Verse Text
ekādaśe—
ājṣāyaiva guṇān doṣān mayādiṣṭān api svakān |
dharmān santyajya yaḥ sarvān māṁ bhajet sa ca sattamaḥ ||67||
Translation
In the Eleventh Canto it is said: He perfectly understands that the ordinary religious duties prescribed by Me in various Vedic scriptures possess favorable qualities that purify the performer, and he knows that neglect of such duties constitutes a discrepancy in one’s life. Having taken complete shelter at My lotus feet, however, a saintly person ultimately renounces such ordinary religious duties and worships Me alone. He is thus considered the best among all living entities. SB 11.11.32
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
With the list of qualities mentioned in the verses previous to this quote from Bhāgavatam, starting with kṛpālur akṛta-drohaḥ (SB 11.11.29), the position of a person fixed in his dharma has been presented, showing a type of bhakti characterized by hearing about the Lord, mixed with karma and jṣāna, according to the commentary, which explains that the word kaviḥ in verse SB 11.11.31 means a jṣānī: kaviḥ samyak jṣānī. What happens consequently is described in the present verse.
Even though he does not possess those qualities, and though understanding that the qualities such as mercy are good, and the opposites are bad (guṇa-doṣān ājṣāya), he rejects all the dharmas prescribed by varṇāśrama, specifically all prescribed daily and periodic duties which have been designated by Me (mayādiṣṭān) among the qualities listed, since they are obstacles to ananya-bhakti to Me. By mentioning rejection of varnāśrama-dharma it is understood there should be rejection of jṣāna as well. Rejecting both karma and jṣāna, he should worship Me. He also (ca) is the best person (sattama). The particle ca signifies that the previous description with good qualities indicated the best person, sattama, but the last person mentioned, even without those qualities, but who gives up all duties and worships Me alone, is also sattama. [Note: Verses 29-31 describe twenty-eight qualities of a saintly person and verse 32 (quoted) explains the highest perfection of life. According to Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sārasvatī Ṭhākura, the seventeenth quality (mat-śaraṇa, or taking complete shelter of Lord Kṛṣṇa) is the most important, and the other twenty-seven qualities automatically appear in one who has become a pure devotee of the Lord. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (5.18.12), yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiṣcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ.] He is equivalent to the person having those qualities.
Purport (Nectar of Devotion)
This is confirmed also in the Eleventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Eleventh Chapter, verse 32, in which the Lord says to Uddhava, “My dear Uddhava, any person who takes shelter of Me in complete surrender and follows My instructions, giving up all occupational duties, is to be considered the first-class man.” In this statement of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it is understood that people who are generally attracted to philanthropic, ethical, moral, altruistic, political and social welfare activities may be considered nice men only in the calculation of the material world. From Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and other authentic Vedic scriptures we learn further that if a person simply acts in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and discharges devotional service, he is considered to be far, far better situated than all of those persons engaged in philanthropic, ethical, moral, altruistic and social welfare activities.