Text 11] The Glories of Devotional Service 1011

himself by sense gratification, he is captured by maya. This capture by
maya is the consciousness of false identification with the body and attach-
ment for the possessions of the body. These are the activities of maya, and
since maya is also an agent of the Lord, it is indirectly the action of the
Lord. The Lord is merciful; if anyone wants to forget Him and enjoy this
material world, He gives him full facility, not directly but through the
agency of His material potency. Therefore, since the material potency is
the Lord’s energy, indirectly it is the Lord who gives the facility to forget
Him. Devahiti therefore said, ““My engagement in sense gratification was
also due to You. Now kindly get me free from this entanglement.”

By the grace of the Lord one is allowed to enjoy this material world, but
when one is disgusted with material enjoyment and is frustrated, and when
one sincerely surrenders unto the lotus feet of the Lord, then the Lord is
so kind that He frees one from entanglement. Krsna says, therefore, in
Bhagavad-gita, ‘‘First of all surrender, and then I will take charge of you
and free you from all reactions of sinful activities.” Sinful activities are
those activities performed in forgetfulness of our relationship with the
Lord. In this material world, activities for material enjoyment which are
considered to be pious are also sinful. For example, one sometimes gives
something in charity to a needy person with a view to get back the money
four times increased. Giving with the purpose of gaining something is called
charity in the mode of passion. Everything done here is done in the modes
of material nature, and therefore all activities but service to the Lord are
sinful. Because of sinful activities we become attracted by the illusion
of material attachment, and we think, “I am this body.” I think of the
body as myself and of bodily possessions as “mine.” Devahiti requested
Lord Kapila to free her from that entanglement of false identification and
false possession.

TEXT 11
q a aM TH Ww
WIAA: FTG |
Ree Tet: RTS
amt agufaat afta ee
tam tvd gataham saranam saranyam
sva-bhrtya-sarsdra-taroh kutharam

jufidsayaham prakrteh pirusasya
namami sad-dharma-vidam varistham
