyatra loko 'yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ. One who works for Lord Viṣṇu is free from this material world, and after giving up his body he goes back home, back to Godhead. A karmī, however, although externally working like a devotee, is entangled in his nondevotional activity, and thus he suffers the tribulations of material existence. Thus from the results achieved by the karmīs and devotees, one can understand the presence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who acts differently for the karmīs and jñānīs than for the devotees. The author of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta therefore says:
- kṛṣṇa-bhakta—niṣkāma, ataeva 'śānta'
- bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kāmī—sakali 'aśānta'
- (CC Madhya 19.149)
The karmīs who desire sense gratification, the jñānīs who aspire for the liberation of merging into the existence of the Supreme, and the yogīs who seek material success in mystic power are all restless, and ultimately they are baffled. But the devotee, who does not expect any personal benefit and whose only ambition is to spread the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is blessed with all the auspicious results of bhakti-yoga, without hard labor.
SB 8.9.29, Translation and Purport:
In human society there are various activities performed for the protection of one's wealth and life by one's words, one's mind and one's actions, but they are all performed for one's personal or extended sense gratification with reference to the body. All these activities are baffled because of being separate from devotional service. But when the same activities are performed for the satisfaction of the Lord, the beneficial results are distributed to everyone, just as water poured on the root of a tree is distributed throughout the entire tree.
This is the distinction between materialistic activities and activities performed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The entire world is active, and this includes the karmīs, the jñānīs, the yogīs and the bhaktas. However, all activities except those of the bhaktas, the devotees, end in bafflement and a waste of time and energy. Moghāśā mogha-karmāṇo mogha jñānā vicetasaḥ: (BG 9.12) if one is not a devotee, his hopes, his activities and his knowledge are all baffled.
SB 8.16.21, Purport:
There are three kinds of men, who are called akāma, mokṣa-kāma and sarva-kāma. One who tries to get liberation from this material world is called mokṣa-kāma, one who wants to enjoy this material world to its fullest extent is called sarva-kāma, and one who has fulfilled all his desires and has no further material desires is called akāma. A bhakta has no desire. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam (CC Madhya 19.170). He is purified and free from material desires. The mokṣa-kāmī wants to achieve liberation by merging into the existence of the Supreme Brahman, and because of this desire to merge into the existence of the Lord, he is not yet pure. And since those who want liberation are impure, what to speak of the karmīs, who have so many desires to fulfill? Nonetheless, the śāstra says:
- akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā
- mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ
- tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena
- yajeta puruṣaṁ param
"Whether one desires everything or nothing or desires to merge into the existence of the Lord, he is intelligent only if he worships Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by rendering transcendental loving service." (SB 2.3.10)
SB 8.16.21, Purport:
Kaśyapa Muni saw that his wife, Aditi, had some material desires for the welfare of her sons, but still he advised her to render devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In other words, everyone, regardless of whether he is a karmī, jñānī, yogī or bhakta, should invariably take shelter of the lotus feet of Vāsudeva and render transcendental loving service unto Him so that all his desires will be duly fulfilled.
SB 8.19.12, Purport:
As indicated by the words yato nāvartate pumān, there is certainly a spiritual kingdom, and if the living entity goes there, he never returns to this material world. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (4.9): tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so'rjuna. Materially speaking, every living entity dies; death is inevitable. But those who are karmīs, jñānīs and yogīs return to this material world after death, whereas bhaktas do not. Of course, if a bhakta is not completely perfect he takes birth in the material world again, but in a very exalted position, either in a rich family or a family of the purest brāhmaṇas (śucīnām śrīmatāṁ gehe (BG 6.41)), just to finish his development in spiritual consciousness. Those who have completed the course of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and are free from material desire return to the abode of the Supreme Personality of Godhead (yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama (BG 15.6)). Here the same fact is stated: yato nāvartate pumān. Any person who goes back home, back to Godhead, does not return to this material world.
