278 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 3, Ch. 7
form, quality, pastimes, entourage and paraphernalia, etc; sravanam—
hearing and chanting; murareh—of Murari (Sri Krsna), the Personality of
Godhead; kim va—what to speak of; punah—again; tat—His; carana-
aravinda—lotus feet; paraga-seva—service of the dust of flavor; ratih—
attraction; atma-labdha—those who have gained such self-achievement.
TRANSLATION

Simply by chanting and hearing of the transcendental name, form, etc.,
of the Personality of Godhead, Sri Krgna, one can achieve the cessation of
unlimited miserable conditions. Therefore what to speak of those who
have attained attraction for serving the flavor of the dust of the lotus feet
of the Lord?

PURPORT

Two different methods for controlling the material senses are recom-
mended in the Vedic scriptural wisdom. One of them is the process of
jiana, or the path of philosophical understanding of the Supreme—
Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan. The other is that of direct engage-
ment in the transcendental loving devotional service of the Lord. Of these
two most popular methods, the path of devotional service is recommended
here as the best because one on the path of devotional service does not
have to wait for the attainment of the fruitive results of pious activities or
for the results of knowledge. The two stages of executing devotional
service are, first, the stage of practicing devotional service with our present
senses under the regulations of the recognized scriptures and, second,
attaining sincere attachment for serving the particles of the dust of the
lotus feet of the Lord. The first stage is called sadhana-bhakti, or devo-
tional service for the neophyte, which is rendered under the direction of
a pure devotee, and the second stage is called raga-bhakti, in which the
mature devotee automatically takes to the various services of the Lord out
of sincere attachment. The great sage Maitreya now gives the final answer
to all the questions of Vidura: devotional service to the Lord is the
ultimate means to mitigate all the miserable conditions of material exis-
tence. The path of knowledge or that of mystic gymnastics may be
adopted as a means for the purpose, but unless mixed with bhakti,
or devotional service, they are unable to award the desired result. By
practicing sadhana-bhakti one may gradually rise to the point of raga-
bhakti, and by performing raga-bhakti in loving transcendental service one
can even control the Supreme Powerful Lord.
