1412 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 3, Ch. 32

bahih—for what is outside; jata-virdgaya—to him who has developed
detachment; santa-citt@ya—whose mind is peaceful; diyatam—let this be
instructed; nirmatsardya—nonenvious; sucaye—perfectly cleansed; yasya—
of whom; aham—I; preyasam—of all that is very dear; priyah—the most
dear.

TRANSLATION

This instruction should be imparted by the spiritual master to persons
who have taken the Supreme Personality of Godhead to be more dear than
anything, who are not envious of anyone, who are perfectly cleansed and
who have developed detachment for that which is outside of the purview
of Krsna consciousness.

PURPORT

In the beginning, no one can be elevated to the highest stage of devo-
tional service. Here bhakta means one who does not hesitate to accept the
reformatory processes for becoming a bhakta. In order to become a devotee
of the Lord one has to accept a spiritual master and inquire from him about
how to progress in devotional service. To serve a devotee, to chant the holy
name according to a certain counting method, to worship the Deity, to
hear Srimad-Bhagavatam or Bhagavad-gita from a realized person and to
live in a sacred place whcre devotional service is not disturbed are the first
out of sixty-four devotional activities for making progress in devotional
service. One who has accepted these five chief activities is called a devotee.

One must be prepared to offer the necessary respect and honor to the
spiritual master. He should not be unnecessarily envious of his Godbrothers.
Rather, if a Godbrother is more enlightened and advanced in Krsna con-
sciousness, one should accept him as almost equal to the spiritual master,
and one should be happy to see such Godbrothers advance in Kysna con-
sciousness. A devotee should always be very kind to the general public in
instructing Krsna consciousness because that is the only solution for getting
out of the clutches of maya. That is really humanitarian work, for it is the
way to show mercy to other people who need it very badly. The word
Susrusabhirataya indicates a person who faithfully engages in serving the
spiritual master. One should give personal service and all kinds of comforts
to the spiritual master. A devotee who does so is also a bona fide candi-
date for taking this instruction. The word bahir-jata-viragdya means a person
who has developed detachment from external and internal material pro-
pensities. Not only is he detached from activities which are not connected
to Krsna consciousness, but he should be internally averse to the material
way of life. Such a person must be nonenvious and should think of the
welfare of all living entities, not only of the human beings, but living