SB Canto 9
SB 9.11.19, Purport:
The lotus feet of the Lord are always a subject matter for meditation for devotees. Sometimes when Lord Rāmacandra wandered in the forest of Daṇḍakāraṇya, thorns pricked His lotus feet. The devotees, upon thinking of this, would faint. The Lord does not feel pain or pleasure from any action or reaction of this material world, but the devotees cannot tolerate even the pricking of the Lord's lotus feet by a thorn. This was the attitude of the gopīs when they thought of Kṛṣṇa wandering in the forest, with pebbles and grains of sand pricking His lotus feet. This tribulation in the heart of a devotee cannot be understood by karmīs, jñānīs or yogīs. The devotees, who could not tolerate even thinking of the Lord's lotus feet being pricked by a thorn, were again put into tribulation by thinking of the Lord's disappearance, for the Lord had to return to His abode after finishing His pastimes in this material world.
SB 9.19.20, Purport:
One who is fully aware of this truth is self-realized (sa ātma-dṛk), but aside from him, everyone suffers in the cycle of birth and death (mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani (BG 9.3)). This understanding is one of true intelligence, and anything contrary to this is but a cause of unhappiness. Kṛṣṇa-bhakta-niṣkāma, ataeva 'śānta.' (CC Madhya 19.149) Only a Kṛṣṇa conscious person, who knows the aim and object of life, is peaceful. All others, whether karmīs, jñānīs or yogīs, are restless and cannot enjoy real peace.
SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13
SB 10.1.4, Purport:
The instructions of Bhagavad-gītā and the descriptions of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam are so pleasing that almost anyone suffering from the threefold miseries of material existence will desire to hear the glories of the Lord from these books and thus benefit on the path of liberation. Two classes of men, however, will never be interested in hearing the message of Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam—those who are determined to commit suicide and those determined to kill cows and other animals for the satisfaction of their own tongues. Although such persons may make a show of hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam at a Bhāgavata-saptāha, this is but another creation of the karmīs, who cannot derive any benefit from such a performance.
SB 10.1.4, Purport:
When discourses on kṛṣṇa-kathā take place between a liberated spiritual master and his disciple, others also sometimes take advantage of hearing these topics and also benefit. These topics are the medicine to stop the repetition of birth and death. The cycle of repeated birth and death, by which one takes on different bodies again and again, is called bhava or bhava-roga. If anyone, willingly or unwillingly, hears kṛṣṇa-kathā, his bhava-roga, the disease of birth and death, will certainly stop. Therefore kṛṣṇa-kathā is called bhavauṣadha, the remedy to stop the repetition of birth and death. Karmīs, or persons attached to material sense enjoyment, generally cannot give up their material desires, but kṛṣṇa-kathā is such a potent medicine that if one is induced to hear kṛṣṇa-kīrtana, he will certainly be freed from this disease.
SB 10.1.5-7, Purport:
Kṛṣṇa is described in this verse as māyā-manuṣya because He descends exactly like a human being. He is not obliged to come here, like karmīs, or ordinary living beings; rather, He appears by His own internal energy (sambhavāmy ātma-māyayā (BG 4.6)) just to show favor to the fallen conditioned souls. Kṛṣṇa is always situated in His original position as sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha (Bs. 5.1), and anyone who renders service to Him is also situated in his original, spiritual identity (svarūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ (SB 2.10.6)). This is the highest perfection of human life.
SB 10.1.69, Purport:
In this world there are three kinds of men: those who are liberated, those trying to be liberated, and those entangled in sense enjoyment. Of these three, those who are already liberated chant and hear the holy name of the Lord, knowing perfectly that to glorify the Lord is the only way to keep oneself in a transcendental position. Those who are trying to be liberated, the second class, may regard the chanting and hearing of the Lord's holy name as a process of liberation, and they too will feel the transcendental pleasure of this chanting. As for karmīs and persons engaged in sense gratification, they also may take pleasure in hearing the pastimes of the Lord, like His fighting on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra and His dancing in Vṛndāvana with the gopīs.
SB 10.1.69, Purport:
The word uttamaśloka-guṇānuvāda refers to the transcendental qualities of the Supreme Lord, such as His affection for mother Yaśodā and His friends the cowherd boys and His loving attitude toward the gopīs. The Lord's devotees like Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira are also described by the qualification uttamaśloka-guṇānuvāda. The word anuvāda refers to describing the qualities of the Supreme Lord or His devotees. When these qualities are described, other devotees are interested in hearing them. The more one is interested in hearing about these transcendental qualities, the more one transcendentally enjoys. Everyone, therefore, including the mumukṣus, the vimuktas and the karmīs, should chant and hear the glories of the Lord, and in this way everyone will benefit.
