SB 11.7

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11.7.6 purport

Lord KŠa also advised Uddhava in this verse to give up the illusory

attachment to so-called friends and family within this material world. One

may not be able to physically give up association with family and friends,

but one should understand that everyone and everything is part and parcel of

God and is meant for the pleasure of God. As soon as one thinks, “This is my

personal family,” immediately one will see the material world as no more

than a place for enjoying family life. As soon as one is attached to one’s

so-called family, false prestige and material possessiveness arise.

Actually, everyone is part and parcel of God and therefore, on the spiritual

platform, related to all other entities. This is called kŠa-sambandha, or

the constitutional relationship with KŠa. It is not possible to advance to

the highest stage of spiritual awareness and at the same time maintain a

petty material concept of society, friendship and love. One should

experience all relationships on the higher, spiritual platform of

kŠa-sambandha, which means seeing everything in relation to Lord KŠa,

the Personality of Godhead.

1.7.16 purport

It is very difficult to give up false identification with the material body,

and thus we remain attached to our so-called bodily relations such as wife,

children, friends, and so on. Bodily attachment causes intense pain within

the heart, and we are stunned by lamentation and hankering. ®r… Uddhava, a

pure devotee of the Lord, here speaks like an ordinary person showing how to

pray to the Personality of Godhead. We practically see that many sinful

persons enter the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and after

preliminary purification become most repentant for their previous illicit

activities. They are shocked when they realize how they gave up the personal

association of God to pursue the useless forms created by m€y€; therefore

they wholeheartedly pray to the spiritual master and Lord KŠa to be

engaged eternally in transcendental devotional service. Such a repentant,

eager mentality is most auspicious for spiritual advancement. The Lord

certainly answers the prayers of a repentant devotee desperate to escape the

clutches of illusion.

1.7.18 purport

We may faithfully serve a master, father or demigod, but when it is time for

us to receive our reward for faithful service, the master may die. Therefore

Lord KŠa is here described as ananta-p€ram, which indicates that He is not

limited by time or space. The word anta indicates the termination of time,

and p€ra indicates a spatial termination; therefore ananta-p€ram means that

Lord KŠa is not limited by time or space and thus will always dutifully

reward His faithful servants.

If we serve someone other than the Personality of Godhead, our so-called

master may forget our service or become ungrateful. Therefore Lord KŠa is

described here as sarva-jñam, omniscient. He can never forget the service of

His devotee, and therefore He is never ungrateful. In fact, it is said that

Lord KŠa does not remember the faults of His devotees but only the sincere

service they have rendered.

A further disadvantage in serving anyone besides KŠa is that when we are

in danger our master may not be able to protect us. If we take shelter of

our nation, that nation may be destroyed in war. If we take shelter of our

family, they may also die. And as described in the Vedic literature, even

the demigods are sometimes defeated by the demons. But since Lord KŠa is

described here as …vara, or the supreme controller, there is no danger of

His being overcome or even impeded by any other power. Thus Lord KŠa’s

promise of protection to His devotee is eternally valid.

If we do not serve the Personality of Godhead, we will not know the ultimate

result of our service. But here Lord KŠa is described as

akuŠ˜ha-vikuŠ˜ha-dhiŠyam. Lord KŠa has an eternal abode called VaikuŠ˜ha,

and that abode is never disturbed by anything. The faithful servants of Lord

KŠa will certainly go back to Godhead, back home, for an eternal life of

bliss and knowledge in the personal abode of the Lord. However, since even

the demigods, and what to speak of insignificant human beings, are subject

sooner or later to annihilation, what ultimate benefit can be derived from

serving them?

Uddhava describes his personal situation as nirviŠŠa-dh…ƒ and

vjin€bhitaptaƒ. In other words, ®r… Uddhava states that he is exhausted and

discouraged by the contradictions and anguish of material life. He has been

forced, therefore, to become humble and surrender to the lotus feet of

KŠa, the personal friend of every living entity. In the material world a

great man does not have time for insignificant men. But although the Lord is

the greatest person, He sits in the heart of every living entity; thus He is

the most merciful. Lord KŠa is the ultimate shelter of even N€ra, or the

Lord’s purua expansion who creates the material world. The living entity is

called nara, and the source of his material situation is N€ra, or

Mah€-ViŠu. The word n€r€yaŠa indicates that even Mah€-ViŠu finds His

shelter in KŠa, who is certainly supreme. Although our consciousness is

presently contaminated by sinful propensities, if we follow the example of

®r… Uddhava and take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, KŠa,

everything can be rectified. Taking shelter of KŠa means taking shelter of

devotional service to KŠa and obeying Him. Lord KŠa demands this in

Bhagavad-g…t€, and if we comply with the order of the Lord our life can

become fully auspicious and successful. Sooner than we expect, we may, by

KŠa’s mercy, enter the kingdom of God for an eternal life of bliss and

knowledge.