FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.25.43

ज्ञानवैराग्ययुक्तेन भक्तियोगेन योगिन: । क्षेमाय पादमूलं मे प्रविशन्त्यकुतोभयम् ॥ ४३ ॥
jñāna-vairāgya-yuktena
[jnaana-vairaagya-yuktena]
bhakti-yogena yoginaḥ
[bhakti-yogena yoginah]
kṣemāya pāda-mūlaṁ me
[kshemaaya paada-moolam me]
praviśanty akuto-bhayam
[pravishanty akuto-bhayam]
jñāna — with knowledge vairāgya — and renunciation yuktena — equipped bhakti-yogena — by devotional service yoginaḥ — the yogīs kṣemāya — for eternal benefit pāda-mūlam — feet me — My praviśanti — take shelter of akutaḥ-bhayam — without fear.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
jñāna-vairāgya-yuktena
jñāna
with knowledge
vairāgya
and renunciation
yuktena
equipped
bhakti-yogena yoginaḥ
bhakti-yogena
by devotional service
yoginaḥ
the yogīs
kṣemāya pāda-mūlaṁ me
kṣemāya
for eternal benefit
pāda-mūlam
feet
me
My
praviśanty akuto-bhayam
praviśanti
take shelter of
akutaḥ-bhayam
without fear.
The yogīs, equipped with transcendental knowledge and renunciation and engaged in devotional service for their eternal benefit, take shelter of My lotus feet, and since I am the Lord, they are thus eligible to enter into the kingdom of Godhead without fear.

One who actually wants to be liberated from the entanglement of this material world and go back home, back to Godhead, is actually a mystic yogī. The words explicitly used here are yuktena bhakti-yogena. Those yogīs, or mystics, who engage in devotional service are the first-class yogīs. The first-class yogīs, as described in Bhagavad-gītā, are those who are constantly thinking of the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. These yogīs are not without knowledge and renunciation. To become a bhakti-yogī means to automatically attain knowledge and renunciation. That is the consequent result of bhakti-yoga. In the Bhāgavatam, First Canto, Second Chapter, it is also confirmed that one who engages in the devotional service of Vāsudeva, Kṛṣṇa, has complete transcendental knowledge and renunciation, and there is no explanation for these attainments. Ahaitukī — without reason, they come. Even if a person is completely illiterate, the transcendental knowledge of the scriptures is revealed unto him simply because of his engagement in devotional service. That is also stated in the Vedic literature. To anyone who has full faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the spiritual master, all the import of the Vedic literatures is revealed. He does not have to seek separately; the yogī who engages in devotional service is full in knowledge and renunciation. If there is a lack of knowledge and renunciation, it is to be understood that one is not in full devotional service. The conclusion is that one cannot be sure of entrance into the spiritual realm — in either the impersonal brahmajyoti effulgence of the Lord or the Vaikuṇṭha planets within that Brahman effulgence — unless he is surrendered unto the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord. The surrendered souls are called akuto-bhaya. They are doubtless and fearless, and their entrance into the spiritual kingdom is guaranteed.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
The yogīs take shelter of my feet, abode of fearlessness by bhakti mixed with jñāṇa and vairāgya, for attaining the highest benefit. Having described pure bhakti, Kapila describes bhakti mixed with jñāna.
The verse defines life's success by surrender, not by accumulation. What looks like 'giving up' from outside is, from inside, finally arriving at one's natural position. The verse keeps returning to Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Reflection Questions
  • What ordinary activity could you re-aim today so it becomes an offering rather than a transaction?
  • Whom in your life would notice if your devotional service deepened, and what would they see?
📝 My note

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