Devanagari
एषा बुद्धिमतां बुद्धिर्मनीषा च मनीषिणाम् ।
यत् सत्यमनृतेनेह मर्त्येनाप्नोति मामृतम् ॥ २२ ॥
Verse text
eṣā buddhimatāṁ buddhir
manīṣā ca manīṣiṇām
yat satyam anṛteneha
martyenāpnoti māmṛtam
Synonyms
eṣā
—
this
;
buddhi
—
matām — of the intelligent
;
buddhiḥ
—
the intelligence
;
manīṣā
—
the cleverness
;
ca
—
and
;
manīṣiṇām
—
of the clever
;
yat
—
which
;
satyam
—
the real
;
anṛtena
—
by the false
;
iha
—
in this life
;
martyena
—
by the mortal
;
āpnoti
—
obtains
;
mā
—
Me
;
amṛtam
—
the immortal .
Translation
This process is the supreme intelligence of the intelligent and the cleverness of the most clever, for by following it one can in this very life make use of the temporary and unreal to achieve Me, the eternal reality.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The devotee is the most intelligent among the intelligent and the most clever among the clever, because he attains my eternal svarūpa by using his temporary body and attains me, the only truth, though he is an inconsequential jīva .
“Will your devotees not become proud of their superior position? This would be a cause of destroying intelligence and discrimination.” The devotee is the most intelligent of those with intelligence. But he is not intelligent in dissecting difficult scriptures. He is clever among those who are clever. But he is not clever in earning a gold coin in exchange for a penny. What is that cleverness? In Bharata-bhūmi (iha), the devotee attains me, without death (amṛtam), with eternal form, by using a mortal, temporary body (martyena). He controls me by bhakti alone. Using the disgusting material body he attains my pure spiritual svarūpa. He attains me, existing at all times (satyam), by the jīva who is called non-existent (anṛtena) because he lacks a relationship with me.
The meaning is this. He who can receive a thousand coins by giving one coin is said to be most intelligent and skillful in this world. One who obtains diamonds or a gold coin in exchange for a small coin is called intelligent and skillful. A person who can take a gold coin from a sober, intelligent person is called intelligent and skillful. But one cannot say who is intelligent enough to obtain a cintāmaṇi or a kāmadhenu. The inhabitants of Bharata-bhūmī who are mortal and born in low families offer to me their bodies not worthy a penny, which are deformed and afflicted with old age and disease. But they attain me, the ocean of sweetness. Accepting their offerings, I, who am supposed to be the cleverest, out of joy give myself, with my priceless ornaments, bracelets and crown, to the devotees. Such inhabitants of Bhārta-bhūmi are the most intelligent and most skillful! Giving one’s body to the Lord means to engage the ear and other organs in hearing, chanting, remembering and service. If the tongue is engaged in chanting, if the ears are engaged in hearing, if the hands are engaged in service, then one is giving one’s body to the Lord. But the Lord is attained even by offering only one part of the body! What intelligent person would not do this?
This verse is the touchstone among verses, the essence of all the Lord’s teachings. He who has this verse shining in his heart shines in the assembly of devotees.
Purport
As described in this chapter, one who desires personal prestige in the Lord’s service cannot be considered intelligent and clever. Similarly, one who is anxious to become a sophisticated transcendental philosopher is not the most intelligent. Nor is one who is expert in accumulating money. The Lord here states that the most intelligent and clever person is the devotee who offers his temporary, illusory material body and possessions to Him with love and without personal motivation. The devotee thus obtains the eternal Absolute Truth. In other words, real intelligence is to actually surrender to Lord Kṛṣṇa, without personal desire or duplicity. That is the Lord’s opinion.