Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.3.7

athānayāpi na bhavata ijyayoru-bhāra-bharayā samucitam artham ihopalabhāmahe

SYNONYMS

atha — otherwise; anayā — this; api — even; na — not; bhavataḥ — of Your exalted personality; ijyayā — by performance of sacrifice; urubhāra-bharayā — encumbered by much paraphernalia; samucitam — required; artham — use; iha — here; upalabhāmahe — we can see.

TRANSLATION

We have engaged in Your worship with many things and have offered sacrifices unto You, but we think that there is no need for so many arrangements to please Your Lordship.

PURPORT

Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī says that if one is offered varied foods but has no appetite, the offering has no value. In a big sacrificial ceremony there may be many things accumulated to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but if there is no devotion, attachment or love for the Lord, the arrangement is useless. The Lord is complete in Himself, and He does not need anything from us. However, if we offer Him a little water, a flower and a tulasi leaf, He will accept them. Bhakti, devotional service, is the main way to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is not a question of arranging huge sacrifices. The priests were regretful, thinking that they were not on the path of devotional service and that their sacrifice was not pleasing to the Lord.

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