Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Srimad Bhagavatam 4.3.21

papacyamanena hridaturendriyah

samriddhibhih purusha-buddhi-sakshinam

akalpa esham adhirodhum anjasa

param padam dveshti yathasura harim

SYNONYMS

papacyamanena -- burning; hrida -- with a heart; atura-indriyah -- who is distressed; samriddhibhih -- by the pious reputation, etc.; purusha-buddhi-sakshinam -- of those who are always absorbed in thought of the Supreme Lord; akalpah -- being unable; esham -- of those persons; adhirodhum -- to rise; anjasa -- quickly; param -- merely; padam -- to the standard; dveshti -- envy; yatha -- as much as; asurah -- the demons; harim -- the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

TRANSLATION

One who is conducted by false ego and thus always distressed, both mentally and sensually, cannot tolerate the opulence of self-realized persons. Being unable to rise to the standard of self-realization, he envies such persons as much as demons envy the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

PURPORT

The real reason for the enmity between Lord Siva and Daksha is explained here. Daksha was envious of Lord Siva because of Siva's high position as an incarnation of a quality of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and because Siva was directly in contact with the Supersoul and was therefore honored and given a better sitting place than he. There were many other reasons also. Daksha, being materially puffed up, could not tolerate the high position of Lord Siva, so his anger at Lord Siva's not standing up in his presence was only the final manifestation of his envy. Lord Siva is always in meditation and always perceives the Supersoul, as expressed here by the words purusha-buddhi-sakshinam. The position of one whose intelligence is always absorbed in meditation upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead is very great and cannot be imitated by anyone, especially an ordinary person. When Daksha entered the arena of yajna, Lord Siva was in meditation and might not have seen Daksha enter, but Daksha took the opportunity to curse him because Daksha had maintained an envious attitude towards Lord Siva for a long time. Those who are actually self-realized see every individual body as a temple of the Supreme Personality of Godhead because the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in His Paramatma feature, is residing in everyone's body.

When one offers respect to the body, it is not to the material body but to the presence of the Supreme Lord. Thus one who is always in meditation upon the Supreme Lord is always offering Him obeisances. But since Daksha was not very elevated, he thought that obeisances were offered to the material body, and because Lord Siva did not offer respect to his material body, Daksha became envious. Such persons, being unable to rise to the standard of self-realized souls like Lord Siva, are always envious. The example given here is very suitable. Asuras, demons or atheists, are always envious of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; they simply want to kill Him. Even in this age we find some so-called scholars commenting on Bhagavad-gita who are envious of Krishna. When Krishna says, man-mana bhava mad-bhaktah (Bg. 18.65) -- "Always think of Me, become My devotee, and surrender unto Me" -- the so-called scholars comment that it is not to Krishna that we have to surrender. That is envy. The asuras or atheists, the demons, without reason or cause, are envious of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Similarly, instead of offering respect to self-realized persons, foolish men who cannot approach the highest standard of self-realization are always envious, although there is no reason.

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