Text 24]
The Glories of Devotional Service
1029
the pernicious effects of material attachment;  harāḥ —counteractors of;  hi —indeed;  te —they.
TRANSLATION
O My mother, O virtuous lady, these are the qualities of great devotees who are free from all attachment. You must seek attachment to such holy men, for this counteracts the pernicious effects of material attachment.
PURPORT
Kapila Muni herein advises His mother, Devahūti, that if she wants to be free from material attachment then she should increase her attachment for the  sādhus  or devotees who are completely freed from all material attachment. In  Bhagavad-gītā , Fifteenth Chapter, fifth verse, it is stated who is qualified to enter into the kingdom of Godhead. It is said there,  nirmāna-mohā jita-saṅga-doṣāḥ . This refers to one who is completely freed from the puffed-up condition of material possessiveness. A person may be materially very rich, opulent or respectable, but if he at all wants to transfer himself to the spiritual kingdom, back home, back to Godhead, then he has to be freed from the puffed-up condition of material possessiveness, because that is a false position.
The word  moha , used here, means the false understanding that one is rich or poor. In this material world, the conception that one is very rich or very poor—or any such consciousness in connection with material existence—is false, because this body itself is false or temporary. A pure soul who is prepared to be freed from this material entanglement must first of all be free from the association of the three modes of nature. Our consciousness at the present moment is polluted because of association with the three modes of nature; therefore in  Bhagavad-gītā  the same principle is stated. It is advised,  jita-saṅga-doṣāḥ : one should be freed from the contaminated association of the three modes of material nature. Here also, in the  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam , this is confirmed: a pure devotee who is preparing to transfer himself to the spiritual kingdom is also freed from the association of the three modes of material nature. We have to seek the association of such devotees. For this reason we have begun the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. There are many mercantile, scientific and other associations in human society to develop a particular type of education or consciousness, but there is no association which helps one to get free from all material association. If anyone has reached the stage where he must become free from this material contami-