910 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 4, Ch. 22
ality of Godhead. As silver becomes shiny by being polished, so lusty
desires within the heart of a materialistic person are cleansed by the good
association of devotees. Actually the living being has no connection with
this material enjoyment nor with lusty desires. He is simply imagining or
dreaming while asleep. But by the association of pure devotees, he
is awakened, and immediately the spirit soul is situated in his own
glory by understanding his constitutional position as the eternal servant
of the Lord. Prthu Maharaja was already a self-realized soul; therefore
he had a natural inclination to glorify the activities of the Supreme Per-
sonality of Godhead, and the Kumaras assured him that there was no
chance of his falling victim to the illusory energy of the Supreme Lord. In
other words, the process of hearing and chanting about the glories of the
Lord is the only means to clarify the heart of material contamination. By
the process of karma, jriana and yoga, no one will succeed in driving away
contamination from the heart, but once a person takes to the shelter of the
lotus feet of the Lord by devotional service, automatically all dirty
things in the heart are removed without difficulty.
TEXT 21
aa afer ta |
TAK MAA AG STH
zal came frat a aT Re
Sastresv iyan eva suniscito nrnam
ksemasya sadhryag-vimrsesu hetuh
asanga atma-vyatirikta atmani
drdha ratir brahmani nirgune ca ya
Sastresu—in the scriptures; iyan eva—this is only; suniscitah— positively
concluded; nrram—of human society; ksemasya—of the ultimate welfare;
sadhryak—perfectly; vimrsesu—by full consideration; hetwh—cause;
asanigah—unattachment; atma-vyatirikte—bodily concept of life; atmani—
unto the Supreme Soul; drdha—strong; ratih—attachment; brahmani—tran-
scendence; nirgune—in the Supreme, who is beyond the material modes;
ca—and; ya—which.
TRANSLATION
It has been conclusively decided in the scriptures, after due considera-

tion, that the ultimate goal for the welfare of human society is detach-
