Verse 2.4.215

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.4.215:

त एव सर्व-भक्तेभ्यो न्यूनास् ते मन्द-बुद्धयः ।
पूजा-फलं न विन्दन्ति त एव हि यथोदितम् ॥ २१५ ॥

ta eva sarva-bhaktebhyo nyūnās te manda-buddhayaḥ |
pūjā-phalaṃ na vindanti ta eva hi yathoditam || 215 ||

te–they; eva–indeed; sarva-bhaktebhyaḥ–out of all devotees; nyūnāḥ–the lowest; te–they; manda-buddhayaḥ–having weak intelligence; pūjā–of worship; phalam–the fruit; na–not; vindanti–attain; te–they; eva–thus; hi–indeed; yathā–as; uditam–spoken.

Such unintelligent persons are the lowest among all the devotees of the Lord. They do not attain even the real fruits of worship promised in the scriptures.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

(By Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī himself including a deep purport of that commentary)

Śrī Nārada says, “All these dull-headed people are the lowest of all types of devotees, including those who are nirguṇa, or free from material qualities, and those who are saguṇa, or situated in the three material modes of nature: goodness (sattva), passion (rajas), and ignorance (tamas).”

Therefore, it is stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.2.47):

अर्चायाम् एव हरये पूजां यः श्रद्धयेहते
न तद्-भक्तेषु चान्येषु स भक्तः प्राकृतः स्मृतः

arcāyām eva haraye pūjāṃ yaḥ śraddhayehate
na tad-bhakteṣu cānyeṣu sa bhaktaḥ prākṛtaḥ smṛtaḥ

Those who only worship Śrī Hari’s Deity form but disrespect the Vaiṣṇavas and all other living entities are materialistic (prākṛta) devotees. They belong to the lowest category. This statement is the accepted evidence in this regard. It will be explained in detail further on.

“Pratimā manda-buddhīnām–Deity worship is for fools.” According to this scriptural statement, those who have dull intelligence do not obtain the results of worship as mentioned in the scriptures.

“Bhasmany eva juhoti saḥ–Their worship is like giving an oblation of clarified butter in the ashes.” In other words, one should understand that Śrī Bhagavān does not accept their worship.

In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, in his prayers to Lord Nṛsiṃha, Śrī Prahlāda Mahārāja states (7.9.11):

नैवात्मनः प्रभुर् अयं निज-लाभ-पूर्णो मानं जनाद् अविदुषः करुणो वृणीते
यद् यज् जनो भगवते विदधीत मानं तच् चात्मने प्रति-मुखस्य यथा मुख-श्रीः

naivātmanaḥ prabhur ayaṃ nija-lābha-pūrṇo mānaṃ janād aviduṣaḥ karuṇo vṛṇīte
yad yaj jano bhagavate vidadhīta mānaṃ tac cātmane prati-mukhasya yathā mukha-śrīḥ

My Lord is most merciful. Because He is complete within Himself, He does not accept the worship of ignorant people. One whose face is charmingly beautiful will see the same charming beauty reflected in the mirror. Similarly, the personal happiness one obtains is a reflection of his mood in worshiping Bhagavān.

The purport is, “My Lord, the Lord of all the living beings (jīvas), Śrī Nṛsiṃha-deva, is most merciful. Whatever the jīvas are able to acquire in their worship is actually controlled by Śrī Nṛsiṃha-deva alone, and He does not accept the worship of all jīvas. What is the nature of those whose worship He does not accept? Out of ignorance, those persons worship the Deity, considering Him to be stone, wood, or metal. They become full of false pride and thus they disrespect all Vaiṣṇavas and censure all living entities. My Lord certainly does not accept the worship of such persons.”

In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (4.31.21), Śrī Nārada also states:

न भजति कुमनीषिणां स इज्यां हरिर् अधनात्म-धन-प्रियो रसज्ञः
श्रुत-धन-कुल-कर्मणां मदैर् ये विदधति पापम् अकिञ्चनेषु सत्सु

na bhajati kumanīṣiṇāṃ sa ijyāṃ harir adhanātma-dhana-priyo rasajñaḥ
śruta-dhana-kula-karmaṇāṃ madair ye vidadhati pāpam akiñcaneṣu satsu

The selfless (akiñcana) devotees who consider Bhagavān to be their only possession are very dear to the Lord. Bhagavān is rasajña, or the knower of rasa, the sweetness of loving relationships. He knows how much sweetness there is in the one-pointed, unconditional devotional service of such devotees. Bhagavān does not accept the worship of foolish people who, being intoxicated by the false pride of education, wealth, high birth, and fruitive activities, disrespect selfless sādhus, who are free from material desires.

The reason for this is that Bhagavān is complete within Himself and fully content in tasting His own natural, condensed bliss. Although He is self-satisfied, because He is also bhakta-vatsala, or affectionate to His devotees, He accepts their worship. In this way, He is fond of His devotees. It can also be understood that because of His bhakta-vatsala quality, He even transgresses His own nature.

Alternatively, another understanding is that the Lord is fully satisfied by accepting the offering He desires–the treasure of the devotees’ love offered through their worship. Thus, being fully satisfied with that, He does not desire the offerings and worship of non-devotees.

Scripture states that one definitely attains the fruit of his worship of the Lord, regardless of the manner in which it is performed. Therefore, one should not think that worship performed lavishly by spending wealth is futile. In a general way, Śrī Prahlāda indicates the reason for this with the words yat yat (in whatever way they offer) in the verse quoted above (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.9.11), and in a specific way with the word mānam (worship). The worshiper’s expenditure of wealth and energy for Bhagavān’s pūjā never goes in vain–he is rewarded in a way that is proportionate to what he has offered.

