Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.3.14

ko vā iha te 'parājito 'parājitayā māyayānavasita-padavyānāvrita-matir vishaya-visha-rayānāvrita-prakritir anupāsita-mahac-caranah

SYNONYMS

kah vā — who is that person; iha — within this material world; te — of Your Lordship; aparājitah — not conquered; aparājitayā — by the unconquerable; māyayā — illusory energy; anavasita-padavya — whose path cannot be ascertained; anāvrita-matih — whose intelligence is not bewildered; vishaya-visha — of material enjoyment, which is like poison; raya — by the course; anāvrita — not covered; prakritih — whose nature; anupāsita — without worshiping; mahat-caranah — the lotus feet of great devotees.

TRANSLATION

Dear Lord, unless one worships the lotus feet of great devotees, one will be conquered by the illusory energy, and his intelligence will be bewildered. Indeed, who has not been carried away by the waves of material enjoyment, which are like poison? Your illusory energy is unconquerable. No one can see the path of this material energy or tell how it is working.

PURPORT

Mahārāja Nābhi was inclined to performing great sacrifices for begetting a son. The son might be as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but such a material desire — be it great or insignificant — is brought about by the influence of māyā. A devotee does not at all desire anything for sense gratification. Devotion is therefore explained as devoid of material desires (anyābhilāshitā-śūnya). Everyone is subjected to the influence of māyā and entangled in all kinds of material desire, and Mahārāja Nābhi was no exception. Freedom from māyā's influence is possible when one engages in the service of the great devotees (mahac-carana-sevā). Without worshiping the lotus feet of a great devotee, one cannot be freed from māyā's influence. Śrīla Narottama dāsa Thākura therefore says, chādiyā vaishnava-sevā nistāra pāyeche kebā: "Who has been freed from māyā's clutches without serving the lotus feet of a Vaishnava?" Māyā is aparājita, and her influence is also aparājita. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (7.14):

daivī hy eshā guna-mayī

mama māyā duratyayā

"This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome."

Only a devotee can surpass māyā's great influence. It was no fault on Mahārāja Nābhi's part that he wanted a son. He wanted a son like the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the best of all sons. By the association of the Lord's devotee, one no longer desires material opulence. This is confirmed in Caitanya-caritāmrita (Madhya 22.54):

"sādhu-sańga", "sādhu-sańga" sarva-śāstre kaya

lava-mātra sādhu-sańge sarva-siddhi haya

and [Cc. Madhya 22.51]:

mahat-kripā vinā kona karme 'bhakti' naya

krishna-bhakti dūre rahu, samsāra nahe kshaya

If one is serious about escaping māyā's influence and returning home, back to Godhead, one must associate with a sādhu (devotee). That is the verdict of all scriptures. By the slight association of a devotee, one can be freed from the clutches of māyā. Without the mercy of the pure devotee, one cannot get freedom by any means. Certainly a pure devotee's association is necessary in order to obtain the loving service of the Lord. One cannot be freed from māyā's clutches without sādhu-sańga, the benediction of a great devotee. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.5.32) Prahlāda Mahārāja says:

naishām matis tāvad urukramāńghrim

spriśaty anarthāpagamo yad arthah

mahīyasām pāda-rajo-'bhishekam

nishkiñcanānām na vrinīta yāvat

One cannot become the Lord's pure devotee without taking the dust of a great devotee on his head (pāda-rajo-'bhishekam). A pure devotee is nishkiñcana; he has no material desire to enjoy the material world. One has to take shelter of such a pure devotee in order to attain his qualities. The pure devotee is always free from the clutches of māyā and her influence.

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