SB 10.1.69, Purport:
The mumukṣus, persons desiring to be liberated, do not depend on the pleasures of the senses; instead, they concentrate fully on becoming liberated by chanting the holy name of the Lord. Karmīs like to create something pleasing to their ears and hearts, and although they sometimes like to chant or hear the glories of the Lord, they do not do it openly. Devotees, however, always spontaneously hear, chant about and remember the activities of the Lord, and by this process they are fully satisfied, even though these may seem like topics of sense gratification. Simply by hearing the transcendental narrations of the Lord's activities, Parīkṣit Mahārāja was liberated. He was therefore śrotramano-'bhirāma; that is, he glorified the process of hearing. This process should be accepted by all living entities.
SB 10.1.69, Purport:
To distinguish persons who are bereft of these transcendental pleasures, Parīkṣit Mahārāja has used the words virajyeta pumān. The word pumān refers to any person, whether man, woman or in-between. Because of the bodily conception of life, we are subject to lamentation, but one who has no such bodily conceptions can take pleasure in transcendental hearing and chanting. Therefore a person fully absorbed in the bodily concept of life is surely killing himself by not making spiritual progress. Such a person is called paśu-ghna. Especially excluded from spiritual life are the animal hunters, who are not interested in hearing and chanting the holy name of the Lord. Such hunters are always unhappy, both in this life and in the next. It is therefore said that a hunter should neither die nor live because for such persons both living and dying are troublesome. Animal hunters are completely different from ordinary karmīs, and thus they have been excluded from the process of hearing and chanting. Vinā paśu-ghnāt. They cannot enter into the transcendental pleasure of chanting and hearing the holy name of the Lord.
SB 10.2.24, Purport:
Karmīs hanker to be promoted to the heavenly planets, but a Kṛṣṇa conscious person considers such promotion a will-o'-the-wisp, good for nothing. Durdāntendriya-kāla-sarpa-paṭalī protkhāta-daṁṣṭrāyate. Yogīs try to control their senses and thus become happy, but a Kṛṣṇa conscious person neglects the methods of yoga. He is unconcerned with the greatest of enemies, the senses, which are compared to snakes. For a Kṛṣṇa conscious person who is cultivating Kṛṣṇa consciousness favorably, the happiness conceived by the karmīs, jñānīs and yogīs is treated as less than a fig.
SB 10.2.32, Purport:
Aside from devotees, there are many others, nondevotees, known as karmīs, jñānīs or yogīs, philanthropists, altruists, politicians, impersonalists and voidists. There are many varieties of nondevotees who have their respective ways of liberation, but simply because they do not know the shelter of the Lord's lotus feet, although they falsely think that they have been liberated and elevated to the highest position, they fall down. As clearly stated by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gītā (9.3):
- aśraddadhānāḥ puruṣā
- dharmasyāsya parantapa
- aprāpya māṁ nivartante
- mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani
"Those who are not faithful on the path of devotional service cannot attain Me, O conqueror of foes, but return to birth and death in this material world." It doesn't matter whether one is a karmī, jñānī, yogī, philanthropist, politician or whatever; if one has no love for the lotus feet of the Lord, one falls down. That is the verdict given by Lord Brahmā in this verse.
SB 10.2.34, Purport:
As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (18.3), yajña-dāna-tapaḥ-karma na tyājyam: the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies, charity, austerity and all such prescribed duties are never to be given up. Yajño dānaṁ tapaś caiva pāvanāni manīṣiṇām (18.5): even one who is very much advanced in spiritual realization must still execute the Vedic principles. Even in the lowest stage, the karmīs are advised to work for the sake of the Lord.
