SB 3.29.33 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

तस्मान्मय्यर्पिताशेषक्रियार्थात्मा निरन्तर: । मय्यर्पितात्मन: पुंसो मयि संन्यस्तकर्मण: । न पश्यामि परं भूतमकर्तु: समदर्शनात् ॥ ३३ ॥

Verse text

tasmān mayy arpitāśeṣa- kriyārthātmā nirantaraḥ mayy arpitātmanaḥ puṁso mayi sannyasta-karmaṇaḥ na paśyāmi paraṁ bhūtam akartuḥ sama-darśanāt

Synonyms

tasmāt — than him ; mayi — unto Me ; arpita — offered ; aśeṣa — all ; kriyā — actions ; artha — wealth ; ātmā — life, soul ; nirantaraḥ — without cessation ; mayi — unto Me ; arpita — offered ; ātmanaḥ — whose mind ; puṁsaḥ — than a person ; mayi — unto Me ; sannyasta — dedicated ; karmaṇaḥ — whose activities ; na — not ; paśyāmi — I see ; param — greater ; bhūtam — living entity ; akartuḥ — without proprietorship ; sama — same ; darśanāt — whose vision .

Translation

Therefore I do not find a greater person than he who has no interest outside of Mine and who therefore engages and dedicates all his activities and all his life — everything — unto Me without cessation.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Superior to the jṣānī is the person who fully dedicates his activities such hearing and chanting, his wealth, his identity, his mind and his intelligence to me. I do not see a greater living entity that this person who has offered himself to me, giving up all varṇāśrama actions, who thinks that the Lord alone inspires his bhakti, and who identifies with others’ happiness and distress. Superior to the jṣānī is the person who engages in worship of my name and forms, and offers his wealth (artha), identity of I and mine, mind and intelligence (ātmā) to me, without the impurity of karma or jṣāna (nirantara). He renounces all karmas in order to attain me (mayi sannyasta-karmaṇaḥ), having given up varṇāśrama, for it has been said: mayy ananyena bhāvenabhaktiṁ kurvanti ye dṛḍhām mat-kṛte tyakta-karmāṇas tyakta-svajana-bāndhavāḥ They perform firm bhakti to me with exclusive devotion, giving up all actions to attain me, giving up friends and relatives. SB 3.25.22 He is a non-doer (akartuḥ). Since he is without identity as an independent doer, he thinks, “Even in my performance of bhakti, the Supreme Lord produces my bhakti.” He sees all others’ happiness and distress as his own (sama-darśanāt). The Lord himself says: ātmaupamyena sarvatra samaṁ paśyati yo ’rjuna | sukhaṁ vā yadi vā duḥkhaṁ sa yogī paramo mataḥ I consider that practicing yogī who sees equally everything as equal to himself in all circumstances, whether in happiness or suffering, to be the topmost yogī. BG 6.32 Sama-darśana does not have the same meaning as the Gītā verse describing the person who sees the brāhmaṇa, cow, elephant, dog and dog-eater as equal (BG 5.18), since that interpretation would contradict the present section of classification of inferior and superior beings.

Purport

In this verse the word sama-darśanāt means that he no longer has any separate interest; the devotee’s interest and the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s interest are one. For example, Lord Caitanya, in the role of a devotee, also preached the same philosophy. He preached that Kṛṣṇa is the worshipful Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and that the interest of His pure devotees is the same as His own. Sometimes Māyāvādī philosophers, due to a poor fund of knowledge, define the word sama-darśanāt to mean that a devotee should see himself as one with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is foolishness. When one thinks himself one with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, there is no question of serving Him. When there is service, there must be a master. Three things must be present for there to be service: the master, the servant and the service. Here it is clearly stated that he who has dedicated his life, all his activities, his mind and his soul — everything — for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord, is considered to be the greatest person. The word akartuḥ means “without any sense of proprietorship.” Everyone wants to act as the proprietor of his actions so that he can enjoy the result. A devotee, however, has no such desire; he acts because the Personality of Godhead wants him to act in a particular way. He has no personal motive. When Lord Caitanya preached Kṛṣṇa consciousness, it was not with the purpose that people would call Him Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; rather, He preached that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and should be worshiped as such. A devotee who is a most confidential servant of the Lord never does anything for his personal account, but does everything for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord. Therefore it is clearly stated, mayi sannyasta-karmaṇaḥ: the devotee works, but he works for the Supreme. It is also stated, mayy arpitātmanaḥ: “He gives his mind unto Me.” These are the qualifications of a devotee, who, according to this verse, is accepted as the highest of all human beings.