Text 12]
Dhruva Mahārāja Returns Home
377
is ripe and more relishable. It is possible to mature in devotional service only in the association of devotees.
TEXT 12
ते न सरन्त्यतितरां प्रियमीश मर्त्यं
ये चान्वदः सुतसुहृद्गृहवित्तदाराः ।
ये त्वञ्जनाभ भवदीयपदारविन्द-
सौगन्ध्यलुब्धहृदयेषु कृतप्रसङ्गाः ॥१२॥
te na smaranty atitarām priyam īśa martyam ye cānv adaḥ suta-suhṛd-gṛha-vitta-dārāḥ ye tv abja-nābha bhavadīya-padāravinda- saugandhya-lubdha-hṛdayeṣu kṛta-prasaṅgāḥ
te—they; na—never; smaranti—remember; atitarām—highly; priyam—dear; īśa—O Lord; martyam—material body; ye—they who; ca—also; anu—in relationship with; adaḥ—that; suta—sons; suhṛt—friends; gṛha—home; vitta—wealth; dārāḥ—and wife; ye—those who; tu—then; abja-nābha—O Lord who has a lotus navel; bhavadīya—of Your; pada-aravinda—lotus feet; saugandhya—the fragrance; lubdha—have achieved; hṛdayeṣu—with devotees whose hearts; kṛta-prasaṅgāḥ—have association.
TRANSLATION
O Lord who has a lotus navel, if a person happens to associate with a devotee whose heart always hankers after Your lotus feet, seeking always their fragrance, he is never attached to the material body or, in relationship with it, offspring, friends, home, wealth, and wife, which are very, very dear to materialistic persons. He does not care for them.
PURPORT
A special advantage in devotional service is that devotees not only enjoy the transcendental pastimes of the Lord by hearing and chanting and glorifying them, but also they are not very much attached to their bodies, unlike the  yogīs , who are too attached to the body and who think that by performing bodily gymnastic exercises they will advance in spiritual consciousness.  Yogīs  are generally not very much interested in devotional service; they want to regulate the breathing process. This is simply a bodily concern. Here Dhruva Mahārāja plainly says that a devotee has no more bodily interest. He knows that he is not the body. From the very