Verse 3.9.133

Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 3.9.133:

ভারতী বলেন,—“মনে বিচারিল তত্ত্ব সবা হৈতে দেখি বড ভক্তির মহত্ত্ব” ॥ ১৩৩ ॥

भारती बलेन,—“मने विचारिल तत्त्व सबा हैते देखि बड भक्तिर महत्त्व” ॥ १३३ ॥

bhāratī balena,—“mane vicārila tattva sabā haite dekhi baḍa bhaktira mahattva” || 133 ||

bharati balena,—“mane vicarila tattva saba haite dekhi bada bhaktira mahattva” (133)

English translation:

(133) Keśava Bhāratī said, “After considering the topic, I have concluded that the glories of bhakti are superior to all.”

Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:

In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi 8.17) the following verse from the

tantras is found:

jñānataḥ su-labhā muktir bhuktir yajñādi-puṇyataḥ seyaṃ sādhana-sāhasrair hāri-bhaktiḥ su-durlabhā

“By cultivating philosophical knowledge one can understand his spiritual position and thus be liberated, and by performing sacrifices and pious activities one can achieve sense gratification in a higher planetary system, but the devotional service of the Lord is so rare that even by executing hundreds and thousands of such sacrifices one cannot obtain it.”

In the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (1.2.6) it is stated:

sa vai puṃsāṃ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje

“The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord.”

Also in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (1.2.22) it is stated:

ato vai kavayo nityaṃ bhaktiṃ paramayā mudā vāsudeve bhagavati kurvanty ātma-prasādanīm

“Certainly, therefore, since time immemorial, all transcendentalists have been rendering devotional service to Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, with great delight, because such devotional service is enlivening to the self.”

In the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (10.9.21) it is stated:

nāyaṃ sukhāpo bhagavān dehināṃ gopikā-sutaḥ jñānināṃ cātma-bhūtānāṃ yathā bhaktimatām iha

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, the son of mother Yaśodā,

is accessible to devotees engaged in spontaneous loving service, but He is not as easily accessible to mental speculators, to those striving for self- realization by severe austerities and penances, or to those who consider the body the same as the self.”