5
Steering Toward the Supreme
udārāḥ sarva evaite
jñānī tv ātmaiva me matam
āsthitaḥ sa hi yuktātmā
mām evānuttamām gatim
“All these devotees are undoubtedly magnanimous souls, but he who is situated in knowledge of Me I consider verily to dwell in Me. Being engaged in My transcendental service, he attains Me.” (Bg. 7.18)
Here Kṛṣṇa is saying that all the men who come to Him—whether they be distressed, in need of money, curious, etc.—are welcomed, but out of them the person who is in knowledge is very dear to Him. The others are welcomed because it is understood that in course of time, if they continue on the path to God, they will become as good as the man of knowledge. Generally, however, it so happens that when one goes to church for profit, and the money doesn’t come, he concludes that approaching God is non-sense, and he gives up all connection with church. That is the danger of approaching God with ulterior motives. For instance, during World War II it was reported that many wives of the German soldiers went to church to pray for their husbands’ safe return, but when they found they had been killed in battle, they became atheistic. Thus we want God to become our order-supplier, and when He does not