280
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 8, Ch. 7]
tapyante —voluntarily suffer;  loka-tāpena —because of the suffering of people in general;  sādhavaḥ —saintly persons;  prāyaśaḥ —almost always;  janāḥ —such persons;  parama-ārādhanam —the topmost method of worshiping;  tat —that activity;  hi —indeed;  puruṣasya —of the Supreme Person;  akhila-ātmanaḥ —who is the Supersoul of everyone.
TRANSLATION
It is said that great personalities almost always accept voluntary suffering because of the suffering of people in general. This is considered the highest method of worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is present in everyone's heart.
PURPORT
Here is an explanation of how those engaged in activities for the welfare of others are very quickly recognized by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord says in  Bhagavad-gītā  (18.68–69),  ya idaṁ paramaṁ guhyaṁ mad-bhakteṣv abhidhāsyati... na ca tasmān manuṣyeṣu kaścin me priya-kṛttamaḥ : “One who preaches the message of  Bhagavad-gītā  to My devotees is most dear to Me. No one can excel him in satisfying Me by worship.” There are different kinds of welfare activities in this material world, but the supreme welfare activity is the spreading of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Other welfare activities cannot be effective, for the laws of nature and the results of  karma  cannot be checked. It is by destiny, or the laws of  karma , that one must suffer or enjoy. For instance, if one is given a court order, he must accept it, whether it brings suffering or profit. Similarly, everyone is under obligations to  karma  and it reactions. No one can change this. Therefore the  śāstra  says:
tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovido na labhyate yad bhramatām upary adhaḥ (Bhāg. 1.5.18)
One should endeavor for that which is never obtained by wandering up and down the universe as a result of the reactions of  karma . What is that? One should endeavor to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. If one tries to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over the world, he should be understood