Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 6.9.22

avismitaḿ taḿ paripūrṇa-kāmaḿ

svenaiva lābhena samaḿ praśāntam

vinopasarpaty aparaḿ hi bāliśaḥ

śva-lāńgulenātititarti sindhum

SYNONYMS

avismitam — who is never struck with wonder; tam — Him; paripūrṇa-kāmam — who is fully satisfied; svena — by His own; eva — indeed; lābhena — achievements; samam — equipoised; praśāntam — very steady; vinā — without; upasarpati — approaches; aparam — another; hi — indeed; bāliśaḥ — a fool; śva — of a dog; lāńgulena — by the tail; atititarti — wants to cross; sindhum — the sea.

TRANSLATION

Free from all material conceptions of existence and never wonder-struck by anything, the Lord is always jubilant and fully satisfied by His own spiritual perfection. He has no material designations, and therefore He is steady and unattached. That Supreme Personality of Godhead is the only shelter of everyone. Anyone desiring to be protected by others is certainly a great fool who desires to cross the sea by holding the tail of a dog.

PURPORT

A dog can swim in the water, but if a dog dives in the ocean and someone wants to cross the ocean by holding the dog's tail, he is certainly fool number one. A dog cannot cross the ocean, nor can a person cross the ocean by catching a dog's tail. Similarly, one who desires to cross the ocean of nescience should not seek the shelter of any demigod or anyone else but the fearless shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.14.58) therefore says:

samāśritā ye pada-pallava-plavaḿ

mahat-padaḿ puṇya-yaśo-murāreḥ

bhavāmbudhir vatsa-padaḿ paraḿ padaḿ

padaḿ padaḿ yad vipadāḿ na teṣām

The Lord's lotus feet are an indestructible boat, and if one takes shelter of that boat he can easily cross the ocean of nescience. Consequently there are no dangers for a devotee although he lives within this material world, which is full of dangers at every step. One should seek the shelter of the all-powerful instead of trying to be protected by one's own concocted ideas.

<<< >>>

Copyright © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness