Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.11.17

na kuryān na vadet kiñcin

na dhyāyet sādhv asādhu vā

ātmārāmo 'nayā vrittyā

vicarej jada-van munih

SYNONYMS

na kuryāt — should not do; na vadet — should not speak; kiñcit — anything; na dhyāyet — should not contemplate; sādhu asādhu vā — either good or bad things; ātma-ārāmah — one who is taking pleasure in self-realization; anayā — with this; vrittyā — life-style; vicaret — he should wander; jada-vat — just like a stunted person; munih — a saintly sage.

TRANSLATION

For the purpose of maintaining his body, a liberated sage should not act, speak or contemplate in terms of material good or bad. Rather, he should be detached in all material circumstances, and taking pleasure in self-realization, he should wander about engaged in this liberated life-style, appearing like a retarded person to outsiders.

PURPORT

According to Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, this verse describes a type of discipline recommended for the jñāna-yogīs, who by intelligence try to understand that they are not their material bodies. One who is engaged in the devotional service of the Lord, however, accepts and rejects material things in terms of their usefulness in the loving service of Lord Krishna. One who is trying to preach Krishna consciousness should be seen as very intelligent and not jada-vat, or stunted, as described here. Although a devotee of the Lord does not act, speak or contemplate for his personal sense gratification, he remains very busy working, speaking and meditating in the devotional service of the Lord. The devotee makes elaborate plans to engage all the fallen souls in Lord Krishna's service so they can be purified and go back home, back to Godhead. Merely rejecting material things is not perfect consciousness. One must see everything as the property of the Lord and meant for the Lord's pleasure. One busily engaged in spreading the Krishna consciousness movement has no time to make material distinctions and thus automatically comes to the liberated platform.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
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