The ingredients of worship offered by materialistic men (viṣayīs) are not offered for the pleasure of Bhagavān; the materialists are worshiping out of desire for their own benefit, and consequently the results they receive are simply for their own pleasure. For example, based on the specific way in which one puts on tilaka to increase the beauty of his face, he will see the reflection in the mirror accordingly. That is to say, with whatever desire one expends his wealth in worshiping the Lord, one shall receive a result according to that desire. However, such a result is only the secondary fruit of pūjā; it is not the chief or most excellent result. That is because such worship is not performed for the pleasure of Bhagavān; it is offered with the desire for happiness in this lifetime and the next. During worship, Śrī Bhagavān only accepts the items which are offered for His pleasure, and His acceptance of the items of worship is the primary, or topmost, fruit of pūjā.

Another way to understand the logic of the phrase yat yat is that whatever the unintelligent people offer is done for their own benefit, not for the happiness of Bhagavān. Therefore, Bhagavān fulfills their desire only to show mercy to such foolish persons, but He does not accept their offering.

Because the question might arise, “How can one receive personal benefit from worshiping Bhagavān?” Śrī Prahlāda speaks the phrase prati-mukhasya (the reflection of the face) in the same verse (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 7.9.11). In other words, without offering something to Bhagavān, the living entity can never obtain any of his desires.

Alternatively, the verse can be understood to say that the Lord mercifully accepts the offerings of intelligent devotees because those offerings are for His pleasure. However, if such intelligent persons also offer something to Bhagavān for their own benefit, they receive a most insignificant result, like the reflection of the face in the mirror. This cannot be called the spiritual (pāramārthika) or primary result.

Thus, it becomes clear that the result of whatever is done for the pleasure of Bhagavān is alone worthwhile. This type of worship grants the supreme wealth of prema-bhakti, by which one attains Bhagavān’s abodes like Śrī Vaikuṇṭha. There, one experiences the indescribable happiness of the Lord’s darśana and the enjoyment of personal exchanges with Him.

Another understanding of the prayer by Śrī Prahlāda is that this Lord is Īśvara, the Supreme Controller. He is always complete within Himself and has no desire to receive services from the living entities. However, it might be questioned that even though He may not need anything, why does He not accept these services for the desire of others or the benefit of all those worshipers?

To explain this, the term aviduṣa, meaning ‘ignorant of the goal of life,’ has been used in the same verse (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.9.11) to describe unintelligent people who spend their wealth for the worship of Bhagavān but who do not have the wisdom to know what is beneficial for them and what is not. After worshiping, they lament over their expenditures and thus sometimes become distressed. Being subdued by compassion, although Śrī Bhagavān does not desire their worship, He completely satisfies them by granting material results. Alternatively, the word aviduṣa also refers to ignorant persons unaware of the methods and process of pūjā. Such ignorant people worship by killing animals for sacrifice, but Śrī Bhagavān does not accept their worship.

One might say, “This Lord is the crest jewel of all the demigods and the benefactor of all living entities. So why does He not benefit all of those worshipers?”

Addressing this point, Śrī Prahlāda uses the word karuṇaḥ (compassionate) in the quoted verse (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.9.11). He says, “Because the Lord is most merciful, He does not bestow benefits on those worshipers. If the Lord did accept the worship of those who are malevolent to other living beings, that would harm those entities and would not be appropriate for the most merciful Bhagavān. Moreover, because the Lord is complete within Himself, He does not fulfill the desires of the malevolent worshipers for their own good. Additionally, He acts in this way for the benefit of society. The reason for this behavior of Bhagavān is that those worshipers are foolish, and He is parama-karuṇa, most merciful. Those unintelligent persons do not know that they receive benefit also by pleasing the Lord. Ignorant of this truth, they undergo many hardships to collect varieties of paraphernalia for worship. Being very kind, Śrī Bhagavān cannot tolerate the misery or pain of those unintelligent people; therefore, He has no desire to accept their worship.”

One might ask, “How does satisfying Śrī Bhagavān bring about one’s own welfare?”

Śrī Prahālda speaks the phrase yat yat (in whatever way they offer) to explain this. “Whatever one offers to Śrī Bhagavān is done for one’s self-interest only, not for any other reason.” There is an example in this regard. “The beauty of one’s face is reflected in the mirror. If one does not beautify his face, the mirror cannot reflect back the beauty of one’s face. Similarly, if one does not offer loving worship to Śrī Bhagavān, who is likened to the face, then how will the Lord’s love reflect back in the living entities, who are His separated portions?”

One might also question, “Why does the Lord not accept the worship of the non-devotees? Is it because the Lord, who is the Soul of all souls, has obtained the treasured love that His devotees offer Him? Or is it because His own desires are fulfilled through His devotees? In other words, is it because He is completely absorbed in bhakti-rasa, the mellows of devotion, which are situated in the hearts of His devotees, whose very object is Himself?”

The reply is, “Bhagavān definitely accepts the non-devotees’ worship, because He is merciful. If Bhagavān did not accept their offering, they would not obtain the result of their worship.” Therefore, Prahlāda uses the term yat yat. Unless one offers all of one’s possessions to Śrī Bhagavān, the living being does not accomplish his ultimate selfinterest. If Śrī Bhagavān did not accept their worship, then they could not obtain even an insignificant result.

This concludes the overview of these thoughts.