1016 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 4, Ch. 23

rendered directly to the Lord. It is also stated by the Lord Himself that
devotional service to His devotees is better than service offered directly
to Him. Sometimes the sahajiyd class of devotees are only interested in
Krsna’s personal pastimes to the exclusion of the activities of the devotees.
This type of devotee is not on a very high level; one who sees the devotee
and the Lord on the same level has further progressed.

TEXT 32

ATA ATI TAA aartaAa: |
Fea: Toa Reale: ARK: TATA 22

brahmano brahma-varcasvi
rajanyo jagati-patih

vaisyah pathan vit-patih syac
chudrah sattamatam tyat

brahmanah—the brahmanas; brahma-varcasvi—one who has attained
the power of spiritual success; rajanyah—the royal order; jagati-patih—the
king of the world; vaisyah—the mercantile class of men; pathan—by
reading; vtt-patth—-becomes master of the animals; syat—becomes;
Sudrah—the laborer class of men; sattamatam—the position of a great
devotee; iyat—attains.

TRANSLATION

If one hears of the characteristics of Prthu Maharaja and is a brahmana,
he becomes perfectly qualified with brahminical powers; if he is a ksatriya,
he becomes a king of the world; if he is a vaisya, he becomes a master of
other vaigyas and many animals; and if he is a stidra, he becomes the top-
most devotee.

PURPORT

In Srimad-Bhdgavatam it is recommended that one should become a
devotee regardless of one’s condition. Whether one is without desire
(akadma), or with desire (sakdma), or whether one desires liberation
(mokgsa-kdma), he is advised to worship the Supreme Lord and execute
devotional service unto Him. By so doing, one attains all perfection in any
field of life. The process of devotional service—especially hearing and
chanting—is so powerful that it can bring a person to the perfectional
stage. In this verse brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaigyas and siidras are mentioned,
but here it should be understood that that reference is to the brahmana
