256
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 5, Ch. 7]
whatever rituals are performed, they are called  asat , nonpermanent. They are therefore usless both in this life and the next.
Kings like Mahārāja Ambarīṣa and many other  rājarṣis  who were pure devotees of the Lord simply passed their time in the service of the Supreme Lord. When a pure devotee executes some service through the agency of another person, he should not be criticized, for his activities are meant for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord. A devotee may have a priest perform some  karma-kāṇḍa , and the priest may not be a pure Vaiṣṇava. but because the devotee wants to please the Supreme Lord, he should not be criticized. The word  apūrva  is very significant. The resultant actions of  karma  are called  apūrva . When we act piously or impiously, immediate results do not ensue. We therefore wait for the results, which are called  apūrva . The results are manifest in the future. Even the  smārtas  accept this  apūrva . Pure devotees simply act for the pleasure of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; therefore the results of their activities are spiritual, or permanent. They are not like those of the  karmīs , which are nonpermanent. This is confirmed in  Bhagavad-gītā  (4.23):
gata-saṅgasya muktasya jñānāvasthita-cetasaḥ yajñāyācarataḥ karma samagram pravilīyate
“The work of a man who is unattached to the modes of material nature and who is fully situated in transcendental knowledge merges entirely into transcendence.”
A devotee is always free from material contamination. He is fully situated in knowledge, and therefore his sacrifices are intended for the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
TEXT 7
एवं कर्मविशुद्ध्या विशुद्धसत्त्वस्यान्तर्हृदयाकाशशरीरे ब्रह्मणि भगवति वासुदेवे महापुरुषरूपोपलक्षणे श्रीवत्सकौस्तुभवनमालारिदगदादिभिरुपलक्षिते