Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.10.18
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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mukunda-caraṇa-eṣiṇām
—
whose only business is to serve Mukunda's feet
Compound: Mukunda (giver of mukti, Kṛṣṇa) + caraṇa (feet) + eṣin (one who seeks). The whole identity of a sādhu in one compound. Gauḍīya frame: sādhu is not defined by renunciation or learning but by what his feet are seeking — Kṛṣṇa's feet, exclusively.
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dhana-stambhaiḥ
—
with the rich and proud
Compound: dhana (wealth) + stambha (pillar, stiffness). The same stambha that nirahaṁ-stambha (SB 10.10.15) undoes. Wealth makes a man stiff — incapable of bowing, therefore incapable of receiving sādhu-saṅga.
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asadbhiḥ
—
with non-devotees
Instrumental plural of asat — the same word from SB 10.10.12. The chapter weaves sat (sādhu) and asat (the rich-proud) through every verse: who you walk beside is who you become.
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asat-āśrayaiḥ
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taking shelter of non-devotees
Compound: asat + āśraya (shelter). The opposite of śaraṇāgati. Bhakti's foundational choice is named by its negative: where you do not take shelter is half of where you do. Gauḍīya prayers explicitly renounce asat-āśraya.
A sādhu is one who is engaged in devotional service to the Lord without deviation ( bhajate mām ananya-bhāk ). titikṣavaḥ kāruṇikāḥ suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām ajāta-śatravaḥ śāntāḥ sādhavaḥ sādhu-bhūṣaṇāḥ “The symptoms of a sādhu are that he is tolerant, merciful and friendly to all living entities. He has no enemies, he is peaceful, he abides by the scriptures, and all his characteristics are sublime.” ( Bhāg. 3.25.21 ) A sādhu is suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām, the friend of everyone. Why then should the rich, instead of associating with sādhus, waste their valuable time in association with other rich men who are averse to spiritual life? Both the poor man and the rich man can take advantage of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, and here it is advised that everyone do so. There is no profit in avoiding the association of the members of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has said: sat-saṅga chāḍi’ kainu asate vilāsa te-kāraṇe lāgila ye karma-bandha-phāṅsa If we give up the association of sādhus, saintly persons engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and associate with persons seeking sense gratification and accumulating wealth for this purpose, our life is spoiled. The word asat refers to an avaiṣṇava, one who is not a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, and sat refers to a Vaiṣṇava, Kṛṣṇa’s devotee. One should always seek the association of Vaiṣṇavas and not spoil one’s life by mixing with avaiṣṇavas. In Bhagavad-gītā (7.15) , the distinction between Vaiṣṇava and avaiṣṇava is enunciated: na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ māyayāpahṛta-jñānā āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ Anyone who is not surrendered to Kṛṣṇa is a most sinful person ( duṣkṛtī ), a rascal ( mūḍha ), and the lowest of men ( narādhama ). Therefore one should not avoid the association of Vaiṣṇavas, which is now available all over the world in the form of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.
With the wealthy man, identifying with his wealth, the devotee develops no relationship. Those non vaisnavas (asadbhih) afflicted by pride due to wealth (dhana stambhaih), who associate and serve non vaisnavas (asad asrayaih), are given up (upeskyaih) by the devotees. However, the devotees associate with those wealthy persons who are free of pride, and serve vaisnavas.
“Let the devotees not associate with the wealthy for earning money, but let them associate to give mercy to them.” Devotees are fixed in proper conduct (sādhūnām). The materialists are fixed in improper conduct since it seen they indulge in women, gambling and liquor. The devotees see both the poor and the wealthy with the same vision. The materialists see with unequal vision because of their pride in wealth. The devotees take shelter of the Lord alone since they desire the feet of the Lord. The materialists take shelter of material objects since they desire enjoyment. Because the temperaments are opposite, the materialists have no attraction for the devotees (upekṣyaiḥ). What is the use of showing mercy to persons who are not qualified for mercy offered with great effort?
“Will the wealthy ever get association with the devotees by their wealth? Those who have good conduct, who have peaceful hearts or who know about ātmā (sama-cittānām), and who desire the feet of the Lord who gives bliss which derides liberation (mukunda), have nothing to do with the indifferent persons, persons who are proud of wealth, persons of bad conduct or who give shelter to persons of bad conduct. The order of the three types of devotees is increasingly excellent. Or all the phrases describe one type of person, the devotee of Mukunda, who has a peaceful heart and good conduct.
- Balaram Shakti Pr SB 10 - SVCT-Verse 10-18-01-32
- Laxmidhar Pr SB 10-10-18 Hindi - 2014-03-10 ISKCON Mira Road
- Sarvabhauma Pr SB 10-10-18 - 2021-07-27 ISKCON Vrindavan
- BKG SB 10-10-18 - Kanistha Madhyama and Uttama amongst various religions - 2019-08-16 New Goloka
- BKG SB 10-10-18 - Meaning of association - 2021-12-30 Fiji
- PrahladAnS SB 10-10-18 - Asociation with Krishna - 2023-12-12 ISKCON Slovenia
- PrahladAnS SB 10-10-18 Slovenian Translation - Dru%C5%BEenje s Kri%C5%A1no - 2023-12-12 ISKCON Slovenia
- Audit today's calendar and cut one slot of asat-saṅga — the conversation that runs only on wealth, status, or sense-pleasure — and replace it with even fifteen minutes of devotee association, in person or by reading Prabhupāda.
- Notice the moment you feel small around someone's money or position; remember a sādhu is suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām, and refuse to bow inside to dhana-stambha (pride of wealth).
- Speak to one Vaiṣṇava today about Kṛṣṇa — call, message, or visit — and treat that exchange as more valuable than any networking with non-devotees.
The bee leaves the honey-rich flower for the open field — why? Because the field has the next flower, the next, and Mukunda's lotus feet at the end. To leave the sādhu's wide field for the dhana-stambha rich man's closed orchard is to trade the journey for a single sterile bloom.
When Mahāprabhu came to Jagannātha Purī, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya — the most learned and well-positioned scholar in the city — attempted to instruct Him in impersonal Vedānta. Mahāprabhu listened in silence for seven days.
Finally He gave His own explanation of the ātmārāma verse (SB 1.7.10), reaching the personalist conclusion. Sārvabhauma's dhana-stambha (pride of learning, equivalent to wealth) collapsed; he became a humble Vaiṣṇava and composed the Sārvabhauma-śatakam. SB 10.10.18 names dhana-stambha as the obstacle; Caitanya-līlā shows the obstacle being dissolved by sādhu-saṅga itself.
My note
Source: vedabase.io