Just as food is the life of all creatures, devotees are the bhakti for those desiring bhakti. Just as I am the ultimate shelter for the distressed, devotees are the shelter of those desiring bhakti. Just as religion is the shelter for those desiring help after dying, so my devotees are the only refuge for persons fearful of falling into saṁsāra after having attained bhakti. Without food the prāṇa cannot function. Food is therefore the prāṇa of living beings. For those who desire bhakti, they seek the devotees, since without the devotees, bhakti cannot be accomplished. I am the shelter and protector of those suffering, who are without shelter. Similarly, the devotees are the protectors of those desiring bhakti. Dharma is the shelter of persons fearing the ropes of time after dying. Similarly devotees, protectors of the path of bhakti, are the shelter for persons fearing the ropes of the highway thieves called lust and anger, after they have accepted the path of bhakti.