ŚB 7.9.50
Devanagari
तत्तेऽर्हत्तम नम: स्तुतिकर्मपूजा:
कर्म स्मृतिश्चरणयो: श्रवणं कथायाम् ।
संसेवया त्वयि विनेति षडङ्गया किं
भक्तिं जन: परमहंसगतौ लभेत ॥ ५० ॥
कर्म स्मृतिश्चरणयो: श्रवणं कथायाम् ।
संसेवया त्वयि विनेति षडङ्गया किं
भक्तिं जन: परमहंसगतौ लभेत ॥ ५० ॥
Verse text
tat te ’rhattama namaḥ stuti-karma-pūjāḥ
karma smṛtiś caraṇayoḥ śravaṇaṁ kathāyām
saṁsevayā tvayi vineti ṣaḍ-aṅgayā kiṁ
bhaktiṁ janaḥ paramahaṁsa-gatau labheta
karma smṛtiś caraṇayoḥ śravaṇaṁ kathāyām
saṁsevayā tvayi vineti ṣaḍ-aṅgayā kiṁ
bhaktiṁ janaḥ paramahaṁsa-gatau labheta
Synonyms
tat — therefore; te — unto You; arhat-tama — O supreme of all worshipable persons; namaḥ — respectful obeisances; stuti-karma-pūjāḥ — worshiping Your Lordship by offering prayers and other devotional activities; karma — activities being dedicated to You; smṛtiḥ — constant remembrance; caraṇayoḥ — of Your lotus feet; śravaṇam — always hearing; kathāyām — in topics (about You); saṁsevayā — such devotional service; tvayi — unto You; vinā — without; iti — thus; ṣaṭ-aṅgayā — having six different parts; kim — how; bhaktim — devotional service; janaḥ — a person; paramahaṁsa-gatau — obtainable by the paramahaṁsa; labheta — may attain.
Translation
Therefore, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, the best of all persons to whom prayers are offered, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You because without rendering six kinds of devotional service unto You — offering prayers, dedicating all the results of activities, worshiping You, working on Your behalf, always remembering Your lotus feet and hearing about Your glories — who can achieve that which is meant for the paramahaṁsas?
Purport
The Vedas enjoin: nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyo na medhayā na bahunā śrutena. One cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead simply by studying the Vedas and offering prayers. Only by the grace of the Supreme Lord can one understand Him. The process of understanding the Lord, therefore, is bhakti. Without bhakti, simply following the Vedic injunctions to understand the Absolute Truth will not be helpful at all. The process of bhakti is understood by the paramahaṁsa, one who has accepted the essence of everything. The results of bhakti are reserved for such a paramahaṁsa, and this stage cannot be obtained by any Vedic process other than devotional service. Other processes, such as jñāna and yoga, can be successful only when mixed with bhakti. When we speak of jñāna-yoga, karma-yoga and dhyāna-yoga the word yoga indicates bhakti. Bhakti-yoga, or buddhi-yoga, executed with intelligence and full knowledge, is the only successful method for going back home, back to Godhead. If one wants to be liberated from the pangs of material existence, he should take to devotional service for quick attainment of this goal.