Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.26.34

santo diśanti cakṣūḿsi

bahir arkaḥ samutthitaḥ

devatā bāndhavāḥ santaḥ

santa ātmāham eva ca

SYNONYMS

santaḥ — the devotees; diśanti — bestow; cakṣūḿṣi — eyes; bahiḥ — external; arkaḥ — the sun; samutthitaḥ — when it is fully risen; devatāḥ — worshipable deities; bāndhavāḥ — relatives; santaḥ — the devotees; santaḥ — the devotees; ātmā — one's very soul; aham — Myself; eva ca — as well.

TRANSLATION

My devotees bestow divine eyes, whereas the sun allows only external sight, and that only when it is risen in the sky. My devotees are one's real worshipable deities and real family; they are one's own self, and ultimately they are nondifferent from Me.

PURPORT

Foolishness is the wealth of the impious, who place great value on their treasure and firmly make up their minds to remain in the darkness of ignorance. Saintly devotees of the Lord are just like the sun. By the light of their words, the living entities' eyes of knowledge are opened and the darkness of ignorance is destroyed. Thus the saintly devotees are one's real friends and relatives. They are the proper recipients of service — not the gross material body, which merely clamors for sense gratification.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
His Holiness Hrdayananda dasa Goswami
Gopiparanadhana dasa Adhikari
Dravida dasa Brahmacari