Text 26] Deliverance of the Yamala-arjuna Trees 199
face with the yamala-arjuna, I shall do so); yat gitam—as already
stated; tat—that; mahétmand—by Narada Muni.
TRANSLATION

“Although these two young men are the sons of the very rich
Kuvera and I have nothing to do with them, Devarsi Narada is My
very dear and affectionate devotee, and therefore because he
wanted Me to come face to face with them, I must do so for their
deliverance.”

PURPORT

Nalakivara and Manigriva actually had nothing to do with devotional
service or seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face, for
this is not an ordinary opportunity. It is not that because one is very rich
or learned or was born in an aristocratic family one will be able to see the
Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face. This is impossible. But in
this case, because Narada Muni desired that Nalakivara and Manigriva
see Vasudeva face to face, the Supreme Personality of Godhead wanted to
fulfill the words of His very dear devotee Narada Muni. If one seeks the
favor of a devotee instead of directly asking favors from the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, one is very easily successful. Srila Bhaktivinoda
Thakura has therefore recommended: vaisnava thakura tomara kukkura
bhuliyé janaha more, krsna se tomara krsna dite para. One should desire
to become like a dog in strictly following a devotee. Krsna is in the hand
of a devotee. Adurlabham dtma-bhaktau. Thus without the favor of a
devotee, one cannot directly approach Krsna, what to speak of engaging
in His service. Narottama dasa Thakura therefore sings, chddiya
vaisnava-seva nistara padyeche kebd: unless one becomes a servant of a
pure devotee, one cannot be delivered from the material condition of life.
In our Gaudiya Vaisnava society, following in the footsteps of Ripa
Gosvami, our first business is to seek shelter of a bona fide spiritual
master (ddau gurv-dsrayah).

TEXT 26
x BN
HATS AM: SET TATA
SI eh MERU CACCE MEAT
