ŚB 11.29.21
Devanagari
यो यो मयि परे धर्म: कल्प्यते निष्फलाय चेत् ।
तदायासो निरर्थ: स्याद् भयादेरिव सत्तम ॥ २१ ॥
तदायासो निरर्थ: स्याद् भयादेरिव सत्तम ॥ २१ ॥
Verse text
yo yo mayi pare dharmaḥ
kalpyate niṣphalāya cet
tad-āyāso nirarthaḥ syād
bhayāder iva sattama
kalpyate niṣphalāya cet
tad-āyāso nirarthaḥ syād
bhayāder iva sattama
Synonyms
yaḥ yaḥ — whatever; mayi — unto Me; pare — the Supreme; dharmaḥ — is religion; kalpyate — tends; niṣphalāya — toward becoming free from the result of material work; cet — if; tat — of that; āyāsaḥ — the endeavor; nirarthaḥ — futile; syāt — may be; bhaya-ādeḥ — of fear and so on; iva — as; sat-tama — O best of saintly persons.
Translation
O Uddhava, greatest of saints, in a dangerous situation an ordinary person cries, becomes fearful and laments, although such useless emotions do not change the situation. But activities offered to Me without personal motivation, even if they are externally useless, amount to the actual process of religion.
Purport
Even the most insignificant activity, when offered to the Supreme Lord without personal desire, can elevate one to the perfection of spiritual life. Actually, Lord Kṛṣṇa always protects and maintains His devotee. But if a devotee cries to the Lord for protection or maintenance, desiring to continue his devotional service unimpeded, Lord Kṛṣṇa accepts such apparently unnecessary appeals to be the highest religious process.