Devanagari
यथा हि पुरुषस्येह विष्णो: पादोपसर्पणम् ।
यदेष सर्वभूतानां प्रिय आत्मेश्वर: सुहृत् ॥ २ ॥
Verse text
yathā hi puruṣasyeha
viṣṇoḥ pādopasarpaṇam
yad eṣa sarva-bhūtānāṁ
priya ātmeśvaraḥ suhṛt
Synonyms
yathā
—
in order that
;
hi
—
indeed
;
puruṣasya
—
of a living entity
;
iha
—
here
;
viṣṇoḥ
—
of Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead
;
pāda
—
upasarpaṇam — approaching the lotus feet
;
yat
—
because
;
eṣaḥ
—
this
;
sarva
—
bhūtānām — of all living entities
;
priyaḥ
—
the dear one
;
ātma
—
īśvaraḥ — the master of the soul, the Supersoul
;
suhṛt
—
the best well-wisher and friend .
Translation
The human form of life affords one a chance to return home, back to Godhead. Therefore every living entity, especially in the human form of life, must engage in devotional service to the lotus feet of Lord Viṣṇu. This devotional service is natural because Lord Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the most beloved, the master of the soul, and the well-wisher of all other living beings.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
One should perform bhakti by the methods which allow one to surrender to the lotus feet of the Lord, since the Lord is a dear lover, a son, Brahman, the master and the friend of all beings.
How should one practice bhāgavata-dharma? One should perform it by the method which enables one to attain surrender to the lotus feet of Viṣṇu. Viṣṇu is described in order to indicate four different methods.
na karhicin mat-parāḥ śānta-rūpe
naṅkṣyanti no me 'nimiṣo leḍhi hetiḥ
yeṣām ahaṁ priya ātmā sutaś ca
sakhā guruḥ suhṛdo daivam iṣṭam
The devotees in the spiritual world are deprived of any enjoyment. My wheel of time does not afflict those devotees, for whom I am a lover, the ātmā, son, friend, elder, companion or worshipable deity. SB 3.25.38
Thus, among the bhāvas of mādhurya (priya), śānta-rati (ātmā), dāsya (īsvara), or sakhya (suhṛt) one should surrender to the Lord by whichever bhāva one desires. Thus it is said that one should perform bhāgvatān dharmān—one should perform these dharmas. This is an order for performance of rāga-bhakti. Prahlāda has also taught the fifth bhāva called vātsalya by taking another meaning in the word ātmā since ātmā can mean son (one’s own).
Purport
The Lord says in
Bhagavad-gītā
(5.29)
:
bhoktāraṁ yajṣa-tapasāṁ
sarva-loka-maheśvaram
suhṛdaṁ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
jṣātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati
“The sage who knows Me as the ultimate purpose of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities attains peace from the pangs of material miseries.” Simply by understanding these three facts — that the Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu, is the proprietor of the entire creation, that He is the best well-wishing friend of all living entities, and that He is the supreme enjoyer of everything — one becomes peaceful and happy. For this transcendental happiness, the living entity has wandered throughout the universe in different forms of life and different planetary systems, but because he has forgotten his intimate relationship with Viṣṇu, he has merely suffered, life after life. Therefore, the educational system in the human form of life should be so perfect that one will understand his intimate relationship with God, or Viṣṇu. Every living entity has an intimate relationship with God. One should therefore glorify the Lord in the adoration of
śānta-rasa
or revive his eternal relationship with Viṣṇu as a servant in
dāsya-rasa,
a friend in
sakhya-rasa,
a parent in
vātsalya-rasa
or a conjugal lover in
mādhurya-rasa.
All these relationships are on the platform of love. Viṣṇu is the center of love for everyone, and therefore the duty of everyone is to engage in the loving service of the Lord. As stated by the Supreme Personality of Godhead (
Bhāg.
3.25.38
),
yeṣām ahaṁ priya ātmā sutaś ca sakhā guruḥ suhṛdo daivam iṣṭam.
In any form of life, we are related with Viṣṇu, who is the most beloved, the Supersoul, son, friend and
guru.
Our eternal relationship with God can be revived in the human form of life, and that should be the goal of education. Indeed, that is the perfection of life and the perfection of education.