Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 7.9.12tasmād aham vigata-viklava īśvarasya
sarvātmanā mahi grnāmi yathā manīsam
nīco 'jayā guna-visargam anupravistah
pūyeta yena hi pumān anuvarnitena
TRANSLATION
Therefore, although I was born in a demoniac family, I may without a doubt offer prayers to the Lord with full endeavor, as far as my intelligence allows. Anyone who has been forced by ignorance to enter the material world may be purified of material life if he offers prayers to the Lord and hears the Lord's glories.
PURPORT
It is clearly understood that a devotee does not need to be born in a very high family, to be rich, to be aristocratic or to be very beautiful. None of these qualifications will engage one in devotional service. With devotion one should feel, "God is great, and I am very small. Therefore my duty is to offer my prayers to the Lord." Only on this basis can one understand and render service to the Lord.
As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (18.55):
bhaktyā mām abhijānāti
yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvatah
tato mām tattvato jñātvā
viśate tad-anantaram
"One can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of the Supreme Lord by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God." Thus Prahlāda Mahārāja decided to offer his best prayers to the Lord, without consideration of his material position.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 7.9.50
tat te 'rhattama namah stuti-karma-pūjāh
karma smrtiś caranayoh śravanam kathāyām
samsevayā tvayi vineti sad-ańgayā kim
bhaktim janah paramahamsa-gatau labheta
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 paramahamsas?
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 paramahamsa, one who has accepted the essence of everything. The results of bhakti are reserved for such a paramahamsa, 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.
Vosso servo
Prahladesh Dasa
