Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 8.5.48

nāvamaḥ karma-kalpo 'pi

viphalāyeśvarārpitaḥ

kalpate puruṣasyaiva

sa hy ātmā dayito hitaḥ

SYNONYMS

na — not; avamaḥ — very little, or insignificant; karma — activities; kalpaḥ — rightly executed; api — even; viphalāya — go in vain; īśvara-arpitaḥ — because of being dedicated to the Supreme Personality of Godhead; kalpate — it is so accepted; puruṣasya — of all persons; eva — indeed; saḥ — the Supreme Personality of Godhead; hi — certainly; ātmā — the Supersoul, the supreme father; dayitaḥ — extremely dear; hitaḥ — beneficial.

TRANSLATION

Activities dedicated to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, even if performed in small measure, never go in vain. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, being the supreme father, is naturally very dear and always ready to act for the good of the living entities.

PURPORT

In Bhagavad-gītā (2.40), the Lord says svalpam apy asya dharmasya trāyate mahato bhayāt: this dharma, devotional service, is so important that even if performed to a very small, almost negligible extent, it can give one the supreme result. There are many instances in the history of the world in which even a slight service rendered to the Lord has saved a living entity from the greatest danger. Ajāmila, for example, was saved by the Supreme Personality of Godhead from the greatest danger, that of going to hell. He was saved simply because he chanted the name Nārāyaṇa at the end of his life. When Ajāmila chanted this holy name of the Lord, Nārāyaṇa, he did not chant knowingly; actually he was calling his youngest son, whose name was Nārāyaṇa. Nonetheless, Lord Nārāyaṇa took this chanting seriously, and thus Ajāmila achieved the result of ante nārāyaṇa-smṛtiḥ, remembering Nārāyaṇa at the end of life. If one somehow or other remembers the holy name of Nārāyaṇa, Kṛṣṇa or Rāma at the end of life, he immediately achieves the transcendental result of going back home, back to Godhead.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is actually the only object of our love. As long as we are in this material world we have so many desires to fulfill, but when we come in touch with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we immediately become perfect and fully satisfied, just as a child is fully satisfied when he comes to the lap of his mother. Dhruva Mahārāja went to the forest to achieve some material result by austerity and penance, but when he actually saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead he said, "I do not want any material benediction. I am completely satisfied." Even if one wants some material benefit from serving the Supreme Personality of Godhead, this can be achieved extremely easily, without hard labor. Therefore the śāstra recommends:

akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā

mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ

tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena

yajeta puruṣaḿ param

"Whether one desires everything or nothing or desires to merge into the existence of the Lord, he is intelligent only if he worships Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by rendering transcendental loving service." (Bhāg. 2.3.10) Even if one has material desires, one can undoubtedly achieve what he wants by rendering service to the Lord.

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