FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.72.6

न ब्रह्मण: स्वपरभेदमतिस्तव स्यात् सर्वात्मन: समद‍ृश: स्वसुखानुभूते: । संसेवतां सुरतरोरिव ते प्रसाद: सेवानुरूपमुदयो न विपर्ययोऽत्र ॥ ६ ॥
na brahmaṇaḥ sva-para-bheda-matis tava syāt
[na brahmanah sva-para-bheda-matis tava syaat]
sarvātmanaḥ sama-dṛśaḥ sva-sukhānubhūteḥ
[sarvaatmanah sama-drishah sva-sukhaanubhooteh]
saṁsevatāṁ sura-taror iva te prasādaḥ
[samsevataam sura-taror iva te prasaadah]
sevānurūpam udayo na viparyayo ’tra
[sevaanuroopam udayo na viparyayo ’tra]
na — not brahmaṇaḥ — of the Absolute Truth sva — of own para — and other’s bheda — differential matiḥ — mentality tava — of You syāt — there can be sarva — of all beings ātmanaḥ — of the Soul sama — equal dṛśaḥ — whose vision sva — within Himself sukha — of happiness anubhūteḥ — whose experience saṁsevatām — for those who properly worship sura - taroḥ — of the heavenly desire tree iva — as if te — Your prasādaḥ — grace sevā — with the service anurūpam — in accordance udayaḥ — desirable results na — not viparyayaḥ — contradiction atra — in this .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
na brahmaṇaḥ sva-para-bheda-matis tava syāt
na
not
brahmaṇaḥ
of the Absolute Truth
sva
of own
para
and other’s
bheda
differential
matiḥ
mentality
tava
of You
syāt
there can be
sarvātmanaḥ sama-dṛśaḥ sva-sukhānubhūteḥ
sarva
of all beings
ātmanaḥ
of the Soul
sama
equal
dṛśaḥ
whose vision
sva
within Himself
sukha
of happiness
anubhūteḥ
whose experience
saṁsevatāṁ sura-taror iva te prasādaḥ
saṁsevatām
for those who properly worship
sura - taroḥ
of the heavenly desire tree
iva
as if
te
Your
prasādaḥ
grace
sevānurūpam udayo na viparyayo ’tra
sevā
with the service
anurūpam
in accordance
udayaḥ
desirable results
na
not
viparyayaḥ
contradiction
atra
in this .
  • sva-para-bheda — difference of own and other's
    Compound. The Absolute Truth has no insider/outsider partition. Gauḍīyas note this as a foundational reading of Bhagavān's nirupādhi-karuṇā — His mercy is causeless, not tribal.
  • sama-dṛśaḥ — of equal vision
    Genitive of sama-dṛk. Cf. Gītā 9.29: samo'haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu. The Lord's vision is equal — but His response is sevā-anurūpam, which the verse goes on to clarify.
  • sura-taroḥ — of the heavenly desire tree
    Genitive. The kalpa-vṛkṣa of Indra's garden gives whatever is asked. Kṛṣṇa is compared to it — but in fact He exceeds it, because the desire tree gives only the asked-for fruit; Kṛṣṇa gives Himself.
  • sevā-anurūpam — in accordance with the service
    The hinge of the verse. The Lord's grace is causeless yet proportional. No service is wasted; no extra credit is fabricated. Gauḍīyas read this as the perfect answer to charges of divine favouritism.
  • viparyayaḥ — contradiction, reversal
    There is no inversion here, no anomaly. Kṛṣṇa does not break His own pattern. The closing word of the verse is a quiet legal seal: this principle holds.
Within Your mind there can be no such differentiation as “This one is mine, and that is another’s,” because You are the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Soul of all beings, always equipoised and enjoying transcendental happiness within Yourself. Just like the heavenly desire tree, You bless all who properly worship You, granting their desired fruits in proportion to the service they render You. There is nothing wrong in this.

Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī explains that a desire tree has no material attachments or partiality but simply bestows its fruits upon those who deserve them, and not upon others. Jīva Gosvāmī Prabhupāda adds that a desire tree does not think, “This person is fit to worship me, but that other person is not.” Rather, a desire tree is satisfied with all who properly serve it. And the Lord acts in the same way, as explained here by King Yudhiṣṭhira. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī adds that no one should accuse Lord Kṛṣṇa of being envious of one person and showing favoritism toward another. Since the Lord is sva-sukhānubhūti, experiencing His own happiness within Himself, He has nothing to gain or lose in relation to conditioned souls. Rather, He reciprocates according to how they approach Him. Śrīla Prabhupāda very nicely sums up this point as follows in his rendering of King Yudhiṣṭhira’s statement: “If one takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, his life becomes fulfilled both materially and spiritually. This does not mean that You are partial to the Kṛṣṇa conscious person and indifferent to the non-Kṛṣṇa conscious person. You are equal to everyone; that is Your declaration. You cannot be partial to one and not interested in others, because You are sitting in everyone’s heart as the Supersoul and giving everyone the respective results of his fruitive activities. You give every living entity the chance to enjoy this material world as he desires. As the Supersoul, You are sitting in the body along with the living entity, giving him the results of his own actions as well as opportunities to turn toward Your devotional service by developing Kṛṣṇa consciousness. You openly declare that one should surrender unto You, giving up all other engagements, and that You will take charge of him, giving him relief from the reactions of all sins. You are like the desire tree in the heavenly planets, which awards benediction according to one’s desires. Everyone is free to achieve the highest perfection, but if one does not so desire, then Your awarding of lesser benedictions is not due to partiality.”

