SB 4.20.32 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

मैत्रेय उवाच इत्यादिराजेन नुत: स विश्वद‍ृक् तमाह राजन्मयि भक्तिरस्तु ते । दिष्ट्येद‍ृशी धीर्मयि ते कृता यया मायां मदीयां तरति स्म दुस्त्यजाम् ॥ ३२ ॥

Verse text

maitreya uvāca ity ādi-rājena nutaḥ sa viśva-dṛk tam āha rājan mayi bhaktir astu te diṣṭyedṛśī dhīr mayi te kṛtā yayā māyāṁ madīyāṁ tarati sma dustyajām

Synonyms

maitreyaḥ — Maitreya, the great sage ; uvāca — spoke ; iti — thus ; ādi — rājena — by the original king (Pṛthu) ; nutaḥ — being worshiped ; saḥ — He (the Supreme Personality of Godhead) ; viśva — dṛk — the seer of the whole universe ; tam — unto him ; āha — said ; rājan — my dear King ; mayi — unto Me ; bhaktiḥ — devotional service ; astu — let it be ; te — your ; diṣṭyā — by good fortune ; īdṛśī — like this ; dhīḥ — intelligence ; mayi — unto Me ; te — by you ; kṛtā — having been performed ; yayā — by which ; māyām — illusory energy ; madīyām — My ; tarati — crosses over ; sma — certainly ; dustyajām — very difficult to give up .

Translation

The great sage Maitreya continued by saying that the Lord, the seer of the universe, after hearing Pṛthu Mahārāja’s prayer, addressed the King: My dear King, may you always be blessed by engaging in My devotional service. Only by such purity of purpose, as you yourself very intelligently express, can one cross over the insurmountable illusory energy of māyā.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Maitreya said: After being praised by Pṛthu in this way, the Lord, seer of the whole universe, said, “O King! May you have bhakti to me! By good fortune you have placed in me fine intelligence by which one can cross insurmountable māyā. The Lord speaks. What is most beneficial for the jīvas? One should not put faith in jṣāna, yoga or other such processes, proposed by knowers of the Veda, even though they are learned, since they are ignorant concerning the Lord. Here the Lord concludes that bhakti and nothing else is beneficial.

Purport

This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā, wherein the Lord claims that the illusory energy is insurmountable. No one can transcend the illusory energy of māyā by fruitive activity, speculative philosophy or mystic yoga. The only means for transcending illusory energy is devotional service, as the Lord Himself states: mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te ( Bg. 7.14 ). If one wants to cross over the ocean of material existence, there is no alternative than to take to devotional service. A devotee, therefore, should not care for any material position, whether in heaven or in hell. A pure devotee should always engage in the service of the Lord, for that is his real occupation. Simply by sticking to that position, one can overcome the stringent laws of material nature.