178 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 3, Ch. 5
Godhead. Those who are in the modes of ignorance and passion are
adverse to the existence of God, or else they formally accept the existence
of God in the capacity of an order supplier. Above them are those who are
in the mode of goodness. This second class of men believe the Supreme
Brahman to be impersonal. They accept the cult of bhakti, in which
hearing of Krsna-katha is the first item, as a means and not the end. Above
them are those who are pure devotees. They are situated in the transcen-
dental stage above the mode of material goodness. Such persons are
decidedly convinced that the name, form, fame, qualities, etc., of the
Personality of Godhead are nondifferent from one another on the absolute
plane. For them, hearing of the topics of Krsna is equal to meeting with
Him eye to eye. According to this class of men, who are situated in
pure devotional service to the Lord, the highest goal of human life is
purusartha, devotional service to the Lord, the real mission of life. The
impersonalists, because they engage in mental speculation and have no
faith in the Personality of Godhead, have no business hearing the topics
of Krsna. Such persons are pitiable for the first-class pure devotees of the
Lord. The pitiable impersonalists pity those who are influenced by the
modes of ignorance and passion, but the pure devotees of the Lord take
pity on them both because both waste their most valuable time in the
human form of life in false pursuits, sense enjoyment and mental specula-

tive presentations of different theories and goals of life.

TEXT 15
ae FATA:
a TNT FI ANT |
a PTT aide
free aida ahaa: 4
tad asya kausarava garma-datur
hareh katham-eva kathasu saram
uddhrlya puspebhya ivarta-bandho
sivaya nah ktrlaya tirtha-kirteh

tat—therefore; asya—His; kausdrava—O Maitreya; sarma-datuh—of
one who awards good fortune; hareh—of the Lord; katham—topics; eva—
only; kathdsu—of all topics; s@ram—the essence; uddhrtya—by quoting;
puspebhyah—from the flowers; iva—like that; arta-bandho—of the friend
