14
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 7, Ch. 1]
This has nothing to do with partiality. When Kṛṣṇa says  teṣām satata-yuktānām bhajatām prīti-pūrvakam/ dadāmi buddhi-yogam tam , this indicates that Kṛṣṇa is prepared to give  bhakti-yoga  to everyone, but one must be capable of receiving it. That is the secret. Thus when a person exhibits wonderful devotional activities, a thoughtful man understands that Kṛṣṇa has been more favorable to this devotee.
This is not difficult to understand, but envious persons do not accept that Kṛṣṇa has bestowed His favor upon a particular devotee in accordance with his advanced position. Such foolish persons become envious and try to minimize an advanced devotee's activities. That is not Vaiṣṇavism. A Vaiṣṇava should appreciate the service rendered to the Lord by other Vaiṣṇavas. Therefore a Vaiṣṇava is described in  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  as  nirmatsara . Vaiṣṇavas are never envious of other Vaiṣṇavas or of anyone else, and therefore they are called  nirmatsarāṇām satām .
As  Bhagavad-gītā  informs us, one can understand how one is saturated with  sattva-guṇa ,  rajo-guṇa  or  tamo-guṇa . In the examples given herewith, fire represents the mode of goodness. One can understand the constitution of a container for wood, petrol or other inflammable substances by the quantity of the fire. Similarly, water represents  rajo-guṇa , the mode of passion. A small skin and the vast Atlantic Ocean both contain water, and by seeing the quantity of water in a container one can understand the size of the container. The sky represents the mode of ignorance. The sky is present in a small earthen pot and also in outer space. Thus by proper judgment one can see who is a  devatā , or demigod, and who is an  asura , Yakṣa or Rākṣasa according to the quantities of  sattva-guṇa ,  rajo-guṇa  and  tamo-guṇa . One cannot judge whether a person is a  devatā , an  asura  or a Rākṣasa by seeing him, but a sane man can understand this by the activities such a person performs. A general description is given in the  Padma Purāṇa: viṣṇu-bhaktaḥ smṛto daiva āsuras tad-viparyayaḥ . A devotee of Lord Viṣṇu is a demigod, whereas an  asura  or Yakṣa is just the opposite. An  asura  is not a devotee of Lord Viṣṇu; instead, for his sense gratification he is a devotee of the demigods,  bhūtas ,  pretas  and so on. Thus one can judge who is a  devatā , who is a Rākṣasa and who is an  asura  by how they conduct their activities.
The word  ātmānam  in this verse means  paramātmānam . The