One who is not a devotee of the Lord must be hovering in the darkness of mental speculation and thus must be engaged in material impermanence

Expressions researched:
"one who is not a devotee of the Lord must be hovering in the darkness of mental speculation and thus must be engaged in material impermanence"

SB Canto 2

One who has unflinching devotion unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead must have all the good qualities of the demigods, and contrarily one who is not a devotee of the Lord must be hovering in the darkness of mental speculation and thus must be engaged in material impermanence.

SB 2.9.36, Purport:

As long as one is blind to inquiring after self-realization, all material activities, however great they may be, are all different kinds of defeat because the aim of human life is not fulfilled by such unwanted and profitless activities. The function of the human body is to attain freedom from material bondage, but as long as one is fully absorbed in material activities, his mind will be overwhelmed in the whirlpool of matter, and thus he will continue to be encaged in material bodies life after life.

evaṁ manaḥ karma-vaśaṁ prayuṅkte

avidyayātmany upadhīyamāne

prītir na yāvan mayi vāsudeve

na mucyate deha-yogena tāvat

(SB 5.5.6)

It is one's mind that generates different kinds of bodies for suffering different kinds of material pangs. Therefore as long as the mind is absorbed in fruitive activities, the mind is understood to be absorbed in nescience, and thus one is sure to be subjected to material bondage in different bodies again and again until one develops a transcendental love for Godhead, Vāsudeva, the Supreme Person. To become absorbed in the transcendental name, quality, form and activities of the Supreme Person, Vāsudeva, means to change the temper of the mind from matter to absolute knowledge, which leads one to the path of absolute realization and thus frees one from the bondage of material contact and encagements in different material bodies.

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī Prabhupāda therefore comments on the words sarvatra sarvadā in the sense that the principles of bhakti-yoga, or devotional service to the Lord, are apt in all circumstances; i.e., bhakti-yoga is recommended in all the revealed scriptures, it is performed by all authorities, it is important in all places, it is useful in all causes and effects, etc. As far as all the revealed scriptures are concerned, he quotes from the Skanda Purāṇa on the topics of Brahmā and Nārada as follows:

saṁsāre 'smin mahā-ghore

janma-mṛtyu-samākule

pūjanaṁ vāsudevasya

tārakaṁ vādibhiḥ smṛtam

In the material world, which is full of darkness and dangers, combined with birth and death and full of different anxieties, the only way to get out of the great entanglement is to accept loving transcendental devotional service to Lord Vāsudeva. This is accepted by all classes of philosophers.

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī also quotes another common passage, which is found in three Purāṇas, namely the Padma Purāṇa, Skanda Purāṇa and Liṅga Purāṇa. It runs as follows:

āloḍya sarva-śāstrāni

vicārya ca punaḥ punaḥ

idam ekaṁ suniṣpannaṁ

dhyeyo nārāyaṇaḥ sadā

"By scrutinizingly reviewing all the revealed scriptures and judging them again and again, it is now concluded that Lord Nārāyaṇa is the Supreme Absolute Truth, and thus He alone should be worshiped."

The same truth is also indirectly described in the Garuḍa Purāṇa as follows:

pāraṁ gato 'pi vedānāṁ

sarva-śāstrārtha-vedy api

yo na sarveśvare bhaktas

taṁ vidyāt puruṣādhamam

"Even though one may have gone to the other side of all the Vedas, and even though one is well versed in all the revealed scriptures, if one is not a devotee of the Supreme Lord, he must be considered the lowest of mankind." Similarly, it is also stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.18.12) indirectly as follows:

yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā

sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ

harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā

mano-rathenāsati dhāvato bahiḥ

One who has unflinching devotion unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead must have all the good qualities of the demigods, and contrarily one who is not a devotee of the Lord must be hovering in the darkness of mental speculation and thus must be engaged in material impermanence. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.11.18) says:

śabda-brahmaṇi niṣṇāto

na niṣṇāyāt pare yadi

śramas tasya śrama-phalo

hy adhenum iva rakṣataḥ

"One may be well versed in all the transcendental literature of the Vedas, but if he fails to be acquainted with the Supreme, then it must be concluded that all of his education is like the burden of a beast or like one's keeping a cow without milking capacity."

Similarly, the liberty of discharging loving transcendental service to the Lord is invested in everyone, even the women, the śūdras, the forest tribes, or any other living beings born in sinful conditions.

te vai vidanty atitaranti ca deva-māyāṁ

strī-śūdra-hūṇa-śabarā api pāpa-jīvāḥ

yady adbhuta-krama-parāyaṇa-śīlaśikṣās

tiryag-janā api kimu śruta-dhāraṇā ye

(SB 2.7.46)

The lowest of human beings can be elevated to the highest stage of devotional life if they are trained by the bona fide spiritual master well versed in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. If the lowest can be so elevated, then what to speak of the highest, who are well versed in the Vedic knowledge? The conclusion is that devotional service to the Lord is open for all, regardless of who they are. That is the confirmation of its application for all kinds of performers of the service.