308 Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead

actions of the internal and external potencies, and He is also described as
upadrasta, the supreme advisor. Because He is the supreme advisor, He is
above all the demigods, who merely follow the directions of the supreme
advisor. As such, if one directly follows the instructions of the Supreme
Lord, as inculcated in the Bhagavad-gita and the Srimad-Bhagavatam, then
gradually one becomes nirguna, or above the interaction of the material
qualities. To be nirguna means to be bereft of material opulences because,
as we have explained, material opulence means an increase of the actions
and reactions of the three material qualities. By worshiping the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, instead of being puffed up with material opu-
lences one becomes enriched with spiritual advancement of knowledge in
Krsna consciousness. To become nirguna means to achieve eternal peace,
fearlessness, religiousness, knowledge and renunciation. All these are
symptoms of becoming free from the contamination of the material
qualities. .

Sukadeva Gosvami, in answering Pariksit Maharaja’s question, went on
to cite an historical instance regarding Pariksit Maharaja’s grandfather,
King Yudhisthira. He said that after finishing the a’vamedha sacrifice in
the great sacrificial arena, King Yudhisthira, in the presence of great
authorities, enquired on that very same point: how is it that the devotees
of Lord Siva become materially opulent, whereas the devotees of Lord
Visnu do not? Sukadeva Gosvami specifically referred to King Yudhisthira
as “‘your grandfather” so that Maharaja Pariksit would be encouraged to
think that he was related to Krsna and that his grandfathers were intimately
connected with the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Although Krsna is always very satisfied by nature, when this question
was asked by Maharaja Yudhisthira He became even more satisfied because
these questions and their answers would bear a great meaning for the
entire Krsna conscious society. Whenever Lord Krsna speaks about some-
thing to a specific devotee, it is not only meant for that devotee, but for
the entire human society. Instructions by the Supreme Personality of God-
head are important even to the demigods, headed by Lord Brahma, Lord
Siva and others, and anyone who does not take advantage of the instructions
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who descends within this world
for the benefit of all living entities, is certainly very unfortunate.

Lord Krsna answered the question of Maharaja Yudhisthira as follows:
“If I especially favor a devotee and especially wish to care for him, the
first thing I do is take away his riches.” When the devotee becomes a
penniless pauper or is put into a comparatively poverty-stricken position,
his relatives and family members no longer take interest in him, and in
most cases they give up their connection with him. The devotee then
