Text 4] Prahlada, the Best Among Exalted Devotees 285
nanyatha te *khila-guro
ghateta karundtmanah
yas ta ASisa asaste
na sa bhrtyah sa vai vanik

na—not; anyathad—otherwise; te—of You; akhila-guro—O supreme
instructor of the entire creation; ghateta—such a thing can happen;
karunad-atmanah—the Supreme Person, who is extremely kind to His
devotees; yah—any person who; te—from You; dsisah—material
benefits; GSdste—desires (in exchange for serving You); na—not; sah—
such a person; bhrtyah—a servitor; sah—such a person; vai—indeed;
vanik—a merchant (who wants to get material profit from his business).

TRANSLATION

Otherwise, O my Lord, O supreme instructor of the entire
world, You are so kind to Your devotee that You could not induce
him to do something unbeneficial for him. On the other hand, one
who desires some material benefit in exchange for devotional ser-
vice cannot be Your pure devotee. Indeed, he is no better than a
merchant who wants profit in exchange for service.

PURPORT

It is sometimes found that one comes to a devotee or a temple of the
Lord just to get some material benefit. Such a person is described here as
a mercantile man. Bhagavad-gitd speaks of Grto jijfidsur artharthi. The
word drta refers to one who is physically distressed, and artharthi refers
to one in need of money. Such persons are forced to approach the
Supreme Personality of Godhead for mitigation of their distress or to get
some money by the benediction of the Lord. They have been described as
sukrti, pious, because in their distress or need for money they have ap-
proached the Supreme Lord. Unless one is pious, one cannot approach
the Supreme Personality of Godhead. However, although a pious man
may receive some material benefit, one who is concerned with material
benefits cannot be a pure devotee. When a pure devotee receives material
opulences, this is not because of his pious activity but for the service of
the Lord. When one engages in devotional service, one is automatically
