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Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.9.6
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A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 6
- tāvad bhayaṁ draviṇa-deha-suhṛn-nimittaṁ
- śokaḥ spṛhā paribhavo vipulaś ca lobhaḥ
- tāvan mamety asad-avagraha ārti-mūlaṁ
- yāvan na te 'ṅghrim abhayaṁ pravṛṇīta lokaḥ
tāvatuntil then — until then; bhayamfear — fear; draviṇawealth — wealth; dehabody — body; suhṛtrelatives — relatives; nimittamfor the matter of — for the matter of; śokaḥlamentation — lamentation; spṛhādesire — desire; paribhavaḥparaphernalia — paraphernalia; vipulaḥvery great — very great; caalso — also; lobhaḥavarice — avarice; tāvatup to that time — up to that time; mamamine — mine; itithus — thus; asatperishable — perishable; avagrahaḥundertaking — undertaking; ārtifull of anxieties-mūlamfull of anxieties — full of anxieties; yāvatas long as — as long as; nado not — do not; teYour — Your; aṅghrimsafe lotus feet abhayamsafe lotus feet — safe lotus feet; pravṛṇītatake shelter — take shelter; lokaḥthe people of the world — the people of the world.
O my Lord, the people of the world are embarrassed by all material anxieties—they are always afraid. They always try to protect wealth, body and friends, they are filled with lamentation and unlawful desires and paraphernalia, and they avariciously base their undertakings on the perishable conceptions of "my" and "mine." As long as they do not take shelter of Your safe lotus feet, they are full of such anxieties.
One may question how one can always think of the Lord in regard to His name, fame, quality, etc., if one is embarrassed by thoughts of family affairs. Everyone in the material world is full of thoughts about how to maintain his family, how to protect his wealth, how to keep pace with friends and relatives, etc. Thus he is always in fear and lamentation, trying to keep up with the status quo. In answer to this question, this verse spoken by Brahmā is very appropriate.
A pure devotee of the Lord never thinks of himself as the proprietor of his home. He surrenders everything unto the supreme control of the Lord, and thus he has no fear for maintaining his family or protecting the interests of his family. Because of this surrender, he no longer has any attraction for wealth. Even if there is attraction for wealth, it is not for sense enjoyment, but for the service of the Lord. A pure devotee may be attracted to accumulating wealth just like an ordinary man, but the difference is that a devotee acquires money for the service of the Lord, whereas the ordinary man acquires money for his sense enjoyment. Thus the acquisition of wealth by a devotee is not a source of anxieties, as is the case for a worldly man. And because a pure devotee accepts everything in the sense of serving the Lord, the poisonous teeth of accumulation of wealth are extracted. If a snake has its poison removed and bites a man, there is no fatal effect. Similarly, wealth accumulated in the cause of the Lord has no poisonous teeth, and the effect is not fatal. A pure devotee is never entangled in material worldly affairs even though he may remain in the world like an ordinary man.