High Level of Intimate Exchanges SB 3.16.21 LA 1-23-03
Listen
yas tam vivikta-caritair anuvartamanam
natyadriyat parama-bhagavata-prasangah
sa tvam dvijanupatha-punya-rajah-punitah
srivatsa-laksma kim aga bhaga-bhajanas tvam
SB 3.16.21
TRANSLATION
O Lord, You are exceedingly attached to the activities of Your pure devotees, yet You are never attached to the goddesses of fortune who constantly engage in Your transcendental loving service. How can You be purified, therefore, by the dust of the path traversed by the brahmanas, and how can You be glorified or made fortunate by the marks of Srivatsa on Your chest?
PURPORT
It is said in the Brahma-samhita that the Lord is always served by many hundreds of thousands of goddesses of fortune in His Vaikuntha planet, yet because of His attitude of renunciation of all opulences, He is not attached to any one of them. The Lord has six opulences -- unlimited wealth, unlimited fame, unlimited strength, unlimited beauty, unlimited knowledge and unlimited renunciation. All the demigods and other living entities worship Laksmi, the goddess of fortune, just to get her favor, yet the Lord is never attached to her because He can create an unlimited number of such goddesses for His transcendental service. The goddess of fortune, Laksmi, is sometimes envious of the tulasi leaves which are placed at the lotus feet of the Lord, for they remain fixed there and do not move, whereas Laksmiji, although stationed by the chest of the Lord, sometimes has to please other devotees who pray for her favor. Laksmiji sometimes has to go to satisfy her numerous devotees, but tulasi leaves never forsake their position, and the Lord therefore appreciates the service of the tulasi more than the service of Laksmi. When the Lord says, therefore, that it is due to the causeless mercy of the brahmanas that Laksmiji does not leave Him, we can understand that Laksmiji is attracted by the opulence of the Lord, not by the brahmanas' benedictions upon Him. The Lord is not dependent on anyone's mercy for His opulence; He is always self-sufficient. The Lord's statement that His opulence is due to the benediction of the brahmanas and Vaisnavas is only to teach others that they should offer respect to the brahmanas and Vaisnavas, the devotees of the Lord.
From the lecture:
Srimad Bhagavatam shows the relationship between God and His devotees on a very high level. In the Bible we find a kind of tug of war between the people (who forget God’s instructions) and God who has to force His law upon them.
Krsna is not concerned with getting donations from anyone, not even the Goddess of fortune. That is the point of this verse, not that she is contrasted with the devotees, since obviously she is one of the greatest devotees. It is her role as wealth-giver which Krsna is not interested in. In that sense He is more interested in His devotees.
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