Verse Text
atha tāpasāḥ –
bhaktir muktyaiva nirvighnety ātta-yukta-viraktatāḥ |
anujjhita-mumukṣā ye bhajante te tu tāpasāḥ ||15||
Translation
Tāpasa-śānta-bhakta: The practitioners of austerity are those who worship the Lord while practicing yukta-vairāgya without giving up the desire for liberation, since obstacles to bhakti are destroyed by attaining liberation.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Bhakti becomes free of obstacles by attaining liberation in this body. With the presence of obstacles such as lust and anger and their constant influence, bhakti does not appear. They practice with a suitable form of detachment, yukta-vairāgya, without giving up the desire for liberation. But though they have a desire for liberation this does not destroy pure bhakti because they desire liberation from saṁsāra for destroying lust and anger, not for merging into the Lord. Moreover, they worship with a desire for liberation at the first stage only.
Purport (Nectar of Devotion)
The qualifications of a saintly person are described in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu as follows. A saintly person is one who understands fully that simply by discharging devotional service he can become confident of liberation. He is always situated in the regulative principles of devotional life and at the same time aspires to be liberated from material entanglement.