Text 4] Prahlāda, the Best Among Exalted Devotees
285
nānyathā te 'khila-guro ghaṭeta karuṇātmanaḥ yas ta āśiṣa āśāste na sa bhṛtyaḥ sa vai vaṇik
na —not;  anyathā —otherwise;  te —of You;  akhila-guro —O supreme instructor of the entire creation;  ghaṭeta —such a thing can happen;  karuṇā-ātmanaḥ —the Supreme Person, who is extremely kind to His devotees;  yaḥ —any person who;  te —from You;  āśiṣaḥ —material benefits;  āśāste —desires (in exchange for serving You);  na —not;  saḥ —such a person;  bhṛtyaḥ —a servitor;  saḥ —such a person;  vai —indeed;  vaṇik —a merchant (who wants to get material profit from his business).
TRANSLATION
Otherwise, O my Lord, O supreme instructor of the entire world, You are so kind to Your devotee that You could not induce him to do something unbeneficial for him. On the other hand, one who desires some material benefit in exchange for devotional service cannot be Your pure devotee. Indeed, he is no better than a merchant who wants profit in exchange for service.
PURPORT
It is sometimes found that one comes to a devotee or a temple of the Lord just to get some material benefit. Such a person is described here as a mercantile man.  Bhagavad-gītā  speaks of  ārto jījñāsur arthārthī . The word  ārta  refers to one who is physically distressed, and  arthārthī  refers to one in need of money. Such persons are forced to approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead for mitigation of their distress or to get some money by the benediction of the Lord. They have been described as  sukṛtī , pious, because in their distress or need for money they have approached the Supreme Lord. Unless one is pious, one cannot approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead. However, although a pious man may receive some material benefit, one who is concerned with material benefits cannot be a pure devotee. When a pure devotee receives material opulences, this is not because of his pious activity but for the service of the Lord. When one engages in devotional service, one is automatically