SB 10.3.27, Purport:
There are different categories of living entities, but everyone is afraid of death. The highest aim of the karmīs is to be promoted to the higher, heavenly planets, where the duration of life is very long. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (8.17), sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmaṇo viduḥ: one day of Brahmā equals 1,000 yugas, and each yuga consists of 4,300,000 years. Similarly, Brahmā has a night of 1,000 times 4,300,000 years. In this way, we may calculate Brahmā's month and year, but even Brahmā, who lives for millions and millions of years (dvi-parārdha-kāla), also must die. According to Vedic śāstra, the inhabitants of the higher planetary systems live for 10,000 years, and just as Brahmā's day is calculated to equal 4,300,000,000 of our years, one day in the higher planetary systems equals six of our months. Karmīs, therefore, try for promotion to the higher planetary systems, but this cannot free them from death.
SB 10.4.42, Purport:
The demigods and the Vaiṣṇavas especially are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu, because they are always obedient to His orders (oṁ tad viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padaṁ sadā paśyanti sūrayaḥ). The demoniac followers of Kaṁsa thought that if the Vaiṣṇavas, saintly persons and sages were persecuted, the original body of Viṣṇu would naturally be destroyed. Thus they decided to suppress Vaiṣṇavism. The asuras perpetually struggle to persecute the Vaiṣṇavas because they do not want Vaiṣṇavism to spread. Vaiṣṇavas preach only devotional service, not encouraging karmīs, jñānīs and yogīs, because if one must liberate oneself from material, conditional life, one must ultimately become a Vaiṣṇava. Our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is directed with this understanding, and therefore the asuras always try to suppress it.
SB 10.7.26, Purport:
Devotees automatically have all mystic power, but they do not like to compete with Kṛṣṇa. Instead, they fully surrender to Kṛṣṇa, and their yogic power is demonstrated by Kṛṣṇa's mercy. Devotees can show mystic yoga so powerful that a demon could not even dream of it, but they never try to demonstrate it for their personal sense gratification. Whatever they do is for the service of the Lord, and therefore they are always in a position superior to that of the demons. There are many karmīs, yogīs and jñānīs who artificially try to compete with Kṛṣṇa, and thus ordinary, foolish people who do not care to hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from authorities consider some rascal yogī to be Bhagavān, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. At the present moment there are many so-called bābās who present themselves as incarnations of God by showing some insignificant mystic wonder, and foolish people regard them as God because of lacking knowledge of Kṛṣṇa.
SB 10.7.32, Purport:
Nanda Mahārāja confirmed that by pious activities one can become a sādhu so that one will be happy at home and one's children will be protected. In śāstra there are many injunctions for karmīs and jñānīs, especially for karmīs, by which they can become pious and happy even in material life. According to Vedic civilization, one should perform activities for the benefit of the public, such as constructing public roads, planting trees on both sides of the road so that people can walk in the shade, and constructing public wells so that everyone can take water without difficulty. One should perform austerity to control one's desires, and one must simultaneously worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus one becomes pious, and as a result one is happy even in material conditions of life.
SB 10.8.45, Purport:
"As men surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Pṛthā." One may be a karmī, a jñānī, a yogī and then a bhakta or prema-bhakta. But the ultimate stage of realization is prema-bhakti, as actually demonstrated by mother Yaśodā.
SB 10.9.11, Purport:
From these dealings between mother Yaśodā and Kṛṣṇa, we can understand the exalted position of a pure devotee in loving service to the Lord. Yogīs, jñānīs, karmīs and Vedāntists cannot even approach Kṛṣṇa; they must remain very, very far away from Him and try to enter His bodily effulgence, although this also they are unable to do.
SB 10.9.21, Purport:
"As living entities surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Pṛthā." Everyone is seeking Kṛṣṇa, for He is the Supersoul of all individual souls. Everyone loves his body and wants to protect it because he is within the body as the soul, and everyone loves the soul because the soul is part and parcel of the Supersoul. Therefore, everyone is actually seeking to achieve happiness by reviving his relationship with the Supersoul. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15), vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ: "By all the Vedas, it is I who am to be known." Therefore, the karmīs, jñānīs, yogīs and saintly persons are all seeking Kṛṣṇa. But by following in the footsteps of devotees who are in a direct relationship with Kṛṣṇa, especially the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, one can reach the supreme position of associating with Kṛṣṇa.
| Page Title: | Karmi (SB) |
| Compiler: | MadhuGopaldas |
| Created: | 04 of Jun, 2010 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=147, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 147 |