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Within Your mind there can be no such differentiation as "This one is mine, and that is another's," because You are the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Soul of all beings, always equipoised and enjoying transcendental happiness within Yourself. Just like the heavenly desire tree, You bless all who properly worship You, granting their desired fruits in proportion to the service they render You. There is nothing wrong in this.
Commentary

"But will I not display malice myself, if I show the excellence of those who are favorable to me and show the inferiority of those who go against me?" This verse relies. "You do not have a mentality of prejudice, distinguishing on the basis of "my side" and "the other side" (sva para), since you are completely pure (brahmanah). But as the supersoul in all living entities , you engage them all in their actions as they have fallen into an endless flow of karmas. And you give them good or bad results suitable to their acts, not by favoritism (samdrsah). And you have nothing to gain from the enjoyers or sufferers of their deeds. You are engaged in your own bliss (sva sukha anubhuteh)." "But then, who are the objects of my qualities like affection and mercy?" "You show affection (prasadah) to those who serve you with their hearts. You have such generosity you not only cut the bondage of karma but given everything up to your own self. Therefore you are called a desire tree." "But then do I not show some prejudice there?" "As the desire tree gives to those who take shelter of it, without considering a persons faults or merits, you also show mercy to any one who serves you. But this mercy is according to the quality of service. As a little service gives little results, great service gives great results. Thus there is no prejudice or injustice. There is nothing improper in it. Though your have no prejudice, you are especially favorable to your devotee, being controlled by affection. But even there, you give favorable results for favorable service and unfavorable results for faulty service."

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

The desire tree gives results to those who worship even they do not have strong attraction. Or, there is no distinctions that one person can worship because he is qualified and another cannot worship because he is unqualified. It is merciful to anyone who serves it with respect (sam—sevatāṁ). But in worshipping you, the result is not just according to the service. The result is more. Even if there is irregularity in the worship, the opposite, no result (viparyayaḥ), does not take place. tulasī-dala-mātreṇa jalasya culukena vā vikrīṇīte svam ātmānaṁ bhaktebhyo bhakta-vatsalaḥ. Kṛṣṇa, who is very affectionate toward his devotees, sells himself to a devotee who offers merely a tulasī leaf and a palmful of water. Viṣṇu-dharma According to the bhāva of the devotee there will be various degrees of result. Faith is the cause. tyaktvā sva-dharmaṁ caraṇāmbujaṁ harer bhajann apakvo ’tha patet tato yadi | yatra kva vābhadram abhūd amuṣya kiṁ ko vārtha āpto ’bhajatāṁ sva-dharmataḥ || If a person having given up his duties in varṇāśrama, begins the worship of the Lord’s lotus feet, and happens to deviate or not reach perfection, there is no misfortune for him at all in the future. But what does the person who follows all duties of varṇāśrama but does not worship the Lord gain? 1.5.17

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Therefore be merciful to us, by giving results desired and even beyond our desires. The deep meaning is: destroy Jarāsandha. According to different services there are different results. By a little service there is a little result. There is a response to everyone doing service without being unfair. Thus it is said in the verse for those who are absorbed in your service (saṁsevatām) you show mercy. This also glorifies service. Or one should not say that equally the Lord gives mercy since he is Lord of the universe, and that he should not punish anyone. This verse answers. Though the Lord is the cause of everything, the ātmā of everyone and antaryāmī, and equal to all, is he inclined to the devotee or is there no difference in treatment of the non-devotee? Yes there is a difference. Why? He is affectionate to his devotee, since he experiences happiness from his devotees (sva-sukhānubhūteḥ). He will be merciful to those who serve him (saṁsevatām). By its nature, there is absorption in the service (sam). It does not mean that he will be merciful only to those who serve him in full surrender. An example is given. It is like a desire tree. The mercy yields results, not according to the amount of service but the opposite. A little service gives great results. But the results given by the Lord are greater than that given by the desire tree since he is the supreme Lord. That is proper.

Related values
Sthitaprajna (Steady Wisdom)Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)Discriminative WisdomShanti (Peace / Tranquility)Abhaya (Fearlessness)Seva (Service / Selfless Action)Saurya (Heroism / Bravery)
Related verses
Concepts
Karma
Kṛṣṇa, like a desire tree, blesses everyone equally in proportion to their service. There is no favoritism in His mind; the apparent unfairness in our results reflects the variety in our offerings.
Reflection Questions
  • Where am I blaming the Lord for unequal outcomes that actually reflect different offerings?
  • What service of mine deserves to be deepened?

A sun does not pick which lotuses to open. Yet some lotuses face the sun and bloom; others turn away and wither. The fault is not in the sun's vision, which is samadṛk. Kṛṣṇa is the cosmic kalpa-vṛkṣa — He fruits in exact proportion to the service offered, with no favouritism and no injustice (na viparyayaḥ).

Sudāmā the brāhmaṇa

Sudāmā came with a fistful of flat rice, offered with embarrassment. Kṛṣṇa, the sama-dṛk, did not look at the quantity — He looked at the love. Sudāmā returned home to a palace. The desire tree had bloomed in proportion to sevā, not to status or volume.

This verse names the principle Sudāmā experienced: sevā-anurūpam udayaḥ — the fruit comes in measure with the service.

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