Canto 7: The Science of GodChapter 10: Prahlāda, the Best Among Exalted Devotees

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 7.10.7

yadi dāsyasi me kāmān

varāḿs tvaḿ varadarṣabha

kāmānāḿ hṛdy asaḿrohaḿ

bhavatas tu vṛṇe varam

SYNONYMS

yadi — if; dāsyasi — want to give; meme; kāmān — anything desirable; varānas Your benediction; tvam — You; varada-ṛṣabhaO Supreme Personality of Godhead, who can give any benediction; kāmānām — of all desires for material happiness; hṛdi — within the core of my heart; asaḿrohamno growth; bhava taḥ — from You; tu — then; vṛṇeI pray for; varam — such a benediction.

TRANSLATION

O my Lord, best of the givers of benediction, if You at all want to bestow a desirable benediction upon me, then I pray from Your Lordship that within the core of my heart there be no material desires.

PURPORT

Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu taught us how to pray for benedictions from the Lord. He said:

na dhanaḿ na janaḿ na sundarīḿ

kavitāḿ vā jagad-īśa kāmaye

mama janmani janmanīśvare

bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi

"O my Lord, I do not want from You any amount of wealth, nor many followers, nor a beautiful wife, for these are all materialistic desires. But if I have to ask You for any benediction, I pray that in whatever forms of life I may take my birth, under any circumstances, I will not be bereft of Your transcendental devotional service." Devotees are always on the positive platform, in contrast to the Māyāvādīs, who want to make everything impersonal or void. One cannot remain void (śūnyavādī); rather, one must possess something. Therefore, the devotee, on the positive side, wants to possess something, and this possession is very nicely described by Prahlāda Mahārāja, who says, "If I must take some benediction from You, I pray that within the core of my heart there may be no material desires." The desire to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead is not at all material.

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