Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 7.9.9

manye dhanābhijana-rūpa-tapaḥ-śrutaujas-

tejaḥ-prabhāva-bala-pauruṣa-buddhi-yogāḥ

nārādhanāya hi bhavanti parasya puḿso

bhaktyā tutoṣa bhagavān gaja-yūtha-pāya

SYNONYMS

manye — I consider; dhana — riches; abhijana — aristocratic family; rūpa — personal beauty; tapaḥ — austerity; śruta — knowledge from studying the Vedas; ojaḥ — sensory prowess; tejaḥ — bodily effulgence; prabhāva — influence; bala — bodily strength; pauruṣa — diligence; buddhi — intelligence; yogāḥ — mystic power; na — not; ārādhanāya — for satisfying; hi — indeed; bhavanti — are; parasya — of the transcendent; puḿsaḥ — Supreme Personality of Godhead; bhaktyā — simply by devotional service; tutoṣa — was satisfied; bhagavān — the Supreme Personality of Godhead; gaja-yūtha-pāya — unto the King of elephants (Gajendra).

TRANSLATION

Prahlāda Mahārāja continued: One may possess wealth, an aristocratic family, beauty, austerity, education, sensory expertise, luster, influence, physical strength, diligence, intelligence and mystic yogic power, but I think that even by all these qualifications one cannot satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. However, one can satisfy the Lord simply by devotional service. Gajendra did this, and thus the Lord was satisfied with him.

PURPORT

No kind of material qualification is the means for satisfying the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, only by devotional service can the Lord be known (bhaktyā mām abhijānāti [Bg. 18.55]). Unless the Lord is pleased by the service of a devotee, the Lord does not reveal Himself (nāhaḿ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ [Bg. 7.25]). This is the verdict of all śāstras. Neither by speculation nor by material qualifications can one understand or approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

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